Chapter Overview

Indy takes to the skies in this highflying thriller. The French Secret Service dispatches Indy to the Lafayette Escadrille to aid the allies in aerial reconnaissance of the German lines. Danger lurks as Indy faces off with the legendary ace of aces Manfred von Richthofen, known more commonly as the Red Baron. Indy’s secret mission then takes him behind enemy lines to lure aircraft designer, Anthony Fokker, into defection to the allies. This dangerous mission becomes all the more important when Indy discovers a powerful secret weapon that Fokker has designed for the Germans.

People and Topics

Documentary Previews

Below you will find information about each documentary that supplements Attack of the Hawkmen.

War in the Third Dimension: Aerial Warfare in World War I	When World War I began, the rival armies charged into battle with frightening new weapons that seemed ready to change the very nature of war. One promising new piece of military hardware -- the airplane -- wasn't quite ready to hit its mark. That didn't stop a few passionate advocates from making big plans for airplanes, or from dreaming up ways to use them in war. By the end of the war these visionaries would transform the flimsy airplanes of 1914 into powerful and dependable weapons, and take war where it had rarely gone before: beyond the two dimensional realm of our planet's surface, into the third dimension of the air above. Produced by Mark Page and Jennifer Petrucelli. Written by Mark Page. Running Time: (0:27:34)
Blood Red: The Life and Death of Manfred von Richthofen	Today, historians and aviation buffs still celebrate the Red Baron as the ideal fighter pilot. A daring knight of the sky who helped write the book on aerial combat during the world's first air war. For the man behind the myth, however, the real story is a tale of disillusionment; a blood red saga in which ancient ideals of chivalry, honor and duty came crashing down in the fires of modern war. Produced and written by Mark Page and Jennifer Petrucell. Written by Mark Page. Running Time: (0:27:43) Exclusive Documentary Preview! No video? Watch in Flash!
Flying High for France: The Lafayette Escadrille	In a war that claimed millions of lives, most who served in the military fought because they had no choice. But the high flying men of the Lafayette Escadrille were different: they didn't have to be there. They were American adventurers who volunteered for World War One long before their country joined. They were lawyers, authors, heirs to banking and railroad fortunes, Ivy League graduates, friends of royalty, sons of privilege. All they wanted was a chance to fly. The young pilots came to the war with romantic ideas of adventure and heroism. They had no idea what they were in for. Produced and written by Karena O'Riordan. Running Time: (0:26:13)
Anthony Fokker: The Flying Dutchman	On November 11, 1918, the Germans laid down their arms, finally ending World War I. In the surrender agreement, the Allies listed the numbers of cannons, machine guns and other weapons that Germany had to turn over. Yet of 1,700 airplanes demanded, only one type was so feared that it was mentioned by name: the D-7. The deadly machine was the masterwork of a 28 year-old Dutchman who had become Germany's most skilled -- and unconventional -- plane maker: Anthony Fokker. Produced and written by Mike Welt. Running Time: (0:27:31) Exclusive Documentary Preview! No video? Watch in Flash!

Indy Connections: Attack of the Hawkmen

Below are current event articles that relate to events, topics, and people found in Attack of the Hawkmen.

8 Famous People Who Missed the Lusitania

Smithsonian.com

5/2/2013

When the First World War began, in the summer of 1914, the Lusitania was among the most glamorous and celebrated ships in the world—at one time both the largest and fastest afloat. But the British passenger liner would earn a far more tragic place in history on May 7, 1915, when it was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland, with the loss of nearly 1,200 lives.

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How the DC-3 Revolutionized Air Travel

Smithsonian.com

4/1/2013

On an early evening in late 1938, a gleaming American Airlines DC-3 departed Newark Airport, bound for Glendale, California. The takeoff, wrote a Fortune magazine reporter aboard to record the still-novel experience of cross-country air travel, was effortless. “Halfway along the runway,” he recounted, “she left the ground so smoothly that none of the first fliers in the cabin realized what had happened until they saw the whole field rushing away behind them and the factory lights winking through the Jersey murk ahead.” By the time the flight crossed over Virginia, passengers had already polished off a dinner of soup, lamb chops, vegetables, salad, ice cream and coffee. After a refueling stop in Nashville, the DC-3 continued west. Beyond Dallas, the journalist added, “visibility was limited only by the far horizons of the curving earth.” Despite head winds, the plane arrived on schedule at 8:50 a.m. Total time was 18 hours 40 minutes, including several ground stops.

