 This is The Big Picture, an official television report of the United States Army, produced for the armed forces and the American people. Now to show you part of The Big Picture, here is Master Sergeant Stuart Quain. In the fall of 1907, the United States Army purchased from two bicycle mechanics named Wright, the first military plane. Guarantee to remain aloft for one hour, it carried two persons. At an airspeed of 40 miles an hour, it was light enough to be transported in an army wagon. Fifty years have passed since 1907. The miracle of flight has become a common place reality. There seems no limit to aviation progress. This is the Army's tribute to the pilots, the mechanics, the engineers, and the countless others who have given wings to man's dreams. This is the age of flight, the air age. Today, air power is a dominant factor in the American defense program. Far out from all four corners of the United States, Navy and Air Force radar planes are spreading an aerial umbrella across the sky. Careful men, guarding against any sudden attack. They are a vital link in a radar team that includes the due line early warning stations in Northern Canada, Texas tower installations at sea, and Navy picket ships. America has a shield of radar which will search out unknown aircraft long before they reach U.S. borders. But it is upon our airmen and modern aircraft that we must rely in case of enemy attack, and our defense, a magnificent full work of aircraft whose speed, strength, and dedication provides us with air power. But it wasn't always like this. For centuries, man gazed up at the flight of the bird in hopeless end. How easy it seemed. If all it took was wings. Alas, wings alone were not enough, as many bird men proved. Despite ingenuity and determination, they flapped and flapped in vain. And although the spirit was willing, it remained for Orville Wright and his brother Wilbur to point the way. On December 17, 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville won the flip of a coin and immortality. With two bounces, he was in the air where he hovered for 12 seconds at 31 miles an hour, covering 120 feet. But there were other early flying machines. Some that taxi, and some that hop, some that didn't do much of anything, and some that, hey, watch out there. In 1907, the Army recognized the potential of aviation, and in 1909, it purchased the first military plane. The U.S. Army Air Service was founded under the supervision of the chief signal officer. Early Army pilots were assigned the task of testing and improving the piano wire and canvas airships. They flew test after test. Not all of the flights were successful. The first man to die in a plane crash was an Army lieutenant. Now, planes were getting bigger. By 1910, an unknown enthusiast named Glenn Curtis was building and flying amphibians. By 1914, the fledgling Army Air Service had expanded to several dozen planes. At first, planes were used only for aerial reconnaissance. But in time, bombs, and then machine guns were added. Pilots who had once waived at each other as they passed, now shot to kill. These were the days of the Lafayette Eskadril and Baron von Richtofen's flying circuits of Billy Bishop and Eddie Rickenbacker. Americans learned new words, the Spad, the Pocker, the Jenny. With the end of the war, numerous new experimental planes appeared. And a new kind of scientist emerged, the aeronautical engineer. There was even a new kind of aircraft. It was called a helicopter. By the middle 20s, there seemed no doubt that the helicopter would fly. The only question was, in which direction? Some early four-bladed helicopters actually hovered, while others only bounced. Before long, however, there was evidence enough that the helicopter was here to stay. Now, man was finding first one method, and then another of flying where, for thousands of years, he had been able to do little more than watch the birds and free. These were the days of the stunt pilots, the barnstormers. When the thrill of seeing a parachute open was new, records were being broken. Alcock and Brown became the first to conquer the Atlantic. Then, a few years later, a small Ryan monoplane, the spirit of St. Louis, soloed the Atlantic and captured the imagination of the world. Meanwhile, the army was flying the males. In all weather, around the clock. And army test pilots were stunting and looping in new, improved by plane. The auto gyro was having its day and opening the way for today's American helicopter. Commercial aviation was developing. Gasoline octane ratings were going up. Passengers were now carried on regularly scheduled flights. This luxurious airliner of the early 30s carried eight. Some people even thought commercial aviation had a future. By the late 30s, however, the biplane had almost completely disappeared. The army air service given way to the United States Army Air Corps, and although hard-pressed for funds, had developed the nucleus of a modern airport. But it was only after Pearl Harbor that America's factories started rolling in earnest. Now, we needed planes not by the thousands, but by the tens of thousands. First and foremost, was the B-17, the world-famous flying fortress. She