 picture. An official report produced for the armed forces and the American people. Now to show you part of the big picture, here is Sergeant Stuart Queen. 1958 marked the 16th anniversary of Army aviation. Although within the Army itself, the development of Army aviation is considered to be one of the most significant of modern times, this function still is little known or understood outside the service. Three factors are indispensable to victory in war, fire power, mobility, and communications. Success invariably goes to the side which has the greatest punch, and along with it the ability to move in quickly and exploit that punch. In short, the power to outmaneuver and outfire the enemy. The tools and the techniques of war change, but this principle of combat itself remains as true today as it has ever been. For years, indeed, for centuries, fire power and mobility were substantially in balance on the battlefield. Warfare was characterized by movement by foot, and soldiers could carry their muskets and drag their cannon with them. On the battlefields of World War I, however, warfare became stalemating. New weapons brought a greater firepower than any army had ever had before. But this technological advance and firepower had outpaced mobility. Troops could not move fast enough to take advantage of their own increased firepower or move against the enemies, and the battleground became stabilized in a system of French warfare until movement was restored with the development of the tank. Then the Allied armies were able to break out of their containment and begin the advance which ultimately crushed German resistance. During World War II, firepower and mobility were once again substantially in balance. The ground soldier had the support of a powerful array of armaments, and the army's ability to move had kept oppressed of this strength. With the atomic age came the signal that once again firepower was out distancing mobility. Firepower at the army's disposal today, nuclear and conventional, is spectacular. But to be able to use it to its fullest advantage, the army must be mobile enough to move in quickly and exploit it before the enemy can rally to an effective defense. The army, moreover, must be mobile enough to function on the atomic battlefield that the battlefield of the future may well be. Under conditions of atomic warfare, a field unit will have to be able to operate widely dispersed over great distances in order to survive an enemy atomic attack and still be able to come together and move quickly in order to follow through on any nuclear assault directed against the enemy. It is for these reasons that your army works unceasingly to develop the mobility upon which victory and war will depend. It is this effort to increase the army's mobility which gives army aviation its vital significance. Army aviation does not in any sense duplicate the tactical missions of the Air Force. Fire support which the Air Force gives the army and the assistance it provides in increasing the army's mobility are important to the army's mission. But these and related functions remain what they have been in two armed conflicts. Support given to the army by a sister service. They are not army functions. The army is concerned as it has always been with the land battle and the function of army aviation is solely to increase the army's ability to win the land battle by increasing its mobility within the confines of the battlefield itself. On 65,000 acres of ground in Southeast Alabama and in the skies above it stands the home of army aviation. Fort Rocker above the best is the motto of the men who have learned to fly the machines which give the army a new dimension in mobility. Graduation day at Fort Rocker marks the end of an arduous training period but also the beginning of a new phase in the careers of the men who have made it. For them and for their families it is a time of pride. The mark of the army pilot is the mark of skill and devotion, endurance and toughness. The story of army aviation is the story of no one branch of the army but rather the story of a new and rapidly growing development whose effect is felt throughout the army in almost every branch of its service. It is the vigorous story of youth and new ideas. It is properly the story of the young men who qualify as its pilots. Men like First Lieutenant Ralph Ferguson, they are the inheritors today of a tradition which began in the skies over North Africa during the first year of American involvement in World War II. The mission was strictly that of observation for the adjustment of artillery fire. Those first months of trial in combat were difficult ones. The restrictions placed on the first planes in action limited their activities considerably. According to approved doctrine, flights were to last no longer than necessary for one artillery adjustment. An estimated maximum time of seven minutes over our gun positions. The plane was actually an elevated observation post to be used for the direction of artillery fire only under emergency conditions. Even under these restrictions, however, the success of aerial observation was soon demonstrated. Light aviation proved in battle had come to be recognized as an indispensable part of the army. When the challenge of Korea came, aircraft had been improved and their mission of observation well established. They were the eyes of the artillery and most observed fire in Korea was adjusted from army aircraft. At the same time that light aircraft was demonstrating its effectiveness in directing artillery fire, the fast moving history of modern warfare was revealing other areas in which the speed and mobility of aircraft could be used to priceless advantage. Routed man for all of his progress was at the mercy of the terrain within the battle zone. A river of mud could halt the course of battle and even turn a winning tide to defeat. Supply lines, the vital arteries without which a combat effort dies, could be strained to the danger point and beyond it and all too often were at the mercy of impossible conditions imposed by the earth