 The margin of victory in tomorrow's battle could be exactly the distance between the jeeps and the helicopters. Copters don't have to follow road maps. Don't need bridges to cross rivers. But do move troops more swiftly than ground carriers. In an age of nuclear firepower, mobility is a good defense, but the best defense is a good offense. It is both hard to hit and hard hitting. Tomorrow's battle lines will be fluid. Tomorrow's battlefield a crazy quilt of friendly and enemy forces. It can concentrate, hit, dig in, punch men and equipment into the breakthrough will be the irresistible force. To provide the means for such a force is the goal of Army Aviation. The United States Army presents the Big 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. Army Aviation is not a branch, not as it once was a corps, not a specialized unit, nor is it simply an adjunct to the artillerymen. Certainly it is not a second air force. Army Aviation is a way, a means. If you ask what is its purpose, then you must also ask what is the mission of the Army. The purpose of Army Aviation is to help the Army achieve its mission. Army Aviation is a way of moving men and removing casualties, of funneling supplies forward and information back, of bypassing enemy troops and overpassing adverse terrain. In short, it represents an entirely new, still evolving concept of fighting. The concept's goal is full exploitation of the sheath of air closest to the ground, the rapid unhampered delivery of an attacking or reconnaissance force concealed in the wrinkles of earth or behind the nearby horizon. This film speaks for the men and aircraft chosen to do this job. The men are the highly skilled Army Aviators. The aircraft are the specialized vehicles designed to accomplish the Army Aviation mission. The story of modern Army Aviation begins at Fort Rucker, Alabama, the program's training center. The most significant thing about Fort Rucker is how it has changed. A few years ago, it was an abandoned infantry post, a remnant of World War II. Today it is one of the most rapidly expanding units in the nation. A new community of homes has appeared in the sunny Alabama countryside, next to a new complex of airfields. A unique family of aircraft uses the airstrips. Each one is a specialist. Each a winner of the stiffest competition, finally selected after years of research, development and testing. The Army now has more than 5,000 fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. Instead of referring to the helicopters as a family, we might call them tribes. For their names are Sue, Iroquois, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Shawnee, Mojave. In some ways, all these copters and airplanes are alike. Since they must operate right at the front lines, not from some asphalt base, they all possess the two Rs of Army Aviation. They are rugged and reliable. The World War II observation plane was the forerunner of today's Army Aviation. The aerial observers spotted the target and told the artillery. The bird dog is a direct descendant of that World War II plane with the same mission, fire-controlled. But the L-19, L for liaison, can do other jobs such as dropping supplies. The bird dog will settle for and on the minimum landing patch. This road might give your teeth a jarring if you went over it on a bicycle or jeep. The L-19 lands in the length of two football fields. Very important when you must use areas not of your own choosing. The speedy Mohawk is much bigger than the bird dog but doesn't need much more space to operate. This is the new AO-1, Airplane Observation 1. The bug-eye canopy permits a good look all around. The lines of sight of pilot and observer can meet just 36 feet below the plane. The wide-ranging Mohawk can see with all weather radar and bring back film from cameras in the fuselage. If the Army has to move small teams a great distance within the battle area, it turns to the L-20 Beaver. An hour from now, this unit can be on a job a hundred miles away. The ruggedness of the versatile craft can be testified to by bush pilots who fly at the year-round in Alaska and Northern Canada. Ever-increasing demands for quick movement mean that more and more men of a ground army must move through the air. The beaver gives the Army dependable transportation. The otter is the beaver's big brother. It may not look like a big plane but eight troops with all their combat gear can fit into the otter's belly. The otter is small and rugged enough to fit into tight, uninviting fields. Note the type of land from which these otters are taking off. The latest word in Army transport is caribou. The AC-1C Porcarco carries three tons of materiel or 32 troops. Whether moving troops forward or litter patients rearward, the caribou is a key to the Army's quest for large-scale movement by air. Although this is the Army's biggest plane, it takes off in less space than the otter. The appearance of the caribou in the air announces a new era for the Army in moving masses of men within the battle area. When a commander and his staff must get places in a hurry, they use the Seminole. In addition to fast transport service, the L-23 is excellent for inspecting combat areas and installations or observing troop columns. This commander will be sitting down to problems that have posed a hundred miles away in the time it takes a commuter to get to work. But it's the helicopter that gives Army aviation its distinctive character. The chopper, as Army aviators call it, can get in and out of places inaccessible to airplanes. Invaluable for reconnaissance and a host of other duties as military men began to realize during the Korean War. An observation vehicle such as the H-23 Raven can hover, change directions quickly, fly extremely low, take full advantage of terrain. To see and not be seen is an ever more difficult military mission, but with the low-flying copter, it can be accomplished. The Su is the other half of the Army's light copter twins. The Su served in the Korean War and earned a reputation as a lifesaver. A major element in mortality rates all through history was that badly wounded soldiers often could not be removed from the battlefield in time. That changed with the helicopter. 