The first newsreel, titled A NEW GENERATION, shows some of the stunning accomplishments made by the Silent Service in the late 1950’s. First, the launching of the Barbel-class USS Blueback is shown. (00:00:30:00) USS Blueback was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation of Pascagoula, Mississippi, and was the last non-nuclear submarine to join the fleet. The boats that would supplant Blueback and its diesel brethren are then shown. First, USS Skipjack (SSN-585), (00:01:00:00) which boasted many design changes that were products of new scientific insight into submarine design: a new tear-drop hull designed for optimum performance underwater, with a mid-hull sail and diving planes designed to keep the ship stable and allow similar function to an airplane. Second, we have the USS George Washington (SSBN-598), the nation’s first Polaris nuclear missile submarine. (00:02:00:00) With this boat’s launch the nation entered a new era, in which submarine-based ICBMs would form a significant part of the USA’s nuclear defense. The film ends with a mention of the stop-gap system that was in place prior to the arrival of Polaris, as we see the submarine USS Barbero (SSGN-317) perform an interesting stunt. Barbero was one of the five Regulus missile firing submarines. (00:02:30:00) In 1959, as this newsreel clearly shows, Barbero fired a drone version of the Regulus off the Atlantic Ocean. Twenty-two minutes later the missile, which was equipped with landing gear, arrived at Mayport NAS in Florida. Inside its warhead compartment were two official USPS mail containers containing 3,000 pieces of mail. This “missile mail” remains the first and only time that the Post Office has used this extremely fast delivery method. Incidentally, cancelled missile mail is still in circulation among stamp collectors, and is highly collectible.
The second newsreel, OPERATION BIG DEAL, shows a 1959 exercise involving the United States 2nd and 6th Fleet. Carrier Operations are shown. (00:02:55:00)
The third newsreel, USS INDEPENDENCE JOINS THE FLEET, shows the launching of the fifth USS Independence (CV/CVA-62) (00:04:50:00), a Forrestal-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She was the fourth and final member of the Forrestal class of conventionally powered supercarriers. She entered service in 1959, with much of her early years spent in the Mediterranean Fleet. Independence made a single tour off the coast of Vietnam in 1965 during the Vietnam War, and also carried out airstrikes against Syrian forces during the Lebanese Civil War and operations over Iraq during Operation Southern Watch, the enforcement of the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. Independence was decommissioned in 1998 after 39 years of active service. Currently stored at Bremerton, Washington, the ex-Independence was towed in 2015 to Brownsville, Texas, for scrapping, the last of the class to be scrapped.
The fourth newsreel, SKATE SURFACES AT THE POLE. (00:06:20:00) This short film shows some of the stunning accomplishments made by the Silent Service in the late 1950’s. The USS Skate (SSN-578) the third nuclear submarine commissioned by the Navy, becomes only the second submarine to reach the North Pole and the first to surface there. (00:07:00:00) The newsreel ends with the public welcoming the sub home. (00:07:50:00)
The final newsreel, EVENTS IN BRIEF (00:08:12:00) shows various subjects including the relief of Admiral Dupek as head of the Little America US Navy Polar Station in Antarctica. (00:08:35:00) It also shows the launch of TALOS missiles. (00:09:05:00) Also, we see a sort clip about Navy Frogmen. (00:10:50:00) Furthermore, the film shows the use of a Regulus Cruise Missile to deliver mail, in a stunt known as missile mail. (00:11:55:00) The film ends with the Air Development Center in Lakehurst, New Jersey where a brand new type of airship is tested. (00:12:50:00)
