Conquest of the Air was a 1936 documentary film on the evolution of aviation, up until the early stages of World War Two. It features historical footage of the developments of commercial and military aviation; including the early stages of technology developments in design, propulsion, and air navigation aids. It was a London Films production, commissioned by the Air Ministry of the British Government.
It appears that the film was initially commissioned by Alexander Korda prior to the advent of WW2 - and the Air Ministry saw the value in promoting Britain's contribution and leadership in aviation during this period. Some fascinating footage is featured of the early phases of automated flight, navigational equipment, and the transitions between civil and military developments. This includes heavy bombers; fast fighter aircraft and the advent of naval aviation (aircraft carrier), plus the initial experiments with vertical rotary flight (helicopters).
An updated version was released in 1940, and released in the United States on 20 May 1940.
Famous quotes containing the words conquest of the, conquest of, conquest and/or air:
“The great social adventure of America is no longer the conquest of the wilderness but the absorption of fifty different peoples.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)
“While I am in favor of the Government promptly enforcing the laws for the present, defending the forts and collecting the revenue, I am not in favor of a war policy with a view to the conquest of any of the slave States; except such as are needed to give us a good boundary. If Maryland attempts to go off, suppress her in order to save the Potomac and the District of Columbia. Cut a piece off of western Virginia and keep Missouri and all the Territories.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“The only fruit which even much living yields seems to be often only some trivial success,—the ability to do some slight thing better. We make conquest only of husks and shells for the most part,—at least apparently,—but sometimes these are cinnamon and spices, you know.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Just as we are learning to value and conserve the air we breathe, the water we drink, the energy we use, we must learn to value and conserve our capacity for nurture. Otherwise, in the name of human potential we will slowly but surely erode the source of our humanity.”
—Elaine Heffner (20th century)