20,000 casualties were evacuated by copter during the Korean War, and the ratio of wounded who lived jumped dramatically from that of World War II. Pilots reassure an injured man for a flight in the litter of a helicopter is a strange experience. If need be, the Army aviator will give medical first aid on the spot, one of many specialties he must know. The Su can carry one litter on each landing skid and a walking wounded in the co-pilot's seat. Army copters have proved to civilians in peacetime emergencies as well as soldiers in combat. When you're in a tight spot, there is a way out. Sailing into our picture now, the Iroquois, the Army's first helicopter powered by gas turbine engine. Designated H-U-1, H-U for helicopter utility, the Iroquois is a cracker jack of all trades, frequently serving as an air ambulance for the medical service corps. For the casualties, the ride back is the shortest possible. The Iroquois, sometimes called an aerial hot rod, has just set seven international speed and climb records. This modern helicopter actually climbs faster than some World War II fighter planes. The Chickasaw can pick up and go with 10 soldiers, whisking this artillery survey team to a new fire control point. As copters get bigger, they need longer rotor blades to bite the air. The Chickasaws measure 53 feet. All Army copters have a vertical tail rotor for stability and for turning. All that is except the Shawnee, the only one with two rotors. Those who go by appearances call it the flying banana. Those who know what it does call it the workhorse. Without a copter, it would be virtually impossible to remove this damaged bird dog. But now the plane will fly again another day on its own. When large numbers of troops are involved, the Army relies on the veteran Choctaw. Each Choctaw carries 18 combat-equipped soldiers. H-34 also can ferry a jeep or howitzer with its sling. Our combat scenes never acted in any war that has been fought. Here is a new capability to thrust battle units into action. The possibilities are limitless. Troops balding ahead to exploit the effects of nuclear weapons. Enforcements leapfrogging in to bolster a surrounded unit. Attackers materializing where the enemy least expects. The giant Mojave acts in concert. This Goliath can disgorge three jeeps or 23 combat troops. The Mojave can move with the fastest helicopters, driven by two engines outside the fuselage. This then is our cast of vehicles to give the Army unprecedented mobility through the air. For a different look at aerial mobility and maneuverability, let's tune up the fiddles and gather around these Sioux at a square dance. Swing your partner. This was for fun and demonstration. But to make the Whirly Bird dance takes the touch of a droid master. Who are they? Army aviators are specially trained officers and warrant officers in infantry, artillery, armor, signal corps, corps of engineers, transportation corps, and medical service corps. Officers from other branches of the Army must request a transfer to one of these seven branches before they can be considered for flight training. For aviation is part of all but only these seven branches of the Army. Flight proficiency in fixed or rotary wing craft, or both, earns the Army aviators badge. On completing flight training, aviators may go back to their respective branches to resume regular duties, but they commonly are assigned to what is called branch immaterial. That is performing one of their flying specialties such as casualty evacuation, wire laying, resupply, road reconnaissance, artillery control. Army aviators then are, first of all, Army officers. They must be able at all times to carry out the duties of their rank and branch of Army, and they must be ready to handle a variety of air assignments. Put another way, much is expected of them, of them and their aircraft. The Hardy Bird Dock, Speedy Seminole, Sturdy Beaver, The Otter, and its companion Raven. Fast Climbing Iroquois, The Troop Carriers, Chickasaw, Chuck-Taw, The Shawnee and Huge Mojave, this is today's lineup. Now, what lies ahead? The next helicopter to join the Army will be the Chinook, the HC-1, HC-4 helicopter cargo. Here is an earlier, smaller version. Even so, its value is readily apparent. A little John missile is quickly rolled out and set up. All it takes is 12 minutes from touchdown to deliver from close range a devastating Sunday punch. This is the later model Chinook, designed to carry up to 33 troops. In addition to carrying more troops, the Chinook will fly farther and faster than any copter the Army now has. The ramp door closes like an enormous whale's mouth. The Chinook will team with the big caribou plane to do the Army's heavy-duty moving. In the field of surveillance, the Army is aiming for a craft that can pick up and relay information in one operation. The plane's probing radar finds the enemy target. The exact positional