Flight Plan For Freedom

Value for the American taxpayer and a promise of world peace? It’s a tall order but this Cold War report promises that the new US Air Force can deliver. From the corridors of the Pentagon and the Offutt base in Nebraska, to the advance outposts in the UK, from where medium range US bombers can target Soviet cities, this report aims to reassure its audience that America’s rapidly expanding new air power can guarantee the safety of the free world against the threat of Communism.

With its exclusive footage of Commander Bill Horton and his crew flying a 5,000 mile test mission to Iceland, this March of Time film showcases the size and power of the giant B-36 bomber. Known as ‘Peacemaker’, the plane, with its six propellers and four jet engines, had the longest wingspan of any aircraft ever built and was the Strategic Air Command’s prime way of delivering nuclear weapons until it was retired in 1959. The high-tech power of the B-36 is contrasted with the down-to-earth crew who relax, smoke cigars and read on the long flight. Whether or not it is reassuring to know that ‘Naked on Rollerskates’ is the book of choice for the men charged with the power to destroy entire cities, the viewer must decide.