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  • Aviation - Mid 20th Century

Aviation - Mid 20th Century archive HD footage

Traces aviation developments during World War II and after, in commercial aviation, including the first jet airplanes. It also covers NASA experimental "X" aircraft from the X-1 in the 1950s to the space shuttle near the end of the century.

An all-Dominion pursuit and bomber aircraft tested in Montreal, Canada.

A fast new dive bomber tested in Montreal, Quebec. An all-Dominion development pursuit and bomber combined parked at an air base. A ground crewman prepares the aircraft for the test flight. The pilot gives the signal and starts the engine. The aircraft taxis and takes off. The bomber in flight above the clouds as it hits a speed of 300 MPH. The pilot conducts test maneuvers.

United States Air Force's new sonic airplane X-4 Bantam takes off for its first flight test in Muroc, California.

A new sonic airplane tested in Muroc, California at (Muroc Air Base, then being renamed to Edwards Air Force Base). Northrop pilot Charles Tucker, wearing an oxygen gear, in United States Air Force's new research craft X-4 Bantam. The X-4 taxis and takes off for its first flight test. The X-4, the swept-wing, semi-tailless plane powered by gas turbine engines, in flight.

First test flight of the Douglas F5D-1 Skylancer aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, California

The first Douglas F5D-1 Skylancer aircraft (BuNo 139208) at Edwards AFB for its maiden flight on April 21, 1956, with test Douglas Aircraft test pilot Robert O. Rahn at the controls. Test pilot Rahn climbs aboard the aircraft, which is painted in U.S. Navy colors. After several views of pilot, Bob Rahn, in the cockpit, the scene shifts to the airplane on takeoff roll. It takes off smoothly accompanied by a T-33 chase plane. The F5D climbs out steeply and is next seen in level flight cruise configuration. The sequence concludes with the F5D on final approach and landing, with T-33 flying in parallel. The aircraft touches down smoothly and rolls out in a nose high attitude, seeming to almost drag its tail, but not quite. Photographers record the landing from the side of the runway. Reportedly the test flight was smooth overall and the aircraft easily exceeded the speed of sound on this, its first flight. (Note: The U.S. Navy cancelled the F5D Skylancer order, after only several aircraft were built. Two were eventually acquired by NASA.)

Engineers place helmet and oxygen mask over a dummy's head for rocket sled test of airplane ejection seat

Rocket sled test of aircraft ejection seat, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Engineers put a helmet and oxygen mask over a dummy's head. Rocket sled accelerates and ejection seat actuates. Seat seen flying through the air and finally hitting the ground. Braking head on the sled creates wave of water as it slows. Ejection seat and damaged head of the dummy on the ground. A pilot sits in cockpit of an airplane.

Technicians at control panels conducting stress tests of airplanes in Ohio, United States.

Stress tests of airplanes in Ohio, United States. Structural test hangar facilities in Ohio. Aircraft enclosed in test equipment and girders with instruments to measure force, stress and strain under normal and adverse conditions. Technicians at control panels examining the aircraft.

Test of airplane with counter-rotating propellers

Pilot stands near airplane and demonstrates counter-rotating propellers. Aircraft seen in flight.

A huge thirty passenger amphibious plane tested in Navy Yard of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

German amphibious plane tested. Crowd gathered around plane. Men work on plane. Plane slides down in water. Men assist flight operations. Planes in flight over water.

A new parasol plane tested in Glenview, Illinois.

Pilot and a man watch a parasol plane before its first trial flight in Glenview, Illinois. Plane with a single umbrella like wing, takes off. Plane in flight. Plane lands.

A C-123B transport aircraft tested for aerial transportation of large number of troops and vehicles at Fort Bragg.

A report on United States Air Force C-123B assault transport aircraft performance at Fort Bragg military installation in North Carolina. Infantry troops walks over a sandy ground during a simulated assault mission at Fort Bragg military installation. The troops board a C-123B provider transport aircraft. Three C-123Bs land at Sicily Drop Zone. The troops get off the C-123Bs. Vehicles unloaded from the C-123Bs. The aircraft taxi along rough field.

C-123B transport aircraft tested for performance at Ardmore Air Force Base in Oklahoma.

A report on United States Air Force C-123B assault transport aircraft performance test at Ardmore Air Force Base in Oklahoma. Nine C-123Bs taxi, make cross-wind take offs and in flight. Two C-123Bs land on a dirt strip. U.S. troops board a C-123B. Litter patients loaded into a C-123B at a simulated front line casualty station. The C-123B takes off from the dirt strip.

