A U.S. Army VH-3A helicopter lands on the lawn of the Hotel General von Steuben, in Wiesbaden, Germany. A crowd of spectators stands across the drive from the hotel lawn, constrained by German policemen. U.S. Air Force Military policemen stand guard on the nearer side of the drive. Soon the Presidential VH-3 helicopter, Marine One, lands on the lawn. It displays the Presidential seal and that of the Military District of Washington, DC. Next, President John F. Kennedy is seen walking past the Army helicopter and into the U.S. Military's Hotel General von Steuben. He is accompanied by German Chancellor, Ludwig Erhard, U.S. Secretary of State, Dean Rusk and U.S. Army Aide, Brigadier General Chester V. Clifton, along with a phalanx of Secret Service Agents. Other officials look out from a dining room window of the hotel as the Presidential party arrives. (Note: In the 1950s, the U.S. built three large military hotels in Wiesbaden. In 1951,a star-shaped Hotel [the American Arms] was built on Frankfurter Strasse. In 1955, the 9-story Amelia Earhart Hotel was opened. It was a utilitarian structure, with row after row of windows. President Nixon once stayed there. It closed in 1995. The General von Steuben Hotel, depicted in this film, was the newest, built in 1956, on Auguste Viktoria Strasse, near the train station. It is now a commercial hotel, "the Dorint Hotel Pallas Wiesbaden.")
View inside mess tent set up on Wiesbaden Air Force Base in Wiesbaden, Germany, to support personnel in NATO Exercise Cirrus, 1951. Cooks are seen preparing and cooking food in large trays, and placing some in strainers to be served. Scene shifts to cooks dispensing dinners to some NATO airmen as they pass along in a chow line.
Exercise Cirrus, an air exercise for the Allied air forces in Central Europe, that ran concurrently , part of the time, with Exercise Jupiter, a three-day, French-directed war game involving Allied forces in Europe (principally Germany). A band and honor guard are seen prepared for the arrival of senior air commanders at Wiesbaden Air Force Base, West Germany, involved in Exercise Cirrus. Glimpse of C-47 aircraft lined up on the field. A United States Air Force C-54 transport aircraft taxis into the airfield ramp with engines one and four shut down. A North American T-6 Texan training aircraft is seen in the background. The C-54 circles to where a greeting committee of Allied Air Force officers is standing. Closeup of the aircraft door being opened and a rolling stairs being placed at the doorway. Inside of door displays insignia of States Air Forces Europe (USAFE). Exiting the aircraft is Lieutenant General Lauris Norstad, commander in chief, of USAFE, with headquarters at Wiesbaden, Germany. (On April 2, 1951 he assumed additional duty as commanding general of the Allied Air Forces in Central Europe under the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Powers in Europe.) He is accompanied by General Bjarne Øen, Chief of the Norwegian Air Force. As they descend the stairs, they are greeted by a group of officers including: Major General Truman H Landan, Deputy Commanding Officer, USAFE ( United states Air force in Europe ), Lieutenant General Robert W Harper, Commander, U.S. Air Force Air Training Command, Colonel Rich, chief of Staff 12th Air Force and Colonel Roberts, Commanding Officer Wiesbaden Air Force Base. After mingling and conversing, Generals Norstad and Oen and their escorts exchange salutes with the color guard. A car arrives and Norstad and Oen step into it and and drive away.
Operation Jupiter, Wiesbaden Germany. A motorcade of U.S. Army staff cars drives along the edge of the Airbase at wiesbaden, Germany. A USAF C-47 aircraft is parked nearby. Next, military officers are seen, from behind, walking toward large white tents pitched on the airfield grounds. General Dwight D. Eisenhower is recognizable, walking rapidly, with American and Italian officers. The most senior American officer in the accompanying group is USAF Major General Truman H. Landon, Deputy commander-in-chief and chief of staff for U.S. Air Forces Europe (USAFE). He seems content to stay pretty much in the background during the tour. Three Italian fliers are seen in closeup, standing in front of an Italian de Havilland DH-100 Vampire aircraft. They come to attention as General Eisenhower approaches. He shakes their hands and speaks with them. Italian and American officers huddle around him as he continues speaking with the Italian fliers. Eisenhower and his entourage walk through a line of parked Italian DH-100s and he speaks with several more Italian aircrews. Still moving at a brisk pace, Eisenhower crosses to a bivouac area of large brown tents, that he inspects. His principal tour guide from this point on is USAF Colonel George Laven, Commander, of the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing. The group then crosses to an area paved with Marsden matting (Pierced steel planking) where several F-84E aircraft of the USAF 527th Fighter-Bomber Squadron (86th Fighter-Bomber Wing) are parked. Eisenhower stops to speak with a pilot and two airmen standing in front of one of the planes and continues on to meet several more.
Film opens with glimpse of an American 1950 Buick sedan and two cars behind it, parked on a flight line near a line of Italian de Havilland Vampire jet fighter planes. Scene changes to General Lauris Norstad, commander in chief, of USAFE (United states Air force in Europe) making a brief inspection of a tent camp of the Italian Air Force fliers who are participating in Exercise Cirrus, an air exercise for the Allied air forces in Central Europe. He and Italian Air Force officers walk back to his 1950 Buick sedan staff car, parked on the flight line. The officers and General Norstad exchange salutes and hand shakes, and Norstad enters the back seat of his car. The Italian officers enter another 1950 Buick sedan, that displays 4 stars on its bumper. Change of scene shows General Norstad and others near some large olive drab tents where American fliers in flight gear are standing about conversing. General Norstad enters one of the tents followed by a photographer. He is followed by an unidentified U.S. Air Force Major General Who exits soon after and walks away. As Norstad emerges from the tent, the U.S. fliers move out of his way and exchange salutes with him as he passes. Shift in scene shows Norstad exiting another tent and then being surrounded by American and Italian officers. A field ambulance is seen in the background. General Norstad moves to the head of the group, accompanied by a U.S. Air Force colonel. Others in the group follow.
Film begins showing an auxiliary power unit under the wing of a Republic F-84 Thunderjet parked on Marsden matting at Wiesbaden Air Force Base in Germany, during Exercise Cirrus. A ground crewman uncoils the electric cable from the unit and plugs it into a receptacle under the aircraft wing. View of the man crouching below the wing. He then stands and starts the power unit. The aircraft's crew chief's name, "T/Sgt G.Cavert," is stenciled beneath the cockpit. Scene changes to an F-84 sitting alone on the airfield. Tents are seen in the background. A ground crewman approached the aircraft, climbs a ladder, opens latches securing the machine gun compartment, and raises the compartment cover forward, exposing the M3 browning machine guns inside. Closeup of the man sitting atop the open compartment.Camera focuses on his hands as he pries some cartridges from a gun and closes its cover.