itself. Even the wounded and the men who carry them were forever frustrated by situations beyond anyone's control. The struggle for life in a badly wounded man in need of medical attention depended on variables that could produce tragic results. Yes the need was there, written on every page of the army's experience with war in remote lands. The need for the ability to master the terrain or function independently of it. History works in strange ways. It is possible to say now looking back that even as the need was being made apparent for a degree of mobility the army had not possessed technological progress had brought aircraft to the point where they could provide that mobility. Greater range, greater speed and greater versatility came with each new model. The most dramatic development of all was the improvement of the helicopter. For several years it had been a fascinating toy but now it had reached a technical stage which calls serious attention to its amazing powers of maneuverability and its ability to land in an area not much larger than its own dimensions. The helicopter was put to a dramatic test in Korea. The mercy mission of evacuating wounded soldiers from the hilly jagged terrain where most of the fighting took place. It was a thoroughly successful test. One medical group with its organic helicopters evacuated more than 20,000 casualties by helicopter. It proved conclusively that along with fixed wing light aircraft the helicopter had a definite place in army aviation. Full of army aviation has grown enormously in the years since Korea. Its missions are now far more extensive. Important among them is still the mercy mission of casualty evacuation. A mission much more efficient now because of the steady development of larger helicopters. The helicopter's development has enabled it to contribute to the mobility of the army in a way scarcely dreamed of in World War II. Groups transported over short distances by helicopter can move toward their objective independent of terrain features. Over obstacles which always before have made military movement difficult, time-consuming or impossible. Along with their freedom from the tyranny of terrain, combat ready troops transported by air can move in to close with the enemy in literally a fraction of the time their travel once took. Short haul transport of critical equipment to forward areas of the combat zone is also a mission which army aviation can fulfill today. Reducing the importance of roads as a logistical factor. The fighting man at the front can be assured of the combat support which makes his fight possible. Whatever the nature of the terrain which links him with the rear area. Adjustment of artillery fire, the original mission of army aviation is still an important function. But the concept of using aircraft for observation has broadened greatly. Hound has always been one of the most important pieces of real estate on the battlefield because of its advantage of observation and the infantryman has had to fight better for it. Now the aeroplane equipped with TV and other electronic devices can give the commander eyes he never had in battle before. It serves as an observation post offering a view of the battle area. Aviation gives the commander a great many advantages such as personal inspection of widely dispersed forces. For the first time in military history a division commander can inspect all of his units in one day. Although the purpose of army aviation is support of tactical operations in combat its pilots have performed with bravery in civil disasters and emergencies. Mercy and rescue missions for people in distress whether in situations involving a few or in disasters affecting many have attested again and again the versatility of the machines of army aviation and the skill and courage of the men who fly them. The men who fly them that means men like Lieutenant Ferguson or it will anyway after today now that their preparation is over. As much as I've waited for today I'm sorry to see it end. These past 12 weeks of advanced training have been tough but I've learned a lot. It wasn't just flying either we all knew how to fly when we came to Rucker. We got our primary training at Gary Army Airfield Texas came here for tactical training. What the instructors taught us we'll really be able to use. Some of the planes we flew were great big or flashy but they were selected for the way they're able to do precisely what the army needs doing. There was a time when I would have thought any instructor crazy to ask a man to sit down and some of the one horse pastures we get used to but not anymore. I might have to get in and out of much worse than that someday under noisier conditions. They taught us that so far as we would be concerned on our missions in the future emergency conditions would be routine conditions. An army in the field can't take time out to build airports. We spend a lot of our time on the books. They packed a lot of theory into those weeks as well. I know just how important I am to this army now and how important army aviation is if we're going to be able to move a combat ready force in and out in a hurry or spot artillery fire or do a lot of other jobs that can't be done effectively any other way. Instruction and helicopter flying goes on here too. Tactical instruction for rotary wing pilots who've already had their basic flight training. Those of us who've qualified for fixed wing flying are eligible to come back here for helicopter training after we spend a year with troops. I'm looking forward to that. I've flown as a passenger in helicopters and I know there's nothing quite like it. Flying adds a third dimension to ordinary mobility but when it's done in a helicopter you have to add about six more. You find out that choppers have to be flown too. Basically the helicopter is an unstable aircraft. The pilot has to keep his hands and feet in mind on what he's doing at all times. If his performance is good the aircraft will do as well. Follow us on this ride. Contour flying is a fundamental part of the army's approach to aviation. The