The Air Force Story was a series of TV episodes that told the story of the U.S. Air Force. The USAF was officially created as a standalone agency only in 1947, and prior to that existed as part of the Army. As a result the USAF saw a need to educate the public about the Air Force’s history and role. This television show was part of this effort.
Dating from Season 2, this episode describes America’s military involvement during the Korean War. An introductory scroll notes that “it is the job of all the people to know and understand what the airman haas done and is doing today,” and it is the goal of the film to do just that. At mark 01:09 we’re given the title of this episode: “Volume II Chapter II Meeting the Red Challenge,” and are told of a meeting in Korea shortly after the end of World War II between military representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union. The peninsula was split at the 38th parallel into two countries — Communist North Korea and democratic South Korea (mark 01:40). In June 1950, however, North Korean troops invaded the south with footage shown starting at mark 03:40, and the United States soon pledging support of the South Korean government. We see a B-29 in flight at mark 05:00 as well as F-80 squadrons (mark 05:15) followed by scenes of strafing and bombing missions starting at mark 06:00, as well as the deployment of the U.S. Army 24th Infantry Division (mark 08:10). The 24th Division troops are shown again at mark 09:35 after their arrival in Korea and as they take on North Korean soldiers … all while be aided by the U.S. Air Force. We see another formation of B-29s (mark 11:00) as they embark on another bombing raid on strategic targets and learn of how U.S. troops and other United Nations peace-keeping forces began to establish a stronghold in South Korea. “It was a peculiar war but the problems were not proving too much for the United States Air Force,” the narrator proclaims at mark 13:33 as the draws to a close.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
