Segments of color footage shot for John Ford's wartime documentary on the Battle of Midway, during World War II. Sailors near a gun aboard a U.S. warship. Individual Douglas SBDs repeatedly fly overhead. An SBD dauntless ditches in the sea. A destroyer approaches to rescue the crew.
U.S. Marines of the 1st Tank Battalion aboard the USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5) headed toward Peleliu in the Palau Islands during World War 2. Marines work on their M4A2 Sherman tanks aboard ship. They use tar and tape to seal places on the tanks as they prepare them for amphibious assault.They clean a hatch on one. A Marine points out water proofing points on tank. A slate reads "motor trouble" on September 12th. Another reads: "Passing Army Convoy." Then a long line of ships is seen on the horizon in the distance.
The USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5) in the waters off Peleliu, Palau Islands, during World War 2. Officers reading orders and briefing Marines on deck. Closeups of marines and officer reading the orders. Sailors shooting the sun with sextants. Other invasion task force ships seen from the Gunston Hall
U.S. carrier-based aircraft attack Japanese targets in Philippines. U.S. Navy F6F Hellcat taking off from the flight deck. Men remove chocks from aircraft. U.S. Navy SB2C Helldiver taking off from the carrier. Men on deck underneath an aircraft. Plane director on the deck. The U.S. Navy TBM Avenger taking off. Gun camera scenes from U.S. Navy fighter aircraft attacking formation of Japanese Mitsubishi G4M ("Betty") bombers. They shoot down a number of them, including one that loses its wing during the encounter.
A convoy to resupply allied troops at Mindoro, Philippines, seen underway, as it comes under attack by Japanese Kamikaze planes, during World War 2. Opening scene shows a burning Japanese warplane trailing smoke as it falls and breaks up before crashing into the sea. Flak clouds seen in the sky from the antiaircraft fire of the U.S. battleship, USS South Dakota (BB-57) seen low on the horizon in the background. Several ships are seen in the convoy. Suddenly a huge explosion occurs as a Japanese kamikaze (unseen) strikes the 14 thousand ton Liberty ship, SS John Burke. She is carrying a cargo of ammunition that explodes, raising a wall of water around the ship and creating a mushroom cloud of smoke that billows high into the sky.
A film on U.S. Army air-sea rescue operations. A U.S. Army Air Forces B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft in flight over water. Crew at controls of the aircraft. Number 1 engine is feathered. Then, number 4 engine fails and is feathered. View from behind shows the B-17 descending with all four engines feathered. (Some of these scenes probably employed models.) Crew members in the aircraft. A wireless operator sets a key at automatic SOS. Crew preparing for ditching. The aircraft ditching in the water.Crew evacuates from the ditched aircraft in 6-man life rafts. They employ their various survival gear, including Gibson Girl radio with balloon-mounted antenna, signal mirrors, fishing gear, dye marker, and smoke flares. They are spotted by an Army Air-Sea rescue Douglas A-24 aircraft. The aircraft reports their position and a rescue boat is dispatched to their location. They are reached by U.S. Army air sea rescue boat, number P-249 (An 85 foot, wooden, gas- powered boat, built by Eddy Ship Building, Bay City, Michigan). Crewmen are taken aboard and given refreshments.
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