MISSISSIPPI INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICS

Genre: home movie

Year Published: 1953

Description:

This brief silent b&w and color home movie was shot by an unknown American during WWII. It shows activities at the Mississippi Institute of Aeronautics in the early 1940s. MIA was a civilian pilot school; one of many built and operated during the war under government contract. The groundwork for the MIA was laid in 1940 when the government bought 220 acres of land, mostly cotton fields, to build the airport. By September, 1940 the airfield was in operation. Eventually 3000 cadets made their way through a 5-week course at what was first named Robins Field, later renamed Augustine Field in the fall of 1941. Deactivated in 1944, the airfield reverted to the city, which used hangars for community square dances in the 1950s. The airport was renamed Bruce Campbell Field in 1953. Schools like the MIA provided a large part of the pilot training effort conducted by the U.S. Army Air Force. Most of these schools were closed by the end of 1944. The film delivers a slice of early aeronautics history; training in aeronautics during the Second World War. Much of the footage shows trainee pilots getting their feet wet with Boeing-Stearman Model 75 biplanes / PT-17 Stearmans and Fairchild PT-19s.

Opening shots pass over the interior of a hangar with a no smoking sign stuck to it (:05). A row of Boeing trainer planes (:14) hang on the right end. The view runs over 1940's cars in the lot (:36). More Boeing trainers line up near the runway (:41). These are likely the PT-17 Stearman. Dark footage shows the expanse of the airfield (1:12). A close shot follows of the plane propellers (1:22). Student pilots head for the crafts (1:36). A Stearman heads for takeoff (1:40). Trainer pilots mill within the hangar waiting (1:56) for a chance to run off. A trainer crafts swings overhead (2:02). The view pans over the active air field (2:26). Students march into the streets (2:41). A security guard chomps on a cookie (3:15). Another shot shows the Stearman PT-13D flicking its rudders (3:24). Ground support and servicemen move throughout the air field (3:47). Enlisted hang along a fence (3:51). Color shots of the Stearman appear (3:56). A line of trainer pilots in their greens swing in (4:14). A line of their trainer crafts await (4:39). A few buzz off for the runway (4:49). A trainer pilot snaps a photograph (5:15). Simple Mississippi homes (5:31) are pictured guarded with thick trees. Enlisted play a game of horseshoe (6:95). Another enjoys an ice cream cone on a fence (6:58). A Stearman PT-13D takes to the sky (7:47). It spins and rolls (7:59) viewed by another craft in the sky. Great shots follow the craft dropping low over the Mississippi countryside. A view follows from the co-pilot of the pilots head gear flapping about (8:31). The trainer craft runs over dirt after landing (8:57). Pilots discuss the day of flying (9:05). One pulls out a small hand gun (9:12). Close shots pan over the new pilot’s faces (9:19). One of the grounds service men waves a red flag (9:42). A few trainer crafts swing low and touch down (10:03). Close shots of an enlisted man driving an Army jeep follow (11:08). Planes take off from behind barbed wire (11:32). A formal dressed trainer pilot stands for photograph (11:38). His wife steps from the car to stand next to him (11:49).