Aeronautics in the United States, 1918

Major General George O. Squier, Chief Signal Officer of the United States Army, reviews in this address the development of Military Aeronautics in the United States up to the date of the armistice, 11 November 1918. The US War Department's first heavier-than-air flying machine was produced approximately ten years ago, but for the eight years that followed, the development lagged - in fact less than a million dollars was appropriated for aeronautics in the entire eight years. Then under the pressure of war, the US by necessity plunged into a gigantic aircraft program-and the accomplishments today are numbered by the score. The Liberty Engine, acknowledged now to be the standard for the world, was produced; an industry new to the US was developed, and other tremendous strides taken in the science of aerial navigation.