Views in London, England after the declaration of war by Italy during World War II. Workmen take down 'KINGSTON' station sign off a platform. A train passes in the background. The workmen take down another sign. A workman paints out another sign. A sign of Quaglino's restaurant being put up after the declaration of war by Italy.
Film title slate indicates "Operation Titanic" but it, in fact, depicts "Operation Frantic" with U.S. shuttle bombing operations over Germany from bases in Great Britain, Italy and Russia during World War II. United States Army Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses in flight. Aerial view of bombers in flight with several aircraft flying in formation leaving behind contrails. View inside bomber aircraft with bombardier preparing to drop bombs. View of bomb bay door opening and closeup of hand near bomb drop switch. Bombs awawy view as bombs are dropped from American aircraft. German defenses are bombed along the invasion coast of France (just prior to D-Day) on June 2, 1944. Aerial views of B-24 and B-17 bombers also in flight bombing German military installations in German-occupied northwestern Europe. Aerial view of a target area. Smoke rising up from bombardment. Two different U.S. Army Air Force B-17 Liberator aircraft are seen falling from the sky toward crashes after being hit by German enemy fire. One of them has smoke trailing from it, and the other is in a free fall. Railroad and marshaling yards are also bombed over Debrecen, Hungary on June 2, 1944, with aircraft continuing on (shuttle bombing) rather than returning to base. United States Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator flying in formation on June 21, 1944. Aerial view as they bomb the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 engine aircraft factory near Basdorf, Germany. German factories are bombed. B-17 aircraft on the same date are seeing in formation and bomb railway stations, freight yards, and factory targets, along with the Nazi German Ministry of War, Ministry of Propaganda, and Gestapo headquarters in Berlin, Germany. Heavy flak bursts seen in the air near the aircraft. Dogfight scenes as several German airplanes are shot down. Machine gunners aboard U.S. bomber aircraft firing at German fighter aircraft and shooting down 43 of them, according to narrator. Aerial view of ball turret rotating below bomber and firing guns at German fighter aircraft. The B-17s and B-24s bombing the targets. Synthetic oil plants and refineries are bombed at Ruhland Germany, east of Leipzig. Planning for the operation was done on December 7, 1943. A document about the operation is typed. Animated map shows Nazi positions and method of shuttle-bombing, allowing American aircraft to bomb from Soviet bases, and allies broadly to bomb German targets from bases in the United Kingdom, Italy, and Soviet Ukraine.
Industrial scenes in America with a factory with smoke from chimneys, a steel factory in operation, views of the tops of railroad train coal cars filled with coal. Secretary of State George Marshall speaks about providing European countries with material and money (Marshall Plan). He is seen speaking to legislators in Washington DC on November 10, 1947, asking for funds for Austria, Italy, and France "to provide the supplies necessary to permit the people of these countries to continue to eat, to work, and to survive the winter." Truman signs an interim aid bill, S 1774 on December 17, 1947. View of Eiffel Tower in Paris and communists marching and demonstrating in France. Communist demonstrations across Europe. French police monitor communist protestors in France and then disperse a crowd of communists. Narrator notes of similar communist demonstrations in Italy. Winston Churchill arrives for peace conference meeting of the Big Four foreign ministers in London in December 1947. Vyascheslav Molotov attends the conference. George Marshall talks with Molotov. View of the Friendship Train railroad train in the United States approaching on railway tracks during its tour. Also a view of the 1947 special exhibit Freedom Train traveling. Citizens board the Freedom Train at one of its train station stops, to view artifacts and exhibits about American democracy, including a 1823 facsimile of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Exterior view of U.S. Supreme Court building. Statues at the Supreme Court building. The base is inscribed 'The Heritage of the Past is the Seed that Brings Forth the Harvest of the Future'. A group of American boys and girls are seen reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. A larger group of children reciting the pledge of Allegiance (from before the 1950s when "under God" was added) and viewing an American flag fluttering in the wind. View of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, and then another view from the top of the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building looking outward.
German officials surrender at the end of World War II. American and Russian troops meet near the river Elbe in Torgau Germany. United States General Reinhardt meets Soviet Army General Rusakov. Representatives of the German Army, wearing civilian clothing, sign a surrender document at Allied Mediterranean Headquarters in Italy, yielding Italy and Austria. W.D. Morgan signs for the Allies, on behalf of Supreme Mediterranean Commander Alexander. Massive American Flag raised to cover the giant swastika symbol at outdoor stadium in Nuremberg. Then in a later shot, explosion is seen as the Nazi Swastika symbol is destroyed (blown-up) by American troops at the Zeppelinfeld stadium in Nuremberg, Germany.
Fall of Benito Mussolini in Italy. Mussolini seen speaking to a crowd and shaking his fist. Sicily surrenders to Allied troops during World War II. German soldiers holding white surrender flags march forward. Civilians in Italy cheer the arrival of smiling American soldiers. Scene changes to American B-25 bomber aircraft dropping bombs over Japanese positions in Pacific Theater. Close view of bombardier calibrating position and bombs away from bomb bay doors toward Japanese-held targets. Gun camera footage of Allied aircraft attacking Nazi German Wolfpack submarines in the Atlantic Ocean. Allied aircraft, including B-25 bombers, bombing German industry and cities during a night raid. In England, United Kingdom, church service is held open to the sky in the ruins of bombed out Coventry Cathedral, which had been destroyed by German Luftwaffe blitz bombing of Britain. Clergy, robed choir members, and British parishioners seen at the enthronement service of Bishop of Coventry Neville Gorton in 1943, enclosed only by the exterior walls of St. Michaels, Coventry Cathedral.
Activities of the Axis leaders in the European Theater during World War 2. A map of Italy. German General Albert Kesselring reviews German troops on a field. He shakes hands with officers. Fascist officials including Prime Minister Benito Mussolini and General Rodolfo Graziani enter a building. Mussolini and other officials confer after the Badoglio coup. General Graziani signs a document. Nazi German Marshal Erwin Rommel inspects coastal fortifications in North Italy. Barbed wire fences being erected by German troops. Men erect fences. German artillery being fired and explosions occur. Billows of smoke rise. A soldier speaks over a phone as he plots on a map. German soldiers fire artillery at advancing Allied tanks. Explosions occur as a German soldier looks through binoculars at target area and smoke rises.
CRITICALPAST.COM: About Us | Contact Us | FAQs - How to Order | License Agreement | My Account | My Lightboxes | Shopping Cart | Advanced Search | Featured Collections | Website Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy ©2026 CriticalPast LLC.
License Agreement |
Terms & Conditions |
Privacy Policy
©2026 CriticalPast LLC.