54704 GOODYEAR AIRCRAFT IN WORLD WAR II K-CLASS BLIMP BARRAGE BALLOONS TIRES

This circa 1942 Goodyear Aircraft black-and-white newsreel opens cold with footage of a US Navy K-class blimp (K-3) emerging from a hanger for a trial flight as the narrator explains how the airship is meant to patrol coastlines as a watchful eye against enemy attack. The airship heads skyward near mark 01:00 as naval and Goodyear personnel watch and the narrator explains how it can be used to look for “any enemy that menaces our shipping or our men of war.” The narrator goes on to describe the airship as “distinctively Goodyear” as the naval vessel maneuvers past a Goodyear blimp at mark 01:30. At this point the building of a bomber and airplane plant in Goodyear, Arizona is seen. Goodyear was established in 1917 with the purchase of 16,000 acres (65 km2) of land by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company to cultivate cotton for vehicle tire threads. World War II was important to Goodyear in the 1940s as the current Phoenix Goodyear Airport was built, but after the war, the economy suffered. Goodyear became a town on November 19, 1946. At the time, it had 151 homes and 250 apartments, a grocery store, a barber shop, beauty shop and a gas station. At mark 02:50 we see footage titled “Building Barrage Balloons” and are taken to a Goodyear facility in Akron, Ohio, where they are made, and at mark 03:39 visit the “Goodyear Coal Mine” in Cadiz, Ohio. After following the coal mining process, the film continues with “The Dixie Plant” at mark 06:46 where employees enjoy some fishing in an employee-made lake and golfing on an employee-made green until mark 08:20 when we learn about “Balloon Houses” — as a Goodyear balloon form is used to create a house in Washington, DC. Mark 09:15 recalls an “Army-Navy Visit” with top brass from both ranches of the military speaking to employees about the war effort. A “New War Tire” — one made with reclaimed rubber — is introduced come mark 10:48 followed quickly by a look at the company’s 1941 Christmas Party starting at mark 11:20. Admiral Towers, chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics is seen at 10 minutes. The spliced film ends abruptly and features another opening at mark 11:48 with a look at rubber collection from Pacific locations and at some of the experiments to create synthetic alternatives. Rubber in national defense is seen — tank treads are seen at 17:00, gas masks production is seen at 17:00, and so on.

We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”

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

Link Copied

About Us

Thanks for your interest in the Periscope Film stock footage library.  We maintain one of the largest collections of historic military, aviation and transportation in the USA. We provide free research and can provide viewing copies if you can let us know some of the specific types of material you are looking for. Almost all of our materials are available in high quality 24p HD ProRes and 2k/4k resolution.

Our material has been licensed for use by:

Scroll to Top

For Downloading, you must Login or Register

Free to Download High Quality Footage

Note: Please Reload page and click again on My Favorites button to see newly added Favorite Posts.