Pilots of P-51 and F-51 planes of the U.S. Air Force prepare to take off in Korea, during Korean War. Interior of a briefing room. An officer briefs the pilots. The officer points towards a map. Close view of pilots' faces as they listen to the officer. The pilots come out of the briefing room. Several F-51s in a row. A pilot climbs onto the wing of F-51. The pilot talks to a crew chief. Another pilot checks a note book while standing on the wing of the plane. Yet another pilot climbs into the cockpit of a P-51. Rockets and bombs on the plane. Shadow of rotating propeller on the ground. Close view of nose section of the plane. A pilot in the cockpit of a stationary P-51. 'Pilot-Lieutenant Bell, Crew Chief—Sergeant Olson' written on the side of the plane. A P-51 taxies on the ground past a partially complete hangar. Two men talk. A number of F-51 planes on runway await signal for take off. A jeep and a man across airfield. Several stationary Sikorsky R-5 helicopters in the background. A ground crew member signals P-51s to take off. The planes take off. Two crew chiefs stand and watch the take off. A truck parked across the runway. The driver looks at the planes as they take off. Roof of the hangar shows large hole in the steel framework. F-51 flies overhead. F-51s in flight. Four P-51s in flight. .
A flight of 4 P-51s seen from two angles, approaching the advance airfield at Criqueville (A-2) in France. They peel off for landing.Three of them are seen rolling out after landing. The only plane markings visible in this clip are on the last aircraft to land. It has a donkey painted on its tail, identifying it as belonging to the 356th Fighter Squadron (Red Asses) of the 354th Fighter Group.
Decoration ceremony conducted by Lieutenant General Brereton, Commander of U.S. Army Air Forces 9th Air Force, at advance airfield, Criqueville (A-2) France, during World War 2. Nine pilots of the 354th Fighter Group are lined up at attention in a field. A photographer clicks pictures. Two officers stand beside a table on which medals are kept. Captain Beerbower marches towards Lt Gen Brereton. The Lt Gen decorates him. Lt Gen Brereton decorates a major, a captain and a lieutenant, shaking hands with them. The company stands at attention. The honored men stand back in a line. General Brereton is seen, later, conversing with Captain Beerbower (wearing Silver Star). Among those decorated in this ceremony were: Capt. Don M. Beerbower (Silver Star); Capt. Wallace N. Emmer, Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and Lieutenant Carl Bickel (DFC).
U.S. Army Air Forces 354th Fighter Group in Normandy. Ground crew run to pull camouflage from P-51 at advance air strip Criqueville (A-2) in Normandy during World War 2. The P-51 prop turns,engine starts, and it taxis forward. The name "Bonnie B II" is painted on the fuselage, and 17 swastikas are painted below the cockpit. A Mustang is painted on the tail. It's serial number is 43-12375. The aircraft stops. The name, Captain Don M. Beerbower,is painted below the cockpit. He stands up and climbs out of the airplane, wearing his oxygen mask and helmet. Scene shifts to a loudspeaker in a control facility.A soldier is seen talking on the radio in a plexiglassed enclosure. A flight of P-51s approaches the field. They break off and proceed to buzz the field. (Note concerning Captain Beerbower,of Hill City, Minnesota, seen in this clip. He served as acting Commander of the 353rd Fighter Squadron and was later promoted to Major. He was Commander of the 353rd Fighter Squadron when killed in action, by ground fire while flying his P-51, Bonnie B II, leading an attack on a German airfield near Reims, France, on August 9, 1944. His decorations included: the DSC, Silver Star,DFC (3), Air Medal (26), British DFC, Purple Heart, Distinguished Unit Citation and Campaign Medals.)
Operation Torch in World War 2. Allied invasion convoy off Casablanca, Morocco. American troops on ship's deck, cleaning and checking their rifles. Closeup of a wire from the Invasion Task Force Commanders, listing signals that will tell of the French forces' decisions. Closeup of U.S. troops boarding Higgins Boat from a transport ship. Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt on the USS Augusta (CA-31). U.S. President Roosevelt, Free French Commander, Charles de Gaulle, and French General Giraud, all issue calls for French forces not to resist Allied invasion. View of triple turret 8-inch guns on the USS Augusta. Sailors in their bunks. Suddenly guns from the shore begin firing on the invasion convoy. Shells explode in water near convoy ships, as sailors man battle stations and begin returning fire on Casablanca. French defenders signaled friendly attitude by directing searchlights vertically. British spitfire aircraft launch toward Algiers, from Gibraltar. British troops in an amphibious landing at Algiers on November 8, 1942. View of French Admiral Jean Darlan. Allied troops enter Algiers. American airborne troops parachute from C-47 transport aircraft over Oran, Algeria. Next section covers Battle of Casablanca: Allied warships fire at Vichy French ships and aircraft and more troops head to shore in landing craft. Sailors firing anti-aircraft guns from landing craft, at enemy aircraft overhead. A U.S. carrier-based SBD Douglas Dauntless aircraft as it descends in the sky. French sailors load 380mm guns on battleship Jean Bart and fire her guns. Glimpse of French Shore defense guns firing with shells exploding in waters offshore. Gunners aboard U.S. warship loading a heavy gun. Angered over British attack on the French Fleet in 1940, Admiral Daran refused to negotiate with the British. Inserted footage of French battleship Dunkerque exploding during British attack on French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir, July3, 1940. A tank driving ashore from a landing craft. Closeup of a French soldier (from the rear) firing his rifle at invading Allied troops. Allied medical corpsmen on the sandy shore, running with a litter. A jeep pulling a towed artillery field piece ashore from the surf. Medical corpsmen carrying a wounded on a stretcher. Allied troops fighting defenders in Casablanca. Animated map shows German invasion of Vichy France. View of Philippe Pétain, Head of Vichy France. View of Admiral Darlan saying goodbye to U.S. Lieutenant General Mark Clark after secret meeting of the two. Officers of German Armistice committees departing a North African city. Cheering crowds are happy to see them depart in a truck. French crowds cheering American troops. British Lieutenant-General Kenneth Anderson arriving at Algiers. French General Henri Giraud salutes. General Dwight D. Eisenhower salutes. Parading color guard with flags of France, Britain, and the U.S. Animated map shows German forces pouring into Tunisia. View of German troops on deck of a ship and at ship's anti-aircraft positions. General Eisenhower conferring with British and French allies. Camels used on rough terrain. American writes "Tunis Toonerville." in chalk. Allied troops sitting on floor of freight rail car with door open as old steam engine moves the train. Animated map shows German and Allied supply lines. A U.S. Douglas A-20 Havoc bomber landing on an airstrip. Numerous German warplanes parked in Tunisia. U.S. M2 tanks and other military vehicles moving along narrow mountainous roads. Locomotive transporting mules in stock cars. C-47 transport airplanes drop British and American airborne troops. Commandos disembark from ships at Bone, Algeria. Allied aircraft parked on a captured enemy airfield, under attack by German Dornier Do 17 and Heinkel He 111 bombers. A Parked American B-25. Allied soldiers firing small arms and anti-aircraft guns at German planes.
