Produced by Warner Bros. in cooperation with the United States Army Air Corps and released in April of 1941, WINGS OF STEEL was directed by B. Reeves Eason from a screenplay by Owen Crump. It also features Herbert Anderson, Tom Neal & Ralph Byrd.

Shot in Technicolor, WINGS OF STEEL tells the story of a sports champion (Douglas Kennedy) who is drawn to aviation to help his country in the war effort. The film features color footage of the B-17 at :41, and Stearman training planes at 1:18 and throughout. As a recruiting film, it shows a somewhat predictable view of the indoctrination of airmen as it was done on the cusp of WWII. At 4:57 the instructor says the famous line: “this men, is an airplane” !

At 8:30, basic maneuvering is shown with the Stearmans. At 15:19, P-40 Warhawks are seen at a basic training school at March Field in California. At 15:50, new B-17 bombers are also shown at March. At 16:00, LINK trainers are seen in use to teach instrument flying.

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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 and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com