The reason that this old 1954 motion picture is so sharp, is that it was shot in Paramount's photographic process called VistaVision. The 35mm negative would run through the camera horizontally thereby increasing the film frame size by double! This made for an extremely sharp photographic image that transfers nicely in the digital age.
In 1953 my family and I went to the Stockton Airfield Stockton, California to see a B-36. They had extended the beginning of the runway back about 3/4 mile. At the other end of the runway they took down the fences stopped the traffic and removed the telephone lines and poles. When the plane started revving up it engines they pulled the plane with its brakes locked. Brakes released and it started to roll very slow it came down the runway slowly gaining speed. The nose wheels came off the ground about 3 feet.about half way down the strip. As the plane rose the main wheels left the ground. At about 8 feet of the ground the the pilot raised the main landing gear and the plane just stayed at that height slowly raising. If they had not removed the fences and telephone poles it wouldn't have made it. They made a circle and left. What I remember the most was the awe inspiring sight and tremendous noise of the engines. I was 12 years old.
Thanks for sharing that. For my whole adult life, I have dreamed of seeing a Union Pacific Big Boy running under its own power, and a Convair B-36 flying. Well, I got half of my dream!
Its really cool how in this movie he played as a character who also fought in World War 2 in a bomber when Jimmy Stewart did the same thing in reality. Truely a patriot indeed!
@@cirrus1964 I didn't get any sort of impression that Ronald Johnson in his comment above disagrees with you. In fact he never brought it up. He just happened to be commenting on the video and mentioned famous and admired veteran and actor Jimmy Stewart, who happened to be in the video. Other than Jimmy Stewart, relevant to the video, I don't think his intention was to talk about who is, and who isn't a hero and a patriot.
I was 7-8 years old, living in a tiny west Texas town, playing in the front yard. Started hearing a low rumble like an approaching freight train. As it reached an earth shaking pitch, one of these monsters flew right over our house at about 100 feet. A memory I will carry to my grave. Since then, I've always had a warm spot in my heart for the B36. I don't care that it was obsolescent when it first flew. My God, what an awe-inspiring, beautiful piece of history!
I'm almost 73, born in '47, and like every other human being alive at the time, a survivor of the Cold War. Watching the take off, the best photographed footage I've seen from that time, what you would expect from the Hollywood studios. I had this strangest feeling, one I've never experienced before. Perhaps a result of Covid 19 social-isolation, but I suddenly felt peaceful and protected, that I was safe. It was totally surprising until I realized I was watching this with a seven year old's eyes, and I still believed in the fairy tale.
This is a very clear video ... well done ... Since many are reminiscing: My own Dad started in the AF as a B-36 tail gunner, decided he wanted to actually fly a bird rather than just ride in one, so he applied & was accepted into the Air Cadet program. He got his wings and flew the F-86, F-84F and joined the MACH 1 Club when he flew the F-100. He actually 'buzzed' our farm (Indiana) a few times when he flew in the Air Guard (he got called on the carpet by his SQ Commander for that) ... I remember the loud shreak of his fighter as he skimmed the deck over our farm ... The memories just keep on coming ...
A jet jockey flew under the Mighty Mac bridge once & I think he was court marshalled for it. Being you live close to Michigan,I think you know the bridge I'm referring to.
@@stantaylor3350 , Whether he does or not, I am very familiar with the Mackinaw "Mighty Mac" Bridge. If anyone ever makes it up in that area, try to save a little bit of time to visit Mackinaw Island. It's such a sight to see, extremely clean, no motorized vehicles allowed, Fire Fighting Equipment only. I just wanted to share that with all.
I think that would have been called the Aviation Cadet Program, not the Air Cadet Program. My father graduated from the Aviation Cadet Program, class 54E. (1954) A few years into his flying career he helped to bring the first Boeing KC-135s into the USAF. He was the first to fly a few after Boeing handed over the aircraft to the USAF.
Great film, if it wasn't for that movie, I wouldn't be here, My Dad took his GF to see the film on a first date to see it. He then married his GF in 1959 , and not long after I was born in 1960! Its a film very dear to my heart.
In the summer of 1956, I was a very wet-behind-the-ears young man going through basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Our drill instructor told us to look directly over us. I believe this monster was only 500' to 600' above us. Very loud and very big. We loved it.
Salute to a brother veteran. I was born in ‘56, didn’t get to Lackland till 1974. First assignment: SAC, Beale AFB, CA. B-52s, KC-135s, and the SR-71. U-2s joined us later.
@@hofico6 Salute to a brother veteran. Fought in the battle of Lackland, old wooden barracks, in the summer of 1973. First assignment SAC Grand Forks AFB , B-52 , KC 135 and F-106 guard unit from Fargo. George Evans has us both beat by almost 2 decades ! Salute to both you 2 fellow USAF Vets !
@@hofico6 I love the SR-71! There is one at the Air Force Museum in Fairborn, OH. I have never understood why the Air Force retired it in favor of the U-2. It was much faster and a stealth aircraft. It is beautiful!!
I was soon to be born at the time you went through Basic. Visited Lackland for a few weeks in 1975. I was discharged in 1977, joined the Navy in 1979, retired from active duty in 1997.
jimmy was qualified to fly the B-36 and the B-47, both of which were seen in the film. He was also qualified to fly the B-17 and the B-24, the latter of which he flew on combat missions in World War Two. He also was qualified to fly B-52s and he flew as an observer on combat missions over Vietnam.
My Dad was stationed at MacDill during the filming of this movie. He was a young 22 years old making sure those B-36's and B47's were armed and good to go. Those B-36 Engines roar like no other airplane engine. Dad is still here at the age of 86.
What a lot of people don’t know is that when Jimmy Stewart came home from WWII he was suffering from what today looks like PTSD. He had been in the thick of the horrific bombing campaign in Europe and had lost many friends and colleagues. The first movie he was able to get a part in was It’s a Wonderful Life. Where his character contemplates suicide, drinks heavily and snaps hard at his children and wife. When I realized that Stewart was acting in this movie in a way that many veterans have lived, it brought tears to my eyes.
As a child, I listened to B36s warm up daily from 15 miles away @ Kelly AFB. The air would pulsate from that far off. I'll never forget that peculiar sound.Nothing ever duplicated that experience.
What's awesome is the shot of the Flight Engineer's station with that huge array of dials he needed to monitor. Also kudos to the crew chiefs who kept these monsters flying.
"two turning, two burning, two smoking, two choking and two more unaccounted for." - Flight engineer. A monstrosity that was impressive, super hard to maintain and had engine issues because of it's configuration. Still, an impressive engineering accomplishment.
just looking at the mechanician's panel of this thing with a dial for everything. water presure, oil, temp, everything monitoring each of these ten engines, you know it's serious.
My first flight in a B-36 was the most exciting flight of my life. The sounds and smells of these bombers has stayed in my memory for 60 years. Like in the movie my flight was to be just a touch and go. From Spokane Washington with a touch and go in Anchorage Alaska. 2 round trips 24 hours and landed back in Spokane.
You are indeed a fortuant airman to have served in those days and on "The Big Stick". Mine came a little later as a crew chief on a tanker. We got to experience (IMHO) the last years of the best era this good 'ol USA ever had. SSgt USAF/Missouri ANG.
@@pilot_xoan Strategic Air Command. The movie itself isn't the greatest ever made, but my family has always enjoyed it. It's a pretty honest look at how rough the military life can be, even in times of technical "peace". My hat is off to all who serve this country faithfully.
