"THE GIANT STEP" 25th ANNIVERSARY OF U.S. AIR FORCE (1972)

Synopsis

The Giant Step is a film that celebrates the 25th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force in 1972 by telling the story of the people and developments of flight in the U.S. The film begins with a single prop plane sitting on a runway with a sunrise or sunset in the background (01:07). A montage of photos and footage shows a brief history of flight, starting with some of the earliest developments and attempts of flight, up through the Spirt of St. Louis flight and on to the modern military achievements of aviation. German planes fly in the sky around or during WWI (03:54). General Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold (04:32) addresses the country announcing the need for a massive aviation industry in America. Colonel Bruce Arnold, Hap Arnold’s son, talks about his father’s contribution to air power. A supersonic jet, an SR-71 Blackbird, takes off (06:37). Harry Truman signs off on the creation of a separate Air Force on 18 September 1947 (06:54). The film then shows viewers a montage of photos from the 1940s. Next, General Carl “Tooey” Spaatz, the first Air Force Chief of Staff, discusses the need to have a separate air force (08:30). Footage shows trains stopping their travel to Berlin (09:08) and the beginning of the Berlin Blockade. The U.S. prepares for the Berlin Airlift during Operation Vittles, using C-47 Skytrains, Douglas DC-3s, C-74 Globemasters, and C-54 Skymasters. Footage shows various aircraft flying, firing up their engines and taking off, as well as landing at Tempelhof…

Uploader's description on archive.org

Details

Running time

39 minutes

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage