Screaming Jets | |
---|---|
Directed by | Jack Olsen |
Written by | Stephen Franklin |
Produced by | Sydney Newman |
Narrated by | Jack Scott |
Cinematography | Jean-Marie Couture |
Edited by | Nicholas Balla |
Music by | Robert Fleming |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures of Canada |
Release date |
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Running time | 11 minutes |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Screaming Jets is an 11-minute 1951 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the postwar Canada Carries On series. [1] The film, directed by Jack Olsen and produced by Sydney Newman, depicted the contemporary Canadian and international aircraft in production and on the drawing boards. The film's French version title is Avions à réaction.
In 1951, every major nation is involved in the development of jet aircraft. At international air shows, Great Britain demonstrates the revolutionary de Havilland Comet, the first jet airliner to fly and its nimble de Havilland Vampire jet fighter. The United States is introducing its swept wing Boeing B-47 Stratojet jet bomber into service while the Soviet Union has unveiled a secretive jet design, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighter interceptor.
Canada has become the latest entrant in the "blowtorch era" sweepstakes with Canadair's Canadair Sabre jet fighter entering large scale production at its Montreal plant, for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Based on the North American F-86 Sabre that has already proven itself in the Korean War, the Canadair Sabre will be Canada's front line "dogfighter".
At Avro Canada in Malton, Ontario near Toronto, the company has invested in research and development and embarked on an ambitious program with Canadian-designed and built Orenda jet engine in development, and a jet-powered fighter and airliner going through flight trials. The first to fly is the Avro C.102 Jetliner jet airliner designed for intercontinental routes. The Avro XC-100 twin-engine jet night fighter prototype is rolled out for its successful maiden flight and will soon enter production for the RCAF.
Other experimental designs include the Hiller YH-32 Hornet, ramjet-powered helicopter, the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin parasite fighter, deployed from the bomb bay of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, Gloster Meteor fighters equipped for aerial refuelling, delta wing Convair XF-92 and the Northrop YB-49 and Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 flying wing designs, all pointing a way to the future.
The film also included footage of Josef Stalin.
Typical of the NFB's postwar documentary short films in the Canada Carries On series, Screaming Jets was a compilation documentary that relied heavily on newsreel material. [2] Additional on location photography at Canadian aircraft factories came from cinematographer Jean-Marie Couture and sound technicians Don Wellington and Clarke Daprato. [3] [Note 1]
Screaming Jets was produced in 35 mm for the theatrical market. [5] The film was received as in the ".. best of 'March of Times' style." [6] The NFB had an arrangement with Famous Players theatres to ensure that Canadians from coast-to-coast could see them, with further distribution by Columbia Pictures. [7]
Individual films were also made available on 16 mm to schools, libraries, churches and factories, extending the life of these films for another year or two. They were also made available to film libraries operated by university and provincial authorities. A total of 199 films were produced before the series was canceled in 1959. [8]
Avro Canada was a Canadian aircraft manufacturing company. It was founded in 1945 as an aircraft plant and within 13 years became the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 50,000. Avro Canada was best known for the CF-105 Arrow, but through growth and acquisition, it rapidly became a major, integrated company that had diverse holdings.
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Canadian Forces Base Comox, commonly referred to as CFB Comox or 19 Wing, is a Canadian Forces Base located 2.5 nautical miles north northeast of Comox, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is one of two bases in the country using the CP-140 Aurora anti-submarine/maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft. Its primary RCAF lodger unit is 19 Wing, commonly referred to as 19 Wing Comox.
The Canadair CL-44 was a Canadian turboprop airliner and cargo aircraft based on the Bristol Britannia that was developed and produced by Canadair in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although innovative, only a small number of the aircraft were produced for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and for commercial operators worldwide.
The Canadair Sabre is a jet fighter aircraft built by Canadair under licence from North American Aviation. A variant of the North American F-86 Sabre, it was produced until 1958 and used primarily by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) until replaced with the Canadair CF-104 in 1962. Several other air forces also operated the aircraft.
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Birth of a Giant is a 29-minute 1957 Canadian documentary film, directed by Hugh O'Connor and produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) television series, Perspective.
Flight 6 is a 1944 Canadian documentary film produced by the National Film Board of Canada and directed and primarily photographed by Sydney Newman. The film is part of the Canada Carries On series, which ran from 1940 to 1959. Newman was also the executive producer for the series. Many of the documentaries were created as morale boosting propaganda films during the Second World War.
Transpacific Flight is a 1953 Canadian short documentary film, part of the On The Spot series made specifically for television, produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). The documentary involved an account of a flight across the Pacific Ocean in 1953, based on first-person interviews of the flight crew.
Challenger: An Industrial Romance is a 1980 Canadian documentary film, produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). The documentary follows the development of Canadair's Challenger, a business jet airliner.
Radar Station is a 1953 Canadian short documentary film produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the On The Spot series made specifically for television. The documentary involved an account of a visit to a radar station while it is involved in a simulated air attack, and is based on first-person interviews of the staff at the radar station.
Routine Flight is a 1955 Canadian short documentary film produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the On The Spot series made specifically for television. The documentary, directed by Gordon Burwash, involved an account of a visit to a Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA) maintenance centre while it is involved in transitioning to a new type of airliner. Routine Flight is based on first-person interviews of the staff at the maintenance centre and flight crew on a test flight.
Target - Berlin is a 15-minute 1944 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the wartime Canada Carries On series. The film was produced by Raymond Spottiswoode and directed by Ernest Borneman, from a story by Leslie McFarlane, based on the industrial production of the Avro Lancaster in Canada, from initial production to the first example taking part in a raid on Berlin. The film's French version title was Objectif Berlin.
The Home Front is a 10-minute 1940 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the wartime Canada Carries On series. The film was produced and directed by Stanley Hawes.
Portrait of Canada is a 10-minute 1959 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the postwar Canada Carries On series. The film, directed by Guy Glover, described the creation of the All Canadian Atlas. The film's French version title is L'Atlas du Canada.
Air Cadets is a 15-minute 1944 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the wartime Canada Carries On series. The film describes the Air Cadet Movement in 1944 during the Second World War. Air Cadets was directed by Jane Marsh, who was also the writer and editor on the production. The film's French version title is Les Cadets de l'air.