In a necessarily brief introduction it is best to choose a few topics which seem to me to be of first–class importance, and to leave it to the discussion to bring up others.

I wish it had been possible to include one other aspect of Naval aircraft in these introductory papers– the aircraft carrier. Many of the technical aspects of carriers may be more appropriate as a subject for the Institute of Naval Architects, but I feel that our discussion will be incomplete unless ship designers contribute.

There are a number of essential differences between aircraft designed to operate from carriers and those designed to operate solely from land bases. Some of the features are detrimental to good structural weight and even to aerodynamic performance, and involve both the aircraft and carrier in special equipment.

Of these features the two most important are assisted take–off and deck landing. Assisted take–off includes catapulting, accelerating and rocket assistance; landing involves arresting and safety–barriers.

It is now the practice to refer to all methods of mechanically–assisted take–off as catapulting, to bring it into line with American terminology. Until recently, catapulting denoted a particular method of launching whereby the aircraft was supported entirely on a cradle with no part of the airframe in contact with the ship structure, and such equipment was installed in ships with no flight deck. Accelerating denoted that the aircraft was launched along the deck on its own undercarriage which gave it some degree of support. Accelerating was peculiar to ships with flight decks, i.e. carriers.

The title “Operational Flying” gives considerable latitude, although a title such as “Naval Air Operations” would be more descriptive. I propose to spend rather less than half my time talking about operations with which I was personally connected. One reason for this is that my experience of firstline flying did not extend beyond the end of 1941 and therefore can hardly be considered to be of topical interest.

After that I will say something on the subject of Naval air operations as a whole. I will also touch on such points as ship-based flying from the pilot's point of view; the way in which the carrier is fitted in as part of the fleet; the relative merits of ship– and shore-based aircraft in different circumstances; the so–called vulnerability of the carrier; and finally, a brief outline of the current types of aircraft in service and. of the capacity of a typical carrier from which they would operate.