Most people who even remember James Stewart at all probably remember him as a movie star of long years ago. But he was a genuine WWII bomber pilot, who flew many times, and I read that even after he'd flown his "required" number of missions, he managed to get assigned to more. The real history buffs here can set me straight on that. But he was a Hollywood movie star who could have actually flown this B-36 behemoth I'm sure! And not that I'm denigrating movie stars. Not everybody is born to be a bomber pilot. My dad was a pilot for decades, and it was just was not for me or my sister.
"After fighting in the European theater of war, he had attained the rank of colonel and had received several awards for his service. He remained in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and was promoted to brigadier general in 1959. He retired in 1968, and was awarded the United States Air Force Distinguished Service Medal. " Wikipedia.
His service in the ETO was colorful. The understanding with the USAAF was that he would not go on really deep dangerous missions and spent his time bombing a lot of French channel ports. Still combat but not like a raid to Berlin and back. Almost unknown is the fact that his squadron was mistakenly included in the near infamous Schweinfurt raid which had the highest casualty rate suffered to that date by the 8th Air Force. That raid resulted in a reconsideration of day light bombing missions. He was very lucky to do that mission and come out unscathed.
I remember as a kid they had a change of command fly over of all the B-36s, it was, unbelievable, the ground shook for a half hour. Made quite an impression on an eight year old.
Gorgeous cinematography and an awesome piece of military aviation history. I've always thought that the 1950's and 60's were the most interesting time in military aviation and this helps prove my point. I can't imagine seeing and hearing that thing in person. Must have been amazing!
This is a great movie that I treasure having in my collection. My uncle was an advisor to this film and walks across the ramp at one point. He went on to fly the B47 and B52 before he retired.
I believe this was filmed in my home town of Fort Worth, Texas at Carswell Airforce Base. I worked for General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) for 32 great years.
I envious of those who actually got to see these in real life. Thankful for you tube. I lived near 2 AFB ONE in the 60's & the other in the 70's through early 90's only saw B-52 & F-4,& F-106 also the T-37.
One of the best aviation films of all times, and my personal favorite. Great video, and having a real pilot, Jimmy Stewart, as the start, made it a perfect film.
I was into aircraft and machines in general as a kid and loved this movie. Years later when I was in SAC on B-52s I was frequently reminded of this scene, such as when we'd take off from the west coast on a navigation and simulated bombing mission across the US, hitting tankers and maybe a low level track along the way, then return to our home base for some pattern work before finally doing a full stop many hours later without having touched the ground anywhere else. Then debrief. When I'd get home exhausted, if she was awake the wife would sometimes ask "How was your day?" It was a hard question to answer to someone not in that line of work, but it always made me think of June Allyson.
Crazy fact: This is still the largest combat aircraft ever constructed. When I first saw footage of this online as a kid, I had to do some research to make sure this plane was actually real. Amazing footage!
Well... ignoring the Russian transport aircraft, if you want to keep the definition of "combat" aircraft in the strictest sense, then the Soviet/Russian TU 160 is longer and heavier. Wingspan your bird has it, and it's a much older and more visually interesting.
Just like how the vehicles made in the 50's are considered classics, so too are the movies of the time. I absolutely love the cinematography, stage/sets, wardrobe, actors/actresses, performace and movie themes. They just don't make them like they used too anymore. Truly a golden time in our history!!!
Ty! You are so correct, and this was all done with film. There will be time when this movie will be remastered to 8K. The film size is bigger than the conventional 35mm format. Have a great day! bob
Amazing - the plane, the photography, the colour, the clarity, the music - all perfection! I have the DVD but it doesn’t take my breath away like this does!
Simply incredible footage of one of the most complex aircraft to ever fly. The clarity is amazing and the footage in this movie of the Convair B-36 is truly a national treasure.
Most complex aircraft ever huh? Think it might have been surpassed by now lol Was it not a bit of a failure that never saw combat? It was high maintenance and patheticly slow to be any use, even with the additional jets it was far too vulnerable to mig-15 and other emerging fighters in the late 40's. They basically had it scrapped within a decade, the crews had to change all 336 fouled spark plugs after every single flight. I'd agree this footage is probably more of a treasure in terms of cinematography than the plane would be the grand scheme of military aviation.
@@addz17 Notice I stated, one of, and not the most. For it's time, it's hard to say that the B-36 wasn't a prime contender as being the most complex with its six compound radials and four axial jet engines. We also can't say that it was a failure for never experiencing combat, but rather a success that it had not, as it proved itself as being a successful and effective deterrent to nuclear war. As for it's period in service, it was technologically a "stop-gap" aircraft; caught right in the middle of the old propeller age and the new jet age. The B-29 variant, B-50 on one end and the all jet B-47 on the other. Technology during the post-war period was advancing at a rapid rate and because of that, it's quite surprising that it was in service for as long as it was. For all that matters, a short service life can also be applied to the B-47, as it wasn't in service for long before the still in service, B-52 took its place. Not even Convair's successor to its ugly B-36, the sleek and beautiful, supersonic Convair B-58 Hustler could survive the rapidly evolving technology race. As you had stated, the B-36 may have been slow, but we have to consider that its high service ceiling gave it some protection from threats such as the Mig-15 which could barely attain the B-36's service altitude and remain under control for combat conditions. Once the Soviet Union had introduced its high altitude surface to air missiles, (SAMs), then all bets were off for bombers, regardless of if it was a B-36, B-52 or even the B-58. The age of the ballistic missile had arrived and the bomber's role as the prime nuclear weapon delivery system had changed. The effectiveness of the Soviet Union's SAM missiles can be referenced in the surprising downing of the ultra-high altitude U-2 spy aircraft of Frances Gary Powers on May 1,1960.
An amazing film with an amazing cast. In the 50s we could watch B-36s and B-47s on their landing approach to RAF Brize Norton from our front door step in Oxford! You could hear the B-36s coming long before you saw them, that drone they made was mind boggling.
I had the great fortune to grow up in Fort Worth and being a high school Fort Worth Star telegram paper “boy” on the west side in the early 1950s I heard that sound every morning. Majestic.
That was some amazing filming, especially for that era. The plane-following shots at takeoff were well done, took a while before I realized how hard and well it was coordinated. No drones back then, they had a plane following the takeoff.
For those of you that don’t know, Jimmy Stewart was a major general in the Air Force reserve, that is a two star general. He was qualified to fly quite a few airplanes and I remember when I was stationed in Udorn Thailand he came by and actually flew a bombing mission to North Vietnam in a B-52, At the time it was top-secret because he didn’t want it to get out and get mixed up with his show business career, he wanted to let the people know who were flying out of Udorn that he was with them ! and he took off and did a bombing mission over HANOI with the red crown flight.
I don't know what the opposite of a chickenhawk is, but I guess we can call it a Jimmy Stewart. Had no idea he flew a combat mission in a B-52 in 'Nam, wow.
I remember when I was just a young'un living in Wichita, every once in a while one of these would fly over us on its way to McConnell AFB. We could hear them before seeing them they were so loud, kind of a rumbling. Always thought they were the greatest things flying.
I was 11 years old when this movie came out. I saw it with my little brother who was 9. It was mesmerizing. I remember the sound of B-36s flying over Shepard Air Force base where my dad was stationed. Very unique.
I've had plenty of chances to walk around surviving museum examples, and marvel at the sheer size, and watching it in this film during the runup with the entire airframe fighting with itself...that must have been spectacular.
A very good friend of mine was a flight engineer on a B-36 during the Cold War. He was very well known as being one of the best radial engine mechanics in the country. He told me many stories of his experiences in the B-36! One of the most intelligent people that I have ever know.
Very cool to see Carswell AFB in the background. Hanger 1050 (still in use today) was a Mx hangar for the B-36s. When the Navy took over the base...the Marines used it for their C-130s. That hangar made the 130 look like a toy airplane parked inside.
I never get tired of watching this movie. Finally got it in Blu-ray. That monster is a beauty in the air and the photography and picture quality are superb.
