[1950s BOY SCOUT EXPLORERS VISIT SELFRIDGE NATIONAL GUARD BASE]

Dating to the early 1950s, this amateur produced but elaborate film shows Region 7 Boy Scouts having an encampment at Selfridge Air Force Base (now Selfridge Air National Guard Base) in Michigan. We believe at the time the film was made that Region 7 consisted of boys from Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, and the troop pictured are Explorer Scouts but also referred to in the film as Air Scouts and Senior Scouts. The film provides a fascinating look at the post-war aircraft at Selfridge, which included F-80 Shooting Stars, B-17s, B-29s, F-82 Twin Mustangs, Sikorsky S-51 helicopters, C-46 Commando cargo planes, and more. The film begins with a shot of a Region 7 patch with the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin shown, before showing scouts studying an encampment brochure (:36). The brochure has a B-47 on the cover, which dates the film to about 1951. At (1:01) a B-25 Mitchell taxis down the strip. At (1:08) the main administrative / Operations Building is seen with cupola on the roof. An American flag flies out front, and there are T-6 Texan trainer aircraft parked in rows at (1:18). At (1:41) a group of F-80s flies in formation over the field. At 2:08 a military bus marked "School Bus" arrives at Selfridge carrying the Boy Scouts. At (2:21), scouts check in and at (3:00) make their beds in the dormitories. At (3:16) they eat at the mess hall. At (3:29) the scouts play volleyball, swim and play baseball and horseshoes. At (4:33) scouts play tennis. At (4:40) scouts visit the Selfridge Field chapel for religious services. At (5:10) busy tarmac at Selfridge. At (5:16) scouts check out a black paint scheme F-82 Twin Mustang and a B-25 Mitchell. At (5:25) an F-80 sits on the tarmac, buzz number FT-242. At (5:30) a PBY flying boat is seen as well as a Fairchild C-82 Packet and a B-17 (5:46). At (5:55) a B-29 is shown, tail #487736. At (7:27) the Twin Mustang is seen taxiing followed by a P-51 at (7:39). At (8:16) the control tower at Selfridge is shown. At (8:58) scouts use a Link trainer and at (9:47) skeet shooting. At (10:23) the scouts look at an F-80's jet engine and at (11:00) visit various workshops including the Base Photographic Building, Machine Shop, Propeller Shop and Sheet Metal Shop. At (11:40) the scouts see an R-51 helicopter in the hangar and watch it take off. At (12:27) scouts learn how to do navigation with charts, a protractor and compass. At (12:41) a boy with an Air Scouts shirt talks with a man in an Air Force uniform. At (13:00) a group of scouts put on parachutes as part of an opportunity to take a flight on a Curtiss C-46 Commando. At (6:17) some of the base's model planes are examined and shown to the camera. At (16:37) there is a demonstration of paratroops jumping out of the C-46. At (17:46) a party is put on for the scouts, with a lot of girls dancing and socializing, just like a prom. At (19:04) the film wraps up with the USAF personnel wishing the scouts well. The sun sets over the base.