MISSION: SONIC BOOM

[Music] colonel may we have a few words with you certainly I've been expecting you I thought you interceptor men were always in a hurry well we can move pretty fast when we scrambled to intercept unidentified aircraft I see what you mean [Music] yes we move fast on intercept missions but today major Conroy and I have a very special mission what is that sir today we're going to demonstrate and explain sonic boom from the cockpit of a supersonic aircraft one that flies faster than the speed of sound and is designed to help us defend ourselves against other planes that fly faster than sound sonic boom is a very serious problem to the Air Force because it concerns people all over the United States [Music] [Applause] major Conroy's mission will take him over least populated areas sonic boom is caused by an aircraft flying faster than the speed of sound it is not as many believed the South the flame makes the instant it breaks the so-called sound barrier soon after major Conroy reaches 35,000 feet he will exceed the speed of sound he should be there now let's check on it come in major Conroy Roger and the 35,000 feet leveling off now that we're more than six miles up we'll assume he going passive and sound supersonic flight is a matter of routine with this aircraft flight speeds like this produces sonic boom and there's nothing the pilot or anyone else can do about it you won't notice any change we can't hear the sonic boom because it's behind us listen now we're flying faster than Mach 1 faster than sound yes major no change in the cockpit but down below it's an entirely different matter in peacetime a thunder like sonic boom is almost always unexpected or it comes without warning the plane that causes the moon is probably flying straight and level beyond your range of vision beyond the sound of attention so the sonic boom is indeed a noisy nuisance unnecessary nuisance or just as truly sonic boom is the sound of security the Air Force shares with other services the tremendous task of providing protection for this nation against supersonic air attack the Navy and the Air Force must operate many types of supersonic aircraft both interceptors and bombers such as the four engine b-58 since ground noise of the Jets is also objectionable the service is used several devices to reduce flight regulation minimizes public disturbance by sonic boom everything that can be done is being done short of jeopardizing the defense of the country therefore on training missions from this base and since well located near the ocean you will not exceed Mach 1 and till you are above 30,000 feet and well out over the water of course there is extra danger for these men in training over the ocean in 40 degree water life expectancy is only 2 hours a 50% chance of death after 30 minutes we on the ground can help the pilots who protect us by learning to live with sonic boom just as the pilots and their families have learned to live on constant alert in defense of our country when we know it's not an explosion even though it sounds like an explosion when we know it can hurt us other than break a window now and then when we learn to expect it we can protect ourselves from fear from the fear it engenders to do this we must of course know how aircraft caused the sudden explosive sounds called sonic boom as a boot moving on the surface of the water causes waves to pan out in two directions an aircraft in supersonic flight disturbs the air and also creates waves pressure waves but unlike the surface of the water hair is a three-dimensional medium and the pressure waves spread out not only in two directions but in great cones of disturbance that reach all the way to the ground so when a plane is flying faster than sound these waves of disturbed air these pressure waves travel across the ground and reach our ears as sudden explosive sounds a 1,200 mile an hour interceptor flying high and level could create a boom that would startle the tens of millions of people along the eastern seaboard in a mere 10 minutes scientific research teams and industrial firms are working on the problem but for the present we must realize that the sonic boom is unavoidable supersonic interceptors are frequently set out to identify unknown aircraft day or night urgency requires the highest speed possible the most direct routing sometimes over sittings if our bombers are ever sent over enemy territory they will go in on their targets and get out at the higher speeds possible our bomber crews must pray today for this eventualities their training ground is the radar bomb School where friendly cities industrial and military installations duplicate the probable radar returns from an enemy target we have many types of supersonic aircraft now and more to come and fortunately we have the men with the courage and the cautious judgment it takes to fly these fabulous machines of our defense when you hear a sonic boom remember it's the sound of bees airman ready to shield you from aggression noisy nuisance that it is sonic boom is truly the sound of the security