How to Fly the P-47
These are my favorites of the Jam Handy Organization works, and the major reason I was inspired to research and put together these pages after investigating the company's history for my piece on the vintage Hamilton Watch films, is this WWII "How to Fly the P-47" series.
They are absolutely superb.
The series was created under contract by Jam Handy under direction of General Henry H "Hap" Arnold for the US Army Air Forces, under the auspices of the USAAF's First Motion Picture Unit (FMPU). Previously all the army's instructional films had been made by the Army Signal Corps Photographic Section, but in the early days of the war Arnold realized the value of film for recruiting and instructional purposes and created his own motion picture studio.
The series was filmed in conjunction with aircraft manufacturer Republic Aviation as instructional films for newly minted pilots learning to qualify on the P-47 Thunderbolt. The students were fresh from a commissioning and flight training program so abbreviated for the war needs that they were dubbed "90-day wonders". They were likely shown to the pilots as introductory or summary review materials, but they are so marvelously detailed that viewers even now are almost left thinking that they can fly the P-47.
How to fly the P-47: Pilot Familiarization - 1943
How to fly the P-47 High Altitude Flight and Aerobatics - 1943
There is another film in the serie entitled, "How to Fly the P-47: Ground Handling, Take Off, Normal Flight" but I was unable to find a copy of it anywhere.
