Product Description

World War II turned the American aviation industry into a huge, high-tech giant. The war spurred the production of more than 300,000 warplanes, among them some of the greatest planes of all time: the C-47 transport (the "Goony Bird"); the rugged B-17 Flying Fortress; the B-24 Liberator, mass-produced by Ford on the world’s longest assembly line; the P-51 Mustang, the greatest prop-driven fighter; and the scrappy Grumman "Iron Works" output – Wildcats and Hellcats that leapt from the decks of U.S. aircraft carriers to maul the Japanese air force. This program includes modern footage of restored aircraft and history footage from factory floor to mile-high dogfights, capturing the urgency and adrenaline of World War II. DVD Features: Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

Empires of Industry is a mini-series which explores the cornerstones of America's economic might that established the United States as a world leader. Each of the one hour programs in this remarkable series focuses on an industry which played a unique role in America's rise to world economic dominance. The stories of changing fortunes in the steel, coal, brewing, ship building and textile industries reveal much about our country's past and present. Empires of Industry would be useful for classes on American History, History of Science and Technology, Economics and American Culture. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.


This episode of Empires of Industry examines the home front effort that created the American flying forces of World War II, a significant part of the “arsenal of democracy.” Because of the industrial might and effort of the American people, the United States was able to dominate the skies over Europe and the Pacific, and emerge victorious.

Vocabulary

• appalled
• armada
• aviation
• decimate
• discord
• embryonic
• escalate
• formidable
• horrendous
• ideology
• isolationism
• manifest
• momentum
• obsolete
• ponderous
• prelude
• prototype
• synonymous
• veritable

Discussion Questions

1. Prior to World War II, the United States practiced isolationism. What is isolationism? How did the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor change the policy of isolationism?

2. Rosie the Riveter was a symbolic icon that represented the efforts of American women in the war effort. How did World War II provide opportunities for women that were unavailable before the war? What were the long-term effects of women’s war efforts? How did women help enable US victory?

3. Who or what were barnstormers? Why were they called this?

4. Discuss Bill Boeing’s successful formula.

5. What was Boeing’s biggest mistake? What did it cost the company?

6. American soldiers called the DC3 the “Gooney Bird.” Why?

7. Why was the B17 called the “Flying Fortress?”

8. Why did the United States government look to industrialist Henry Ford to increase the productivity of bomber manufacturing?

9. How did the increased bomber manufacturing help to win the war?

10. Discuss Grumman’s strategy to keep employees happy and productive.

Extended Activities

1. Recreate newspaper headlines for December 7, 1941.

2. Design a World War II fighter or bomber.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38784 in DVD
• Brand: A&E
• Released on: 2005-12-27
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 50 minutes

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Customer Reviews

Excellent!
Without going into a bunch of detail - this is a great DVD and has much interesting detail. I love it!