Videoteca

Wings for This Man 1945
A tribute to the pioneering achievements of the Negro combat pilots trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

Time to Kill 1945
A group of sailors kid their shipmate Frank about his constant reading, when they would all rather play cards. But each of them has a dream for the future that they consider impossible. Harry wants a better world for his two kids, Shorty and Eddie want to start a trucking company, Joe wants to learn about engines, and another of the gang just wants to know how to write well. When Frank reveals that he's been studying to get his high school diploma and to have a career in the Navy, the others realize that the educational benefits offered by the Armed Forces Institute can help them achieve their dreams.

Target - Invisible 1945
Documentary short film depicting the uses of radar in high-level bombing during World War II. B-29 bombers are shown delivering bombs over Japan and using radar to make pinpoint accurate target assessments despite overcast conditions.

P-47 Combat Operations 1945
This documentary short film depicts the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter plane in combat operations in various locales around the world during the Second World War. A variety of pilots are depicted recounting their actions in combat missions such as strafing runs, softening up of invasion sites, bomber protection, and the destruction of enemy resources and fortifications. One of the pilots has made a disastrous error in his mission, and viewers are invited to guess which of the pilots failed in his duty.

Land and Live in the Desert 1945
Documentary short film depicting the correct methods of surviving the crash landing of a military aircraft in the desert. Methods of conserving water, providing shelter, and signaling for help are depicted.

A-26 Flying Tips 1945
This United States Army Air Forces short documentary depicts various pieces of official advice for pilots of the A-26 fighter bomber aircraft. Special attention is paid to the attitude of the ship on take-off and landing, which varies from other planes of the period due to a new type of wing shape. Instructions are given on stall speeds, engine failure, and landing in single-engine flight.

The AAF Comes of Age 1945
This United States government documentary short film recapitulates the efforts made by the United States Army Air Forces in coming to terms with the necessities and exigencies of war in the lead-up to and during the Second World War. Archival footage, charts, and animated illustrations depict the unprepared state of America's air power in face of the threat from Germany, Italy, and Japan, and the massive efforts made to catch up to the enemy in terms of manpower, training, and materiel.

Target Tokyo 1945
The story of the first bombing raid on Tokyo by B-29 Superfortress bombers of the U.S. Army Air Forces. Crews are followed from their training staging at Grand Island, Nebraska to their bombing embarkation point on the island of Saipan. From there, the B-29 attack on the Nakajima aircraft plant outside Tokyo is depicted.

Perishable Rush 1945
A documentary that shows how the Army Air Forces during World War II flew wounded men from Pacific battle areas to hospitals and home towns in the United States.

Resisting Enemy Interrogation 1944 star_border 6.2
A downed American bomber crew quickly falls prey to the clever interrogation techniques of the Germans in this dramatic training film.

Recognition of the CG-4A Glider 1944
This documentary short film was produced by the United States Army Air Forces' First Motion Picture Unit as a training film for American pilots and other personnel during the Second World War. In it, the Air Corps' CG-4A glider is demonstrated in its cargo- and troop-carrying modes. Takeoffs, landings, and flight/towing characteristics are described. The principal function of the film is to familiarize the viewer with the shape of the glider, so that it can be recognized from any angle and not mistaken for enemy aircraft. The glider's long boxy shape, square-cut wings, rounded tail, and detachable wheels are explained with diagrams augmenting the photographic view of the aircraft from various viewpoints.

Land and Live in the Jungle 1944 star_border 8
In this World War II military training film, a B-25 crew bails out over the jungle, and the pilot is separated from the rest of of his crew. The two groups of soldiers must survive until they can meet up and be rescued. The pilot does almost everything wrong, and the rest of his crew does almost everything right. We learn, by both bad and good example, how to survive in the jungle.

How to Fly the B-26 Airplane 1944
Documentary feature film depicting the training of young Lieutenant Jim Anthony as a pilot of the B-26 Marauder bomber. Dick, the captain charged with pilot instruction, leads Jim through every aspect of preparation to fly the bomber, going through a detailed checklist of pre-flight procedures, long before he allows Jim to turn an engine over. Once preparations are completed, Dick shows Jim the process of starting the engines, followed by take-off. In the air, further instruction helps Jim understand the various limits and capabilities of the aircraft. When one engine fails, Dick must simultaneously guide the limping plane back to a safe landing and explain to Jim each step of the procedure.

China Crisis: The Story of the 14th Air Force 1944
This documentary depicts the American effort to support the Chinese government before and during the Second World War, by means of transport flights of materiel from India to China, by the fierce defense of China skies by the pilots of the American Volunteer Group (The Flying Tigers), and the subsequent absorption and augmentation of that unit by the U.S. Army Air Forces' Fourteenth Air Force. Also depicted are the millions of refugees fleeing the Japanese armies and the relocation of equipment, personnel, and (sometimes) civilians in advance of the invaders.

Fighter Combat Formation: Attacks and Escorts 1944
An ace fighter pilot captain expects to get leave, but instead is ordered to Washington, where a colonel explains that mounting casualties among fighter pilots require new, battle-tested tactics in combat. The captain sets out to train a group of young and relatively inexperienced pilots in the new methods. Fighter planes are used as both attack aircraft and as escorts for heavy bombers, and a variety of flight patterns and defensive and offensive maneuvers are explained to the young pilots.

Position Firing 1944
Hapless B-17 waist gunner "Trigger Joe" learns how to adjust his aim, to take into account the relative motion of his aircraft, his bullets, and the attacking enemy fighter.

Flak 1944 star_border 6
This documentary dives into an in-depth look at the weapons and methods of German and Japanese anti-aircraft warfare. Also highlights the evasive actions that were utilized by U.S. bomber crews.

Elementary and Pylon Eights 1944
This government documentary short film demonstrates for Army Air Forces pilots in World War II the safe execution of a variety of aeronautical maneuvers. An instructor, using animation, shows the proper procedure for setting up and executing S-turns, elementary figure eights, and pylon figure eights. Illustrating the right and wrong ways to perform these maneuvers are the animated characters Wilbur Right and Wilbur Wrong.

Troop Carrier Airplanes: Cockpit Procedure 1944
This U.S. Army Air Forces documentary short film depicts training methods and instructions for pilots of the C-47 Skytrain troop carrier aircraft. Lieutenant Warren is shown being put through his training paces by his instructor, Captain Mathews, who shows Warren the correct procedures and checklists for preparation for takeoff, takeoff, automatic pilot functioning, feathering a malfunctioning engine, and landing on one engine. Upon landing, Lt. Warren is instructed in taxiing and shut-down of the aircraft.

Flying the P-61 Series Airplane 1944
This documentary short film depicts the proper manner for ground inspection, flight preparation, takeoff, flying, single-engine flying, and landing of the P-61 series of American night fighter aircraft (Black Widows). The different varieties of planes within the series are distinguished and notice is given to different flying characteristics of each.

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