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)
“An educational method that shall have liberty as its basis must intervene to help the child to a conquest of liberty. That is to say, his training must be such as shall help him to diminish as much as possible the social bonds which limit his activity.”
—Maria Montessori (1870–1952)
“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)
“Mediocre people have an answer for everything and are astonished at nothing. They always want to have the air of knowing better than you what you are going to tell them; when, in their turn, they begin to speak, they repeat to you with the greatest confidence, as if dealing with their own property, the things that they have heard you say yourself at some other place.... A capable and superior look is the natural accompaniment of this type of character.”
—Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863)