The Pacific Campaign of World War II on the Island of Saipan, Mariana Islands. Captured Japanese planes are inspected by newly arrived U.S. pilots. Pilots as they go out and start looking at various types of Japanese aircraft which were left on the Aslito airfield of which the Japanese troops were unable to destroy before retreating into the hills. Destroyed Japanese Zeros on ground at the airfield. Remainder of the 318th Fighter Group personnel arrive in freighters. Various freighters moving into the harbor area. Men walking down the gateway into water and marching across the water to shore getting out of LST (Landing Ship, Tank).
America forces begin preparing Saipan as an advance base in the Pacific campaign against Japan in World War 2. Japanese military prisoners as well as civilian women and children are seated on the ground, shaded by a tree on a coastal plain in Saipan. American officers review a map laid out on the hood of a jeep. They converse in a group as they stand near a rudimentary small gauge railroad track in the sand. Sheer cliffs are close behind them and the ocean is nearby. A jeep is seen parked and another moves along a bumpy path. Officers and soldiers stand on and near the small gauge rail line. Several jeeps are parked. Camera pans over sheer cliffs behind. (Some contain openings that housed Japanese fortifications.) Camera pans over wide flat area where the Japanese were building an airfield near Marpi Point on the northern end of the island of Saipan. Construction materials cover the area and several jeeps travel through it. Final scene shows more Japanese civilians in a group where several American soldiers are attending to their needs.
From "The Last Bomb": The defeat of Japan through American airpower in World War 2. Mix of actual combat footage and a small amount of vintage, dramatized, pilot in cockpit footage. A single B-29 from the 39th Bomb Group (stationed at North Field Guam) drops clusters of incendiary and fragmentation bombs over Japan. Bombs away view of large number of bombs falling toward Japan. A formation of B-29s from the 498th Bomb Group, Isley Field, Saipan, in flight during a daytime bombing mission over Japan. Explosions and smoke rise from targets in Japan, including two Japanese aircraft plants and an airdrome as part of U.S. tactical plan 574. Color, low aerial view of massive bomb damage over Tokyo following U.S. air attacks of March 1945. Escorting P-51s from Iwo Jima engage defending Japanese fighter aircraft in dogfights. Aerial gun camera footage of Japanese airplanes being hit, exploding, bursting into flames, and falling from sky to crash. Later, P-51s conduct strafing attacks against Japanese ground targets, including: lines of communication; railroads; marshaling yards; factories; airfields; ships; and harbors. Color gun camera footage shows these strafing attacks. P-51s returning to land at Iwo Jima and performing celebratory rolls over the field. Crippled B-29s making emergency landings on Iwo Jima. A B-29 from 500th Bomb Group with an engine shutdown. A B-29 from the 29th Bomb Group. Bad weather over runway at Iwo Jima forces a P-51 pilot to bail out over the field. A B-29 from the 6th Bomb Group ditches in water near beach on Iwo Jima. A B-29 crashes and bursts into flames during landing at Iwo Jima (all crew escapes.) Firefighters douse the flames with foam. Formation of B-29s from 39th Bomb Group returning to Guam after bombing mission over Japan. A B-29 crashing on landing and bursting into flames. Sole surviving crew member being carried on stretcher, as firemen and rescue teams work at scene. Formations of B-29s from 498th Bomb Group and 9th Bomb Group, in flight. Good color view from B-29 of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, which brought about the capitulation of Japan and end of World War 2. Large mushroom cloud rising into the air following atomic bomb explosion at Nagasaki.
Marines of 'B' Company, 1st Regiment advance toward and into Naha. Marines carrying casualty back behind lines. A Marine throws grenade at Japanese position. Another Marine backs up grenade with flamethrower. Marines on ridge fire at Japanese positions. Marine throws hand grenade into position. Marine fires bazooka rocket launcher at Japanese position. Marine with Thompson sub machine gun advance warily through bushes looking for Japanese soldiers. Marines advance across open area. (World War II period).
U.S. troops advance on Okinawa. Beachhead established by 10th Army. U.S. landing crafts on South West coast of Okinawa. Warships at the coast. Small landing crafts and DUKW (Six wheel drive amphibious trucks) move in water carrying supplies. Troops and trucks move along road on island. Marine units move toward north, while 24th Army Corps move toward south for Naha. Aerial view of seized airfield on Okinawa. Countryside shows farms and open lands. Army advances towards Japanese emplacements on hillside. Troops attack Japanese caves on hillside. U.S. marines clear caves with grenades. A U.S. soldier drags a dead Japanese soldier out of a cave. Other Japanese soldiers are shown surrendering and being led away from caves with hands raised. Native civilians are evacuated. They cooperate with troops. Women and children walk along pathway. A civilian woman and young boy child smile.
U.S. troops in Okinawa. U.S. 24th Army Corps in Southern Okinawa Front. Troops move along road. Troops along pathway in fields. U.S. artillery shells enemy positions on hills. American plane overhead makes bombing run. U.S. 382nd Infantry Regiment fighting at Table Top Ridge. Artillery fires enemy positions on side of hill. Japanese fortifications on hillside are shelled by artillery. Medics carrying wounded across field. Wounded man transferred on weasel. U.S. 381st Infantry Regiment supported by tanks fighting in Kakzu Ridge. Tanks fire at enemy positions on hills in the background. U.S. troops rushing toward deep fortified cave on hillside. Japanese coming out of cave. Flamethrower firing flames on hillside Japanese caves. Troops of 382nd Infantry, 96th Division advance up hill and place bombs in Japanese caves clearing pillboxes. Explosion in cave. (World War II; WWII;World War 2; WW2)
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