U.S. soldier checks dead Vietcong lying on ground. Smoke rises in the distant background. Soldier removes items from dead Vietcong, turns the body over and picks up B-40 rockets. Bombs explode and smoke rises from area as A-1H helicopters attack Vietcong on perimeter of Tan Son Entrance. U.S. Air Force trooper watches bombs exploding. He moves away. Aircraft in flight. Smoke and fire rise during bombing attack. USAF men stand near vehicle. Two tanks in motion at Tan Son Entrance Airfield. USAF personnel lay prone along runway with M-16s. Men along runway wait to attack. Troops walk towards vehicle. (Vietnam War period).
Film shows early sailing ships near New Amsterdam and the initial layout of the city. Scene transitions to larger later map of the city. Numerous views of illustrated 17th century sailing ships in various conditions including severe storms at sea. Deck plan of a slave ship with maximum number of occupants shown in extreme close quarters. Ship deck filled with persons immigrating to America. American harbors filled with sailing ships. A skirmish at outset of American Revolution. Scene of American frontier wilderness with images of plow and flintlock rifle overlaid on it. Settlers traveling on river in a barge. The Boston massacre of March 5, 1770. City policemen subduing rioters. Settlers heading west in wagons. Immigrants leaving foreign shore board a ship. View of them on deck of the ship to America. New York City waterfront in 19th Century with sailing ships lined up side-by-side and pier clogged with cargoes. Workers on construction project using makeshift wooden plank bridges to traverse stream and work at the job site. Views of various building tradesmen engaged in construction project. View of city harbor filled with ships, now including some steam ships, and many substantial buildings.
Multiple retakes during filming at the Air Force Test Pilot School in Edwards Air Force Base, California. Film opens showing Brigadier General James Stewart speaking with Base Commander, Brigadier General Irving L. Branch. They are standing outside a building labeled: "United States Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School." Air Force officers and airmen going to and from the building walk past the two as they converse. (Those passing do not salute, so as not to disturb the filming.) After a while, the two Generals descend steps toward the Pilot School entrance. At TC:01:08, the sequence is reshot. At TC: 02:04, the Generals disappear but filming continues. At TC:02:14, another sequence begins with frontal closeup of General Branch and the back of General Stewart, as they face each other. The two continue a sustained conversation, and finally turn to enter the school building. This scene is retaken several times. The next scene begins with frontal closeup of Jimmy Stewart, who appears to be conversing with General Branch (not seen). Stewart blinks as something seems to get into his eyes. The scene is shot twice more.
A group of experienced military aviator students work at classroom desks in the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School. They wear shirts and ties, but no badges of rank or ratings. Closeup of one is followed by camera panning across the room. One student sits next to a celestial globe with a geopolitical globe of the world in its center.. The student refers to the model as he works. Scene is interrupted by a slate and picks up again for a retake at beginning of the film. A brief slate is followed by view of students performing calculations and charting data points on graph paper.
Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, United Sates. An instrumented Air Force student at the Aerospace Research Pilot school is tested on a treadmill. He has monitoring instruments on his wrists and in a belt around his waist, and walks at a steady pace. Camera focuses on his feet as he keeps steady pace. The treadmill begins to slow at the very end of the film.
Aerospace Research Pilot School in United Sates. Brigadier General James Stewart with a researcher at a laboratory. A microscope on table. General Stewart looks through microscope. He talks to the researcher and looks again in microscope. They continue conversing and Stewart looks into the microscope several times. Closeup of Stewart looking into the microscope.