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A History of the Parachute’s Earliest Days

Smithsonian.com

3/7/2013

I recently went skydiving for the first time. It was possibly the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done in my life. A couple days later, once I had time to process everything, my thoughts turned to that backpack that kept me alive. When was it designed? Who was the inventor that made it possible for me to survive a fall of 10,000 feet? Some quick research told that that I owed my life to a Russian actor named Gleb Kotelnikov, who is credited with inventing the first backpack parachute in 1911. Surprisingly little is written about Kotelnikov –at least in English– but assuming Google translate can be trusted, he was compelled to create the parachute after witnessing the death of pilot Leo Matsievich during an air show in St. Petersburg. From that horrible moment, Kotelnikov, a former theater actor, dedicated the rest of his life to preventing the unnecessary deaths of airplane pilots. By the early 20th century, basic parachutes were already widely used to perform jumps from hot-air balloons, and of course the idea of the parachute famously goes back all the way to Leonardo da Vinci, but these early parachutes were elaborate and cumbersome, and the high speed at which planes traveled required a more efficient design.

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Rare World War I Images Found Inside Antique Camera By Photographer Anton Orlov

huffingtonpost.com

1/11/2013

A blogger passionate about historic photography techniques serendipitously found some old photos inside his newly-purchased camera. As in, World War I old. Last week, Anton Orlov of the Photo Palace blog was cleaning the Jumelle Belllieni stereoscopic camera that he'd bought at an antique store a few days prior, and found the images completely by accident. According to his blog, he opened the film chamber and saw the negatives on a stack of glass plates.

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Disturbing Pathe footage from World War One reveals devastating effects of shell shock on soldiers as they were treated in pioneering Devon hospital

dailymail.co.uk

11/8/2012

Uncontrollable shaking, terrifying nightmares and severe convulsions were among the most devastating symptoms suffered by the many First World War soldiers who suffered shell shock. By the end of the war, more than 80,000 men who had endured the horrors of battle were struggling to return to normality. And here, disturbing footage compiled by British Pathé film archivists and released to MailOnline today, brings home the terrifying reality that for many the war never really ended. At the time, most shell shock victims were treated harshly and with little sympathy as their symptoms were not understood and they were seen as a sign of weakness. But at Newton Abbott's Seale Hayne in Devon, the approach was very different due to the revolutionary approach of a doctor called Arthur Hurst, an army major, who believed he could cure every shell shock victim.

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Gentlemen of the skies: German flew behind enemy lines to deliver letter from Brit he shot down

dailymail.co.uk

9/7/2012

In the skies above northern France they were the deadliest of enemies. Yet there still remained time for chivalry among the First World War flying aces. When a British plane was shot down in 1916 the German pilot followed the stricken aircraft and landed nearby to check the two-man crew had survived. He then braved French and British fire to cross enemy lines and drop a letter to Allied forces telling them the pair were alive.

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Gentlemen of the skies: German flew behind enemy lines to deliver letter from Brit he shot down

dailymail.co.uk

9/7/2012

In the skies above northern France they were the deadliest of enemies. Yet there still remained time for chivalry among the First World War flying aces. When a British plane was shot down in 1916 the German pilot followed the stricken aircraft and landed nearby to check the two-man crew had survived. He then braved French and British fire to cross enemy lines and drop a letter to Allied forces telling them the pair were alive.

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Document Deep Dive: What Did the Zimmermann Telegram Say?

Smithsonian.com

8/21/2012

On January 17, 1917, British code breakers in Room 40, the cryptoanalysis office of Great Britain’s Naval Intelligence, intercepted a telegram from Germany. At first, they suspected the coded message was a routine communication. But, soon enough, the cryptologists found that what they held in their hands was a top-secret missive that would shift the tides of World War I. Chances are that you have studied the Zimmermann Telegram in a history class, but have you ever actually seen the coded message? German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann sent the diplomatic message to Heinrich von Eckardt, the German ambassador in Mexico City, instructing him to speak to the president of Mexico. He proposed that the two nations strike an alliance; if Mexico waged war against the United States, thereby distracting Americans from the conflict in Europe, Germany would lend support and help Mexico reclaim Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

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Aircraft Design Inspired by Nature and Enabled by Tech

Smithsonian.com

8/16/2012

As if it weren’t already mind-bending enough to envision yourself hurtling through the skies in a metal canister at 500 miles per hour, now Airbus wants you to imagine your gravity-defying journey in an aircraft with transparent skin. Tapping into some of the most cutting-edge design thinking today, the aviation leader has developed a concept plane that is not intended for flight—at least not in this iteration—but is an innovation tool that “stretches the imagination of engineers, and…highlights some of the challenges and decisions that lie ahead for air travel.”

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The original air aces

bbc.co.uk

5/7/2012

In most accounts of WWI, mention of the Royal Flying Corps goes hand-in-hand with stories of the fighter aces, men like Albert Ball and James McCudden, who downed dozens of enemy planes. The romance of gladiatorial combat in the air - initially firing revolvers at one another from the cockpit, and then shooting machine guns through the propellers of the aircraft - makes their adventures against such legendary foes as the Red Baron some of the most stirring tales of the Great War.

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Suggested Lessons

• Images at War