Made by the Jam Handy organization during WWII, HANDING IT BACK shows the U.S. Navy at war in the Pacific, with a special focus on gunnery. Naval aviators are shown training and gunners placing armament in planes. At 2:03, a seaplane / scout is seen going on a mission. The narrator talks about how “each bullet needs to count for something.” At 3:20, firing range practice is seen with carbines and machine guns. At 4:42, a icon of Hitler is used for target practice. At 4:45, crew are shown practicing on an actual fighter aircraft that is on the ground at the strafing firing range. At 5:26, an actual strafing run is seen, with spectacular shots of bullets fired through the propeller. Sleeve practice — gunnery practice conducted with sleeve targets attached to an airplane by tow cables — is seen at 6:05. At 7:15, dogfighting lessons are given in the classroom and then in the air, with a camera used in place of a gun. At 8:25, a PBY Catalina patrol plane crew preps their .50 caliber machine guns before taking off on a mission. “Hand it back, shoot to kill,” says the narrator. “Our enemies are guided by contempt…they would create a world of tyranny and serfdom.” The film ends at 11:30 with images of gunners in combat, shooting down Japanese and German aircraft.
At the end of this reel a fragment of a dive bombing film is seen, at 12:40, Dauntless torpedo bombers are seen dropping a torpedo onto a Japanese ship and sinking it.
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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