Superb re edit of this spectacular aircraft,'Strategic Air Command' was a classic film and we are so lucky to have this footage that was made for the film,James Stewart at his best too.
I never realized the enormity of these aircraft until I visited the US Airforce Museum in Dayton. I always thought they were simply an updated B-29, but no! These are huge machines. The static display there has the bomb bay doors open, just an enormous machine!
I believe you could stand up in the thickest part of the wing root. If I'm not mistaken, there was a catwalk (or crawl-way) inside the wings out to the engines.
My father flew as a navigator on these before I was born. I recall him mentioning that one of the aircraft in the film was an aircraft he actually flew in. This footage is incredible.
Victor Young, film music composer, nominated 22 times for an Oscar, finally got one on the 23rd attempt! Sadly, he died shortly after this film was made. Check out his impressive film credits on Wikipedia. This 4K version is remarkable, giving the sequence a new freshness and immediacy....well posted Robert Gurskis!
I can still remember as a little kid seeing formations of BIG planes flying over our farm. My dad was a WWII B-24 pilot and he identified them as B-36s. I have seen a couple since and they are awesome aircraft !
Six turnin' & four burnin'... man I wish I could've seen one of these fly. I was a KC-97L crew chief back during 'Nam. We has 4 turnin' & 2 burnin' and I loved every second I got to fly with my plane.
Well said. What gets me about it is that the music doesn't undergo the drop in pitch that the engines do as the aircraft passes. Something noticeable in nearly all aircraft movies.
Are you kidding? The virtue-signaling hedonists in modern Hollyweird couldn't make a movie like this even if they wanted to (Which they don't). White men, defending America, in an American made bomber, with devoted (female) wives waiting for their return back at base? It would be instantly labeled "racist" and "White supremacist" and canceled by our neo-Maoist self-appointed culture police before the last bomber even landed during the first day of shooting.All involved in the project would be forced to apologize again, and again, and again....and, of course, never be forgiven regardless. This isn't the America depicted in this movie. That place died and is as obsolete as the B-36 itself.
I was flying from a small airport close to Castle AFB near Merced CA when they were there. At night when I was flying they looked like they coming right at me. I had a charter flying one of the pilots after he retired that was a CFI for them, Chuck Fink. He gave me one of the best compliments I ever had. He told me that I had the lightest touch on the controls he had seen in his career. Our saying back then was "6 turning, 4 burning"
The B-36s were coming in to Davis-Monthan AFB when I was a tyke, maybe 5 years old. I still remember that chorus of engines, and how the sound shook the house as the planes came in on their landing approach. We could tell when they were still a long way off that one was coming in, and we'd run outside to see it. This movie did a good job capturing the sound of six engines, but what they couldn't capture was the vibration.
Amazing that even a B-25 could deal with the wingtip vortices and jet blast on that wonderful 3/4 view. You can "see" those vortices in the clouds, very subtly, at 4:18. I work in that long, brown, mile-long hangar in the background, on F-35s.
My dad was working at Convair when this movie was made. The scenes flying over White settlement take me back when I was a little boy! My dad was a maintenance electrician at Convair (before it became General Dynamics) back in the good old days!!
Amazing aircraft, its enormous wings make that at high altitude it was pretty agile. Only changing 336 spark plugs from the engines was a hell o a job.
The B-36 was something to behold. The fifties was the "golden age" of new aircraft and the jet age. I was a kid then and loved putting up plastic kits, Revell, Monogram, and Aurora. Most cost only a dollar. This was the age of the B-58 Hustler, the B-47 Strato Jet, the F-101 Voodoo, the B-47 Canberra, The F-101 Delta Dart, the F-100 Super Sabre, the F-104 Starfighter, The B-57, the F-105 Thunderchief, later the F-4 Phantom, the F-8 Crusader, the A4D Skyhawk, and so many more I can't remember. Now kits can cost a fortune and i don't think boys today are much into them with video games dominating everything. What a shame.
Great shots of the B-36 that permanently document the majesty of this aircraft, and the sounds associated. It was one of a kind! Great close-ups of various parts of the aircraft and interior!
Those scenes of the B-36 Peacemaker bomber aircraft were from STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND (1955), starring James Stewart as professional baseball player "Dutch" Holland who finds himself back on active duty in the Air Force courtesy of the draft and June Allyson as his somewhat understanding wife. There's a scene of Major Holland being shown one takeoff and one landing, as in the B-36 takes off from Carswell Air Force Base near Fort Worth, Texas, flies all the way to the Arctic where four fighter-interceptors vector the bomber back to base for its one landing at Carswell Air Force Base. The stirring score was done by film composer Victor Young who passed away after scoring AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS (1956). The Peacemaker didn't drop any munitions, conventional or otherwise, during its time in service. There was no need. Just its presence alone insured that our enemies wouldn't start any crap. By the way, the aerial cinematography was accomplished by Thomas Tutwiler, and why didn't he even get an Oscar nomination? Just curious.
Thank you for posting this clip. I never saw the movie, nor have I ever seen footage of a B-36 in flight, although I have read about the plane. My dad flew in B-29's as a gunnery instructor, so I always had a certain amount of respect and interest in the USAAF and USAF bomber forces. People don't know that much (in general) about the B-36 but it was a needed plane during the early Cold War. I can only imagine what it must have been like to see one of these flying behemoths in real life. Peace.
I grew up near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in the 1950's. The B-36 flew over our house many times. I always knew it was a B-36 because no other airplane had the same sound, with the six engines and the jet assists. It was a magnificent airplane!! If you are ever in Dayton, Ohio, be sure to visit the National U S Air Force Museum in the suburb of Fairborn. It is huge and has many different aircraft, including a B-36. There is also a separate hanger that has several Air Force One planes in it. You would need at least a week to see the whole thing.
This is the original, uncropped format? I haven't looked recently, but at one time I could find only the cropped-for-TV version. May I ask where to find this one?
Good question - must be from the Bluray of the SAC movie released in 2016 (note the usual Bluray darkness and contrast). This appears to have slightly more picture than my Laserdisc version - which shows a little more on the sides than TV but not a huge difference.
I grew-up in Spokane Washington ,had these fly over our house several times a week. No mistaking the sound, the ground actually shook as it flew by because they were only about 3 or 4 thousand feet up. Very large aircraft, I was 9 or 10 then, 78 now
Magnificent and beautiful sky at 5:43, magnificent and beautiful aircraft, and gorgeous June Allyson to start and finish on. That's what I call a video!
In the late 1950s when I was 8 or 9 I got to see a B-36 that was on static display at Amon Carter Field located about 2 miles south of the current DFW Airport. They let you go into both the cockpit and the tail, but you couldn’t ride the sled thru the tube thru the bomb bay from front to back. It seemed huge!
My thoughts as I was about to click this video: "B 36 taking off in HD?! SWEET! I didn't even know they had any of these flying still! Hey, wait a minute, I think I've seen this before." Strategic Air Command is still a wonderful movie. I finally got to see it all the way through last year, and I got my wife to watch it with me. It was on Amazon Prime at the time. I couldn't tell you if it's still there or not. 6 turning, 4 burning. Or, from the maintenance perspective, 2 turning, 2 burning, 2 choking, 2 smoking, and 2 unaccounted for.
The movie is available on DVR from Amazon. The print quality is outstanding; good as new. The inflight scenes of both the B-36 and the B-47 are fantastic. I remember seeing a couple of those huge B-36s flying over my home on Long Island when I was a kid. Awesome, but I don't believe that they were ever used in combat.
