U.S.Coast Guard crewmen painting battle star on superstructure of Landing Craft Infantry (Large), LCI(L) number 84, during World War 2, in France. (This craft was already a veteran of North African and Italian campaigns, and is preparing to take part in the Normandy invasion.) Another Guardsman questions whether it will be as good as other stars already painted. Others keep pestering the painter about this and he reassures them all. (View of perfect finished red star.) Landing craft Gunners display the landing craft's Oerlikon 20-millimeter Mk 4 automatic antiaircraft cannon. Views of LCI(L)s numbered 85, 89, 92,90, and 496, all tied together at a port in England. Sailors on LCI(L) 85, at their Oerlikon 20-millimeter cannon. U.S. Navy Union Jack displayed nearby. U.S. Coast Guard officers viewing sky with binoculars.
German Luftwaffe aircraft bomb England in the Battle of Britain during World War II. German Luftwaffe He-111 bombers in flight. Pilots and gunners in the aircraft. Interior views of cockpit and crew in German He-111 aircraft. Aerial views of the formation of bomber aircraft in flight through clouds and approaching the British coast for a daylight raid. A co-pilot charts the route using a compass. Pilot is seen putting on an oxygen mask with assistance from another crew member as the bombers climb to high altitude. Gunners in their positions. Views of target zone approaching as seen from point of view of German bomber crew members in daytime. Pilot, navigator, gunner prepare for the attack. Aerial view of the target area. The Germans experience FLAK from British antiaircraft guns. Flak bursts near aircraft as seen from inside the German aircraft. "Bombs away" aerial views from the side, and from inside the German aircraft. Bombs descend on the targets. Scene shifts to bombardment at night. The German crew in the aircraft. Using search lights and antiaircraft guns, British attempt to hit the bombers. Multiple views of crew inside He-111 bombers from various angles, including behind nose gunner and bombardier. Flashes and explosions seen on the ground as bombs hit targets in London and elsewhere in Britain during blitzkrieg, or blitz attack.
Close-up views of several different ships launching on firth of Clyde in Scotland. Closeup view of dirt or coal smeared faces of boys wearing hats and watching expectantly and with excitement as a ship readies for launch. British flag decorated on the deck of a ship. Dignitaries on grandstand including a woman (the sponsor) who smashes a bottle of champagne against the ship, christening it as it launches. Close views of the ship sliding down skids stern-first into the water. Change to view of a ship named "Rinovia" being launched from dry dock to water by tipping it to the side off dry dock. It slides off skids into the water and quickly rights itself. View of a medical ship named "Herdubreid " being launched. White cross symbol seen on the bow and the flag of Iceland waving on the bow, with sailors gathered around it. Clip includes several close up views of ship hulls and skids, anchors, propellers and areas of the lower stern of ships being launched.
Film begins showing Brigadier General James M. Gavin, Commander of the Force A (parachute) contingent of the 82nd Airborne Division, standing on the hood of a jeep, at an airfield, to brief his paratroopers as they prepare for the D-Day invasion, during World War 2. A C-47 transport plane taxis behind the assembled group of troopers. Barbed wire is strung in the foreground. Paratroopers are issued French currency before departure. Some gamble with it using dice. Troops are seen playing volleyball on a field surrounded by trees. On an airfield, one trooper hits ground balls with a soft ball and several others field it. Some other troopers sit in grass next to the ramp, assembling wooden containers for airdrop. Two Army Air Forces mechanics fasten a tow bar on the nose wheel of a British-built Horsa Mk.II glider. They then tow it with a tug. View from above of Horsa gliders and C-47 tow airplanes, all in D-Day paint stripes, lined up on an airfield ramp. Paratrooper tent camp is viewed from above. Then, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and other senior officers are seen visiting paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division, at the camp, on June 5, 1944, as they prepare to board their aircraft. Famous closeup of General Eisenhower speaking to a tall paratrooper who has his face camouflaged with grease paint.View looking down, as Eisenhower circulates among the troopers. Closeup of him conversing with another one directly.
In the first exchange of Allied and Axis wounded prisoners of war, the British Hospital Ship, Atlantis, with number 33 painted on her side, steams into port, at Leith, Scotland, (and then on to Liverpool, England) during World War 2. She is returning Allied wounded from Germany, by way of Goeteborg, Sweden. British soldiers are carried off ship on stretchers. Several ambulatory American soldiers leave ship on foot. Railroad train seen right at the port.
Russian air-cadets being trained at the Royal Flying Corps' No 1 School of Military Aeronautics, at Coley Park Aerodrome, Reading, Berkshire, England, during World War 1. Cadets march with their officer to a tarpaulin covered hangar. Next they are seen inside the hangar, removing a double wing from a bi-wing aircraft. . They sit, wearing earphones, at a table outdoors, learning wireless telegraphy. They examine the parts of a Clerget 9B nine-cylinder rotary aircraft engine, and sit for a lecture about inline engines. The instructor holds up a bearing and connecting rods from the inline engine. They look at an aeronautical chart and take notes. Cadets climb aboard a canvas-covered army truck and stand in it. They wave as it drives away.
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