information is channeled to the artillery, and in moments, a missile is on its way. The Army now is working on unmanned surveillance systems. More sophisticated models than this Fire-B target drone will penetrate enemy territory, take pictures by electronic command, then return the film report by parachute. An ideal vehicle from the Army's point of view is one that performs like a helicopter, yet flies like a high-speed airplane. In order to find this hybrid creature, the Army experiments and keeps an open mind. In this craft, ducted air screws act one minute as rotors, the next as propellers. If you're undecided just where to set down, why, there's no rush. This aircraft is classified VTOL for vertical takeoff and landing. Other approach to the same problem, tilt the whole wing instead of just the air screws. There is an in-between choice on this craft to set the wings at an angle for short takeoff and landing with a heavier load. Short takeoff and landing are known as STOL. The demands for mobility seem endless. The solution's unlimited. The AeroCycle is one proposal for moving the individual soldier on missions such as reconnaissance, for example. A courier needs something light, maneuverable, and cumbersome. This was one manufacturer's answer, and certainly a dream for anyone who delights in carnival rides. On the other hand, the Army has explored the feasibility of using the helicopter as a flying crane. A cardinal principle in the quest for mobility is that anything goes until proven otherwise. Take this convertible, not exactly light as a feather, but it travels on air. It is one of a whole series of so-called ground effect machines. Experimental vehicles that generate and glide on a cushion of air. Air cushion vehicles come in all sizes and shapes. But in principle, they all operate like a vacuum cleaner in reverse. This one you probably guessed is nicknamed Flying Donut. A more compact model, tested at Princeton's Forestal Research Center. Like the others, it is limited to the layer of air a few inches above the surface. This one is called the Flying Scooter. And what boy wouldn't like to have this magic scooter parked beside his house? Air car is another ground effect machine the Army has shown an interest in. It can go 60 miles an hour over land or water, ice or snow. All it requires is that the surface be clear and fairly level. The air car is held up by one-tenth of a pound of air pressure per square inch. It is driven and steered by air jetted through side vents. If this avenue of research proves fruitful, we may someday have a tank that doesn't rumble. New vehicles, new weapons combinations need new tactics. The Army now is embodying a new concept, an air task force, completely independent of ground. An entire unit of air-mounted vehicles firing everything from machine guns to missiles. Much remains to perfect this newest method of getting their firstest with the mostest. But it is exactly here that we see the page turning from yesterday to tomorrow. What all this is pointing to someday is a weapon and vehicle designed as one. A device that will fly extremely fast, low, quietly, be highly maneuverable and fire the ultimate weapon. This isn't fantasy, nor is it necessarily a faithful look at the future for the future. For new discoveries may alter our course. But it is the province of the Army, where the Army must think on three time levels. Now, the immediate future and the distant future, in order to fulfill its task of protecting us. To put these things in greater perspective is Brigadier General Clifton Von Kahn, Director of Army Aviation. At the beginning of this century, combat soldiers had machine guns and rifles. At the end of the century, combat soldiers had machine guns and fast-firing artillery. Yet they walked into battle just as the Roman legions had done. And there was one defense against the predominance of firepower to dig in. And World War I was four years of trench warfare. Now, under the Germans in World War II, tanks, fighter bombers, mobilized and airborne troops converted the same basic armaments into the Blitzkrieg. And World War II was a mobile war. Since then, with the atomic bomb and the thermonuclear warhead, firepower has once again gained the ascendancy in military thinking. The counter-response has been for soldiers to disperse and again to dig in. Yet we must remember that our military doctrine and our history has always emphasized that wars can be won only by taking the offensive. Now the challenge to Army Aviation is to provide our commanders with the capability for their forces to fight here this morning and a hundred miles off this afternoon. And this might be a hundred miles in a variety of directions. This challenge means an around-the-clock readiness without being anchored to a stationary supply base. It means air vehicles as rugged and reliable as the jeep. These aircraft must skim through the nap of the earth to avoid the eyes of enemy soldiers and radar. Our flying soldiers must be able to move three-dimensionally and at a moment's notice and at great speeds in order to give new dimensions to combat. The commander and his men are armed with new options, surprise and threat, as well as attack. The Army Ground Commander no longer shackled the earth as limited only by his imagination. As General Hamilton Howe's put it, it's hard to be audacious at the bottom of a fox hole, but in the air, just above the treetops, there lies one of our greatest hopes for victory on the ground. 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.