Made by Northrop Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force Air Defense Command, this promotional film MRS. JONES, MEET YOUR PARTNERS features General Nathan F. Twining speaking about the group’s mission: to protect the USA from enemy attack, especially nuclear attack. It also showcases the F-89 Scorpion interceptor. The film is a bit fragmentary but apparently featured a civilian housewife “Mrs. Jones”, who has volunteered as a aircraft spotter with the Ground Observer Corps, touring the advanced USAF ADC infrastructure. At 55 seconds, the film shows the Air Defense Direction Center, the heart of the nation’s air defense system. Here, the nation’s skies are constantly scanned and then F-89D aircraft dispatched to intercept any hostile incoming aircraft. At 2:00, a large table is shown where markers are moved to indicate air patrols over various sectors, and information logged and coordinated. U.S. Navy and Army representatives are shown working at the center. At 3:00, Mrs. Jones visits a squadron of F-89D Scorpion interceptors, designed for all weather interception. At 3:30, the aircraft is shown in a cartoon shooting down an enemy bomber using some of its 104 wing-mounted rockets.
At 5:30, F-89 pilots are shown, and their training and regimen described. A magazine ad is seen stating “The Soviets now have ability to launch an atomic attack on us!” At 6:30, the film shows how Soviet bombers might operate low to evade radar detection. The film points out at 6:56, that due to these kind of evasion tactics, civilian spotters like Mrs. Jones are vital. A phone call quickly relays information to a regional center, and then up the chain of command until the aircraft can be intercepted. At 7:50, F-89s are scrambled and pilots race to their aircraft as part of the alert, with sirens going off. The jets race skyward while at 9:20, Army troops are seen racing for anti-aircraft guns, and at 9:50, U.S. Navy personnel go on alert. At 10:00, the Scorpions (including one with red wingtips indicating it might be a test or prototype aircraft) continue their pursuit. At 10:50, an interception of the bogie is made and confirmation sent by teletype. At 12:10, a command is given to destroy the incoming aircraft and at 12:35 slow-motion footage shows the Scorpion’s rockets being fired and destroying an “enemy aircraft” (which appears to be a B-17, likely a drone from a test). The film ends praising the F-89-D Home Defender and thanking the 4771st Ground Observer Squadron and the Pasadena Filter Center.
The Northrop F-89 Scorpion was an American all-weather interceptor built during the 1950s, the first jet-powered aircraft designed as such from the outset to enter service. Though its straight wings limited its performance, it was among the first United States Air Force (USAF) jet fighters equipped with guided missiles and notably the first combat aircraft armed with air-to-air nuclear weapons (the unguided Genie rocket).
The Ground Observer Corps (GOC) traced its roots to World War II when 1.5 million civilian volunteers were enrolled by the Army Air Forces to man 14,000 observation posts positioned along the nation’s coasts. In February 1950, Continental Air Command Commander General Ennis C. Whitehead proposed the formation of a 160,000 civilian volunteer GOC to operate 8,000 observation posts scattered in gaps between the proposed radar network sites. With the belief that the Korean War served as a precursor to a possible Soviet attack, ADC had little difficulty recruiting volunteers. In 1951, some 210,000 GOC volunteers manning 8,000 observation posts and twenty-six filter centers were tested for the first time in nationwide exercises. A plan dubbed “Operation SKYWATCH,” was initiated on July 14, 1952. Eventually over 800,000 volunteers stood alternating shifts at 16,000 observation posts and seventy-three filter centers. By the late 1950s, deployment of the short-range AN/FPS-14 radar resolved the problem of detecting low-flying planes and the GOC was terminated on January 31, 1959.
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