As a young teen,I saw the last flight of the B-36 leave BiggsAFB in El Paso enroute to Tinker AFB in Okla.City to be mothballed.I think in '61 or '62. EXTREMELY LOUD.Quite a sight to see and part of history witnessed
My ex would have left 20 minutes after we took off, went home and gave me $hyt when I got home. She is now history that I have completely and purposely forgot about. (Edited part)...To any guy 18-50 thinking about getting married, DO NOT DO IT! It is a trap! Think about it. Who does it benefit the most? Answer: It benefits ONLY the woman! Till death do us part? WTF? REALLY!? Who the F agrees with THAT? Here it is in a condensed format: For better or worse: She will give up on you and make your life miserable within only 2-3 years into your marriage. Till death do us part: She will make sure that she gives you so much stress, you will wish that you were dead! Through thick or thin: She will gain so much weight, you'll wish you married someone that wasn't 300 pounds! Marriage: A total MISTAKE and a waste of time!!! They will suk you dry before you even know what hit you!!! DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!
A truly fearsome contraption and a hodge-podge of jet and piston propulsion, thrown together when, in 1941, the Pentagon feared England would fall to the Nazis and that allied bombing runs would have to be conducted across the Atlantic. It never went online in WW2, but was a SAC mainstay until the B-52 was ready.
That is just beautiful film and cinematography. I love the sunset flight w thunderhead, beautiful. The B36 was a gigantic airplane. Very cool, to see Mr Stewart in 4K too.
This really sends home the six turning, four burning description. Jimmy Stewart got to wear his actual uniform in this role. When I was in Air Force basic training General Stewart hosted a video describing our commitment to the USAF, where he actually told us about his military service continuing in the USAF Reserves.
The film was a glitzy advertisement for the Strategic Air Command - it's obvious the studio had the full cooperation of the US Air Force at the time - and the actor Fran k Lovejoy, who plays James Stewart's commanding officer in the film, was a dead ringer for General Curtis Lemay, the man who in real life organized SAC. I was ten years old when this film came out and I remember the only things I liked about the film were this flying sequence with the B-36 and a later one with Stewart in the cockpit of a B-47. The aerial photography is spectacular. I didn't know it then but learned later in life, Stewart was actually qualified to fly both aircraft and, for all I know, may have been at the controls during the making of this film. I have since come to understand that Brigadier General James Stewart (ret.) flew every bomber from the B-17 during World War II to the B-52 during the Cold War. I am in awe. Salute, Sir. Bless you.
Grew up in Fort Worth Tx. In my day it was b52s flying out of Carswell Air force Base. We would go out just to watch them Take off. The roar of those engines at full power is ......well you would just have to know...... can't explain it. Glad they restored a 36 it needed to be done.
We had a wing of the B-36's in Roswell,NM back in the 50's. Never forget the sound of those 6 engines!! i got to go thru one during AF days in the 50's!!
Damn I wished I lived back then. Everything just seemed better. I know everything wasnt perfect, but it almost seems that way at times. With the way society is going, we may eventually get to a point where we have our freedoms and rights stripped from us even more. So sad to see what I could've been a part of if I hadn't been born at such a sh*tty time. Edit: grammar
Probably was near the end of its service life. The last B36 flight took place in 1959, when the B36 on display at Wright Patterson AFB museum was delivered.
The reason that this old 1954 motion picture is so sharp, is that it was shot in Paramount's photographic process called VistaVision. The 35mm negative would run through the camera horizontally thereby increasing the film frame size by double! This made for an extremely sharp photographic image that transfers nicely in the digital age.
rickw1954 thank you! Great info! I could not believe my eyes when this aired in HDTV. Had no idea there was footage of a B-36 in this quality.
1954! Wow! Thanks for the share.
It looks so great. Thanks for the info. 👍
Thank you for the information, its really amazing to watch it
My mom was a high school cheerleader and Nov. 24 she will be 83. Still kicken.
In 1953 my family and I went to the Stockton Airfield Stockton, California to see a B-36. They had extended the beginning of the runway back about 3/4 mile. At the other end of the runway they took down the fences stopped the traffic and removed the telephone lines and poles. When the plane started revving up it engines they pulled the plane with its brakes locked. Brakes released and it started to roll very slow it came down the runway slowly gaining speed. The nose wheels came off the ground about 3 feet.about half way down the strip. As the plane rose the main wheels left the ground. At about 8 feet of the ground the the pilot raised the main landing gear and the plane just stayed at that height slowly raising. If they had not removed the fences and telephone poles it wouldn't have made it. They made a circle and left. What I remember the most was the awe inspiring sight and tremendous noise of the engines. I was 12 years old.
Awesome. My grandpa worked on B-36s while stationed in England during his USAF days.
no way i can read all that
@@remyaxis9173 u lazy
"We pay for the whole runway, we use the whole runway"
Thanks for sharing that. For my whole adult life, I have dreamed of seeing a Union Pacific Big Boy running under its own power, and a Convair B-36 flying. Well, I got half of my dream!
Jimmy Stewart, consummate actor, bomber pilot in WWII, retired USAF Brigadier General, flying a B36! A true patriot who loved his country.
Every country on this globe has Patriots. Maybe there is an Indian around, who has the same feelings, on what was once his land?
Its really cool how in this movie he played as a character who also fought in World War 2 in a bomber when Jimmy Stewart did the same thing in reality. Truely a patriot indeed!
I wonder if those fighters were F-100s? 🤔
@@cirrus1964 I didn't get any sort of impression that Ronald Johnson in his comment above disagrees with you. In fact he never brought it up.
He just happened to be commenting on the video and mentioned famous and admired veteran and actor Jimmy Stewart, who happened to be in the video.
Other than Jimmy Stewart, relevant to the video, I don't think his intention was to talk about who is, and who isn't a hero and a patriot.
@@TCBElvisAPresley ok
In all the hours I spent in a B-36, I never once heard that majestic music. Only the throbbing base note of the 6 engines.
@@floks700 those 4 weren't throbbling
BRRRRRRRRRR
@@GrrrRu Jets are not used except with full heavy takeoff or at high altitudes above 35,000 ft
@@jimfling2128 everything is wrong with this plane, propellers are mounted backwards ))
"Six turnin', four burnin' . . . "
This NEVER gets old! No amount of CGI could have bettered the artistry of many of those ethereal air-to-air shots. Incredible.
This is no CGI...Jimmy Stewart actually flew the B-36 in this film.
@@JROrg2009 B-52s over Vietnam, too.
@@JROrg2009 He really was an air force pilot.
@@JROrg2009 It's not CGI true, but I don't think he flew the aircraft for the film. He trained on the B47 and B52 but not the B36 as far as I know.
I was 7-8 years old, living in a tiny west Texas town, playing in the front yard. Started hearing a low rumble like an approaching freight train. As it reached an earth shaking pitch, one of these monsters flew right over our house at about 100 feet. A memory I will carry to my grave.
Since then, I've always had a warm spot in my heart for the B36. I don't care that it was obsolescent when it first flew. My God, what an awe-inspiring, beautiful piece of history!
That's an amazing memory. You are very fortunate to have experienced that sight and sound.
same thing happened to me in Albany GA in 50s. God what a monster, seems like yesterday
@@lincbond442 ？？？
@@lincbond442 ？？？
Del Rio?
That B-36 flying through the clouds makes my heart go faster every time I see it.
I'm almost 73, born in '47, and like every other human being alive at the time, a survivor of the Cold War. Watching the take off, the best photographed footage I've seen from that time, what you would expect from the Hollywood studios. I had this strangest feeling, one I've never experienced before. Perhaps a result of Covid 19 social-isolation, but I suddenly felt peaceful and protected, that I was safe. It was totally surprising until I realized I was watching this with a seven year old's eyes, and I still believed in the fairy tale.
B 36- 5735 Start !
62 here. Expat in Thailand!
