POLARIS BLUE AND GOLD (MN-9756) is a 1962 Navy recruiting film showing the responsibilities aboard the USS George Washington, the nation’s first ballistic missile (FBM) submarine, featuring the newest naval weapon, the Polaris fleet ballistic missile. The film begins with an underwater launch of a Polaris missile (00:38). The crew aboard the FBM submarine engages in a dive maneuver (01:35). These submarines have a crew of 100 men and 12 officers. Every officer has the technical and command experience necessary to take the submarines on 60-day patrols. Every crew member plays a critical role. In the navigation center (02:41), electronic technicians and communication specialists keep the submarine on course. In the missile compartment (02:53), sixteen Polaris missiles stand ready. Other jobs on the submarine are the radioman (03:14) who’s the sub’s only contact with the outside world, the hospital foreman, the yeoman who writes the ship’s reports, and the store keeper who tracks 30,000 line items and manages food stores. Despite being out to sea for so long, FBM crews eat well (04:30). When on shift, crew members wear the new FBM uniform—Dacron coveralls, which minimize lint and protect the sub’s atmosphere. The sub’s atmosphere is constantly monitored (05:20), and oxygen is extracted from the seawater outside as needed. The submarine spends little time at port because it is manned by two crews. When one crew is at sea, the other is training at New London, Connecticut (06:06). The crew stays busy while on patrol, between shifts, chores, playing games, and even taking extension courses from Harvard University. The FBM submarine’s vital mission is preventing war, so the crew must be ready at all times. They train with test runs regularly, such as a battle station missile test (08:20). The FBM submarine with the Polaris missile the U.S. Navy’s primary deterrent in the Cold War.
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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 http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
