AEROPHYSICS LABORATORY; A TECHNICAL FILM REPORT Part 4

Description

Summary: Footage showing the progress of North American Aviation, Inc., Aerophysics Labs in the develoment of various components of the NATIV and the Navaho. Filmed at various North American plants and test facility sites. Flight testing at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, prior to December 1948. (Shot list to follow.) 1) LS two-story cement building-sign, on top of building, reads: NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION, INC. AEROPHYSICS LABORATORY. A TECHNICAL FILM REPORT. SECRET REPORT NO. AL-827. USAF CONTRACT AC-14191. 2) MS man sitting at desk, model of guided missile at right side of desk -- sign on desk reads: DR. W. BOLLAY. Dr. Bollay is speaking -- he points to model on desk, then stands up and points to picture of a guided missile on wall behind desk. 3) CU of picture. 4) MS Dr. Bollay walks to desk, picks up model and demonstrates method of launching. 5) MS drawing of a portion of Southern California, showing test sites; Falcon test site at Alamogordo, New Mexico; the NAA Aerophysics Field laboratory in Santa Susanna Mountains; temporary engine test site in Los Angeles; NAA, Los Angeles Municipal Airport, a supersonic wind tunnel; a subsonic wind tunnel at Downey, California, which is the NAA Downey Aerophysics Laboratory; and a sign which reads MISSILE TEST RANGE, ALAMOGORDO, NEW MEXICO, pointing east of Los Angeles. 6) Drawing of portion of the airport, NAA Downey, showing building and floor space available at that site. 7) LS INT designers at desks. 8) LS INT industrial library -- cart for books in fg, tables and library shelves in bg. 9) MS INT heavy shop machinery -- lathes, turrets, etc. 10) CU worker at turret lathe. 11) CU turret lathe head in operation. 12) LS INT, many lathes in operation. 13) CU lathe turning down piece of stock material. 14) LS horizontal mill. 15) MS several technicians working on precision work in dust-free room. 16) CU man, with jeweler's eyepiece, working at extremely small lathe. 17) CU over the shoulder shot of workman at extremely small drill press, drilling hole in piece of material for 1000/inch in diameter. 18) ECU drill, boring hole. 19) MS technician at bench, making optical changes in cine theodolite. 20) LS INT wood shop, showing power circular saws, small wood lathes, and other equipment. 21) MS RV INT mockup of missile in final assembly. 22) LS FV mockup in final assembly. 23) CU nose of missile in final assembly. 24) LS to MS camera dollies into room to show worker at bench, checking portion of missile. 25) LS to MS camera dollies into room to show test equipment and technician operating it. 26) MS man standing at bench, checking dials on a computer. He turns around, starts to speak, points toward a generator. 27) MS camera pans from rear of missile to forward section of missile, fairing is off nose of missile. 28) CU nose of missile, missile being rotated to show campactness of design of each component -- every inch of available space is used. 29) LS INT two men at benches, working on what appears to be portions of radio. 30) CU technician with extremely small tube in hand. 31) ECU technician checking circuits in back of what appears to be a radio. 32) MS man, at desk, picks up one box and then a very small piece of material in other hand. The one is a miniaturized version of the other. 33) Drawing of stabilized platform divided into two sections. 34) MS room, sign in bg reads: ELECTRO MECHANICAL LABORATORY STABILIZED PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT. 35) MS stabilized platform, gyro and mount in ball and socket mounting -- test machine for gyro in bg. 36) MS technician turning valves and making adjustments on test machine for gyro stabilizer. 37) CU gyro and platform in operation. 38) CU ball suspension support for gyro stabilizer in technician's hand -- demonstrating how unit operates. Technician speaks several minutes about gyro stabilizer and mount. 39) CU of rotor ball bearings in technician's hand. 40) MS rotor ball bearings in technician's hand. 41) MS technician picks up two large bearings off of bench. 42) CU air lubricated bearings in technician's hand. 43) CU gyro on stabilized platform. 44) CU sign, ELECTRO MECHANICAL LABORATORY, ACCELEROMETER DEVELOPMENT. 45) LS accelerometer development room. 46) MS man sitting at desk. He turns around to camera, starts speaking. 47) CU man at desk picks up small coil unit, points out various parts of the coil with pencil. 48) ECU of coil unit. 49) MS electro magnetic accelerometer. 