A lecture on Deck Flying must include a good deal about carriers and the development of the seaplane carrier into the modern flush decked ship from which high performance aeroplanes can operate in almost any kind of weather, and as I believe this is the first occasion upon which a paper has been read to the Society on deck flying I propose to trace briefly the development of the modern aircraft carrier from the improvised auxiliaries commissioned to meet war exigencies.
The design of the ship has throughout directly influenced the design of the aircraft until to—day a stage has been reached which within certain limits enables the fleets to use aeroplanes which are no longer hampered by extra strong undercarriages and appliance for picking up wires used with the original arresting gear, details of which I will describe later.