This film has been presented by the US Air Troops. At (:12) the Department of the Air Force seal appears and it’s setting is the Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio (:32). This is the site of the first reunion of WW1 Overseas Flyers. Captain Eddie Rickenbacker is seen at (1:00) and Captain Arthur Ray Brooks (1:28) is seen signing the guest book. The World-Wide Flyers Reunion Attendance poster appears in the background and one man adds his name to the 27th division (1:52). The event lasted four days and entailed entertainment as well as dinning (2:07). At the banquet a wire from the then president Kennedy is read (2:47) and the president of the Dayton area Chamber of Commerce has sponsored the banquet (3:03). General Carl A. Spaatz (3:15) and Captain Rickenbacker both speak (3:22). Through a tour of the museum, viewers can see the location of each AEF squadron in France on a map on the wall (3:52). WW1 recruitment posters are shown reading phrases such as “Join the Army Air Force, Be an American Eagle!” (4:14) are depicted.
The first military plane was manufactured by the Wright Brothers (4:25), flown in 1909 and purchased by the Signal Corps for $25,000 is shown along with a detailed sign including length, weight, speed and engine capacity (4:29).
Numerous other historic planes follow, one being the Bell X1B (4:48) which had hit an altitude record of over 90,000 feet. The world’s first and only recognized “ace bomber” was the B29 Command Decision (4:59). The J34 developed by the Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division (5:05) as well as the Old Curtis Jenny (5:22) are documented as well.
Many ancient war planes took off from the Wright Patterson Flight line (5:40). Examples depicted are the D7 (5:51), the standard E1 (6:23); American designed and constructed, and the Nieuport 28 (6:43); the French fighter plane. The Sopwith Camel; the English fighter plane appears shortly after (7:16).
An exhibition in stunt flying includes moves such as the inside and outside loops, rolls, spins, and even inverted flight (8:02). The USAF Thunderbirds roar onto film at (8:15). More modern developments since the first world war also included the B52 bombers and the KC-135 Stratotanker (9:20).
The sentry dogs which were trained for aircraft guard show their own skills (10:03). The film nears it’s end with the farewell banquet and melancholy singing of old time tunes (10:19).
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: "01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference."
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 http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
