Opening scene shows view from cockpit of a jet aircraft approaching to land on deck of the U.S.Navy anti-submarine aircraft carrier, USS Bennington (CVS-20). The aircraft lands and then taxis as directed by crewman toward parking place. (Narrator mentions the Atlantic Alliance, involving 15 Nations.) Slate shows "NATO ANTISUBMARINE." Scenes of Atlantic Ocean waters, some breaking on rocks, some showing whitecaps. Montage of World War II scenes dealing with submarine threat. A submarine periscope visible above the surface. View of a surface vessel, from submarine's periscope. Glimpse from fast-moving boat, of World War II Atlantic convoy underway. Aerial view of convoy of ships in formation underway. Periscope in water and below water view of torpedo being fired. Torpedoes exploding as they strike Allied ships. Underwater view of a submarine. A torpedoed ship sinking with bow pointing skyward.
Varied passenger activities aboard the German ocean liner Saint Louis, of the Hamburg American Line, in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship captain with binoculars. Crew men stand near him in a cabin. Passengers with some devices on the deck. They dance and play. Others watch them play. Some passengers in a swimming pool and others near the pool. Steam rises from the steam stack of the ship. Passengers take their meal at the dining table.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill speaks to seamen during the Atlantic Conference aboard HMS Prince of Wales in the Atlantic Ocean. Winston Churchill delivers a speech to the seamen on the deck of the ship. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt seated beside him. Other dignitaries seated behind. The seamen sing hymns during a church service.
Water skiing stunts in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Amityville, New York. Women water skiing while pulled by a motorboat. Two women fall into the rough ocean. A man climbs up a ladder on water skis being pulled by a motorboat in the foreground. Another man hangs from a trapeze as he performs stunts on water skis. The ladders and trapeze on water skis turns and falls into the ocean.
Closeup of a freighter steaming past the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor. Sailors riding on a commercial bus near the entrance to the U.S. Naval Base, Norfolk, Virginia. Traffic at the road intersection. Entrance sign identifying the U.S. Navy base. Views of ships docked at the base. Flags flying outside the Headquarters of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT). View of the great map room inside the headquarters. Officers from various NATO countries seated for a briefing conducted by A U.S. Navy Captain circa 1954. The most senior officers, including the first SACLANT, Admiral Lynde D. McCormick, step close to the map, where he speaks to the briefing officer. Closeup of the briefing officer moving images of aircraft over the map in the vicinity of the Portuguese Azore Islands. Closeup of straits of Gibraltar and then of Brest and Cherbourg on the coast of France; the Western approaches to the British Isles; the Norwegian coast; Iceland; Northern Labrador; the whole seaboard of Canada and the United States. View of waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Glimpse back to Admiral McCormick at the briefing map and then to a partially submerged submarine moving in water of the Atlantic. Narrator mentions subs of the 1960s. U.S. nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine launches a polaris missile. Final view of briefing map.
Dumping of radioactive material into the Atlantic Ocean. USS Calhoun County (LST-519) anchored at a port in New Jersey, United States. The American flag flies aboard the ship. Barrels or drums of atomic waste lined up on the deck of the ship. A map with a place marked on it. The map depicts the area in the Atlantic Ocean (seemingly off the coast of the Carolinas), where the atomic waste is to be disposed. Closer view of map shows writing, "Com Three Disposal Area" and a 2000 foot depth indication.