Amazing Color Kodachrome Movies of Wartime Naval Aviation at Pensacola F4U-1 F3F Vultee SNV Valiant

The captions with this classic Kodachrome film from the U.S. Navy says it shows Naval cadets marching at Pensacola, Florida. Looks like some foreign students graduated as well. Silver, red, and yellow North American trainers in the film are both NJ fixed-gear aircraft and SNJ retractable-gear Texans. A twin-engine Sikorsky JRS amphibian takes off, and a biplane Grumman F3F fighter is fired up a bit later. After scenes on a gunnery range, a Grumman J2F Duck amphibian is boarded for flight. The gray camouflaged Duck is marked “Photographic School“, which may account for the fabulous Kodachrome movie film that was shot that day. Our experience has been that the Navy trained proficient, knowledgeable, and great photographers that captured the action well in World War II and beyond. Early F4U-1 Corsairs show paint and markings consistent with 1942. Star insignia appear on both wings. And gray camouflaged Vultee SNV Valiant trainers numbering in the dozens reveal a mix of markings with the occasio