World's first vertical take off and landing plane tested near Munich, Germany

World's first vertical take off and landing airplane, the Dornier Do 31, is tested near Munich, Germany. Plane takes off as cameramen record the event. It makes hovering turns while in flight.

Bombing and sinking of warships off coast of United States as part of Genearal Billy Mitchell's demonstrations of air power.

Aerial view of target ship sinking after being bombed during tests of bomber capabilities against warships, in 1921, as part of General Billy Mitchell's demonstrations of airpower. Views of U.S. Navy battleships firing heavy guns at sea.

Rocket assisted take-off of C-119 from rough terrain at Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County, Florida.

Testing of aircraft for Strategic Air Command Escape and Evasion mission. RATO (rocket assisted take-off) of a United States Air Force C-119C airplane from rough terrain at Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County, Florida. Three different camera views of the takeoff.

XC-123 tested for short field landing capabilities at Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County, Florida.

Testing of aircraft for Strategic Air Command Escape and Evasion mission. An XC-123 performs a maximum performance landing on rough terrain at Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County, Florida. The aircraft makes normal approach, reverses propellers on touchdown, and applies full braking. Dust blows in front of the aircraft from the prop reversals.

Drogue Chute landing tests at Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County, Florida

Tests of aircraft for Strategic Air Command Escape and Evasion mission, conducted at Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County, Florida. A C-47F aircraft performs maximum perfornance landing employing a drogue chute to aid in stopping. Several views of the C-47F landing in rough terrain, trailing drogue parachute behind. As the plane lands, the parachute opens up and plane comes to an abrupt halt using reversed propellers and brakes as well.

Crew men work on a parked aircraft, and the aircraft in flight in Los Angeles.

Testing of aircraft at airfield in Los Angeles. Crew men work on an aircraft parked on an airfield. Captain Wilkins stand near the aircraft before his flight from Alaska to North Pole. The aircraft in flight over the city.

"Stratogyro," intended for flight to planet Mars, fails to fly at all during attempt in Hollywood, California

Pilot, "Doctor" Valentine Newbauer, and an assistant loading cargo aboard his failed flying contraption "Stratogyro," intended to fly to outer space and the planet Mars. Pilot Newbauer wears heavy flying suit and rubber boots. Assistant helps him don a metal helmet. He shows his special gloves. Pilot enters the plane, tests his controls and cranks a starter. Engine starts and large rotors begin to rotate. The entire ornithopter-helicopter machine vibrates, but does not move. Pilot shuts it down and steps out, removing his helmet and smiling. Assistants tow the machine back toward a shed. Repeat views of rotors turning; pilot testing controls; and cargo being loaded aboard.

Test subject and crew preparing for human downward ejection test at a USAF base in Unitd States.

Human downward ejection test subject (in pink) and other military personnel walking away from B-47 Stratojet, a USAF (United States Air Force) bomber. Test subject dons helmet. Installation of ejection seat into the nose section of B-47 Stratojet. Footage is from U.S. Air Force aero-medical studies.

Preparing for X-15 flight. Flight Simulators. Pressure suit testing. Rocket sled test of cockpit escape mechanism

Technician operates X-15 Flight simulator. Technician in cockpit of partial aircraft testing pump drain.Pilot enters large simulator mounted on moving apparatus, outdoors. Test pilot Scott Crossfield, in pressure flight suit, closes visor of his helmet and undergoes testing in low pressure chamber altitude simulator. Dummy testing of cockpit escape mechanism on rocket sled.

Assembling and flight operations of an OQ-14 for anti aircraft target practice in El Paso,Texas.

USAAF Radioplane OQ-14 (unmanned drone target plane) maneuvers in El Paso, Texas in Fort Bliss area. Airmen assembling the OQ-14 radio-controlled aircraft at the firing range at El Paso, Texas. Views of various parts of the target drone aircraft. Testing of hand control showing the tail maneuvering with the control. Views of the 22 HP Righter / Kiekhaefer O-45-1 engine. Airman checking the parachute installation on the target aircraft. This parachute is the means of landing the aircraft after power has been shut off. Two civilians crank the portable catapult launching ramp into the correct elevation position for launching the OQ-14. Radio control truck and equipment used to control the missile in flight. Interior of truck showing the various instrument panels. An airman giving signal for firing of the target aircraft. The aircraft OQ-14 in flight. The drone plane maneuvers. Ft Bliss Anti-aircraft gun position set up using 75mm cannons and 50 caliber gun mounts on trucks and on tanks. The OQ-14 in flight. The anti-aircraft crew firing up into the air at the drone. The anti-aircraft gun positions firing. Small arms fire at the drone aircraft. The test range showing an OQ-14 descending by means of parachute. (World War II period).

