World War 2 US Army Air Forces Recruiting Film | Winning Your Wings | 1942
● Please SUPPORT my work on Patreon: https://bit.ly/2LT6opZ ● Visit my 2ND CHANNEL: https://bit.ly/2ILbyX8 ►Facebook: https://bit.ly/2INA7yt ►Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Lz57nY ►Google+: https://bit.ly/2IPz7dl ✚ Watch my "Military Training Films" PLAYLIST: https://bit.ly/2G6XIrN This video – originally titled as "Winning Your Wings" – is a World War 2-era US Army Air Forces recruiting film produced by Warner Bros. Studios. It was directed by John Huston and Owen Crump (both uncredited) and was released in May 1942. Winning Your Wings was aimed at young men who were thinking about joining the Air Force. In 1939, the US Army Air Corps had 20,000 men enlisted and 2,400 planes. By 1944, the US Army Air Forces – successor to the US Army Air Corps and the direct predecessor of the US Air Force – had expanded to 2.4 million personnel and 80,000 planes. The U.S. had only been in the war five months when this film was made. To fight the new war in the air, the Army Air Forces were in dire need of trained pilots and other aviation positions. Films like Winning Your Wings played a huge role in getting the word out to the American public. A year and a half prior to US entry into World War 2, the Army asked Warner Bros. to produce a series of shorts to familiarize the public with various military branches. Jack L. Warner took the job very seriously. So seriously that he would eventually help form the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Forces (responsible for all training and combat films). Winning Your Wings starred a young lieutenant named James Stewart. The actor had joined up a year earlier, making him one of the first in Hollywood to enlist. He was already an Oscar winner for The Philadelphia Story (1940), not to mention having received a nomination for his role in Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). During World War 2, Stewart amassed a distinguished war record rising to the rank of colonel, flying missions over enemy territory and earning numerous honors (the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Croix de Guerre and 7 battle stars). In Winning Your Wings, Stewart plays an ideal representative of the Army Air Forces - able to give a firsthand account of basic training. He states that there is a great mobilization, and that 90,000 new flying officers are needed. Due to this heavy need, he discusses how the prerequisites have been altered to encourage recruitment. He also discusses the great rate of pay, benefits and other advantages enjoyed by flying officers. He answers questions of young men in different social positions, like "What if I'm too young?" or "Can I finish college first?" Stewart assures each that they can join the air force and still be able to keep their various educational, occupational and family commitments. He explains each position of the nine-man B-17 crew from pilot to photographer. And describes the equally essential ground force, emphasizing that it's not all piloting – it is teamwork. He also throws in some humor, reminding cadets of the "effect those shiny little wings can have on a gal." Then the film takes the audience through the average mustering in process, about the medical exams, the cadet training and learning how to fly. This recruiting film was released in theaters and was shown in high schools. The impact was enormous - more than 150,000 recruits were traced directly to the film. Due to racial segregation polices of the U.S. Army Air Forces, there are no African Americans depicted in the film. Although, at the time of the film's creation, the first black aviators had already begun serving in the military, mainly as a result of the Tuskegee Airmen program. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND / CONTEXT The US Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the military aviation service of the United States of America during and immediately after World War 2. The AAF was formed in 1941, from the US Army Air Corps (USAAC), in response to the growing structure and mission that Army aviators were playing and the need for a more independent command structure. When created, several other nations had already adopted independent air forces (such as the British Royal Air Force and the German Luftwaffe) but the United States made the decision to leave aviators as a part of the Army. The AAF remained a part of the Army until a defense reorganization in the post-war period resulted in the creation of an independent US Air Force (USAF) in 1947. World War 2 US Army Air Forces Recruiting Film | Winning Your Wings | 1942 TBFA_0132 (DM_0070) NOTE: THE VIDEO DOCUMENTS HISTORICAL EVENTS. SINCE IT WAS PRODUCED DECADES AGO, IT HAS HISTORICAL VALUES AND CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A VALUABLE HISTORICAL DOCUMENT. THE VIDEO HAS BEEN UPLOADED WITH EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. ITS TOPIC IS REPRESENTED WITHIN HISTORICAL CONTEXT. THE VIDEO DOES NOT CONTAIN SENSITIVE SCENES AT ALL!

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