Sequence starts at Tontouta Air Base in New Caledonia, on the near left side of runway 2 in the area of the 13th Troop Carrier Squadron ( a.k.a. the Thirsty 13th) with their plane "Lady Eve" on the right. (The 801st Medical Air Evacuation Squadron was assigned to the 13th TCS on January 9, 1943, and remained with it until the end of the war. But they also flew on planes of the 63rd and 64th TCSs, and with the Marines.) Takeoff is on runway 11 at Tontouta Air Base. A pilot and a co-pilot at the controls in the cockpit of a C-47. A navigator at work. C-47s in flight west over New Georgia, 10 miles southeast of Munda, near Eghelo. The plane landing at Munda has no tail number and is probably a U.S. Marine Corps plane. They evacuate wounded soldiers from Munda airstrip on New Georgia Island in the Solomon Islands during World War 2. Doors of the aircraft are opened. An ambulance backs to the door of the aircraft. Litter patients are removed from the ambulance and loaded aboard the C-47.
Flight operations at Torokina Air Strip on Bougainville Island during World War 2. Pilot of Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Curtiss P-40 aircraft signals that he is going to start engine. He dons goggles and goes about starting engine. A group of RNZAF pilots conversing near one of their P-40s. Most of the pilots light up cigarettes. Camera focuses on New Zealand shoulder patch on one of the group. Scene shifts to active runway, where an RNZAF F4U Corsair aircraft takes off followed by an RNZAF Grumman TBF Avenger aircraft landing.
Bombardment of Tinian, Mariana Islands by the U.S. Navy during the Battle of Tinian in World War II. A 14 inch gun, aboard the battleship USS New Mexico, BB-40, is fired. Smoke from the firing in the foreground. The destroyer USS Braine, DD-630, transferring wounded to the USS New Mexico, after being hit by a shore battery, killing three and wounding fifteen. A litter with blankets and sheets is sent to the destroyer by a high line. Wounded are transferred on litters from the destroyer to the battleship.
U.S. 801st Medical Air Evacuation Squadron evacuates wounded soldiers from Munda airstrip on New Georgia Island in the Solomon Islands during World War 2. Interiors of a U.S. Army Air Force C-47 Skytrain transport airplane shows a medical corpsman giving water to a wounded soldier. A corpsman treats a patient with bandaged face and arms. Aerial view of a coastline. The C-47 approaches an airstrip, which appears to be Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, for landing. Litter patients are unloaded from the aircraft and placed into an ambulance.
American Army's 828th Engineer Aviation Battalion (African American) reconstructs airfield, at Munda Point, New Georgia, Solomon Islands, in World War 2. Originally constructed by the Japanese and captured by U.S. Forces, the airfield is unusable and requires rebuilding. African American bugler blows reveille and the Battalion begins a day of work reconstructing the field. Battalion engineers pile into trucks, as their names are called, and head from their bivouac area to the airfield work area. They climb aboard and begin to operate heavy construction equipment, such as graders, tractors, steam shovels, and dump trucks. Surveyers seen using a level in the midst of the field. A machinist steps into a shop contained in a truck, and begins turning a part on a lathe. One engineer steps into a shed containing heavy equipment. Team of men in an excavation pouring concrete. Grading equipment seen smoothing the field surface, and steam rollers packing down the surface. A plane takes off in background. View from above, of Douglas Dauntless SBD aircraft all over the field. A C-47 transport plane in foreground. A B-24 Liberator bomber taking off. Engineers climb aboard a truck at end of work shift. Back at their encampment, the men gather around as mail call is in progress. They enter a mess tent, go through a chow line and eat together at tables. Another tent is seen with sign outside reading: "Munda Cotton Club." Inside, the men relax, playing cards, smoking, playing checkers, and writing letters. Change of scene shows Chaplain leading singing during church service. As a day ends, the bugler blows taps. A sentry stands at ease with rifle. (Note: Sound is very poor and undiscernible in much of the clip.)
The Bougainville campaign of World War II on and around Bougainville Island of the Papua New Guinea in South Pacific. A Coast Watcher of the Allied forces enters a hut of the natives where radio transmitter and receiver are located. He wears the head phones and sends the weather reports from a hut made of bamboo poles.
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