Churchill's Aerial Adventures

摘要

During a routine inspection tour of a Royal Naval Air Service facility in 1912, Winston Churchill took his first flight. It was only a short demonstration ride, but it would have far-ranging consequences for British military aviation. When Churchill became First Lord of the Admiralty in 1911, he was just beginning his legendary political career, though at 37 he had already accomplished more than most men twice his age. His meteoric rise had brought him close to the pinnacle of political power, and he had been given responsibility for one of the most important tasks then facing the British government: overhauling the Royal Navy. Churchill approached his role at the Admiralty with the same energy that had helped him accomplish so much before, but now it was focused by his vision for what a modernized Royal Navy could be.