Now THAT is some of THE most beautiful aerial footage ever shot. Almost makes me weep like a child every time I see it.
I watched this movie several times, and it never gets old!
This is a very clear video ... well done ... Since many are reminiscing: My own Dad started in the AF as a B-36 tail gunner, decided he wanted to actually fly a bird rather than just ride in one, so he applied & was accepted into the Air Cadet program. He got his wings and flew the F-86, F-84F and joined the MACH 1 Club when he flew the F-100. He actually 'buzzed' our farm (Indiana) a few times when he flew in the Air Guard (he got called on the carpet by his SQ Commander for that) ... I remember the loud shreak of his fighter as he skimmed the deck over our farm ... The memories just keep on coming ...
Cool... Surprised he didn't shoot for the B-58, another Convair creation
A jet jockey flew under the Mighty Mac bridge once & I think he was court marshalled for it. Being you live close to Michigan,I think you know the bridge I'm referring to.
@@stantaylor3350 ,
Whether he does or not, I am very familiar with the Mackinaw "Mighty Mac" Bridge. If anyone ever makes it up in that area, try to save a little bit of time to visit Mackinaw Island. It's such a sight to see, extremely clean, no motorized vehicles allowed, Fire Fighting Equipment only. I just wanted to share that with all.
I think that would have been called the Aviation Cadet Program, not the Air Cadet Program. My father graduated from the Aviation Cadet Program, class 54E. (1954) A few years into his flying career he helped to bring the first Boeing KC-135s into the USAF. He was the first to fly a few after Boeing handed over the aircraft to the USAF.
The F-86 is one I got to see in an airshow in Maryland. I've always thought they were one of the coolest most graceful looking planes ever made.
Great film, if it wasn't for that movie, I wouldn't be here, My Dad took his GF to see the film on a first date to see it. He then married his GF in 1959 , and not long after I was born in 1960! Its a film very dear to my heart.
Great story :-).
In the summer of 1956, I was a very wet-behind-the-ears young man going through basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Our drill instructor told us to look directly over us. I believe this monster was only 500' to 600' above us. Very loud and very big. We loved it.
Salute to a brother veteran. I was born in ‘56, didn’t get to Lackland till 1974. First assignment: SAC, Beale AFB, CA. B-52s, KC-135s, and the SR-71. U-2s joined us later.
@@hofico6 Salute to a brother veteran. Fought in the battle of Lackland, old wooden barracks, in the summer of 1973. First assignment SAC Grand Forks AFB , B-52 , KC 135 and F-106 guard unit from Fargo. George Evans has us both beat by almost 2 decades ! Salute to both you 2 fellow USAF Vets !
My Dad was at Lackland around that time .
@@hofico6 I love the SR-71! There is one at the Air Force Museum in Fairborn, OH. I have never understood why the Air Force retired it in favor of the U-2. It was much faster and a stealth aircraft. It is beautiful!!
I was soon to be born at the time you went through Basic. Visited Lackland for a few weeks in 1975. I was discharged in 1977, joined the Navy in 1979, retired from active duty in 1997.
jimmy was qualified to fly the B-36 and the B-47, both of which were seen in the film. He was also qualified to fly the B-17 and the B-24, the latter of which he flew on combat missions in World War Two. He also was qualified to fly B-52s and he flew as an observer on combat missions over Vietnam.
That’s amazing! I never knew that!
@@danny-li6io he was something most would deam of doing,,,
That would be Brigadier General... Jimmy Stewart.
@@josephrapoza6453 Jimmy Stewart, truly a patriot and one of my favorite people ever, God broke the mold when he created this man.
Wow. I knew he flew in WWII but never knew about Vietnam nor about him being so qualified on so many bombers.
My Dad was stationed at MacDill during the filming of this movie. He was a young 22 years old making sure those B-36's and B47's were armed and good to go. Those B-36 Engines roar like no other airplane engine. Dad is still here at the age of 86.
Yes they do. They have a very unique sound, like no other airplane.
What a lot of people don’t know is that when Jimmy Stewart came home from WWII he was suffering from what today looks like PTSD. He had been in the thick of the horrific bombing campaign in Europe and had lost many friends and colleagues. The first movie he was able to get a part in was It’s a Wonderful Life. Where his character contemplates suicide, drinks heavily and snaps hard at his children and wife. When I realized that Stewart was acting in this movie in a way that many veterans have lived, it brought tears to my eyes.
Thank-you for your heartfelt comment. My father was a machine gunner on the B24 . 456 bomb group 747 bomber squadron.
As a child, I listened to B36s warm up daily from 15 miles away @ Kelly AFB. The air would pulsate from that far off. I'll never forget that peculiar sound.Nothing ever duplicated that experience.
What's awesome is the shot of the Flight Engineer's station with that huge array of dials he needed to monitor. Also kudos to the crew chiefs who kept these monsters flying.
So many dials, I couldn't tell which were for jets and which were for radial piston engines, unless they were all for the radio?
"two turning, two burning, two smoking, two choking and two more unaccounted for." - Flight engineer. A monstrosity that was impressive, super hard to maintain and had engine issues because of it's configuration. Still, an impressive engineering accomplishment.
just looking at the mechanician's panel of this thing with a dial for everything. water presure, oil, temp, everything monitoring each of these ten engines, you know it's serious.
My first flight in a B-36 was the most exciting flight of my life. The sounds and smells of these bombers has stayed in my memory for 60 years. Like in the movie my flight was to be just a touch and go. From Spokane Washington with a touch and go in Anchorage Alaska. 2 round trips 24 hours and landed back in Spokane.
You are indeed a fortuant airman to have served in those days and on "The Big Stick". Mine came a little later as a crew chief on a tanker. We got to experience (IMHO) the last years of the best era this good 'ol USA ever had. SSgt USAF/Missouri ANG.
Jim Fling thanks for sharing that story.....👍🖖✌️
@Barrett Haynes Not doubting your last statement, but could you supply a reference to read up on that?
My hat off to you Jim Fling.
Mark Hull ...YOU'RE PROBABLY RIGHT- I'M SAD TO SAY-!!!
This film had some of the best air footage of it's time.
I agree 200%.
I couldn't believe it had been filmed in the 1950s when I first saw this. The footage is almost crystal clear at times!
@@thunderbird1921 Yes it was on film, the stuff that would require 20 million pixels a frame.
Which is the name of the film?
@@pilot_xoan Strategic Air Command. The movie itself isn't the greatest ever made, but my family has always enjoyed it. It's a pretty honest look at how rough the military life can be, even in times of technical "peace". My hat is off to all who serve this country faithfully.
Magnificent!!!! They don't make movies like these anymore, movies with REAL aircraft!
The filming and scenes are beyond exceptional in this movie.
Most people who even remember James Stewart at all probably remember him as a movie star of long years ago. But he was a genuine WWII bomber pilot, who flew many times, and I read that even after he'd flown his "required" number of missions, he managed to get assigned to more.
The real history buffs here can set me straight on that.
But he was a Hollywood movie star who could have actually flown this B-36 behemoth I'm sure! And not that I'm denigrating movie stars. Not everybody is born to be a bomber pilot. My dad was a pilot for decades, and it was just was not for me or my sister.
Robert, I believe you are correct, a fairly high ranking officer as well in the reserves while he was making films at the end of his military career.
@@john1959ism Ended up as a brigadier
"After fighting in the European theater of war, he had attained the rank of colonel and had received several awards for his service. He remained in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and was promoted to brigadier general in 1959. He retired in 1968, and was awarded the United States Air Force Distinguished Service Medal. " Wikipedia.