Opens with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied forces conferring with his deputy for land forces, British Field Marshal Harold Alexander, his deputy for sea forces, British Admiral Andrew Browne Cunningham, and his deputy for air operations, British air marshal Arthur William Tedder, during North African campaign in World War 2 . Map illustrates Allies military plans as analogous to internal combustion engine. General Eisenhower on an airfield consulting with his British Deputy commanders. B-17 bomber in background. Eisenhower salutes the British officers as he walks away. Lieutenant General Carl Spatz, Commander of the North West African Air Force, confers with British air marshal Tedder. Major General Jimmy Doolittle briefs airmen and smiles for camera. Strategic bombers with nose art names Pluto, Yankee Doodle, Jersey Jackass, Alice the Goon, and Fancy Pants. Picture of British Air Vice Marshal, Sir H.P. Lloyd, chief of Coastal air Force. A British Avro Anson aircraft flying air cover over a convoy of Allied ships. Diagram shows how all British and American fighter aircraft and attack bombers were placed under the command of British Air Marshal Cunningham, who is seen stepping from an airplane. British Field Marshal Harold Alexander in command of all ground forces is also seen stepping from an aircraft. Both are seen at a small camp trailer that they shared in the Tunisian mountains, where they work together, at a planning table. Marshal Cunningham is seen briefing air crews in mid March, 1943. B-24 Liberator bombers fly in formation and drop bombs on German Mareth fortifications in Tunis. German anti-aircraft guns create many black flak clouds among bomber formation. View from B-24 aircraft of the bombs exploding on the ground. British Field Marshal Harold Alexander is seen walking with a member of his staff across the sands. Diagram shows planned advance of the British 8th Army. Numerous British heavy guns fire nighttime barrages against the German positions, as British infantry advance during battle. They use scaling ladders and sappers detonate charges. Soldiers carry sticks to line trenches and set up defensive fortifications. Tanks advance. Heavy rain creates problems and some armor bogs down in mud. The next morning British troops are seen in their trenches as smoke drifts across the area. British soldiers moving cautiously under fire. German Field Marshal Rommel looks through binoculars. Additional German armored units entering the area. British gunners firing field artillery and mortars. Map illustrates how 2nd New Zealand Division under Lieutenant-General Bernard C. Freyberg, swings around behind the German line. Formation of British B-26 Marauder aircraft flying over desert. British Vickers Wellington bomber in flight. Bombardier in aircraft pressing a release button and close-up view of open bomb bay door with bombs away view as each bomb is released, followed by huge explosions on ground. British mosquito bomber flying low. Bomb explodes on ground and Mosquito aircraft pulls up and away. Another Mosquito aircraft flying low on a strafing run. Tanks of 2nd New Zealand Division welcomed into El-Hamma, Tunisia, in the Battle of the Mareth line. View of South African army engineers using caterpillar tractor to build roads for Allied forces. Glimpse from rear of three British warships underway in the Mediterranean sea. Front view of a British Queen Elizabeth Class battleship underway. The battleship firing her 15-inch guns. U.S. P-38 fighter planes in formation. Glimpse of pilot in cockpit wearing leather helmet and earphones. Formation of German Junkers Ju-52 aircraft flying low over sea, carrying German troops to reinforce those in Tunisia. View of German soldiers inside the cabin of a Ju-52. Closeup of three Ju-52 transports flying very low over water. Several U.S. P-38 fighter planes attacking the transports. Pilot in one, pressing button to fire his guns. Scenes of aerial dogfight combat between U.S. Army Air Force aircraft and German Luftwaffe aircraft. Gun camera images of P-38s shooting down German transport planes. Map shows American, British, and French forces pressing Eastward against Germans. Views of battle and U.S. Lieutenant General George Patton at the front as his forces move forward during Battle of Guettar. American patrols of light tanks meet up with British patrols from their 8th Army on April 7. Views of the U.S. and British soldiers happy to meet one another and sharing cigarettes. Map shows Allied forces pushing the Germans further. Allied infantry walking into town of Enfilaville. Local families returning to their homes with all their belongings, in carts pulled by donkeys and other animals. In the town, encouraged by British troops, a group of Jewish boys remove Jewish star of David emblems from their jackets that had been used by occupying Germans to identify them as Jewish. British army doctors tending to local women and children.