Range/combat range - rules of usage

[yperman]

Good afternoon,

May I request some help from the forum regarding combat range and range. I have read a number of general interest books on GW aviation and they tend to just refer to an aircraft's  "range". Is there a convention that authors always  mean combat range ( i.e.: how far an aircraft can fly and return without landing) when they use "range" or do they mean how far the aircraft can fly in a straight line from take off to landing? The difference is obviously very significant especially with heavy bombers like the Vimy or the Giant.

Grateful for advice,

Yperman