This Castle Films newsreel dates to 1942 and shows the dramatic developments in the war in the Pacific, where the U.S. Navy repelled a Japanese invasion fleet at the Battle of the Coral Sea and then decisively crushed the Japanese fleet at Midway. The film begins with footage of American troops on the move across the Pacific to Australia, where General Douglas MacArthur plans America’s first offensive. Bombers are shown flying out of Port Moresby to harass the Japanese. At 2:17, a disabled American plane makes a belly landing. At 2:58, the port city of Darwin is shown with bomb damage after an aerial attack by Japanese planes. Darwin is shown on defensive posture with camouflaged anti-aircraft weapons in place (3:42). At 4:18, the Battle of the Coral Sea is shown. At 6:42 the USS Lexington is shown being straddled by enemy bombs. The ship is seen listing at 7:50 and was scuttled soon after. At 8:30, footage of the Battle of Midway — including footage shot by director John Ford. At 12:00, Japanese cruisers are shown aflame and sinking. The film ends with military honors for some of the heroes of the victory.
The Battle of the Coral Sea took place between 4–8 May 1942, as Japanese forces moved to invade and occupy Port Moresby in New Guinea and Tulagi in the southeastern Solomon Islands.
The U.S. Navy learned of the Japanese plan by breaking the enemy’s code, and sent two task forces to intercept.
Beginning on 7 May, the two sides exchanged airstrikes over two consecutive days. The first day, the Japanese light carrier Shōhō was sunk, while the Japanese sank an American destroyer and heavily damaged a fleet oiler (which was later scuttled). The next day, the Japanese fleet carrier Shōkaku was heavily damaged, the USN fleet carrier Lexington was critically damaged (and later scuttled), and the Yorktown was damaged. With both sides having suffered heavy losses in aircraft and carriers damaged or sunk, the two fleets retired from the battle area. The Japanese could not longer threaten Port Moresby as a result.
The Battle of Midway was fought between 4 and 7 June 1942, only six months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. It proved to be a crucial turning point in the war, as the U.S. Navy decisively defeated an attacking fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, sinking four fleet aircraft carriers while only losing one — the USS Midway. The battle effectively ended Japanese offensive operations in the Pacific.
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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 and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
