part on the battle fronts of Europe.
He too is an engineer with scientific and technical knowledge and
training that control the most delicate of machines ever at the mercy
of the elements, and engineer and scientist have supplied him with
instruments and equipments embodying the results of refined research
and investigation. Withal, he is a soldier, yet not one of a mere mass
aggregation, but an individual on whose faithful and intelligent
performance of his duty mid extreme perils the issue of a great cause
may depend. But not entirely a free-lance, for experience in aerial
warfare has shown that in the air, as on the ground, harmony of action
and plan of operation avail and contribute to success. Consequently,
with the development of military aeronautics during the course of the
war, the work of the flying corps, with training and practical
experience, gradually became more systematic and far more efficient.

While many of their achievements were distinctly sensational,
involving extreme personal daring and heroism, yet usually the general
operations were as methodical and prearranged as other forms of
military activity carried on by the different armies on the ground
below. No longer were single aeroplanes used exclusively, but large
numbers of machines were brought to bear, with the pilots drilled not
only in the manipulation of their individual machines, but to work
with others in military formations and groups, while increased
attention was paid to weapons and the protection of vulnerable parts.

The flying craft cooperated constantly with the intelligence
departments of the various staffs, observing the enemy positions, the
distribution and movement of troops, and photographing the territory,
and their observations were not only useful but essential to the
artillery engaged so extensively in indirect fire. As their work
became more practical and understood, it was the more appreciated and
its volume increased. Indeed, by the summer of 1915 the aviation corps
of the various belligerent armies in Europe had settled down to more
or less of a routine of observation, reconnaissance, and patrol,
enlivened by bombing expeditions against the enemy and frequent aerial
combats. What once would have been considered feats of usual
intrepidity and skill on the part of the aviators, long since had
become commonplace, and the standard of operation developed to a
degree that at the beginning of the war would have been conside