Fighter Wing

This short 1956 documentary shows how the Royal Canadian Air Force fulfills its primary role of maintaining constant vigilance and providing a blanket of aerial defense. It illustrates the combat readiness and shows how, in the event of an attack, warnings would be flashed to National Defence headquarters in eastern Canada and to Continental Defense headquarters in the United States.

The Snowbirds, The Canadian Armed Forces Air Demonstration Squadron, performing across Canada. The film portrays the role and close associations among all members of the air and ground crews, which are essential to safe and impressive demonstrations.

A suspenseful story by Arthur Hailey about the excitement and hazards of being an aircraft test pilot.

This documentary is about Bob Diemert of Carman, Manitoba, and his dream of building the world's next great fighter plane. His worldwide reputation as a genius at restoring "warbirds" enables him to finance his dream. The Defender is a lively, sometimes wild and funny, tale about a remarkable, modern-day folk hero.

For more background information about this film, visit the NFB.ca blog.

This installment in the Canada Vignettes series depicts the Canadian Forces Air Demonstration Aerobatics team at work.

This short from 1953 takes us on a guided tour of a northern Canadian radar defense post. There, Squadron Leader Bill Lee of the Royal Canadian Air Force discusses the station’s operations, revealing the little-known role of these isolated posts scattered across Canada’s Arctic.

Canada's progress in jet aviation is seen in relation to that of other countries. Aerial exhibitions show the performance of jet aircraft produced by countries foremost in the field, particularly Britain's Comet and her Sapphire-powered jet fighter, American stratojet bombers and Russia's fast-climbing MiG-15. At Canadair we see production of the Royal Canadian Air Force Sabre jets; at the Avro plant the Jetliner transport and the sleek, black night fighter CF-100. The film concludes with glimpses of aircraft of the future.

This short documentary celebrating a half-century of flight (the first human flight, powered by the Wright brothers, took place on 17 December 1903) examines the state of aviation in the late 1950s. The question, at that juncture, no longer was whether men could fly, but how fast and how far, and the film describes and reviews the top aircraft of the day: turbo-jets, stratocruisers, and missiles that outstrip the speed of sound. Part 3 of Salute to Flight, a 3-part film series about aviation.

This documentary short tells the story of the conception, construction and testing of the largest Canadian aircraft of its time - the Canadair Argus. A marine reconnaissance aircraft, the Argus was designed and manufactured by Canadair for the Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Air Force. In its early years, it was reputedly the finest anti-submarine patrol bomber in the world.

This film takes us to a number of Royal Canadian Air Force training centres to show how recruits from all parts of Canada become the key men at the controls of their country's aerial defence.

A Fighter Control Operator must know her radar screen as well as she knows her own face. Elaine Harrington learns to do exactly that as she comes successfully through the rugged preliminary training to which the Royal Canadian Air Force subjects its recruits, both male and female. Elaine's dream is realized with a posting to Canada's NATO force in Germany.