First Meeting between British 8th Army and the American 5th Army, 35 miles south of Salerno, on a high mountain road near Agropoli, during World War 2. PR officer from the London Irish Army and War Correspondents meet the U.S. Army's 3rd platoon, 36th Division Recon Cavalry troops. The U.S. Army soldiers wait in jeeps at a bend in the road. When the British group arrives they stop and talk together. Then views of a company of the 504 Abn Infantry on the Via Roma entering Albanella Italy. A half-track personnel carrier is seen followed by several M10 Tank destroyers. from Company C of the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion, driving through town on September 14th, 1943. Views of M4 Sherman tanks on the roads of Albanella. (Note: The location where Infantry and tank views was taken has been identified as the intersection of Via Piazzie Chiesa and Via Roma at coordinates: 40 degrees 28' 41.29"N/15 degrees 06' 52.24"E.)
Italian aircraft and crews surrender to Americans at Catania Air Base, in Sicily, during World War 2, under terms of the Armistice of Cassibile , signed on September 3, 1943 and publicly announced on September 8th by U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, on Radio Algiers. Under its terms, the Kingdom of Italy ceased hostilities against the Allies and Kingdom forces were to surrender to the Allies. An Italian SIAI-Marchetti SM79 ("Sparviero") Torpedo-Bomber is seen in flight over water, as viewed from another airplane. It carries the number 1NS-20. View of Catania Air Base, with U.S. B-25 Mitchel bomber, of the 340th Bombardment Group, landing, in background. The Italian SM79 is seen taxiing to the ramp, after landing at the Base. A Italian crew man opens the door and an officer exits using the aircraft ladder. He is followed by Giulio Cesare Graziani, torpedo bomber ace and winner of the Italian Gold Medal of Military Valor. (He is framed at 1:12.) Another officer also exits and the three shake hands with U.S. 9th Army Air Force officers on the ground. Commander of the 340th Bomb Group Lt Col Adolph "Tik" Tokaz appears in frame 1:05. The Italian officers present some documents and discuss them with the U.S. officers. The officers from both countries gather around the Italian seal, of the kingdom of Italy, on the tail of the plane and discuss it. The officers turn to watch another Italian SM79 land, taxi in, and park. Italian fliers exit this airplane and walk across the ramp to join the others, with whom they exchange salutes, and shake hands.
Scenes of the August 2nd, 1943 Operation Tidal Wave low-level bombing raid on Ploiesti or Ploesti oil facilities, in Romania, by U.S. Air Force B-24s. B-17s dropping bombs. B-17s escorted by P-47 fighters. War plants in the U.S. building B-29 bombers. U.S. B-17s over Europe, escorted by P-38 Lightning fighters. Allied air superiority established over Europe.
Opening scene shows German Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel gesturing as he hosts members of a Japanese military mission and a Turkish military delegation (headed by Colonel General Cemil Cahit Toydemir). At Adolf Hitler's invitation, they are on a tour of the Eastern front and English channel coasts between June 25th and July 7th, 1943, during World War 2. Here, they are seen inspecting German positions and witnessing firepower demonstration on the Russian Front near Kharkov (also Kharkiv) just south of Kursk. They observe a German artillery gun crew as they demonstrate rapid firing of their field piece. Shells explode raising black smoke. Closeup of a senior Japanese military official. Turkish and Japanese delegation visitors board two small open train cars driven by German soldiers on motorcycles adapted for the purpose. Following a pause, the scene shifts to the visiting officers inspecting German armor, including a small armored personnel carrier; a Tiger Tank of Pz.Abt.503; and other armored vehicles. They watch a Tiger tank moving along a muddy berm rotating its turret and 88mm gun as it moves. Another tank races past the camera at high speed, raising clouds of dust. A German gun crew, in a trench, fires an MG 42 heavy machine gun. They look up and camera focuses on formations of German JU 87 Stuka dive bombers flying overhead. Visiting officer peers through a periscopic viewing device, as Large explosion occurs in the field. German, Japanese, and Turkish officers converse as a huge plume of smoke rises in the background, capturing their attention.
The famed B-17F, "Memphis Belle," seen during its June 1943 tour of the U.S. to promote War Bond sales, during World War 2. A group of onlookers watch as the Memphis Belle, piloted by Major Robert Morgan, flies only a few feet above the runway at an Air Base in the United States. (Several A-26 aircraft are seen parked on the field.) A civilian announcer stands on a bunting covered platform on the tarmac beside the runway.
United States Army Air Force bomber B-17F Memphis Belle lands at Washington National Airport, Washington DC, during a War Bonds tour in the summer of 1943, in World War 2. Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial seen in the background. B-17F No. 24485 lands at the airport and taxis to a parking position. People approach the Memphis Belle as it is parked. The pilot looks out from the window of cockpit. The Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson and General Henry H. Arnold and Barney Mc Giles greet the crew and pose in front of the aircraft.
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