packed a wallet in the pilot, and soon the planes were ready. By 1942, vapor trails were over France. The air war was underway. These were the men who flew with death. The pilots, the navigators, the gunners, 48,000 pounds of steel, 10 men. Swiftly, they streaked toward their targets, mission to destroy the enemy's ability to make war. They did it. A plane is a beautiful thing. Ten men's lives are beautiful. A bomber going down is not. But the odds were good for American pilots. The planes they flew were fast, rugged, superb in combat. The pilots gave a grand account of themselves in Europe. Enemy from the air, scapes like this were few, altitude strafing, enemy ground installation. Remember the Memphis Bell? The celebrated lady from Tennessee survived many a perilous assignment, returning home scarred but happy and proud to be back. In the Pacific, many Navy ships were carrying planes. Buridious Navy pilots mastered early catapult launching devices. And aboard aircraft carriers, they overcame an additional hazard, a rolling landing field. Air power was a major factor in the planning of the Pacific campaign. These tough fighters outfought the best the Japanese had to offer. They spearheaded the island-hopping Allied forces across the Pacific as the war moved closer and closer to the Japanese homeland. Only a matter of time, B-29 bombers were visiting the empire of the rising sun with ruthless regularity, often in hundred-plane raids. B-29, the Enola game. In the years that followed World War II, even greater progress was made in aircraft design and development. Army aviation separated in 1942 from the Army Air Force Corps was experimenting with helicopters. The rotary wing aircraft with its hummingbird qualities offered amazing possibilities. It provided the extra speed and mobility needed by an army no longer content to move only along the ground. Aerial cargo carriers capable of supplying frontline infantry troops with heavy equipment quickly and when needed. Coming in a variety of sizes and shapes, these are H-21 flying bananas, the helicopter added a new dimension to aviation progress. The Army's foresight and industry had been building air power for 40 years. In 1947, the Army Air Force received its greatest tribute. It became the United States Air Force. Now from experimental labs and drawing boards, there came yet another aviation miracle. After many years of study and research, jet-powered aircraft was a reality. More powerful than any plane previously conceived, the jet opened up a new vista in aviation progress. By October 1947, a milestone had been passed. Test ship, the Bell X-1, became the first aircraft to crash the sound barrier. It reached a speed of 780 miles an hour, already obsolete. This ship is now on exhibit in the Smithsonian Institute. From such research came a host of modern Air Force jets. This is the F-84 Thunder jet, which went into mass production in 1948. One of the earliest jet fighters, it was also one of the best. Maneuverable, heavily armed and deadly, these F-84s packed a real punch. Jet bombers came right along with the fighters. First accepted was the B-45 Tornado, powered by four engines with a top speed of over 500 miles an hour. Next came the sensational B-47 Stratoget, driven at over 600 miles an hour with a range of 3000 miles. America was building an arsenal of jet bombers. One of the most unusual test planes was the B-49 flying wing. Of a completely different aeronautical design, it did away with the conventional fuselage and tail in this radical experiment. It maneuvered in air like some giant bat. Side by side with Air Force developments went experimentation by civilian birdmen, eager to try out the new jet power. But it remained for Korea to demonstrate the real value of America's jet aircraft. They proved themselves in combat. Squadrons of recon bombers were able to fly almost unmolested over enemy territory. Cruising at over 600 miles an hour, armed with bombs, machine guns and rockets, they out flew out fired and out fought the best Soviet fighters that the North Koreans could put in the air. Looking up to 32 five-inch rockets, coordination with the infantry, time and time again they destroyed enemy build-up centers. In this operation, the Air Force was not alone. Navy and Marine pilots flew many of the sorties flown in Korea by American forces. Close support for infantry troops was a specialty of Marine airmen. Working together, U.S. airmen of all the services gained control of the skies. For low-level aerial reconnaissance, however, Army aviation was used. In World War II, light planes like this were first assigned to infantry units. The effectiveness of the early scout planes resulted in the formation of Army aviation. In Korea, they were invaluable. For these planes were best equipped to cruise slowly through the winding mountain terrain. Light, rugged and versatile, they could go almost anywhere. Where nothing else could go, helicopters went. The second half of the Army aviation team, they served as troop carriers and evacuated the wounded directly to rear-line hospitals. The Korean War found the American Army more and more airborne by transport, by helicopter. By