“CEILING UNLIMITED“ 1940s INNOVATIONS IN TRANSPORTATION & AVIATION SOCONY-VACUUM OIL CO. 61064

“Ceiling Unlimited” (1940s) is a black-and-white newsreel film presented by Socony-Vacuum (Mobil). Produced by Caravel Films Incorporated, the film features various first hand footage of early aviation attempts as well as other early forms of modern transportation such as the automobile and steamboat. The film is likely a continuation of the Ceiling Unlimited series (1942-1944), a CBS radio series that was conceived to glorify the American aviation industry. United States Military WWII-era bombers fly in ‘Flying Wedge’ formation among the clouds (0:38). Perhaps Grumman F4F Wildcat (0:43). Early Sikorsky R-6 / Hoverfly II WWII-era helicopter, somewhat similar to the later 1960s Hughes OH-6 Cayuse (0:47). Boeing 314 Clipper Military Plane (0:48). Military plane (0:52). Plane similar to DE Havilland DH 98 Mosquito (0:54). American Airlines Convair Flagship Propeller Plane (0:56). Labert St. Clair’s book ‘Since Time Began: Transportation - Land, Air, Water’ (1:01). Steamboat paddle-wheel (1:14). Steam billows as steamboat pulls into harbor (1:17). Horses unloaded (1:22). Barge along canal (1:27). Greater Pittsburgh steamboat passes under pedestrian bridge (1:28). Crowds on pier, steam billows from docked ships (1:33). Train locomotive (1:38). Wm. Galloway Train, Strombecker 1837-BT (1:40). William Mason 440 steam locomotive (1:42). Gathering of steam locomotives (1:48). Steam locomotive train speeds on rails (1:52). Conductor pulls levers from inside the locomotive (1:55). Aerial view of train yard (2:00). Steam billows - face of locomotive emerges (2:03). Buckeye Gasoline Buggy drives passes pedestrians, horse-drawn carriages (2:10). Ford Model T from 1900 pulls into commercial area of town (2:16). Driver’s view, driving pre-War car along road of small town (2:26). Aerial view highway network (2:31). Men in suits look over graphs and charts (2:46). Illustrated chart estimated planes in sky by 1950 (2:53). Perhaps Piper J3 aircrafts (3:06). Perhaps Douglas XB-19s flying in formation (3:12). Man reads aviation magazine (3:28). Footage Teddy Roosevelt, Archibald Hoxsey flight over Kinloch Field St. Louis (3:35, 4:58). Other first attempts at flight and early aircraft models - Antoinette-Latham…(4:24-5:20). Wright Brother’s Homecoming Celebration Dayton, Ohio (5:22). 1911 passenger transport plane (5:30). Early model sea plane glides on water’s surface next to tug boat, water filled with ice chunks (5:37). Experimental jet in the air (5:52). Municipal leaders in suits gathered in conference room, sift through pile of papers (6:00). Two buggy cars pass each other on a tree-lined road (6:06). Buggy cars line up for a race - cars speed along ridged dirt road (6:11). Car speeds past man on horse-drawn buggy, overgrown shrubs line the road (6:18). Propeller-powered early plane model exits aircraft hangar (6:26). British pilots stand in field with perhaps Royal Aircraft Factory planes (6:34). Perhaps Vickers A Vampire takes off (6:41). Air battle: trail of smoke, plane plummets from sky (6:46). Various early plane models tested (6:55). Interior war-time American Liberty Engine factory (7:03). Engineers fix propellers and other parts of the plane body onto aircraft (7:10). Portrait Eddie Rickenbacker (7:18). Rickenbacker’s perhaps Nieuport 28 aircraft paraded down city street (7:21). Pilot hops out perhaps Curtiss JN-4H “Jenny” biplane - first air mail plane in the US (7:31). Early 20th century United States Postal Service delivery truck (7:33). International Air Mail schedule board (7:39). US Navy flying boats - attempt to cross Newfoundland to Azores (7:44). Perhaps New York City street 1930s - double decker bus, automobiles line street (8:05). Parking lot filled with 1930s automobiles (8:12). 1923 Lt. John A. Macready and Oakley G. Kelly shake hands in front of modified Fokker T-2 Roosevelt Field, New York (8:42). Ford Trimotor takes off (9:01). Perhaps Leinweber Brothers helicopter attempt (9:20). 1926 Richard Byrd, Floyd Bennet take off in Fokker F. VIIa/3m tri-motor Josephine Ford to fly over North Pole (9:51). 1927 Charles A. Lindbergh takes off from Long Island for Paris in Spirit of St. Louis (10:03). Lindbergh welcome home parade Washington D.C., crowd waves American flags (10:18). We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit