Film begins, showing remains of a Boeing B-17F from the U.S. 100th Bombardment Group (BG) with home base at RAF Station Thorpe Abbotts, England, during World War 2. Camera pans over a field of debris containing two of the aircraft's engines and the wreckage of the fuselage and tail. The tail displays the Square D symbol of the 100th BG, plus the letter "T" and some of its tail number: "2303." Camera pans interior wreckage including crew seats and oxygen tanks. It then shows broken wings along with bodies of several crew members wearing parachute harnesses. A different side of the fuselage and tail shows the tail number "230311." This fully identifies it as B-17, number 42-23011. A field grade German officer and another officer examine the wreckage. Views of aircraft wreckage, in a forest, including a Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun and another aircraft engine. Scene shifts to nearby town, where German women in white are serving meals at an outdoor food kitchen, for local people who are preparing to evacuate. A camper van loaded with family belongings is seen moving in the background. Several women, carrying plates of their food, walk toward tables. Some sit and eat at a table with a German soldier. Women make themselves sandwiches with foods laid out on a butcher block table. Closeup of a large drum of drinking water. local people fill containers from it. German children are seen aboard a bus waving goodbye to their mothers during evacuation for their safety. German children are placed aboard open boats at a port, for transport to safety out of war zone. German women and children board a train during evacuation to safety. Huge piles of their luggage is stacked on the train platform. View of a substantial private home in a residential area. Inside view shows it has been converted into nursery for infants, who are seen in many small cribs. Women sit on the lawn behind a substantial country home, as some small children run toward them from the house.
Nazi German Fuhrer Hitler and his top Military Commanders at the Wolf's Lair Headquarters in midst of forest, in Gierloz, East Prussia, during World War 2. Adolf Hitler throws item for trained German Shepherd dog to retrieve over an obstacle. He strolls the grounds with Heinrich Himmler. Hitler meets with the German General Staff, including, Marshal Hermann Goering, Admiral Doenitz, General Keitel, and General Jodl. They review documents or maps laid out on a table, and discuss.
German troops advances on the Russian front during World War II, some carrying Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons. Soldiers take position in trenches. German troops receive an attack from Russia. The attack is repulsed with artillery, rocket launchers and tanks. Rockets launched together at once. Rocket launcher control in hands of soldier. A soldier smoking a cigarette directs traffic and climbs onto moving the tank. Soldiers inside trenches. A camouflaged tanker. A soldier sits inside a tank. Periscope view POV from inside tank. A wounded soldier is taken care of by another soldier. German tanks moving ahead in the background. Tiger tank of SS.Pz.Rgt.2 Das Reich is seen.
As film opens, a number of U.S. Army Air Forces Stearman Boeing PT-17 “Kaydet” bi-plane trainer aircraft are seen taxiing on an airfield. One takes off and another lands and taxis into position on the flight line. A student pilot leaves the operations building and fastens the leg straps of his seat pack parachute before climbing upon the wing of a PT-17, where he checks the aircraft's Form One record. Closeup of the form. He climbs into the cockpit, fastens his safety belt. Glimpse of magneto switch. Glimpse of fuel gauge. With engine running the pilot activates the flight controls to check proper action. Glimpse of tachometer showing 1550 RPM. View of airplane taxiing in "S" movement because of low visibility with engine in front. Closeup of pilot pausing before takeoff to recheck wind and runway. Views of the aircraft on takeoff, tail wheel rising, and plane becoming airborne. Animated diagram shows precautions for turning out of traffic after takeoff and for avoiding collisions using right of way rule. Glimpse of PT-17 cruising above farmland. Views of the plane flying in vicinity of clouds but carefully avoiding them. Closeup of pilot in cockpit looking all around while in flight. View of cockpit instruments, including compass, airspeed indicator, Needle and ball, and altimeter. Closeup of engine oil temperature gauge. View of the airplane flying close to another and follow rule to prevent collision. Next, the aircraft makes a shallow dive and then executes a spin. Closeup of the pilot signaling everything is OK. (World War II; WW II; World War 2; World War Two)
Opening scene shows a fuel gauge reading half empty in a U.S. Army Air Forces Stearman Boeing PT-17 “Kaydet” bi-plane trainer aircraft. Closeup of pilot with helmet and goggles in open cockpit of the airplane. Narrator says rules require pilot to return to base immediately. View of the aircraft descending toward the field. Animated diagram showing proper entry into left traffic for the active runway. View of PT-17 on final approach to the runway. Closeup of pilot in the cockpit. He makes a three-point landing on the first third of the runway and rolls without braking. Next, assisted by a wing walker, the pilot taxis to an open slot on a line of aircraft and stops on a parking line. The pilot steps from the cockpit, wearing a seat pack parachute, and begins walking to the field office, when he stops to converse with the narrator. He complains, somewhat about the restrictive rules for pilots in training and expresses desire to fight the Germans and Japanese in World War 2. Narrator defends the rules of safety, first, saying "You can't fight until you can fly." Scene shifts to four pilot trainees who "washed out" of the program for various infractions of the trainin safety rules. They are carrying their belongings in duffle bags and wait at a bus stop for transportation away from the base. Camera focuses on each of the men in turn, as narrator describes their failures to follow rules. Scene shifts to the airdrome where successful student pilots are seen walking toward the camera. Series of scenes showing student pilots performing various preparatory actions before flying their planes. One standing on a wing, checks the "Form One" that contains aircraft maintenance record. Another sitting in his cockpit notes that his gas, oil,cockpit switches, and flight controls all check OK. Another pilot is fastening leg straps of his seat pack parachute and comments about need to keep checking when taxiing down the line for takeoff. Closeups of pilots addressing the camera with admonitions about rules to follow. View of massed parked PT-17 training planes. Views of current war planes in flight, including Bell P-39 Aircobra, Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, and Martin B-26 Marauder bombers. Many good views of such airplanes in takeoffs, formations and aerobatic maneuvers. (World War II; WW II; World War 2; World War Two)
German people and factory workers in Berlin, Germany during World War II. Men play in a soccer match. Spectators watch the match. Polish and Russian workers work in a German factory. A man works with an electrode welding machine. A man gives a pair of shoes to a buyer. Slavic workers dance and listen to music. People enjoy on swings.
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