50) MS engineer pointing out various test components and portions of the accelerometer. CU rotor in operation. 51) MS man wearing laboratory coat with NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION INC ENGINEERING on it. He walks through door, sign over door reads: ANALOG COMPUTERS. 52) MS test bench, analog computers in bg. 53) LS INT of hallway, many doors can be seen along hallway -- sign over doorway in fg reads: SYSTEMS ENGINEERING. 54) MS Systems Engineering Room, in which different components of missile are tested in combination. 55) MS mockup model of different portions of the missile made to test the size of components that will be fitted into the regular model. 56) MS INT airframe and testing laboratory. 57) MS fuel tank test stand. 58) MS propellant pumps, engineer at controls. 59) MS hydraulic flow testing bench. 60) MS assembly of fuel pumps. 61) MS 1/4 RV stage l propulsion system which is a rocket motor. 62) MS sign over doorway: MATERIELS RESEARCH LABORATORY PERSONNEL 0NLY. 63) CU chemical laboratory test bench, chemist at bench. 64) MS machines in metallurgical testing laboratory. 65) MS technician at electro micrographic equipment. 66) LDS test facility area, where rocket motors are tested. 67) MS concrete blockhouse, sign on side of blockhouse reads: CONTROL ROOM 1. 68) CU sign, CONTROL ROOM 1 and porthole. 69) CU INT observation ports, which have bullet-proof glass. 70) MS engineer at control panel. Engineer turns to camera, starts speaking. 71) MS tank on small trailer, sign on end of tank reads, WARNING, LIQUID OXYGEN. Men move tank on trailer away from area, R to L. 72) LS rocket test facility building, spherical taks in the fg contain the oxygen which is part of the propellant for the rocket motors. 73) CU sphere used to hold liquid oxygen. 74) MS rocket motor in test building. 75) LS INT rocket motor starts, flame shoots out rear of motor. 76) CU aft end of large rocket motor. (Test motor was 1,000 lb thrust, this is a 3,000 lb thrust motor.) 77) MS frame used to hold rocket motor on test stand. 78) CU bottom of frame. 79) CU animation drawing of test stand, showing how the test stand is pivoted, and how the test stand turns thrust into electromagnetic impulses which record the thrust. 80) CU machine which records pressure and temperatures. 81) MPS cables which transmit electrical impulses to control house. 82) MS INT firing test of 3,000 lb. thrust motor. 83) CU of test cubical used to test outside steam generating system. 84) MS technician putting fluorine tubes in test stand. Technician, wearing oxygen mask, in enclosed cubical preparing motor for test. 85) LS firing test in closed room. 86) CU RV of test motor being fired. 86) CU rear of rocket motor, showing jet vanes in heat stream. 88) MS drawing of rocket test site, NAA Aerophysics Field Laboratory, Santa Susanna Mountains. 89) ADS on test area, test facilities in buildings in Santa Susanna Mountains. 90) LS test facilities and buildings nearing completion. 91) Several LS's of buildings and facilities under construction. 92) MS gantry crane with 140 foot boom - crane is capable of lifting 45-ton loads. 93) ADS of North American main plant in Los Angeles. 94) LS wind tunnels at main plant in Los Angeles. 95) LS INT wind tunnel inside buildings. 96) MS Dr. Fritz Feldeman, standing beside control panel for wind tunnel, turns toward camera and explains the operation of the wind tunnels. 97) LS jeep pulling trailer, with 15 foot NATIV test missile, out of hangar and past a C-47. 98) MS blockhouse sign on top of blockhouse reads: NATIV PROJECT NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION, INC. 99) ADS runway and buildings at Holloman AFB, Alamogordo, New Mexico. l00) ADS launching tower, blockhouse and various other buildings. 101) LDS blockhouse. 102) LS blockhouse and tower at left, blockhouse at right. 103) LS launching tower tilted few degrees to right. 104) LS two instrumentation telemetering trailers. l05) MS two operators beneath the theodolite tracker. l06) MS telemetering station on top of high hill. 107) LS missile being brought to launching site. Jeep, with trailer and missile, pulls L to R underneath tower. 108) MS high DS missile being lifted into position. 109) LS red flare burning on top of blockhouse. 110) MS base of tower, flames shooting from base of NATIV missile. 111) LS launching tower -- missile going up tower, heading for the sky. Camera pans up with the missile. Good

Collection

Records of U.S. Air Force Commands, Activities, and Organizations

Series

Moving Images Relating to Military Aviation Activities