Activities following the Test Able atomic explosion at Bikini Atoll during Operation Crossroads. Ground crewman unseals a cable from fuselage and uses it to pull and air sampler box off the top of a B-17 drone aircraft. He avoids being hit by it as it tumbles from atop the airplane. He then drags it to a spot on the ramp, where a man with a geiger counter checks it for radioactivity. Two men transport it on a long pole, to a fork lift. Several other B-17 drones are seen with ground crews offloading them remotely, by means of cables and remote activation of controls inside the B-17 bomb bays. A forklift operator loads an item into the rear hatch of a waiting C-54 transport aircraft.
Opening scene shows a U.S. Army M3 Lee tank moving toward the camera, with a crew of two women, one in the top turret and the other in the lower turret (which does not show a gun). Women are seen working on various manufacturing tasks. One uses a sewing machine One loads powder into a shell and operates a machine press to compress it. Several women install noses on shells. Some work on large shell casings. Others examine and test small arms. One tests fires a Browning M-19. 30 caliber machine gun. as others test fire rifles. A woman is seen test firing a Browning M-1917 heavy machine gun. A battery of Anti-aircraft guns is seen raising its barrels and firing. A woman manipulates the controls of one. Women hold their ears as they test fire a 90mm anti-aircraft gun. A team of women carries a part for an artillery piece and screw it in place. Two women carry racks of artillery shells, that they load into an anti-aircraft gun. As the gun is test fired, they and a soldier with them hold their ears. Women work with pneumatic tools on the tread of an M3 Lee tank. One uses a long wrench to tighten a bolt. A woman poses in the top turret of the M-3. Two others climb aboard and close the hatch behind them. With two crew members seen in hatches, the tank drives past the camera. Final image is a woman holding two large artillery shells. (World War II period)
Formation of U.S. Army Air Force B-17 bombers over Emden, Germany, during World War 2. They are under fire by flak and German Luftwaffe fighters. B-17 belly gunner firing at attacking German fighter plane which explodes. Scene of a waist gunner firing from inside a B-17. Bombardier crouched over bombsight in nose of B-17. Bombs exploding on targets below. View from inside of bomb bay doors opening on a B-17. Bombs away view of bombs falling from open bomb bay. Scenes of smoke rising from explosions on ground. German aircraft being shot down. Aerial view of Emden, Germany. Several views of B-17s with bombs dropping from them. B-17 with Square B tail code of the 95th Bombardment Group. Black smoke from antiaircraft firing (flak). German fighters attacking B-17s. A new group of P-47 fighters arrive for aerial dogfights to protect the bombers. Waist gunner firing at enemy German aircraft. B-17 is hit by a German long-range antiaircraft rocket and explodes.
Views of The Great Atlantic Hurricane lashing at northeast United States areas (after having already hit the North Carolina Outer Banks), and views of the aftermath and early cleanup following the storm. Regions shown include Atlantic City, Long Island (where it came ashore as a category 3 hurricane on September 15, 1944), New York City suburbs, and parts of New England. High surf flooding boardwalks and coastal cities. Trees bent over and snapped in high winds. People walking with difficulty in the high winds. Streets of towns submerged in water. Coastal docks destroyed and large boats scattered high onto shore areas. Trees, poles, and wires downed over roads and homes. Entire homes moved off of their foundations and placed down the street. The "Great Atlantic Hurricane" was the first example of a named hurricane by the Miami Hurricane Warning Office, which later became the National Hurricane Center. The name was meant to reflect the hurricane's size and intensity.
U.S. Paratroopers are briefed with sand table in Nadzab, New Guinea. Paratroopers prepare ammunition for machine guns. Equipment is checked. Men put on their chutes. Long convoy of trucks loaded with Paratroopers moves out of the area. Paratroopers at the airport put on their parachutes and equipment. They board planes.
Darlingtonia californica, or California Pitcher Plants are displayed in Toledo, Ohio. Also known as Cobra Lilies, carnivorous California Pitcher Plants are fed small bits of meat stuck to the end of a long stick. A Cobra Lily moves while digesting the meat. A child near the plants pretends being bitten as she touches them.
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