WB-29A of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (Hurricane Hunters) returning from a mission. The aircraft seen flying between smooth cloud layers. It banks to the left and descends. View of the WB-29 flying over part of Bermuda. Inside the aircraft, crew member fastens down equipment in preparation for landing. View from the ground as the WB-29 passes overhead. Another from the ground, of the aircraft touching down, bouncing up gently, and then staying down on the Kindley Air Force Base runway. (Note: During World War II, this B-29, tail number 42-94047, named the City of Jamestown, belonged to the 330th Bombardment Group, 459th Bomb Squadron stationed on Guam. On April 24, 1945,it was ditched near the shore of Japan, while returning from a bombing mission against the Hitachi aircraft factory in Tachikawa, Japan. Obviously, it was recovered and placed back in service after the war ended.)
A film titled 'Uncommon Valor' about the raising of the U.S. flag by U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima, Japan during World War II. United States naval fleet underway off the coast of Iwo Jima. U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft in flight. U.S. 4th and 5th Division Marines disembark from a ship and get onto landing crafts as they head towards the Iwo Jima shoreline. Marines land ashore and advance inland. They raise the American flag on Mount Suribachi. A newspaper boy sells newspapers on a street in the United States. A picture of the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi. View of sculptor Felix De Weldon as he carves a sculpture of the flag raising event. Scenes from the unveiling and dedication ceremony of the original limestone statue on November 10, 1951, at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, for the 176th anniversary of the founding of the Marine Corps. (The version of the statue seen in this footage had been placed in front of the Navy Department Building at the intersection of Constitution Avenue and 19th Street Northwest, Washington, D.C on 10 November 1945. It features 9 foot figures at 1.5 times life size scale. This sculpture was moved to Quantico Marine Base on 17 November 1947. It had been originally constructed by De Weldon of Indiana limestone, cement, and sand due to a lack of bronze during the war. At the time of its move to Quantico in 1947, the statue had deteriorated due to weather. Also, coats of paint to give the look of bronze had hidden much of the detail and had to be removed. Felix de Weldon supervised the repairs at Quantico before the statue was officially dedicated at the main entrance of Quantico on 10 November 1951, as seen in this ceremony). Officers lined up at the ceremony and many guests in the audience. A parking lot seen in the distance behind the assembled crowd. Cover sheets being removed as the war memorial is unveiled at Quantico.
United States Army Air Force at their base on the island of Iwo Jima, during World War II. B-29 bombers of the U.S. Air Force land on landing strip one after the other. Airmen at the runway. Airman marshaling a B-29. A pilot looks out form cockpit window of one of the B-29. The aircraft with painted nose art of an attractive, semi-nude woman and slogan 'A-Broad With Eleven Yanks.' (B-29 number 42-24698. Assigned to 499th BG, 877th BS. Shot down over Kyushu, Japan July 11, 1945. 1 crewman killed, 10 survived and rescued. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 14344.)
Setting: North Field, Tinian Island in Mariana Islands, South Pacific, almost a week after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima Japan, August 8, 1945, during World War II. Public Relations Officer, Major John F. Moynahan (not seen) is interviewing members of the Crew of the B-29, Enola Gay, from which the bomb was dropped. Here he interviews Captain William Sterling "Deke" Parsons of the U.S. Navy who was weaponeer aboard the Enola Gay, during the mission. and who now serves as Scientific Head of the Atomic Bomb Project in the Pacific Theater. Captain Parsons describes the events of the mission from their early morning departure through the actual bombing. He notes that the actual bombing went smoother than earlier practice missions.
Aircraft of Carrier Air Group 9 (CVG-9), embarked aboard the USS ESSEX (CV-9), operating with Task Force 58, are seen returning from a strike over Tokyo, Japan, in February, 1945, during World War 2. They display the white double-diamond tail design of aircraft assigned to the USS Essex. F4U Corsair makes an arrested landing. Unusual point of view shot from rear seat, left side, of a Douglas SBD Dauntless aircraft as it approaches aircraft carrier, turns, and comes in for landing on the carrier deck. F4U Corsair taxiing to deck edge elevator and lowered to hangar below. F6F Hellcat touchdown for an arrested landing. Pilots seen in the cockpit.
The film 'The Saga of the Franklin' to honor and remember the men who served in the U.S. Navy during during World War II. A board reads USS Franklin (CV-13). The log book of the ship. An entry from the log book. The ship leaves San Francisco, California in February 1945. A U.S. flag flutters on the ship. The ship in the western Pacific Ocean. A fleet of ships underway at sea. Aircraft take off from the deck for a mission on July 4th, 1944. The target is Iwo Jima, Japan. Other ships nearby. Guns are fired. A Japanese Kamikaze aircraft crashes on a ship. An aircraft in flight. Explosions on the ground below. A Kamikaze aircraft is hit by guns fired from USS Franklin by Air Group 13. Rocket equipped aircraft struck Japanese ships. Aerial view of burning ships in water. Kamikaze aircraft in flight. A Kamikaze aircraft which has been hit, falls downwards in a mass of fire. It crashes into water. A Kamikaze aircraft crashes into water near a ship. A ball of fire rises up. A Kamikaze aircraft crashes into USS Franklin on October 30, 1944. After being repaired, USS Franklin reaches Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. A band plays to welcome the ship. U.S. Navy WAVES ( Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) on the ship. A U.S. Navy Vice Admiral decorates sailors. Air Group 75 and 35 aboard the ship. Aircraft on the deck. An aircraft takes off from the deck of the carrier. An aircraft prepares for a take off. A white diamond painted on the tail of an aircraft in flight. An aircraft comes in for a landing. An LSO ( Landing Signal Officer ) signals using flags. He makes a signal for an aircraft to cut off its engine while landing. The aircraft makes an arrested landing. An aircraft lands on its nose. Men sunbathe in Hawaii. A party abroad USS Franklin. A cake to celebrate the 9000th landing on the carrier. Ensign A. W. Graf who had made the landing cuts the cake.