Early historic aviation footage focusing on French aviation pioneers like Gabriel Voisin and Alberto Santos-Dumont. An early French float plane taking off and landing. Multiwing box-like aircraft. Two early French monoplanes. Early aircraft that set performance records. 1919 picture of Raymonde de Laroche, Baroness de la Rouche, world's first woman flyer. Additional scenes of historical French aircraft and a scene with American pilot Glenn Curtiss.
British troops in deep trenches lined with woven branches, on the Western Front in World War 1. Slate refers to gas alarm with Strombos horn. British soldiers immediately don their gas masks and take up defensive firing positions in their trench. Gas fumes are seen drifting over the trench. View from the trench, of gas cloud over No-Man's land, with barbed wire and some snow on the ground. [Note: The Strombos horn,was operated by compressed air and could be heard for several miles. But as use of gas shells increased, and such attacks tended to be localized, other alarms were employed, instead, such as metal shell cases, steel triangles, watchmen's rattles, klaxon horns, etc.] (World War I; World War 1; WWI; WW1)
Baroness de la Rouche,world's first woman flier, climbing down from an airplane. Attendants meet her and place a coat around her shoulders.
Aviation pioneer, Henri Farman, preparing to compete for the Deutsch-Archdeacon prize, by flying a closed one-kilometer course in one minute. He and his ground crew are seen going over his airplane carefully. The box-like tail section of his Voisin airplane, has the words: Henri Farmanni, displayed on it. Farman takes off in his airplane.
General Alfred M. Gruenther stands with other top NATO officers as he begins his assignment as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). Others seen include U.S. Air Force General Lauris Norstad; British Field Marshal Montgomery; and French Marshal Juin. Flags are lowered and then all NATO country flags are raised. General Gruenther speaks briefly from the podium. Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) emblem is seen on shoulder of a soldier. General Gruenther is congratulated by several of the other senior NATO officers.
French troops engage Germans (not seen) from trenches only 40 feet apart, during World War 1. explosions create a line of white smoke in background, as French troops are photographed in a deep trench by camera from above. Glimpse of a French Schneider 240 mm howitzer firing. Shells striking and heavy white smoke rising. French troops in a deep trench, lined with woven wood sticks. They use a grenade launcher to propel ball grenades. Grenades striking and raising clouds of white smoke. A French soldier by several canisters placed in a trench. He ignites one that begins to emit white smoke. He quickly leaves the trench as all the canisters ignite and generate large clouds of white gas that drifts toward the German trenches. Views from evacuated position of the gas rising and drifting. Several French artillerymen firing a heavy gun. They run to the rear of the gun as it fires and some cover their ears. More views of the gas drifting toward German trenches. A German shell explodes on or near the French trench where the gas is being generated. A battery of French 120mm long guns mounted on railway flat cars. They fire tear gas shells. View of the same trenches shown earlier, with gas continuing to cloud the area, and a shell exploding in the midst of it. French soldiers in a fortified position,load,tighten,and release a grenade launcher, propelling a grenade toward German positions. An Aasen mortar (Mortier Aasen) 3.5-inch (88.9-mm) gun-mortar firing gas shells from a trench. White smoke rising from shell strikes. Small German shell or grenade, exploding just outside a French trench. French soldiers hunched down and moving quickly through a trench, and then going "over the top," in a charge. (Note: This footage was filmed by the famous American World War 1 photographer, Donald C. Thompson, as indicated in the opening slate.)
CRITICALPAST.COM: About Us | Contact Us | FAQs - How to Order | License Agreement | My Account | My Lightboxes | Shopping Cart | Advanced Search | Featured Collections | Website Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Links ©2024 CriticalPast LLC.
License Agreement |
Terms & Conditions |
Privacy Policy
©2024 CriticalPast LLC.