This restricted newsfilm presents WW2 combat in 1945, including the long-range attacks on Japanese held areas including Tokyo, as well as the RAF and AAF attack on Dresden and Cologne, Germany in 1945. The film opens with a map showing where the U.S. Navy fleet is positioned at sea (:36) and Admiral Halsey’s 3rd Fleet during a typhoon (:38). In Japanese-held Vietnam, oil refineries, docks, warehouses and shipping in the Saigon River were attacked. During this mission 69 ships were damaged or sunk (1:00). Two days later, task force planes hit targets in China including Hong Kong and Canton (1:12). Footage of strafing and ships exploding from this strike follow (1:28). By the end of the offensive, the China Sea was no longer controlled by Japan (2:36).

European Theater is next. A map shows Dresden and Cologne, Germany (2:37). The RAF Lancaster’s are filmed flying above clouds (2:52) for an attack that involved over 800 heavy bombers. The so-called Scarecrow shell or bomb is seen exploding in the air (3:01). During this attack, 2,650 tons of bombs were dropped (3:35). Two days later, the American Air Force’s B-17 Flying Fortresses enacted a second hit on a German communication center (3:40) as well as any remaining freight yards (3:54). The city of Dresden, which used to house a population of 625,000, now stood completely decimated (4:09). The RAF took to bombing highways (4:21) and the 8th and 15th Air Force hit rail targets (4:52). Lancaster and Halifax bombers hit Cologne to block roads and railroads (5:42). On the ground, tankers and infantrymen moved towards Cologne (6:18). As they arrived, a span of the bombed-out city is shown (6:28) and street to street fighting took place from here (6:49). The large cathedral shown at (7:56) managed to remain standing and was not hit directly, although the relics once inside had already been moved for safe keeping (8:07).

Pacific Theater. The Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer was debuted as the latest version of the Liberator (8:23). This craft is then shown in use with men loading bombs into it (9:10). Turning to the strike on Tokyo (9:34), planes from task force 58 were instructed to hit targets here and they are seen at sea under the command of Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher (9:49). The objective was to keep the Japanese forces from intercepting supplies and transports (10:00) and forces were to land on Iwo Jima. This strike involved 1,500 planes which hit Japanese air craft facilities heavily (11:04). Another strike took place the following day targeting of four of Japan’s largest engine and assembly plants (11:39) as well as airfields (11:53). By the end of the attack, the Marines had captured Iwo Jima (12:17). After the battle, the removal of the wounded is shown (14:00) to hospital ships offshore or for air evacuation into hospital planes (14:43). The air evacuation from Iwo Jima was in fact considered one of the greatest medical achievements of the war (15:09). The task of hunting down remaining enemy forces (15:26) and taking prisoners follows (15:48). A captured air strip was quickly put to use as a B-29 was forced to emergency land here and would have had to land at sea had the strip not been captured and converted (16:55). Iwo Jima now sat as a launching point for attacks on Tokyo with the protection of land-based fighters (17:15). The strike on the Ryukyu Islands is looked at next (17:21). The US Pacific fleet had been conducting softening up attacks here (17:34). As the 5th fleet moved in, they began targeting shore installations (17:49) and aircrafts were taking off simultaneously of Vice Admiral Mitscher’s task force (17:58). Okinawa was hit hardest, with warehouses, pier facilities and transports targeted (18:03). Footage of a Japanese airfield being hit follows (18:13). The film begins to wrap up as Japanese forces were forced to withdraw (19:23) and closes with footage of strafing on ships and planes (19:23).

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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