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This short, silent Aviation Corps (most likely shorthand for the U.S. Army Air Service) film shows pilot training before, immediately after, or most likely during the First World War. It begins with a shot of cadets in uniform marching past a hangar (:08). Cadets examine an airplane's wing (:15). Propellers spin within an outdoor work station, where an airplane engine is on a test stand (:26). A diorama is used to show how to navigate from the air (:35). Radiomen or navigators train with Morse code (:48). Machine guns are examined (:48). Practice bombs are fashioned, with what appears to be flour added to the warhead area through a funnel (1:17). They inspect the practice bombs (1:46). Students learn to identify enemy and friendly planes via silhouettes (2:00). Rounds are fired from a rifle and then from a Louis type machine gun at moving targets (2:28). A close shot of a plane target riddled with bullets (2:35). Pilots test out an early flight simulator, a distant relative to the WWII Link trainer (2:43). They exit the cadet wing of the school, and get athletic gear including boxing gloves and football helmets (2:58). Student pilots check in (3:12). The DH-4 Liberty, the only American-built airplane to be flown into combat in World War I by American crews, awaits the students (3:19). The pilot and student pilot ready themselves for takeoff (3:23). The DH-4 soars through the air (3:34). Student pilots on the ground enjoy the show (3:36). The instructor takes notes on the run (4:02). The DH-4 spirals and loops in the sky as it and the student pilot are put through their paces (4:15). A series fly together in formation (4:25). An aerial view captures the planes flying over a city, with the valves on the V-12 "Liberty" engine chattering (4:41). High angle view of the Statue of Liberty as seen from the air. The plane touches down (5:01). Pilot and co-pilot discuss their run on the ground (5:06). Another pilot checks his wing (5:13). Rudders are checked (5:24). Another pilot takes off for a go (5:36). A stunning angle shows the pilots face as he readies for lift off (5:39). The ground falls away from a back angle (5:48). Ground crew under the fighter plane (5:59) as they set to strap on small bombs. Safety caps removed (6:13). The pair peels off and takes to the sky (6:35). The flight is discussed by ground observers who trace the plane's route using a mirror (6:44). The bombs are unleashed (6:49). Small bombs crack on the ground (6:53). Pilot and co-pilot climb in (6:59). The gunner prepares himself (7:06). A pair flies stacked atop one another (7:37). The instructor peers through binoculars (9:09). A view from the cockpit follows (9:22). They zoom down to the ground, a broad field that has many landing and take-off paths already cut into the dirt (9:37). The pilot jumps out of his Curtis Jenny and approaches the cameraman (9:56). Young pilots stand at attention at a graduation ceremony (10:03). The film begins to wrap up as pilots march in formation (10:22). The slogan "The Supremacy of the Air Will Be Maintained and It Will Win the War" for the new Aviation Corps appears (10:47).
The United States Army Air Service (USAAS) (also known as the "Air Service", "U.S. Air Service" and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the "Air Service, United States Army") was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1918 and 1926 and a forerunner of the United States Air Force. It was established as an independent but temporary branch of the U.S. War Department during World War I by two executive orders of President Woodrow Wilson: on May 24, 1918, replacing the Aviation Section, Signal Corps as the nation's air force; and March 19, 1919, establishing a military Director of Air Service to control all aviation activities.
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