1940 U.S. ARMY AIR CORPS DOCUMENTARY "WINGS OF THE ARMY" MILITARY AVIATION 29734
Wings Of The Army is a short 1940 film that documents the history of the U.S. Air Corps, which would later become the U.S. Air Force. The film opens with shots of the interior of a passenger jet, Orville Wright (01:09), and Orville and Wilbur Wright’s famous flight in Kittyhawk, NC. Men move out a new Wright model built for the U.S. Army. The first plane is delivered to the U.S. military at Fort Myer, VA. President William H. Taft is present for the historical moment (02:42). The new plane is set up on a monorail for launch. Lt. Frank Lahm and Orville Wright take off in the Wright military flyer in 1909 (03:42). Orville and Lt. Benjamin Foulois prepare for the first “cross country” flight, from Fort Myer to Alexandria, VA (03:54). Glenn Curtiss, a competitor of the Wright brothers, sits in his plane. Early army planes fly in formation (05:00). The film then cuts to scenes from World War I: a dirigible is shot down by a plane. There is footage of military logging operations, a saw mill that the army built, and factories that produce the new airplanes (07:34). On assembly lines, men build the new Liberty motor (07:52). The film then shows a plane that crashed into the ground nose-first with its tail up in the air (09:12). Generals Mason Patrick and William Mitchell present medals to American pilots of WWI (09:15). The film then shows the first regular flight for air mail service; President Woodrow Wilson stands with the pilot before the flight. Aerial footage of forest fires in the western U.S. (10:53) gives viewers another example of what early aviation was used for. Captain St. Clair Streett poses after flying an exploratory expedition to Alaska. Lt. John Macready and Lt. Oakley Kelly fly a Fokker T-2 for the first nonstop transcontinental flight. There is a shot of a plane flying over the New York City skyline (11:56). This is followed by footage of the U.S. Army Air Corps’ mission to fly around the world (12:22): planes fly northwest from Seattle piloted by Major Frederick Martin, Lt. Leigh Wade, Lt. Lowell Smith, Lt. Leslie Arnold, Lt. Erik Nelson, and Lt. John Harding Jr. Next, viewers see clips from the 1926 Pan-American Goodwill flight to the West Indies and South America. General Mason Patrick bids pilots safe travel as they prepare to fly from Oakland to Hawaii. A new tri-motor plane known as the Question Mark, a modified Atlantic-Fokker C-2A, takes off from San Diego (14:48), and footage shows the plane being fueled while in air. Men load Curtiss Condors with food supplies (15:30) for the Navajo Indians stranded in deep snows in Arizona. Footage shows the supply drop and Navajo lining up to receive the food. Another Army Air Corps plane evacuates civilians wounded during a Texas tornado. Civilians stranded in a severe flood are relived as bombers drop supplies to them (16:40). Lt. Colonel Henry H. Arnold poses before leaving in his plane for Alaska in 1934. On 10 November 1935, the largest balloon ever built is filled with helium in South Dakota (18:04). The Explorer II takes off and sets a record for elevation. Captains Albert Stevens and Orvil Anderson disassemble instruments after the flight. B-17 Flying Fortresses fly to Buenos Aires in 1938. Argentines greet the Americans; new President Roberto M. Artiz rides in a horse-drawn carriage during a parade. The film then provides an aerial view of Wright Field, where an early long-range bomber powered by 6 Liberty motors is tested (21:17). Pilots don various clothing and masks designed for high-altitude flights (21:52). Landing gear is tested for structural integrity (25:50). Men study plane crash tests to learn more about crash fires (26:03). At Wright Filed, men test the first radio-controlled plane (28:10); this is followed by the testing of an unmanned radio-controlled target flier. A parachute test drop is conducted at Wright Field; footage shows a mass aerial jump. The Army Air Corps tests the first helicopter. Autogyros fire up their engines. Footage shows various planes of the Air Corps, including a Bell YFM-1 Airacuda, a high-motor pursuit plane, a North American O-47, and a Boeing B-15 bomber. Henry H. Arnold, Chief of the Air Corps, speaks to the camera about the need for a strong air force (31:50). Later, he and President Franklin D. Roosevelt inspect the Corps’ aircraft. Men train at the Air Corps Technical School, learning to weld and maintain plane engines. What appears to be Douglas B-18 Bolo bombers fly over San Francisco and past the Rocky Mountains. B-17s drop bombs that detonate on the ground. The film closes with footage of light bombardment planes (likely Northrop BT-2s) flying past mountains and over a desert.