His service in the ETO was colorful. The understanding with the USAAF was that he would not go on really deep dangerous missions and spent his time bombing a lot of French channel ports. Still combat but not like a raid to Berlin and back. Almost unknown is the fact that his squadron was mistakenly included in the near infamous Schweinfurt raid which had the highest casualty rate suffered to that date by the 8th Air Force. That raid resulted in a reconsideration of day light bombing missions. He was very lucky to do that mission and come out unscathed.
@@djgodden Which Schweinfurth raid was he on? Was it in August or the one in October 1943?
I don't think there's a more beautiful sight than being up in the clouds and seeing the curvature of the earth.
Those stunning air to air sequences have never been equalled. Absolutely wonderful.
I remember as a kid they had a change of command fly over of all the B-36s, it was, unbelievable, the ground shook for a half hour. Made quite an impression on an eight year old.
Gorgeous cinematography and an awesome piece of military aviation history. I've always thought that the 1950's and 60's were the most interesting time in military aviation and this helps prove my point. I can't imagine seeing and hearing that thing in person. Must have been amazing!
Plus some excellent editing of all the footage from the multiple cameras....
@@joeblack7156 а что за фильм а видео?))
@@Metr236 стратегическое воздушное командование (1955)
This is a great movie that I treasure having in my collection. My uncle was an advisor to this film and walks across the ramp at one point. He went on to fly the B47 and B52 before he retired.
I believe this was filmed in my home town of Fort Worth, Texas at Carswell Airforce Base. I worked for General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) for 32 great years.
Thank you for that, was wondering where they were.
Yup, that's Lake Worth that you see. I guess 820 wasn't built yet then.
Wasn't it Convair way before that??
I was wondering if this was Carswell, but only because I knew Strategic Air Command flew out of Ft Worth during this era. Thanks for confirming!
Most of this set of scenes was filmed at Carswell. The scenes of the B-36 punching through cumulonimbus clouds were shot over Florida.
I envious of those who actually got to see these in real life. Thankful for you tube. I lived near 2 AFB ONE in the 60's & the other in the 70's through early 90's only saw B-52 & F-4,& F-106 also the T-37.
One of the best aviation films of all times, and my personal favorite. Great video, and having a real pilot, Jimmy Stewart, as the start, made it a perfect film.
While I worked on the 52s during my time in the Air Force, my all-time favorite has been that magnificent beast of an airplane, the 36 !
I was into aircraft and machines in general as a kid and loved this movie. Years later when I was in SAC on B-52s I was frequently reminded of this scene, such as when we'd take off from the west coast on a navigation and simulated bombing mission across the US, hitting tankers and maybe a low level track along the way, then return to our home base for some pattern work before finally doing a full stop many hours later without having touched the ground anywhere else. Then debrief. When I'd get home exhausted, if she was awake the wife would sometimes ask "How was your day?" It was a hard question to answer to someone not in that line of work, but it always made me think of June Allyson.
Crazy fact: This is still the largest combat aircraft ever constructed. When I first saw footage of this online as a kid, I had to do some research to make sure this plane was actually real. Amazing footage!
Well... ignoring the Russian transport aircraft, if you want to keep the definition of "combat" aircraft in the strictest sense, then the Soviet/Russian TU 160 is longer and heavier.
Wingspan your bird has it, and it's a much older and more visually interesting.
Just like how the vehicles made in the 50's are considered classics, so too are the movies of the time. I absolutely love the cinematography, stage/sets, wardrobe, actors/actresses, performace and movie themes. They just don't make them like they used too anymore. Truly a golden time in our history!!!
Ty! You are so correct, and this was all done with film. There will be time when this movie will be remastered to 8K. The film size is bigger than the conventional 35mm format. Have a great day! bob
Amazing - the plane, the photography, the colour, the clarity, the music - all perfection!
I have the DVD but it doesn’t take my breath away like this does!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Simply incredible footage of one of the most complex aircraft to ever fly. The clarity is amazing and the footage in this movie of the Convair B-36 is truly a national treasure.
Most complex aircraft ever huh? Think it might have been surpassed by now lol
Was it not a bit of a failure that never saw combat? It was high maintenance and patheticly slow to be any use, even with the additional jets it was far too vulnerable to mig-15 and other emerging fighters in the late 40's. They basically had it scrapped within a decade, the crews had to change all 336 fouled spark plugs after every single flight. I'd agree this footage is probably more of a treasure in terms of cinematography than the plane would be the grand scheme of military aviation.
@@addz17 Notice I stated, one of, and not the most. For it's time, it's hard to say that the B-36 wasn't a prime contender as being the most complex with its six compound radials and four axial jet engines.
We also can't say that it was a failure for never experiencing combat, but rather a success that it had not, as it proved itself as being a successful and effective deterrent to nuclear war.
As for it's period in service, it was technologically a "stop-gap" aircraft; caught right in the middle of the old propeller age and the new jet age. The B-29 variant, B-50 on one end and the all jet B-47 on the other. Technology during the post-war period was advancing at a rapid rate and because of that, it's quite surprising that it was in service for as long as it was. For all that matters, a short service life can also be applied to the B-47, as it wasn't in service for long before the still in service, B-52 took its place. Not even Convair's successor to its ugly B-36, the sleek and beautiful, supersonic Convair B-58 Hustler could survive the rapidly evolving technology race.
As you had stated, the B-36 may have been slow, but we have to consider that its high service ceiling gave it some protection from threats such as the Mig-15 which could barely attain the B-36's service altitude and remain under control for combat conditions.
Once the Soviet Union had introduced its high altitude surface to air missiles, (SAMs), then all bets were off for bombers, regardless of if it was a B-36, B-52 or even the B-58. The age of the ballistic missile had arrived and the bomber's role as the prime nuclear weapon delivery system had changed.
The effectiveness of the Soviet Union's SAM missiles can be referenced in the surprising downing of the ultra-high altitude U-2 spy aircraft of Frances Gary Powers on May 1,1960.
An amazing film with an amazing cast. In the 50s we could watch B-36s and B-47s on their landing approach to RAF Brize Norton from our front door step in Oxford! You could hear the B-36s coming long before you saw them, that drone they made was mind boggling.
I had the great fortune to grow up in Fort Worth and being a high school Fort Worth Star telegram paper “boy” on the west side in the early 1950s I heard that sound every morning. Majestic.
Greatest conventional plane ever engineered! My uncle, Isaac Polhamus, was flight-test engineer on the XB and YB. It was the adventure of his life.
That was some amazing filming, especially for that era. The plane-following shots at takeoff were well done, took a while before I realized how hard and well it was coordinated. No drones back then, they had a plane following the takeoff.
Many people thought she was too big to fly!! Proved them wrong! What a big beauty, she was!!!
For those of you that don’t know, Jimmy Stewart was a major general in the Air Force reserve, that is a two star general. He was qualified to fly quite a few airplanes and I remember when I was stationed in Udorn Thailand he came by and actually flew a bombing mission to North Vietnam in a B-52, At the time it was top-secret because he didn’t want it to get out and get mixed up with his show business career, he wanted to let the people know who were flying out of Udorn that he was with them ! and he took off and did a bombing mission over HANOI with the red crown flight.
Wow I never knew Mr Stewart went up over Vietnam during the war. Sad that he & Gloria lost a son there.
I don't know what the opposite of a chickenhawk is, but I guess we can call it a Jimmy Stewart. Had no idea he flew a combat mission in a B-52 in 'Nam, wow.
I remember when I was just a young'un living in Wichita, every once in a while one of these would fly over us on its way to McConnell AFB. We could hear them before seeing them they were so loud, kind of a rumbling. Always thought they were the greatest things flying.
I was 11 years old when this movie came out. I saw it with my little brother who was 9. It was mesmerizing. I remember the sound of B-36s flying over Shepard Air Force base where my dad was stationed. Very unique.