C-119 cargo planes, American soldiers took to the skies. C-1 saw the introduction of military aviation. Korea saw it carried to a new peak of combat performance. Korea over, experimentation went on. The H-37 helicopter and the L-17 Navion were added to Army aviation. The Air Force was setting new records. The Bell X-2 rocketed to many times the speed of sound. This is not a jet aircraft landing. It is rocket power of flying laboratory built for supersonic flight. With aircraft like this, research was moving away from Earth into the borders of space. The Air Force Research and Development Program requires a lot from its planes and a lot from its men, the test pilots who take the chances. As planes were getting faster, so they were getting bigger. This is one of two decks aboard the XC-99, the world's largest cargo plane. This extraordinary aircraft has a tail larger than the entire original plane flown by the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk and its fuselage is longer than their first flight. Looking at it, who would believe it would truly fly? But it does and with a range of 8,000 miles it can carry 50 tons of cargo or 400 fully equipped infantrymen. However, it requires only a five-man crew. The six engines push it forward at over 300 miles an hour. In recent years, the Air Force has brought out even newer jet aircraft. The swept wing F-100 Super Saver unveiled in 1953 was the first of the supersonic fighters, fighters capable of operating regularly above the speed of sound. Newest of these supersonic jets is the F-104 star fighter. As the missile with the man in it, it made its debut in 1954. This fantastic fighter flies more than a thousand miles per hour. A true mammoth of the sky, largest and fastest jet bomber in the world, is the V-52 Stratofortress. Pride of the Air Force, this giant bomber with its 6,000 mile range can reach any target in the world. Today American air power with its arsenal of atomic weapons is one of the chief deterrents to war. On this 50th anniversary of military aviation, the V-52 is a shining symbol of American aviation progress and still the experimentation goes on. This is the Army's converter plane, now being tested. Its propellers are designed to lift it as a helicopter and then fly it as a conventional plane. This is one of several converter planes presently undergoing study. At the same time, a variety of small one-man helicopters are being developed. One day, this device may be standard equipment for all infantrymen. It has passed all tests to date with flying colors. Here's another version of the same idea. The Army, the Navy, the Air Force, all three services are experimenting in this area. One of the most unusual recent developments is the aero cycle. Similar in concept, the flying platform is another recent innovation. The operator is standing directly above two revolving ducted fans. He is literally standing on a column of air, an astonishing new principle of flight. One unique flying machine is the Navy's aerodyne. It sucks in air, speeds it up, and then blasts it out the bottom. Another way of riding on a column of air. Exactly where the future will take us, no one knows. But Army scientists predict an aerial jeep using the principle of ducted fans and an aerial assault vehicle. Within the next few years, these drawings will become realities. But in the years since World War II, perhaps the single most important research program has been in the field of rockets and missiles. Here may very well lie the future of air defense. For once perfected, rockets and missiles may offer a far better defense against enemy aircraft than exists today. And long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles may replace today's long-range aircraft. At the present time, the greatest armament race in history is being conducted for space superiority. While the time has not yet arrived to phase out all fighting aircraft and replace them with rockets and missiles, already the three services have adopted numerous small weapons of this sort. The Army has an integrated team of rockets and guided missiles. Here is the dart. Nike Hercules. Honest John. Corporal. Redstone. The potential of the missile seems unlimited. Already we have submarines and cruisers equipped for missile launching. Accurate and powerful, these missiles can travel through space at incredible speeds up to thousands of miles an hour. Tools in many sizes and shapes may replace conventional air defenses. It can everywhere look to planes which fly, the arsenal of army missiles to guard America against attack from the sky. It's built its air power second to none in the naval air arm, the Marine Corps, the Air Force and the Army. The big picture has paid tribute to the courage, tenacity and skill of the men and women who have served the nation through 50 years of military aviation. And on this anniversary, the Army salutes its sister service, the United States Air Force. Now this is your host, Sergeant Stewart Queen. The big picture is an official television report for the armed forces and the American people, produced by the Army Pictorial Center, presented by the United States Army in cooperation with this station.