Conquest of the Air was a 1936 documentary film on the evolution of aviation, up until the early stages of World War Two. It features historical footage of the developments of commercial

Commercial aviation

Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for hire to transport passengers or cargo...

 and military aviation

Military aviation

Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...

; including the early stages of technology developments in design, propulsion, and air navigation aids. It was a London Films

London Films

London Films is a British film production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda originally based at London Film Studios in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. The company's productions included The Private Life of Henry VIII , Things to Come , Rembrandt , The Four Feathers , The Thief of Bagdad ...

 production, commissioned by the Air Ministry

Air Ministry

The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...

 of the British Government.

It appears that the film was initially commissioned by Alexander Korda

Alexander Korda

Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...

 prior to the advent of WW2 - and the Air Ministry saw the value in promoting Britain's contribution and leadership in aviation during this period. Some fascinating footage is featured of the early phases of automated flight, navigational equipment

Air navigation

The basic principles of air navigation are identical to general navigation, which includes the process of planning, recording, and controlling the movement of a craft from one place to another....

, and the transitions between civil and military developments.
This includes heavy bomber

Heavy bomber

A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size and load carrying capacity, and usually the longest range.In New START, the term "heavy bomber" is used for two types of bombers:*one with a range greater than 8,000 kilometers...

s; fast fighter aircraft

Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

 and the advent of naval aviation

Naval aviation

Naval aviation is the application of manned military air power by navies, including ships that embark fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters. In contrast, maritime aviation is the operation of aircraft in a maritime role under the command of non-naval forces such as the former RAF Coastal Command or a...

 (aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

), plus the initial experiments with vertical rotary flight (helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

s).

An updated version was released in 1940, and released in the United States on 20 May 1940.