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com
Пікірлер: 38
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@PeriscopeFilm
2 жыл бұрын
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My father was in the United States Army Air Corps. The best man I have ever known. If I was 10% as good as him I would be happy! R.I.P. Pop!!!
My uncle joined the army in 1938. He was 16 years old. Before Pearl Harbor he was in Burma flying With the Flying Tigers. A captain at 19 years old.
Just been reading the autobiography of the "supervisor" and narrator of this film, (then) Capt Harold W Bowman. He had a remarkable career in the USAAC/USAAF/USAF spanning many decades, and his account about the making of this film led me here. During WW2 he was the commander of the 401st Bombardment Group based at Deenethorpe in the UK, then was called to duty at the HQ US Strategic Air Forces in Europe in December 1944. He retired as a Brigadier General in 1958.
Wow! @ 9:17 there Eddie Rickenbacker receives a medal! Great film! Watched this a gave a thumbs up over 2 years ago, had to watch again and noticed him just now. Thank you Periscope! You folks are saving our heritage one frame at a time (; !
Another fine example of preserving an important piece of aviation history. Well done as always. Thank you for posting and God Bless from Florida.
@PeriscopeFilm
5 жыл бұрын
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from single engine bi-planes dropping 100 lbs of bombs to mono-wing multi engine jet planes capable of dropping 20,000 lbs in just around 10 years. stunning progress by America's greatest generation.
@confusedbadger6275
4 жыл бұрын
"Americas greatest generation " with the help of the British jet engine and radar you mean. And people seem.to forget the first powered flight was in Chard, Somerset UK
@peterparker9286
Жыл бұрын
Might as well been over night. The dirty greece balls.
The frontline planes shown in the film are the Curtis P-36 Hawk, a brief shot of the P-40 Warhawk, the Boeing XB-15, Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Northrop A-17 light bomber, Bell YFM-1 Airacuda, and the Douglas B-18 Bolo. Of those, only the P-40 and B-17 turned out to be successful combat aircraft. The B-18 achieved some success as an antisubmarine aircraft but was never used as a bomber. All the rest of the frontline aircraft were hopelessly obsolete by 1940 with the P-36 not the equal to any frontline German or Japanese fighter. B-18 was too slow and had too small a bomb load to have any serious use as a bomber. The A-17 was in use long after single engine bombers were shown to be too slow, too small, and had a weak defensive armament. Of all these though the Airacuda was the most disastrous failure. It was supposed to be the first real fighter bomber, able to bring down enemy bombers, engage in dogfights with enemy fighters, and able to be used as a bomber when required. It was also the only pusher aircraft until the postwar B-36. It was slow, the 37mm cannon fired too slow, the bomb load too small, and the handling was described from "challenging" to "downright dangerous". The 13 examples were rarely flown due the pilots hatred of the plane. It was so bad that by 1942, when the US needed almost anything that would fly, the 13 examples, that never entered operational service, were unceremoniously declared surplus and scrapped.
The three-finned passenger aircraft shown in the opening sequence is the prototype Douglas DC-4E which, regarded as a failure, was sold to Imperial Japanese Airways in 1939 and then reverse-engineered as the Nakajima G5N four engine bomber for the Japanese Navy. Ten G5Ns were built but lacked adequately powered engines.
That was exceptionally fascinating!! A rare look at the AAF, from the prewar perspective. Great Film!
Since his father worked at a shipyard, my father joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor, but soon switched over to the USAAC. My favorite photo of him - before he met my mother - shows him on leave wearing Navy bell bottoms, and his USAAC leather flight jacket. When I was born, he made a crib-mobile for me out of his black rubber, plane-recognition models. My favorite memento was his log book: he was part of a crew stationed at Alameda that trained pilots how to belly land their bombers.
I like the film from Ft Myer. I have copies of still pictures, but never saw the video. Besides early aviation, one of the reasons that film caught my attention is that one of the buildings in the background was my barracks in the 1980s. Right now those large brick buildings are still the barracks for members of the 3d US Infantry Reg't (The Old Guard). During those flight trials in 1908 or 1909, Lt Thomas Selfridge became the first military person to die in an air accident when the plane he was on with one of the Wright Brothers (Orville?) crashed, killing him and severely injuring the Wright Brother. To this day, there is a historical/memorial marker for him in front of one of the buildings I mentioned above. I wish I had seen and known all of this when I was living there !
20:25 was that the XB-15? Laf, 23:30 is the first time I’ve seen the shotgun shell starting method. Heard of it, never saw it operationally. The Airacuda was so art deco. This film is a gem, so much new technology presented.
Absolutely exceptional footage! You really get a feeling for how cutting-edge this technology seemed like at the time.
@PeriscopeFilm
5 жыл бұрын
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I would love to see what footage you may have of the US Army Air Force in my country WW2, Jamaica.
I’ve never really considered it, but at least some of those first flights were essentially a “carrier” take off. 1:34 I’m sure others have already pointed that out...but it was a new thought to me.
There were no jet powered passenger planes in 1940. The opening scenes are of the interior and exterior of the Douglas DC-4E. It wasn't related to the smaller but successful DC-4/C-54. The DC-4E was classed as an experimental version of the DC-4 but almost nothing except the tricycle landing gear was reused in the later DC-4. The DC-4E was too large for airline passenger demand n 1938 at 52 seats, was unreliable., complex, and slow, with a cruising speed slower than the twin engine DC-3. The single example was sold to Imperial Japanese Airways in late 1939. The Japanese government invented a cover story that the aircraft crashed into Tokyo Bay shortly after delivery. It was actually being reversed engineered into the Nakajima G5N bomber, as unsuccessful as the DC-4E.
Anyone else noticed that the narrator called the fighters, tei fighters? Interesting use of the word long before Star Wars, I wonder where the term came from, can't find any reference to it.
Looks like we had some catching up to do.
Opening scene? Carrier pigeons, the very best weapon the AAC had in 1940.
@stephenarling1667
3 жыл бұрын
Those are gulls.
No, not a passenger jet interior shot in 1940. Great footage of the Louisiana War games and many 30's aircraft. AT9, P36, prototype P40, B23, B18, B17A and many more. The Airacuda though was an absolute flop.
Some of these attempts were indeed pathetic, but others were simply alternative solutions to flying that didn't catch on and should be respected for their integral part in aviation design evolution history.
"Passenger Jet" ??
Isn’t it quite strange how KZread allows you to skip a Trump Add but doesn’t give you the option to skip a Biden?
@michaelbyrnee9584
Ай бұрын
That is because trump is a convicted felon, adulterer and pathological liar. I will not even bring up his disgraceful theft o
Everyone knows that Santos Dumont is the real resposible for the airplane invention.
@Uncle_Neil
5 жыл бұрын
Only in Brazil, everywhere else , not so much.
@arthurmartins5495
5 жыл бұрын
@@chopchop7938 Men were flying for ages at that time my friend, balloons, catapults, you name it, but, Dumont was the first inventor that flew by a motorized airplane, thus he is the true inventor of today airplanes. Get over it and praise him for his work. Have a great day
@sarjim4381
5 жыл бұрын
@@arthurmartins5495 Have you read any history outside of what you were taught in Brazil? Santos Dumont was a great pioneer in aviation, made many useful inventions, but he didn't make the first heavier than air engine powered flight.That was made by the Wright Bothers three years before Santos Dumont piloted the 14-bis in 1906. The flights of the Wright Brothers are well documented by films, photographs, and witnesses. Just because Santos Dumont refused to believe it happened doesn't mean it didn't happen. I don't know why Brazilians continue to cling to this discredited notion.
@arthurmartins5495
5 жыл бұрын
@@sarjim4381 I"m Portuguese tho
@sarjim4381
5 жыл бұрын
@@arthurmartins5495 If that's true, you have no excuse for pushing an historical falsehood. However, I've met many Portuguese living Brazil. I have no idea how you could buy into this lie without some family connection to Brazil.