The fighter plane takes off from an airbase in United States.

A new fighter plane tested in United States. Fighter plane parked on the airbase. Pilot in the cockpit. The plane takes off.

A United States unmanned spy plane manufactured and tested

United States unmanned spy plane manufactured at a plant. Parachute attached to the plane. Plane tested as it takes off. A soldier fires machine gun at it and plane descends as a parachute opens. (World War II period).

Student pilots trained in California with a specially designed Lockheed jet aircraft.

Lockheed jet trainer aircraft tested in California. The student and instructor seated in a cockpit of the new Lockheed jet trainer. The jet taxis and takes off. The trainer and instructor seated in cockpit while formation. The jet aircraft lands at Burbank Airport. A parachute opens as the aircraft lands.

Flight testing of a bi-wing Berliner Helicopter in Washington DC.

Test flight of a Berliner helicopter by Henry Berliner. A hybrid airplane helicopter built by Emile Berliner and his son Henry Berliner is shown during a Washington DC test flight. It rises and move forward in short hops. The lighter weight design and high incidence large camber lower wing indicates it was likely built in 1924 or 1925 as one of the last Berliner models, following after a triplane version that was test flown in February 1924.

KC-135 takes off for its maiden test flight from the Renton Plant in Seattle, Washington.

Shows a series of pre-flight tests being performed on a Boeing KC-135 at the Boeing Flight Center of the Renton Plant in Seattle, Washington. Boeing wing flaps and tail rudder being tested. Technicians work at engines of KC-135. Interior view of a control room. KC-135 takes off for its maiden test flight. KC-135 in flight. KC-135 lands successfully after the test flight. Refueling boom of KC-135.

Major Stanley Umstead and Army crewmen boarding aircraft B-19 for test flight.

Views of aircraft B-19 and C-47 on ramp. Crewman walking on wings of B-19 and view of landing wheel. Major Stanley Umstead and crewman boarding B-19 and taking off for flight test. Umstead and others in cockpit of the plane and crewman going towards motor repair stations through passage in wings of the aircraft. B-19 flying over Los Angeles accompanied by aircraft P-40C.

Flight testing of Jet Fighter aircraft Chance Vought XF7U-1 built for the U.S. Navy.

Views of the Chance Vought swept-back jet fighter XF7U-1 (#122472) on runway of Patuxent Naval Air Station ready to take off. View of U.S. test pilot (possibly Robert Baker?) adjusting helmet. The aircraft takes off at a high speed. Photographers recording action as the aircraft goes aloft for a test flight.

Flight tests of Ercoupe airplane piloted by Captain Boushey and men assemble jet units for tests at March Field in California.

Flight tests of Ercoupe airplane without and with an auxiliary jet propulsion at March Field in California. Flight tests are carried out in early morning. The aircraft is piloted by Captain Homer A. Boushey, Jr. The pilot in the cockpit. Flight test crew unloads the boot of a car. The pilot in the Ercoupe airplane and the airplane is in hold down position for the measurement of static thrust of the propeller. Crew men assemble jet units for the tests. They work with the jet units. The car parked in the background. The airplane in stationary position for static tests.

A Tesla coil used to create voltage arcs that strike a composite aircraft at Wendover AFB in Utah.

Tests to determine structural integrity of aircraft composite materials by the U.S. Air Force Electromagnetic Hazards Group at Wendover Air Force Base in Utah. A model advanced development composite aircraft in vertical position. A Tesla Coil is used to create extremely high voltage arcs. The voltage arcs strike and pass through the composite aircraft.

Crew members test Strategic Air Command T 171/ A-5 Turret at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

Test of SAC (Strategic Air Command) T 171/ A-5 Turret at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Boeing B-47 Stratojet bomber parked on ground. Airman removes nose top of Boeing B-47 Stratojet aircraft. Another airman places an instrument atop target board. Airman looks into an instrument. Crew members check Gatling gun on Boeing B-47 Stratojet aircraft.

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