A U.S. Navy F6F Hellcat airplane is seen parked on a ramp, with a bomb slung under its fuselage. The narrator identifies it as a "fire bomb," containing gel gasoline. Scene shifts to an F6F dropping one from several thousand feet, in a demonstration. The incendiary bomb creates a swath of fire along the ground, in the direction of flight. A flight of two F6Fs repeat the demonstration, dropping their bombs simultaneously, from a formation. Another drops a bomb on a pier at a waterfront. View to the rear from an airplane that just dropped a bomb in a wooded area. Views of actual U.S. 1st Marine Division operations on Peleliu, Palau Islands, during World War 2, showing F4U Corsair aircraft, flying low and slow, with gear down, dropping napalm incendiary bombs on Japanese troops dug in on a ridge. View of smoke rising from bomb strikes at targets near a river.
From a review of research and development in guided missiles by the United States Air Force from 1919 to 1948. A JB-2 (Jet Bomb 2) "Loon" based on the German V-1 buzz bomb, surface-to-surface missile. Technicians examine a scale model of the JB-2 missile. Air Force research and development of American type JB-2 missile, the first unmanned guided missile in America's arsenal. A JB-2 is launched from Santa Rosa Island, Florida. A rocket assists in take off. The rocket unit falls away immediately after JB-2 rises into the air. A control aircraft flies overhead showing JB-2 launchings at Eglin Field. JB-2 in flight. The JB-2 was sub-contracted by Republic: Airframe by Willys-Overland; Engine by Ford Motor Company, the IJ-15-1, which copied the German V-1's 900-lb. thrust Argus-Schmidt pulse-jet; Guidance by Jack and Heintz Company; Launch System by Monsanto; Rocket launch sleds by Northrop.. (World War II period).
View of a book entitled "Builders of Hawaii." A hand opens it to several different places, revealing photos of persons who played roles in the early development of Hawaii. Also revealed are pages from the newspaper "Commercial Advertiser" reporting that flags changed as "Hawaii becomes the first outpost of Greater America" and "Old Glory is the new flag of the Hawaiian Islands." (This refers to the establishment of the Territory of Hawaii, under the U.S. Hawaiian Organic Act of 1900.) A portrait of Sanford Ballard Dole is shown. (He was the President of the Republic of Hawaii, 1894-1900, and its first Territorial Governor, 1900-1903.) Views of the Hawaiian State Archives Building, on the grounds of the Iolani Palace, in Honolulu. A plaque honoring Captain James Cook. Views of visitors inside an exhibit that includes a reproduction of an early Hawaiian cottage.
Views of the city of Honolulu, Hawaii. A large home fronted by royal palms. Pedestrian traffic on King St. in the business district, including Japanese and Chinese in native costumes. Open front of a Japanese tea store. Women and children outside the store. A peddler carries vegetable produce in baskets hung from a pole across his shoulders. Views of the Hawaii Railway, Hamakua Coast, Hawaii island: Interior of a passenger car. Countryside and tunnels viewed from the train. A very high railway bridge with a sugar cane flume below it, across a valley on the Hamakua Coast.
Italian warships maneuvering in the Mediterranean during World War 2. Destroyers pass a Corazzata-class Italian battleship. Italian IMAM Ro.43 reconnaissance planes are launched from a battleship. Two Corazzata-class Italian battleships underway. Change of scene shows the island of Malta, viewed from a low flying airplane. A formation of Italian CANT Z.508 seaplane bombers flying overhead to attack Malta. View from ground on Malta of anti-aircraft flak burst clouds in the air above. Smoke rising from bomb bursts. Glimpse of a large British warship slowly easing out of its dock. Single engine aircraft overhead moving through heavy flak clouds. More bomb explosions. Local civilian people and refugees, including many children, seeking safety from bombing. People perusing destroyed buildings. A formation of British Bristol Blenheim light bombers in flight over North Africa. British forces firing artillery in Libya. War materiel abandoned by retreating Italian forces in Eritrea and Somaliland. British troops and a contingent of Ethiopian troops march into Addis Ababa, escorting Emperor Haile Selassie as he is restored to his throne in May, 1942. Next, German armor in North Africa is seen burning. A knocked out German tank viewed through window of a British armored vehicle. More burning German armor. German aircraft destroyed on the ground at an airbase. Bombs lined up on the ground. Huge number of Italian prisoners of war marching across the desert in Libya.
