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Love our channel? Help us save and post more orphaned films! Support us on Patreon: Even a really tiny contribution can make a difference. “The Air War on Japan” — Episode 21 of the 26-part television series “Crusade in the Pacific“ produced in 1951 and narrated by Westbrook Van Voorhis. This episode discusses the use of U.S. Navy and U.S. Army Air Corps aircraft in offensive actions against the Marianas Islands and the Japanese mainland during World War II in 1942-44. This episode begins with images from World War I and the Lafayette Escadrille (0:47) Biplane being walked out of hangar, men attach bombs to the wing. Transition to -- man directs a massive B-29 bomber on the runway. Narrator discusses use of the airplane in a limited extent during WWI; this shifts during the wider global reach of WWII (1:39) Title card THE AIR WAR ON JAPAN. Waves crash behind the text. Shifts to war against Japan and target view over a city from the air. Wide shot of Mount Fuji in the distance with train traveling across a bridge (2:09) View of the globe with Japan and U.S. flags. Arrows from the U.S. directed to Japan as the narrator discusses attacks against Japan early in the war. The aircraft carrier USS Hornet first moves toward Japan in 1942 for Doolittle Raid in April, led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle (2:26) The Hornet moves towards the camera in the water. Men prepare a B-25 bomber’s propeller on the carrier flight deck. The plane takes off as men on the deck look on (3:06) B-25 in the air. Narrator: 16 B-25s left the Hornet’s deck and headed for Japan to bomb Tokyo (3:22) U.S. Army Air Force pilot and crew are honored by Madame Chiang Kai Shek (3:35) Globe view of base in China with arrows showing easy access to Japan. Narrator introduces B-29 bomber. Wide shot of B-29 landing. Sequence ends with B-29 bombers lined up on the (4:26) Globe view over the Mariana Islands and their radius in the Pacific Ocean. Signifies the start of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, also known as Operation Forager, between June and November 1944 (4:36) Huts, palm trees, military tanks in the landscape, and the building of the airbase in the Mariana Islands with shots of trucks and other equipment moving dirt (5:04) Wide shot of new runway and men flattening it (5:21) November 1924: first B-29s touches down on the new home. Men exit an airplane and are greeted (6:18) On November 24, 1944, planes are prepared for first mission. Shot of truck moving bombs next to a plane. Close-up of a bomb with text written in pencil “ONLY THE BEGINNING“ (6:31) Medium close-up and close-ups of men in airplane attaching missiles (6:34) B-29s taking off (6:55) B-29s flying together in the air. Close-ups of pilots. Quick action shots of bombs being dropped from planes, smoke, birds' eye view of the ground below as it’s bombed, and enemy planes being bombed. Sequence ends with planes heading back to base (8:21) Men clustered on life rafts (8:30) Enemy planes attack the base on Saipan, includes smoke flumes, planes destroyed, and men putting out fires (9:01) Bright light from incendiary bomb exploding at night and B-29 planes on fire (9:18) Shots of U.S. air decks and Navy preparing for attack (9:27) Navy pilots seated in ready room discussing plans as an officer stands in front to present. B-29s take off to strike. Pilot’s view of plane flying and dropping bombs over an airfield and harbor in Japan (11:57) A pilot parachuting from his crippled aircraft. Closeups of pilot in his solo raft in the ocean drinking rainwater with his hands (12:23) Wide shot of submarines sent out on lifeguard duty. Lookout and shots of rescued airmen (12:52) Map of Japan with U.S. flags symbolizing victories. After Iwo Jima in February-March 1945, the U.S. had bases near Japan which would allow them to bring the war to Japanese soil. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
