Air Power: The Story of the U.S. Air Force

I'm not sure of the origins of this series, since the credits are cut off from each episode, but there is a lot of good footage, much of which I have not seen before.The programs consist of a series of 13-minute-long episodes which probably appeared on TV shortly after the 1960 cut-off date for the coverage. There are 15 of these episodes on each of the two DVDs.The story starts with the first aircraft purchased from the Wright brothers and continues through to the Cold War and the advent of missiles. Some of the early footage is the most interesting, showing how we trained our pilots in WW I, and some great images of aircraft of the interwar period in action, including such types as the B-9, B-10 and P-26. There is also footage of early B-17s helping prove the worth of the design that would come in handy a few years later.Over 1/2 of the episodes cover WW II in good detail, and always from the Army/AAF point of view. For instance, while most coverage of Midway emphasizes the carrier-based aircraft or the USMC aircraft based on the island, this one tells about the B-17s and B-26s that took the fight to the Japanese.Be forewarned that, because these programs are over 50 years old, some of the terminology used is no longer considered "politically correct". On the whole, this series is entertaining and fine value for money.

The Air Power video they advertised and I purchased, is not the one narrated by Walter Cronkite which was done in 1957. This is a later version done in 1999 by Columbia River Entertainment, which I already own. Product quality and condition are fine, it just is improperly advertised. T.C.

Great piece of history! WW2 is very well covered but so are the pre war years and the dawn of the jet age.