The introduction of the Air Arm has produced a considerable change in the conduct of naval warfare. Before the advent of aircraft, reconnaissance was carried out by the cruisers, colloquially known as "the eyes of the fleet." Now this duty falls largely to the aircraft, writes a special correspondent in thei There is some misconception about visibility from the air. Normally this is\not very much greater than from the surface. At exceptional times when flying one can see long distances because of the height, but often visibility at sea does not exceed five to 10 miles. Air to air visibility is less than it is commonly thought to be, One is unlikely to sight another aircraft at a greater range than three miles. The advantage in early information gained by a fleet using aircraft as its "eyes" is due more to the great range to which these "eyes" are taken, and the speed at which they are carried, than to increased visibility in the air as opposed to that on the surface. For these reasons enemy ships, nowadays, are generally sighted rom the air a long time before they ure seen by surface ships; therefore, aircraft have to some extent taken over the duties of cruisers.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.