I grew up in Ft. Worth, Tx and these used to fly over my house all the time and then came the B47, B58 and finally the B52
I've had plenty of chances to walk around surviving museum examples, and marvel at the sheer size, and watching it in this film during the runup with the entire airframe fighting with itself...that must have been spectacular.
I read somewhere that the fuel tanks were prone to leaking on this airplane-!
A very good friend of mine was a flight engineer on a B-36 during the Cold War. He was very well known as being one of the best radial engine mechanics in the country. He told me many stories of his experiences in the B-36! One of the most intelligent people that I have ever know.
The urge to scream "EY YO WE GOT TWO BURNIN', TWO TURNIN, TWO SMOKIN', TWO CHOKIN', AND TWO MORE, UNACCOUNTED FOR!!! YAAAAHOOOOO!!!"
Very cool to see Carswell AFB in the background. Hanger 1050 (still in use today) was a Mx hangar for the B-36s. When the Navy took over the base...the Marines used it for their C-130s. That hangar made the 130 look like a toy airplane parked inside.
You should have had the opportunity to see Three B-52 in the paint hanger at Burkstrom in Austin.
I never get tired of watching this movie. Finally got it in Blu-ray. That monster is a beauty in the air and the photography and picture quality are superb.
Superb re edit of this spectacular aircraft,'Strategic Air Command' was a classic film and we are so lucky to have this footage that was made for the film,James Stewart at his best too.
Back then there was a romance with aircraft and it really shows through the cinematography.
Convair Peacemaker, a origem da exexpressã "6 girando e 4 queimando"!
I never realized the enormity of these aircraft until I visited the US Airforce Museum in Dayton. I always thought they were simply an updated B-29, but no! These are huge machines. The static display there has the bomb bay doors open, just an enormous machine!
Gawd, the chord of the wings at the root...absolutely insane. The B-36 was a beast of a plane.
Also the original prototype had 2 giant wheels not 8
They tried to create an all-jet powered version of the 'B-36', the 'B-60', but its prototype's performance was unimpressive and none were built.
I believe you could stand up in the thickest part of the wing root. If I'm not mistaken, there was a catwalk (or crawl-way) inside the wings out to the engines.
@@Andrew-13579 -Words from Msgt crew chief, WWII, then Korean conflict, on into Cold War, it was 'intense' inside the wing.... during flight. ;
My father flew as a navigator on these before I was born. I recall him mentioning that one of the aircraft in the film was an aircraft he actually flew in. This footage is incredible.
Those radials man, the sound is beautiful. You can't take that sound away
Victor Young, film music composer, nominated 22 times for an Oscar, finally got one on the 23rd attempt! Sadly, he died shortly after this film was made. Check out his impressive film credits on Wikipedia.
This 4K version is remarkable, giving the sequence a new freshness and immediacy....well posted Robert Gurskis!
Thankyou so much! I will be working on the part with the B 47 very soon!
Beautiful footage of an era gone by.
I can still remember as a little kid seeing formations of BIG planes flying over our farm. My dad was a WWII B-24 pilot and he identified them as B-36s. I have seen a couple since and they are awesome aircraft !
Six turnin' & four burnin'... man I wish I could've seen one of these fly. I was a KC-97L crew chief back during 'Nam. We has 4 turnin' & 2 burnin' and I loved every second I got to fly with my plane.
I did see them fly when I was little. Huge.
Brigadier General... Jimmy Stewart, What a bad ass. Movie actor, American Pilot, American Hero.. WHAT A WONDERFUL LIFE...
Wasn't Jimmy Stewart in a B17 making bombing runs on Nazi- Germany?
@@hugbug4408 No, he was a pilot in B-24 Liberators. He later flew with a B-52 crew, on a mission over Vietnam. Jimmy Stewart was the real deal.
AND a regular guy. American through and through.
You need a plane that big and ten engines to take the orchestra along.
Well said. What gets me about it is that the music doesn't undergo the drop in pitch that the engines do as the aircraft passes. Something noticeable in nearly all aircraft movies.
Hahahaha
@Robert Alan Brilliant comment. I'm still laughing as I write this.
Can never get tired of watching this video clip on the 36's take off !!!
Just another example of a great movie with great actors. Too bad Hollywood doesn’t have entertainment like this!
Are you kidding? The virtue-signaling hedonists in modern Hollyweird couldn't make a movie like this even if they wanted to (Which they don't). White men, defending America, in an American made bomber, with devoted (female) wives waiting for their return back at base? It would be instantly labeled "racist" and "White supremacist" and canceled by our neo-Maoist self-appointed culture police before the last bomber even landed during the first day of shooting.All involved in the project would be forced to apologize again, and again, and again....and, of course, never be forgiven regardless.
This isn't the America depicted in this movie. That place died and is as obsolete as the B-36 itself.
I was flying from a small airport close to Castle AFB near Merced CA when they were there. At night when I was flying they looked like they coming right at me. I had a charter flying one of the pilots after he retired that was a CFI for them, Chuck Fink. He gave me one of the best compliments I ever had. He told me that I had the lightest touch on the controls he had seen in his career. Our saying back then was "6 turning, 4 burning"
The B-36s were coming in to Davis-Monthan AFB when I was a tyke, maybe 5 years old. I still remember that chorus of engines, and how the sound shook the house as the planes came in on their landing approach. We could tell when they were still a long way off that one was coming in, and we'd run outside to see it. This movie did a good job capturing the sound of six engines, but what they couldn't capture was the vibration.
Amazing that even a B-25 could deal with the wingtip vortices and jet blast on that wonderful 3/4 view. You can "see" those vortices in the clouds, very subtly, at 4:18. I work in that long, brown, mile-long hangar in the background, on F-35s.
My dad was working at Convair when this movie was made. The scenes flying over White settlement take me back when I was a little boy! My dad was a maintenance electrician at Convair (before it became General Dynamics) back in the good old days!!
The continuous following shot of the takeoff run and climbout is one of my favorites of all time. I'm going to watch this clip more than once.
Probably watched this a hundred times, still am impressed at the fabulous photography and content.
Ty Bob!
Amazing aircraft, its enormous wings make that at high altitude it was pretty agile. Only changing 336 spark plugs from the engines was a hell o a job.
The B-36 was something to behold. The fifties was the "golden age" of new aircraft and the jet age. I was a kid then and loved putting up plastic kits, Revell, Monogram, and Aurora. Most cost only a dollar. This was the age of the B-58 Hustler, the B-47 Strato Jet, the F-101 Voodoo, the B-47 Canberra, The F-101 Delta Dart, the F-100 Super Sabre, the F-104 Starfighter, The B-57, the F-105 Thunderchief, later the F-4 Phantom, the F-8 Crusader, the A4D Skyhawk, and so many more I can't remember. Now kits can cost a fortune and i don't think boys today are much into them with video games dominating everything. What a shame.
The Crusader, Thunderchief, Phantom, and Skyhawk are some of my favorite aircraft!
That has got to be the most beautiful sound that I've ever heard...
Takes me back to when was a kid and we could see them in the air.
Great shots of the B-36 that permanently document the majesty of this aircraft, and the sounds associated. It was one of a kind! Great close-ups of various parts of the aircraft and interior!
For some reason, for the longest time in my life, I had thought the B36 was a fantasy aircraft-but it really existed!
