The War in the Air is a novel by H. G. Wells, written in 1907, serialized and published in 1908 in the Pall Mall Magazine. Like many of Wells"s works, it is notable for its prophetic ideas, images, and concepts, in this case, the use of the airplane for the purpose of warfare and the coming of World War I. The novel"s hero is Bert Smallways, a forward-thinking young man, a "kind of bicycle engineer of the let"s-have-a-look-at-it and enamel chipping variety."