Men exit hatch of diving bell taken from ship of Atlantic convoy alongside in Iceland. Officer at pelorus. Surfaced submarine. Man signals semaphore. Chain pays out over rail. Officer at small range finder. Motor whale boat tows heavy line from side of ship. Men work with winches and other deck gear. Motor whale boat underway, very rough sea. Diver placed on platform and lowered over the side into water. Diver raised from water on platform and lowered to deck. Men enter large diving bell handing from cable alongside ship. Large diving bell sinking in the water.
Views of conveyor system in use at Bell Aircraft Plant, Niagara Falls. War production workers inspecting and working with aircraft moving on belt. Bell P-39 Airacobra taking off. Views of Bell P-39 Airacobra in flight. (World War 2 era war production effort.)
B-17 bombers of the U.S. 8th Air Force, 91st Bomb Group, take off from their base at RAF Bassingbourn. Views from inside the B-17, "Memphis Belle." The landing gear of the "Memphis Belle" retracting into the wheel well. Views of English countryside, including many RAF airfields. B-17s in close formation. Crew members of the "Memphis Belle" are seen at their duty stations inside the aircraft, including: Captain Robert Morgan,Pilot; Captain Jim Vernis,Co-Pilot; Sergeant Robert Hanson,Radio operator and gunner; Captain Chuck Leighton, Navigator; Sergeant Harold Loch,Flight Engineer and Top Turret Gunner; Sergeant John Quinlan, Tail-Gunner; Sergeant Cecil Scott, ball turret gunner; Captain Vince Evans,Bombardier ; Sergeants Bill Winchell and Tony Nastal, Waist gunners. Pilot , Captain Morgan, alerts crew and dons his oxygen mask as they climb through ten thousand feet. View of coast of England as they leave. Temperatures drop and contrails form as the formation of B-17s climbs to 25 thousand feet.
One by one, 29 B-17 aircraft of the 91st Bomb Group (out of 36 launched) return from their bombing mission over Wilhelmshaven, Germany during World War 2. Many suffered battle damage and have wounded crew aboard. The B-17, "Dame Satan," is seen with large holes in it. The B-17, "Old Bill," is shot to pieces, with its nose missing. Lieutenant Colonel Stanley T. Wray waits in control tower as three more aircraft arrive, including the "Memphis Belle." Her crew members relax and smile as she lets down to land. Her pilot, Captain Morgan buzzes the airfield before landing to complete their 25th bombing mission. They are congratulated by well wishers on the ground. Their crew chief paints the 25th bomb on the "Memphis Belle" fuselage. Change of scene: Brigadier General Haywood S. Hansell, Jr. awards a Distinguished Flying Cross to each crew member. Change of scene: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, of England, visit the flight crew and ground crew of "Memphis Belle" and converse with them. Change of scene: Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers, Commander of U.S. Army Forces in Europe, and Major General Ira Eaker, Commander of the 8th Air Force, visit and greet the crew. General Devers reads their orders to return to the United States and encourage Americans on the home front.
Mission footage outtakes from the film "Memphis Belle". The B-17 Flying Fortress known as "Memphis Belle" in flight in the European Theater. Pilot of the Memphis Belle, Robert K. Morgan, at the controls. He wears an oxygen mask and earphones. View of ground area beneath the aircraft, including an airfield. Exterior view of turret gun rotating
Officers and airmen, of the U.S. 91st Bomb Group, stationed at RAF Bassingbourn, England, stand in formation, in class A uniforms, in front of the B-17, Memphis Belle. Brigadier General Haywood S. Hansell, Jr. presents the Silver Star medal to two staff sergeants of the Memphis Belle crew. Pilot Robert K. Morgan of the B-17 Memphis Belle receives the distinguished Flying Cross, as does a technical sergeant, and another staff sergeant and an officer crew member. View of the medal recipients lined up together. A military band playing on the airfield. The British RAF flag flies over the airfield. (World War II period).
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