USS Yorktown CV-10 in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Early 1944: Animated map shows the Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, Gilbert Islands and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific. The U.S. Naval fleet advances from Truk Islands towards an advanced naval base in the Marshall Islands, taken from the Japanese. U.S. ships underway around the fleet anchorage. U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers, battleships, cruisers, fleet auxiliaries and support ships. Crew and aircraft on the flight deck of the 'Fighting Lady' CV-10. The crew members relax and enjoy themselves in the water. They dive and jump off a makeshift platforms and diving boards into the ocean, and then swim and play around large floating rafts. Sailors sort letters in the ship's post office. Some write letters back home. The crew assembled on the ship deck. Commander of the ship Rear Admiral Joseph James 'Jacko' Clark briefs the crew about their mission, designation to Task Force 58, and advance towards Tokyo. The USS Yorktown and other carriers of the Task Force underway. Sign boards for various Ready Rooms on the ship. Air Group Commanders and pilots ready on call. Rear seat gunners and radio men on call in another Ready Room nearby. They talk, relax, drink Coca-Cola and have ice cream. Flags on board. Commander of the TF 58 Admiral Marc Andrew 'Pete' Mitscher and Skipper Clark on the flight deck. A poster for the ship board movie 'Home in Indiana'. Sailors watch the movie. Planes in flight through clouds, the Task Force underway seeking the Imperial Japanese Naval fleet. New cruisers, Coast Guard cutters and Navy Transports in the Task Force. The patrol spots a Imperial Japanese Navy search plane, a Kawanishi H8K flying boat called 'Emily' by the Allies. The plane fires at the Task Force ships before being hit and sinking in the water. U.S. officers and sailors in a discussion. An animated map depicts the objective to move towards and free the Mariana Islands.
The Allied campaign across New Guinea and onward to the Philippines during World War 2. U.S. warships firing their guns at night. Flashes illuminate the blackness. Bombs dropping from an aircraft bomb bay. Bombs exploding on stretch of jungle near water. A U.S. Army Air Forces B-26 bomber in flight View rearward from very low flying USAAF bomber as it bombs it drops explode behind. U.S. troops making amphibious assault on New Guinea. Map showing path of Allied attacks from Australia, across New Guinea from Port Moresby to Buna and on to the Admiralty Islands, cutting off Japanese-held Rabaul, New Britain. Map shows Allied forces moving towards Japanese strongholds at Wewak and along the North shore of New Guinea and bypassing Wewak to strike at Hollandia. General Douglas MacArthur is seen aboard a U.S. warship conferring with American and Philippine officers. Annimated map shows Allied assaults on Japanese positions along the coast from Hollandia, to Warde, Biak, and beyond, stepping along towards the Philippines. Views of numerous fallen Japanese soldiers numbering more than 150 thousand dead. Crosses in battlefield cemetery at graves of some of the more than 13 thousand Allied military who lost their lives during the campaign. A soldier paying respects at one of the gravesites. Admiral Chester Nimitz with members of his staff at his headquarters in Hawaii. U.S. Navy F4F aircraft launching from an American aircraft carrier. American aircraft bombing Japanese positions on an atoll. U.S. warships bombarding Japanese positions with their heavy guns. Admiral Nimitz standing with Admiral William Halsey. More Navy gunfire and amphibious assault scenes. Map showing places where Allied forces had to battle the Japanese, including, Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, Kwajalein, in the Marshals, Saipan, and Guam in the Marianas, and Palau to complete the "bridging" of the Pacific to the doorstep of the Philippines.
Animated map shows U.S. forces extending control in the Pacific the the Marshall and Gilbert Islands in the Pacific during World War 2. An American soldier sentry near a destroyed Japanese reinforced concrete bunker. Another looks at a destroyed Japanese coastal gun. More American soldiers looking over destroyed Japanese coastal defenses. A destroyed Japanese type 95 HA-GO tank. A U.S. troops look at a destroyed Japanese Mitsubishi G4M (Betty) bombers on a captured airfield. Animated map of New Guinea.showing Allied advance to Hollandia. U.S. aircraft carriers with their aircraft flying overhead. Closeup from behind of a Navy Grumman F6F Hellcat aircraft taking off from a carrier. Formations of U.S. Navy carrier-based aircraft in flight overhead. Escort aircraft carriers (called "Jeep" carriers by the narrator) are seen with decks full of airplanes. Douglas SBD Dauntless aircraft taxiing on a carrier deck. An F6F fighter plane taking off. A formation of Douglas SBD Dauntless airplanes viewed from above, flying over the sea. Gun camera films from U.S. aircraft strafing parked airplanes on Japanese airfields.
