Scenes from the Naval Battle of Midway, in World War 2. A helmeted sailor, on deck of a U.S warship, silhouetted next to a propeller blade. A Fletcher-class U.S. Navy destroyer in background. View from near top of a Curtiss SOC Seagull airplane on the USS Portland (CA-33),as she fires two of her 5 inch antiaircraft guns, amidship,during the battle of Midway. Air is filled with low-altitude black flak smoke. A Japanese G4M1 model 11 ("Betty") bomber flies close by at low altitude across the line of sight. Smoke rises from the Portland's gunfire. Another Betty bomber low over the water in far background. Aerial view of a burning Japanese cruiser, far below, maneuvering to evade American attacks. View from U.S. airplane circling closer to the smoking Japanese cruiser. Closeups of panned stills showing severely damaged Japanese warships. Scene shifts to a large formation of Navy personnel in dress whites, where U.S. Admiral Chester Nimitz is decorating navy personnel who distinguished themselves in the battle. Nimitz sits, visiting a wounded sailor, at a hospital. U.S.Army Air Forces B-17 Crews, who bombed Japanese ships, are seen being interviewed on Midway Island. Scene shifts to war production workers assembling aircraft in factories in the United States. U.S. warplanes being manufactured. B-24 Liberator bomber aircraft being rolled out of a plant. Graduation ceremony at the U.S. Naval academy, in Annapolis, Maryland. Spectators watch as the cadet corps parades. View inside the historic hall of the old academy filled with spectators, cadets graduate a year early due to the war. Graduating cadets shaking hands with Academy administrators. Cadets of the class of 1943 cheer and throw their hats in the air at end of commencement ceremonies on June 19, 1942.
A picnic for U.S. Army Brigadier General Billy Mitchell following his demotion to the post of a Colonel and an assignment to Texas as 8th Area Aid Officer. Guests eat food and have coffee. General Mitchell gives plates. The guests eat food. All officers are wearing civilians clothes. People sit on grass and eat. U.S. Army Major H. H. Arnold is standing. U.S. Navy Commander H. C. Richardson and General Mitchell peer through a hole in a doughnut (or donut). George Goodacre and Major Arnold standing on the grass. General Mitchell with a plate of food at the serving table. Lieutenant Phillips, Lieutenant Melville and Lieutenant David C. Kingle sit on grass beside two young women. General Mitchell serves Commander Richardson a large chunk of beef. Three men fill glasses from a jug. Bottles and a beer keg on the table. General Mitchell, in an apron and a chef's hat, sharpens a large knife. A crowd drinks around a bonfire. Major Arnold walks around filling cups from a porcelain pitcher and drinking from the pitcher. A group of men drink and pour beer on each other (during prohibition).
Bombing of Rekata bay (near Munda and Guadalcanal in the South Pacific) during August 24th 1943. U.S. B-24 Liberator bombers of the 13th Army Air Forces in flight at a high altitude over the bay. Bombers drop bombs on Japanese targets at Rekata bay. (World War II period).
Activities of the Seabees in Scotland in 1941 and in Algeria in 1943, during World War II. News headlines in 1943 read : ' Italy is out of war' and '17 more Italian towns taken'. An animated map. The Clyde valley in Scotland showing a base built by the U.S. Navy Seabees, in 1941. Numerous quonset huts and vehicles are seen. View of the River Clyde, where 2400 feet of oceangoing dock are being assembled. A ship anchored at a harbor displaying U.S. flag. Allied troops board a landing ship with their belongings. An animated map tracing travel of Allied invasion forces from Scotland to Oran, Algeria, where Seabees are seen testing a floating causway that would be used for invasion of Sicily. Scuttled axis ships and other obstacles and damage that Seabees must repair in occupied ports. Allied ships and troops proceeding for invasion of Sicily. Allied warships bombarding Sicilian coast.
Newsreel clip entitled "Ball Players Train in North" shows major league baseball teams holding spring training in 1943. Teams were not allowed to travel south to Florida because of World War 2 travel restrictions. First part of clip shows men (presumably baseball players) riding in a horse and buggy along a tree-lined road. Giants seen running on field and meeting with manager and Hall of Fame outfielder Mel Ott. Players pose for camera, all wearing long sleeves. Closeup of Giants Hall of Fame pitcher Carl Hubbell. Giants players seen throwing at posters of Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler and Hideki Tojo -- Leaders of the Axis powers during the war. Players look at the posters after throwing; note patriotic war patch on Giant player's sleeve. Clip shifts to Washington Senators training camp the same year. Coach and renowned baseball clown Nick Altrock leads players in warmup drills. Players warm up in outfield, near what looks like a heating plant. Closeup of Senators pitcher Dutch Leonard throwing. Closeup of Senators owner Clark Griffith (in overcoat) talking with manager Ossie Bluege. Closeup of Bluege. Players marvel over of 7-foot player Richard Ahrens, who was signed by the Senators that spring as a possible publicity stunt; he never appeared in a minor or major league game. Washington players pretend to warm themselves up by small campfire on the field. Another shot of Altrock. (Note: There is no indication where these clips were taken but the Giants trained in Lakewood, New Jersey that spring and the Senators trained in College Park, Maryland. )
The 25th Anniversary of the Air Mail Service in the United States. Past events from year 1918 show the inauguration of air mail in the United States. A man holds an envelope to be delivered by air. President Woodrow Wilson talks to a pilot. Scene changes to 1943 in front of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington DC, on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Air Mail Service. A U.S. Army Sikorsky R-4 helicopter lands outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC. The pilot speaks to the helicopter designer, Igor Sikorsky, and receive a special package of mail. The helicopter is seen landing in Arlington Virginia at recently opened Washington National Airport, to deliver the package to a waiting aircraft. Crowd of people gathered outside at Washington National Airport terminal building to watch the helicopter landing. Mail being loaded aboard an air mail aircraft. The helicopter takes off.
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