(1958) "On Target, The Atlas ICBM" by Convair Astronautics (16mm, Narrated)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- ASM_011: 1958 film about testing an Atlas ICBM. Narrated by William Conrad. As well as flight hardware, quite a bit of 1950s ground support equipment shown. This includes equipment at downrange tracking sites at San Salvador, Antigua, Ascension, and Fernando de Noronha.
From Pre-Title Slide...
"The complex flight test documented in this film is part of a continuing research and development program to prove and improve new models of Atlas. Operational Atlas ICBMs are now on battle-ready status with the United States Air Force. They can be launched in minutes -- should that be necessary -- by small Air Force crews using automatic launch equipment."
Film End Credit: "Convair [Astronautics] Division General Dynamics Corporation".
ASM Film Preservation Project Film # ASM_011.
MARKINGS: AT 51 #400 Oct 27, 1958. "On Target" Reel One Convair Astronautics.
NOTES: Red faded print. Donation by Mrs. Jean Hein on behalf Marvin A. Hein. Existing TH-cam missing first minute of film and has poor sound • F-0059 On Target Atlas... . Maybe this can be better element. Narrated by William Conrad.
1000ft, 28min, 16mm, optical sound, reddish
==== NOTE on Muted 32 Seconds ====
We elected to mute the sound from 15:27 - 15:59 as the easiest way to take care of what we feel is an invalid Content ID claim. (It is understandable how an AI system would think it was.) Not worth time to contest.
Matching material is only 32 seconds of a 4min 15 sec audio track ("Song") published for children that used 32 seconds of same recorded Convair/Government sounds / feed.
Pads sounds and launch channel only. NO music.
(Track Title: "Ready for Flight!" by Harvey R. Meyers from the Album "Journey to Infiniti")
Thank you for preserving and bringing us these documentaries from the past.
You're welcome! We just wish we had more to preserve. These are films people donated. We have a few more but they were/are too deteriorated to recover. A few just melted into blocks of goop. We didn't really have the funds but we had to act before any more deteriorated. Thanks for your feedback.
Superb video by any measure! The editing, ample use of tight close-ups, fast pace and rich technical content really stand out. It made me wish I was a part of that team.
The space program delivered us a lot of firsts, including business casual.
...and Navy casual as well: 09:19
Awesome. Love hearing about my base Vandenberg, Dad was LCO for Atlas and Titan. Great video thanks!
Glad you like it. So much history lost. Does LCO = Launch Control Operator? (A guess on my part.)
Bruce
Great video! William Conrad’s narration kept my attention. Atlas: the stainless steel balloon!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Love the cars.
Anyone else catch the 'pin up' girl picture on the clipboard at about 10:06? Great upload, thanks.
All-male staffing in those days. Great film.
That voice is definitely William Conrad. Very distinct voice.
You almost expected to hear him at the very beginning of the film announcing: "On Target -- a QUINN-MARTIN production. Starring the Air Force Missile Test Command. With special guest-star Clu Gulager. Tonight's episode: "The Atlas ICBM"."
Fantastic video!
Our next door neighbor was an Atlas F, operated by Plattsburgh Air Force Base. Not the biggest missile sites built, but they are amazing underground structures. Years after they were decommissioned, some attracted young people as a place to party. Now most are wrecks, and full of groundwater.
Loved the cheesecake on the wall at 10:08 !
William Conrad = Cannon
And narrator for The Fugitive and Rocky and Bullwinkle
And a very bad Nero Wolf…
The Atlas 4B flight was the second flight of the Atlas-B and the first successful flight of the B-series.
SPOILER ALERT
I like how smoking and ashtrays were highlighted requirements :-D
Not only was this testing used for icbms, but also a gathering of data for our first spaceflights.
Sounds like William Conrad narrating.
Yes. I believe it is. We thought the same when we heard it.
He certainly has one of those manly narrator voices.
Yes, it is. Thanks for the reminder.
I thought it was Jack Webb.
Great video... marred by all the smoking. Glad that habit is going the way of the dodo bird. I say this as a retired submariner who had to endure a crew of which 75% smoked. I loved my time on submarines but did not enjoy having to be in such a toxic environment.
Was bad enough on ships
This was one one of the better test flights of the Atlas SM-65B (Test Vehicle 4B). This went 900km downrange, but not as a full test flight as the narrator postulated. This would not happen until three months later (November) with test vehicle 12B.
Thank you for your insight. (Note: Without research we can't verify, but viewer feedback is often correct.)
@@AmericanSpaceMuseum Apologies, I forgot to mention the sources. This was extracted from the Wikipedia for the SM-65 Atlas. This documentary was on the B version, serial 4B, launch 2 of the test series for the B version. There's still a ton of holes to fill, and Conrad's narration that got blanked, may have some information to extract, but like you said earlier, it was most likely propaganda to draw off the Soviet and Chinese.
10:06 reminds us that this was the 1950s.
Yep - the girly calendar.
The flag with 48 stars.
21:31 “Roger control, turning the stove to Medium on my mark”
My dad worked on that
It seems like America accomplished a lot when people smoked cigarettes. The delays and overruns with the F-35 were probably because not enough people smoke anymore. I'm kind of non-ironically thinking flat tops and horn rim glasses should come back too.
and pocket protectors too
Cargo-cult causation
Imagine how much different the Dukes of Hazard would have been if they'd hired this guy to narrate, instead of Waylon Jennings.
This guy is william conrad. Original Matt Dillon on radio. Legend.
It would still have been funny but the satire would be flipped.
Where is the sound?
Thanks for asking. The sound starts at about 37 seconds. That's the way the film was done.
Thumbnail dude looks like a Latin Marques Brownlee. Seems to be ahead of his time too.
The Guy on the thumbnail reminds me more of Markiplier than Marques Brownlee.
Sorry. Thumbnail changed since your comment.
Who's the narrator?
It's a good question but I'm sorry to say we have no information if it's not in the credits.
@@AmericanSpaceMuseum I think it is Jack Webb, but not 100% sure.
Someone posted that it's William Conrad, and I think they're right. Remember "Cannon"?
@@AmericanSpaceMuseumFrank Cannon, lol.
Absolutely William Conrad, I have no doubt in my mind.
Actually, that may be Lorne Greene.
yup, at one time, the USA did have the biggest weenie in the missile contest.
*Wow! ...Wow'*
...... killing all life on the planet never sounded so sexual.
the opening scene smoking and the other towards the ending ... this is the real America that world looks up to and wants to live in ... not the rainbowist dog and pony show
*spaceforce