My Task is to express the manufacturer's point of view and his problems in this field. I can only speak of my own experiences in one Group, and that experience has been chiefly in the civil field. The observations which follow are therefore related mainly to civil aircraft.

In a previous life as a recently qualified solicitor I had the task of presenting to the head of a company, on behalf of my client, a cheque for more than £lm. This payment was made partly because my client's product had run into trouble and partly because there was uncertainty about the legal liability. My experiences in the Aircraft Industry have, therefore, been coloured by a considerable respect for any manufacturer's responsibilities for his product.