Coleman Engineering Company, Inc. presents “Supersonic Survival,” a circa 1955 film that looks at the United States Air Force’s Project SMART (Supersonic Military Air Research Track) a 12,000-foot supersonic sled track designed and built for the Air Force at Hurricane Mesa in southwestern Utah. The track simulated pilot escape systems of high-speed aircraft and starting at mark 01:10 as we see a few aircraft being tested and “dummy pilots” being ejected. Crews were needed to build roads to the summit as well as create track, with scenes from these construction tasks unfolding on the screen as the film progresses. By mark 05:00, the film is ready to show some of the first SMART tests, with a rocket sled shown speeding down the runway at mark 07:35 and crews later recovering a test subject (“Hurricane Sam”) starting at mark 08:35. As the film continues, further tests are shown both at regular speed and in slow motion. Such experiments are a “must” of the United States Air Force, the narrator explains at mark 11:30, not only to maintain air superiority and combat effectiveness but also to save lives.
The Hurricane Supersonic Research Site (HSRS) on Hurricane Mesa was a USAF launch complex with a rocket research track that launched a rocket ejection seat from a supersonic sled. The track’s 12,000 ft (3,700 m) “of continuously welded, heavy-duty crane-rails aligned to within plus or minus one-tenth inch tolerance [was] the longest” in the US (cf. the shorter 1954 Holloman Rocket Sled) Coleman Engineering Company was contracted for $2 million in June 1954 and constructed the Supersonic Military Air Research Track (SMART), mechanical arresting gear (water brakes with 34 tons of force), retro rockets, and photographic/telemetering facilities. Coleman was also contracted for operations on November 30, 1955, and achieved a “world land speed record [using] a 9,400-pound sled rocketing down the track at 1,800 miles per hour.” The numerous test facilities included a powered comparator for high-speed motion pictures, a 1956 IBM 706 computer, and 1960 Bendix G-15 computer. Control of the site transferred from Indian Springs Air Force Base on November 6, 1957, and from Wright-Patterson AFB to Edwards AFB on March 9, 1962[3]—the base was placed on standby in December 1961, and was closed on June 20, 1963.
The 3,500.78-acre (1,416.72 ha) Formerly Used Defense Site (J08UT0026) initially transferred to Stanley Aviation and was leased to Sacol, Inc. on May 21, 1965. Adjacent to the Hurricane Mesa Airport (37°14′59″N 113°12′31″W), the privately owned Hurricane Mesa Test Facility is owned and managed by the United Technologies Aerospace Systems division of the United Technologies Corporation.
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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