Those scenes of the B-36 Peacemaker bomber aircraft were from STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND (1955), starring James Stewart as professional baseball player "Dutch" Holland who finds himself back on active duty in the Air Force courtesy of the draft and June Allyson as his somewhat understanding wife. There's a scene of Major Holland being shown one takeoff and one landing, as in the B-36 takes off from Carswell Air Force Base near Fort Worth, Texas, flies all the way to the Arctic where four fighter-interceptors vector the bomber back to base for its one landing at Carswell Air Force Base. The stirring score was done by film composer Victor Young who passed away after scoring AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS (1956). The Peacemaker didn't drop any munitions, conventional or otherwise, during its time in service. There was no need. Just its presence alone insured that our enemies wouldn't start any crap. By the way, the aerial cinematography was accomplished by Thomas Tutwiler, and why didn't he even get an Oscar nomination? Just curious.
We went from our first powered flight to this amazing piece of aeronautical engineering in a scant 50 years. Truly remarkable!
Some of the most beautiful aerial videography you'll ever see!
So true! And no CG all real footage shot with genuine movie film!
I so wish there were cinema grade footage like this of many more aircraft, places, and things throughout history!
Thank you for posting this clip. I never saw the movie, nor have I ever seen footage of a B-36 in flight, although I have read about the plane. My dad flew in B-29's as a gunnery instructor, so I always had a certain amount of respect and interest in the USAAF and USAF bomber forces. People don't know that much (in general) about the B-36 but it was a needed plane during the early Cold War. I can only imagine what it must have been like to see one of these flying behemoths in real life. Peace.
I grew up near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in the 1950's. The B-36 flew over our house many times. I always knew it was a B-36 because no other airplane had the same sound, with the six engines and the jet assists. It was a magnificent airplane!! If you are ever in Dayton, Ohio, be sure to visit the National U S Air Force Museum in the suburb of Fairborn. It is huge and has many different aircraft, including a B-36. There is also a separate hanger that has several Air Force One planes in it. You would need at least a week to see the whole thing.
Best thing Jimmy Stewart did was get the B-36 filmed in Vistavision - still one of the most high resolution formats.
Also fits the 16:9 aspect ratio fairly well.
I was just thinking, wow, this looks incredible
This is the original, uncropped format? I haven't looked recently, but at one time I could find only the cropped-for-TV version. May I ask where to find this one?
Good question - must be from the Bluray of the SAC movie released in 2016 (note the usual Bluray darkness and contrast). This appears to have slightly more picture than my Laserdisc version - which shows a little more on the sides than TV but not a huge difference.
Cool huge flying ship :)
I grew-up in Spokane Washington ,had these fly over our house several times a week. No mistaking the sound, the ground actually shook as it flew by because they were only about 3 or 4 thousand feet up. Very large aircraft, I was 9 or 10 then, 78 now
Just cant get enough of this... Always a airplane nut... Grew up in the 50s with all old round engine airliners; and become a pilot in the '70s...
This was one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen
The end result of looking at an aviation problem and simply throwing money at it. An exercise in paranoia.
Magnificent and beautiful sky at 5:43, magnificent and beautiful aircraft, and gorgeous June Allyson to start and finish on. That's what I call a video!
In the late 1950s when I was 8 or 9 I got to see a B-36 that was on static display at Amon Carter Field located about 2 miles south of the current DFW Airport. They let you go into both the cockpit and the tail, but you couldn’t ride the sled thru the tube thru the bomb bay from front to back. It seemed huge!
Quite amazing flying scenes for something filmed in the 1950's.
My thoughts as I was about to click this video:
"B 36 taking off in HD?! SWEET! I didn't even know they had any of these flying still! Hey, wait a minute, I think I've seen this before."
Strategic Air Command is still a wonderful movie. I finally got to see it all the way through last year, and I got my wife to watch it with me. It was on Amazon Prime at the time. I couldn't tell you if it's still there or not.
6 turning, 4 burning. Or, from the maintenance perspective, 2 turning, 2 burning, 2 choking, 2 smoking, and 2 unaccounted for.
The movie is available on DVR from Amazon. The print quality is outstanding; good as new. The inflight scenes of both the B-36 and the B-47 are fantastic.
I remember seeing a couple of those huge B-36s flying over my home on Long Island when I was a kid. Awesome, but I don't believe that they were ever used in combat.
As a young teen,I saw the last flight of the B-36 leave BiggsAFB in El Paso enroute to Tinker AFB in Okla.City to be mothballed.I think in '61 or '62. EXTREMELY LOUD.Quite a sight to see and part of history witnessed
20 hours later, she’s still sitting in that convertible.
Baking in the hot sun.
"MOM" JUST UP AND LEFT.
My ex would have left 20 minutes after we took off, went home and gave me $hyt when I got home. She is now history that I have completely and purposely forgot about. (Edited part)...To any guy 18-50 thinking about getting married, DO NOT DO IT!
It is a trap! Think about it. Who does it benefit the most? Answer: It benefits ONLY the woman!
Till death do us part?
WTF? REALLY!? Who the F agrees with THAT?
Here it is in a condensed format: For better or worse: She will give up on you and make your life miserable within only 2-3 years into your marriage.
Till death do us part: She will make sure that she gives you so much stress, you will wish that you were dead!
Through thick or thin: She will gain so much weight, you'll wish you married someone that wasn't 300 pounds!
Marriage: A total MISTAKE and a waste of time!!!
They will suk you dry before you even know what hit you!!!
DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!
@@Chubbycat747 That's true love!
The grandmother was dead and buried by the time he returned!
A truly fearsome contraption and a hodge-podge of jet and piston propulsion, thrown together when, in 1941, the Pentagon feared England would fall to the Nazis and that allied bombing runs would have to be conducted across the Atlantic. It never went online in WW2, but was a SAC mainstay until the B-52 was ready.
The B-36 timeline was 1945 - 1959 according to Wikipedia.
That is just beautiful film and cinematography. I love the sunset flight w thunderhead, beautiful. The B36 was a gigantic airplane. Very cool, to see Mr Stewart in 4K too.
Что за фильм?))
This really sends home the six turning, four burning description. Jimmy Stewart got to wear his actual uniform in this role. When I was in Air Force basic training General Stewart hosted a video describing our commitment to the USAF, where he actually told us about his military service continuing in the USAF Reserves.
The film was a glitzy advertisement for the Strategic Air Command - it's obvious the studio had the full cooperation of the US Air Force at the time - and the actor Fran k Lovejoy, who plays James Stewart's commanding officer in the film, was a dead ringer for General Curtis Lemay, the man who in real life organized SAC. I was ten years old when this film came out and I remember the only things I liked about the film were this flying sequence with the B-36 and a later one with Stewart in the cockpit of a B-47. The aerial photography is spectacular. I didn't know it then but learned later in life, Stewart was actually qualified to fly both aircraft and, for all I know, may have been at the controls during the making of this film. I have since come to understand that Brigadier General James Stewart (ret.) flew every bomber from the B-17 during World War II to the B-52 during the Cold War. I am in awe. Salute, Sir. Bless you.
I saw some footage of him as the backseater in a B-58 Hustler. The man IS a legend.
@@bigal1863 , Truth!!
Grew up in Fort Worth Tx. In my day it was b52s flying out of Carswell Air force Base. We would go out just to watch them Take off. The roar of those engines at full power is ......well you would just have to know...... can't explain it. Glad they restored a 36 it needed to be done.
We had a wing of the B-36's in Roswell,NM back in the 50's. Never forget the sound of those 6 engines!! i got to go thru one during AF days in the 50's!!
Damn I wished I lived back then. Everything just seemed better. I know everything wasnt perfect, but it almost seems that way at times. With the way society is going, we may eventually get to a point where we have our freedoms and rights stripped from us even more. So sad to see what I could've been a part of if I hadn't been born at such a sh*tty time.
Edit: grammar
That thing flew low and slow over my house in San Diego in 1957. Unforgettable sound. It was one of the last flights or so I heard.
Probably was near the end of its service life. The last B36 flight took place in 1959, when the B36 on display at Wright Patterson AFB museum was delivered.