Film opens with views of goosestepping German, Italian, and Japanese soldiers during parade reviews in their respective countries. Emperor Hirohito, on a white horse. American battleships burning in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. U.S. General Douglas MacArthur decorating a soldier in Manila, Philippines. Air raid sirens sounding in Manila and residents hurrying to take cover. Heavy black smoke rising from a bombed site and emergency vehicles responding and rushing to several bombed and burning locations. A burning rickshaw amidst other bombing rubble and bodies of victims. U.S. Army General MacArthur greeted by Australian officials at his headquarters in Brisbane, Australia. Sign reads: Headquarters UNITED STATES ARMY FORCES in Australia. American flag flying on tall flagpole. View from ship underway in supply convoy. A battleship seen on horizon and a destroyer passing the camera ship. U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the "Lend Lease Act" of 1941. A U.S. industrial plant with four tall stacks emitting smoke. A steam locomotive belching steam. A locomotive pulling an open car and some tank cars. New 1941 Plymouth automobiles coming off a production line. A new M3 Medium Tank in a U.S. factory. View of Liberty Ships, including the "Zebulon Pike" and the "Henry Knox" under construction at the California Shipbuilding Corporation yard, Terminal Island, California. U.S. Navy Destroyers constructed at Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Kearny, New Jersey. One is being launched, next to DD-446 (the USS Radford). A formation of U.S. Navy aircraft including Curtiss SBC Helldiver scout bombers and Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bombers. A tight formation of U.S. Army Douglas B-18 Bolo medium bombers in flight. A formation of U.S. Army Curtiss P-36 Hawk aircraft in flight. Closeup of a U.S. Army Lockheed P-38 Lightning aircraft in flight. Several huge gun barrels for guns under construction at a U.S. war plant. Large artillery shells lined up in a manufacturing plant. U.S. Army M3 Medium tanks under construction at a factory. Steam and smoke rising from a U.S. industrial plant. Aerial view of open pit iron mine. Sparks shooting up inside a steel plant. A virtual "forest" of oil derricks in the Western U.S. Coal being transported by railway. View from stern of a warship in a convoy. An Atlanta-class light cruiser leading three destroyers at sea. Transport ships in convoys to places like Australia, Britain, and the Middle East. Troops on a pier near a large transport ship. A stack of wartime supplies on a pier next to a ship destined for Russia. Glimpse of wake from a U.S. warship having triple guns astern. Silhouette of a U.S. Navy Enterprise-class Aircraft carrier, with an aircraft taking off from her deck. The aircraft carrier, USS Saratoga. U.S. Army soldiers marching on parade, followed by numerous jeeps with machine guns mounted in their rears. Young men being drafted into the U.S. military. A draft lottery being conducted. New recruits doing calisthenics. Trucks pulling artillery pieces. B-18 Bolo bombers flying over U.S. tanks. Closeup of M3 tank. Cavalry fording a stream. Soldiers on motorcycles. Troops crossing a pontoon bridge. A loaded troop ship. A troop transport at Newfoundland. Sentry in Trinidad. Troops encamped in Bermuda.Troopship docked in Greenland. Troops disembarking in Iceland. Formations of Curtis P-36 Hawk aircraft. Douglas DC-2 aircraft factory. P-36s with engines running. M3 tank suspended on factory crane. Officials of Pan American nations siding with Allies. Allied troops including Dutch, Belgian, Yugoslav, Greek, Czech, Filipino, Polish, Norwegian, Free French, Australian, New Zealand, South African and Canadian. British warships. British Hawker Tempest aircraft. British commandos. Russian troops on parade. Chinese troops on the Great Wall of China.