Early attempts at flight during history of aviation. The Pitt Sky Car ornithopter device is seen: A car equipped with an umbrella-like rotor intended for vertical takeoff. 'Sky car' written on a cloth sign on the chassis of the aircraft. A man in aviator's clothing seated at the controls of the machine. The powerful motions of the pulsating rotor cause the machine to rise several inches. But it simply drops to the ground again. This happens with each oscillation of the rotor. (The motor-rotor devise was invented by John W. Pitts, of Detroit, Michigan, and patented in 1926. However, as seen in these images, it was a failure.)
Montage of scenes illustrating development of mechanized warfare beginning with American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) engaged in World War I. U.S. Army infantry soldiers moving out of trenches going "over the top" into "no man's land" and advancing on battlefield. U.S. troops firing Browning M1917 machine gun,1903 Springfield rifles, and Stokes mortar from trench positions. Soldiers firing mortar are wearing gas masks. AEF trucks and other vehicles ostensibly an improvement over horses, but seen having difficulty in mud. A truck pulling a large artillery gun. A German 80cm K (E) rail gun (developed in 1934) shown at the Rugenwalde Test Range in Germany. It moves along curving rails and is elevated to its maximum elevation (65 degrees). Two World War 1 rail guns firing. An American World War I Naval 14-inch rail gun firing. Allied heavy howitzers firing in World War 1 (one with gun crew in gas masks). American gunners with a French 75 field piece and caisson. French soldier advancing in no-mans-land. The Wright brothers brought warfare into the air with their Wright Flyer airplane, seen being maneuvered on the ground by U.S. Army personnel at Fort Myer, Virginia in July 1909. A De Havilland DH-4 airplane taking off in World War I. A German Fokker D.VIII in flight.Three U.S. Army Air Service Curtiss P-1B Hawk pursuit aircraft in flight, circa 1926. Aerial dog fight scene including view from behind a pilot in open cockpit biplane (from feature film, circa 1927). Brief view of Renault FT tank maneuvering in World War I. Narrative and clips shift to historical perspective of warfare, showing use of horse and chariot,starting in ancient Assyria and use of elephants in later years by Hannibal.Pictures of mounted soldiers, in the middle ages, waging war in armor, and being transported in a wagon. Shift to World War I showing British Mark IV tanks maneuvering in a field.
A Rear Admiral steps from a doorway, resplendent in special full dress uniform, complete with cocked hat and special embroidered rank insignia on his sleeve. The uniform appears to be European (not American). The scene is repeated in a second take. A French aviator, in leather jacket, walks in front of an early French biwing headless pusher airplane parked in an open hangar. (Unlike a Curtiss headless pusher aircraft, this one does not have tricycle lsnding gear.) He bends to greet a little girl who walks to meet him with her mother. The three pose for the camera. Next scene shows U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Richard H. Jackson (Commander Battleship Divisions Battle Fleet, 1925-1926). He steps from a building followed by Naval officers. Jackson converses with a young Navy Captain, as others relax behind them. . Closeup of Admiral Jackson and the Captain. The group moves away. Next, a fairly young U.S. Navy Rear Admiral (unidentified) is seen in front of a long, wide, set of granite steps, shaking hands with a Navy Petty officer. They engage in conversation and then the Petty Officer leaves, followed by the Admiral. Next, is seen the entrance to a building numbered 22, that has U.S. Navy signs in its windows. A U.S. Navy Rear Admiral (unidentified) exits the building, accompanied by a Commander and a Lieutenant Commander. The weather is cold enough to show visible moisture from their breaths. The three share entertaining conversation , including smiles and laughs.
Commander Richard E. Byrd, receives the National Geographic Society Hubbard Gold Medal, from President Calvin Coolidge. The event takes place on June 23, 1926, in the auditorium of the National Geographic Headquarters, at 1146 Sixteenth Street, in Washington DC. The audience includes Mrs. Coolidge (on the stage) as well as cabinet officers; members of the diplomatic corps; and National Geographic Society members. Scene shifts to grounds of the White House, on February 27, 1927, as President Calvin Coolidge places the Tiffany Cross Medal of Honor around the neck of Commander Richard E. Byrd. Those seen in the ceremony are, from left to right: Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore D. Robinson; Secretary of the Navy Curtis Wilbur; Commander Richard E. Byrd, USN; President Calvin Coolidge; Warrant Officer Floyd Bennett, USN; and Admiral Edward W. Eberle, USN, Chief of Naval Operations. Closeup of Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett, wearing their medals.
A Ford 5-AT Tri-motor Float plane is seen being moving under its own power in a river during tests in 1925. (Its first flight was in 1926.) Later, it is seen being towed close to a tugboat, by a line fastened to its nose. Two men in life jackets stand atop its wing, and several follow in a dory. Several men monitor the tow line from the back of the tugboat.
The American Interplanetary Society's first liquid fuel rocket is launched from Staten Island in New York, United States in 1933. George Edward Pendray of the AIS, and his associate preparing for the launch. The 7 1/2 foot rocket is placed on a stand. Other men look on. The rocket, fueled with gasoline and liquid oxygen, takes off. Its fuel tank overheats and explodes moments after takeoff and the rocket crashes to the beach below. (From a November 10, 1958 newsreel recounting events 25 years earlier. The world's first successful liquid fuel rocket was launched by Robert Goddard in Auburn, Massachusetts, on 16 March 1926. This film records the first such attempt under auspices of the American Interplanetary Society, in 1933. )
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