Caspar John's daughter completed and published his unfinished manuscript, which explains why she is credited as its author. The account follows naval aviation under RAF control after the RNAS was absorbed into the new service in 1918. John gained practical carrier experience aboard HMS Hermes before joining the fourth naval flying course in November 1925. Training used First World War aircraft, including the Sopwith Snipe, Airco DH9A, and Avro 504K. A fellow pilot remembered casualties so frequent that trainees wondered at breakfast who would still be present at dinner. The flying allowance was six shillings a day beside a lieutenant's basic seventeen shillings.
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Caspar John enters an awkwardly divided Fleet Air Arm
Caspar John's unfinished memoir follows his entry into RAF-controlled naval aviation, carrier experience aboard Hermes, and hazardous flying training in 1925.