This is the second volume in The Australian Centenary History of Defence series. Histories of air forces often focus on aeroplanes at the expense of people. Yet while aircraft represent a unique, even exciting, form of combat power, they are simply an extension of human ingenuity, skill, courage, and resilience. It is not machines that make history and cause organisations to prosper: it is people. In the course of its eighty-year history the Royal Australian Air Force has developed an enviable reputation. This volume tells that story through the experiences of the airmen and airwomen who have served Australia around the world and over the years, from Mesopotamia in 1915 to East Timor in 2000. Book jacket.