Project 7 - Thunder Over Austin

Duration: 0:26:42

Year Published: c. 1963

Format: 16mm

Sound: sound

Description: Directed by Gordon Wilkison and written and narrated by Cactus Pryor, this episode of KTBC-TV's "Project 7" seeks to set the record straight on the unpredictable and unnerving thundering sound frequently heard from the skies over Austin during the early 1960s. The sound was in fact sonic booms created by Convair B-58 Hustlers breaking the sound barrier on training missions out of Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth. Through interviews with military officials and demonstrations, the program explains the cause of the sonic booms, the potential effects on the citizenry below, and the reason why Austin was being subjected to them at all.