Opening slate at start of film reads: "1942--1943 The Turn of the Tide." A column of British armor enters Bengazi, Libya, led by several troops in tankettes. Next seen are a Lee Medium Tank, M3 followed by an infantry tank, a jeep, another infantry tank and another Lee M3 Medium tank. Closeup of local people greeting the troops with upraised hands giving the "V" for victory sign. Another Lee M3 tank passes close by the camera. Black smoke is rising in the background. Scene changes to a half sunken ship near another burning in the harbor. Another view of this from further away above port buildings. Closeup of three smiling British soldiers leaning over a cartoon on a tank, of Winston Churchill (As a bulldog smoking a cigar and wearing a cap with the word "Victory" written on it). A crumpled captured flag with swastika on it. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery stands atop a vehicle (unseen) and looks through binoculars. Below, a column of British supply vehicles is making its way along a path in the desert. Two tanks coming toward the camera through sand. Animated map shows Nazi territory being threatened by the Allies from the Mediterranean, the USSR, and the English Channel. Views of Soviet infantry advancing against German forces in the snow of winter on the eastern front. Soviet troops firing updated 76-mm divisional gun model 1902 hidden in woods. Shells exploding in snow-covered field as Soviet BT series tanks advance. Various Soviet artillery firing from fixed gun batteries and from woods. A shell striking in distance. Fallen German soldiers lying on snowy field. Makeshift battlefield crosses marking graves of fallen German soldiers. German steel helmets lined up in the snow. A sign, posted on a birch tree, lists the names and birth dates of 16 German soldiers from the 3rd Panzer Division (3Pz-Pi-BH.39) buried at this site on November 28, 1941. Scene shifts to Joseph Stalin addressing Soviet troops in Red Square, Moscow, Russia. All the soldiers in formation seem to be singing (unheard). Film switches to animated map again. This time delineating the Eastern front being pressed by the USSR, and showing area of the 2nd Soviet winter offensive in 1943. Change of scene from Europe to the War in Asia, against Japan, shows General Douglas MacArthur after arriving by a B-17 bomber at a Pacific island American base. He ascends a steep hill in a jungle area, accompanied by other officers. Closeup of MacArthur. American infantry moving in single file in New Guinea, as a field piece fires a round in the direction they are headed. U.S. artillerymen load shells into a 105mm howitzer gun. A fire burns as mop-up operations begin on New Guinea. An Australian soldier is seen firing a Bren gun in jungles. Other Australian soldiers fire a mortar that explodes, raising earth and dust. More views of shells exploding near Allied soldier advancing. A soldier with fixed bayonet makes a fake charge toward the camera. Views of Japanese prisoners of war guarded in an outdoor compound. Japanese dead soldiers on Guadalcanal. An animated map shows new battle lines in the Pacific, closing in on Japan, with pressure from China, the USSR, and the Pacific islands being captured by the U.S. Arrows are added showing new pressure from American naval fleets and from British and American bombers out of Australia and captured islands.
U.S. Navy World War II battleship, destroyers, heavy cruiser and light cruiser bombard the Island of Tarawa in Pacific Theater, in November 1943. Smoke rises from the beach. A 16" gun on board USS Maryland (BB-46) bombards Tarawa. Shells burst in air and island obscured by smoke. Depth charges explode in water as light cruiser continues to bombard the island. Ship at timecode 2:34 and 3:10 is a heavy cruiser of the Portland or Northhampton class, based on catapults with sea planes located at mid ship. Based on ship assignments and locations at that time, this would make it either the USS Chester (CA-27), the USS Portland (CA-33), or the USS Indianapolis (CA-35).
A training film about Allied invasion of Tarawa during World War II. Animated map of Betio island depicts different beaches assigned to different Marine Battalions. Marines in Landing Vehicle Tracked head for a beach. Smoke rises from the coast due to bombing. Aircraft in flight as they provide an air cover. The Marines on the beach.
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