army's a land force and our job in combat is to get and keep control of the land. We look upon our flying machines as instruments to help us get from one place to another as quickly as possible but without sacrificing our control of the land. There are machines which let us do our job in spite of terrain obstacles. They give us mastery over the terrain. We just move along with it high enough not to be impeded by barriers but low enough to be out of radar scope and low enough to use the features of terrain to keep the enemy from seeing us. Here's the technique of contour flying a tactical necessity. It's also a tremendous thrill and each time you put down after a workout like this you feel as if you just had quite an experience and who keep the aircraft running get the kind of instruction they need to. Their theory of instruction is the same as ours. Learn by doing. You find lots of new things around here. Experiments that aren't even part of army doctrine yet. Take the high performance aircraft for instance. It's not really ours. The Air Force loaned it to us. We're using it to study the techniques of observation from high speed aircraft or take the experiments that are being made with armed helicopters. That's one that's being studied very seriously too. The theory is that a helicopter ought to have the ability to protect itself just as any other vehicle should make sense to me. Everything here makes sense to me. I'm sold on the idea that the army's future is being molded right here. There isn't any site that will give you any better idea of the changes that have come to our army and this one. Maybe none of this will ever have to be tested in real war. That's what we're all hoping of course. But if it does get forced into test by combat, army aviation will give a great account of itself. Let's put all this equipment on a battlefield. A fictional battlefield of course. Since many of these machines have never seen combat and some of them are still being tested for concept. But let's see what would happen and how they would be used. This is the battlefield. The enemy is conducting a delaying operation and our forces are rapidly in pursuit to keep him from reorganizing. The enemy sits beyond that ridge. Our commander has reason to suspect the enemy has a missile emplacement which he intends to use against us. It is of the utmost necessity that it be destroyed immediately before it can be employed against our forces. Too much delay will give the enemy the advantage that might prove fatal. The commander orders into operation his fully equipped aircraft which can make its reconnaissance in a matter of minutes. It accomplishes his mission and relays the information back and the army's deadly corporal missile is launched to seek out and destroy the enemy's missile emplacement. The infantry loads quickly into helicopters. The equipment they will need in combat goes with them. Aerial combat reconnaissance ships with the traditional mission of cavalry screen the area. Search out enemy resistance. Determine its strength so the job of the main force will be made easier. The weapons with which these helicopters are armed do more than enable the ships to defend themselves. They also enable the craft to perform reconnaissance by fire. An integral part of the cavalry mission. By firing into the enemy's positions and drawing his fire they can better estimate the enemy's strength. Their easy maneuverability permits the helicopters to take full advantage of the terrain for protection. Rise and fire. Duck down and hide again. Behind the reconnaissance helicopters come the heavier weapon ships. More heavily armed than the reconnaissance craft. They put down a tremendous rain of fire into the enemy area. Screen of fire. The infantry unload from the ships which have carried them into the combat area. Team troops come their equipment. And the communications which will keep their operation unified. The infantry are able to move in close to the firing helicopters. The enemy's defenses begin to crumble. In a matter of minutes a victory is won which in other circumstances might have taken hours. On this theoretical battlefield weapons and machines which are in existence today have been combined to demonstrate how a combat action could be fought if war broke out now. Army aviation the fastest growing development in military services is providing the United States Army with the mobility to match its firepower and make it the most effective land force on the face of the earth and just a little above it. The story of army aviation does not end with the demonstration of existing machines and methods you have seen. It is a continuing story developing as the process of technology on which its future rest develops. Experiments are going on today with machines that are truly incredible. Individual lift devices such as the flying platforms and others of similar principles and similar purpose. Aircraft of radical design with vertical takeoff and landing powers. And on the drawing boards are machines of even more spectacular possibilities. An aerial jeep. And aerial assault vehicle. A flying crane that will be able to carry as much as 12 tons for distances of 25 to 50 miles. Perhaps not all of these vehicles will actually become realities. The tests that lie between concept and practice are severe ones. But they are representative of the ideas that emerge in the continuous never ending effort to develop the army's mobility. Increase it and increase it still more. There is no doubt that just as aircraft in the last few years have augmented the army's potential in battle substantially improved aircraft in the years ahead will develop it further. And in the process the weapons and the concept of army aviation may well revolutionize the tactics of ground warfare in the future that lies just before us. Now this is Sergeant Stuart Queen your host for the big picture. The big picture is an official report for the armed forces and the American people. Produced by the Army Pictorial Center presented by the Department of the Army in cooperation with the state.