This WWII era training film from the US Navy provides instructions about how to navigate through a thunderstorm or storm front. The film contains a lot of animation, most likely created by the Walt Disney studios under contract with the War Department.

The film explains various navigation procedures in heavy weather. The choice of maneuvers depends on the type of storm, where it lay over, type of equipment and the altitude of the mission to be performed (:20). Pilots are instructed to analyze the storm prior to encountering the surrounding clouds (:37). The procedure is similar regardless of whether or not it is a single storm, cluster of storms, or a line of storms (:51). Pilots are able to circumvent storms through either a thin or clear spot, by flying at a low level under the storm (:51) or by flying at a high level over a saddleback (1:19) between storm tops. It is necessary to always fly around isolated thunderstorms rather than through (1:40). The same procedure is required for storms located in a mountainous region (2:21). As thunderstorms over islands instead of the open sea tend to be much taller (2:47) they should be circumvented as high-level flying may not be possible. A wall of thunderstorms caused by a front tend to be too long to fly around (3:01), though a storm front is essentially a series of individual storms which enables possible flight through in between the storm centers (3:29). When it was not possible for pilots to determine clear or thin spots (3:58) they are instructed to figure out which direction it was moving in and head in at a right angle to avoid as much time within the storm as possible. Upon flying through the storm, if pilots experienced heavy turbulence, hail or lightning strikes they were advised to carry on forward as an attempt to turn around may result in them getting lost within the storm (4:17). Low level flying under the storm is recommended when encountering storms over flat terrain or the open sea (4:59). The dark rain areas are pointed to under the storm (5:08) and these can help the pilots determine where the storm centers lay. In an all metal closed cockpit plane, lighting strikes are not of much concern except for the potential of the flashes to temporarily blind the pilot (5:42). In an open cockpit plane however, the pilot and the craft are subject to injury and damage (5:51). A diagram follows of the rear and the front of the storm (6:02). Heavier turbulence can be avoided by flying closer to the surface of the ground (6:19). The diagram then shows what flying through the storm from the front would be like including the up draft encountered as soon as they enter (6:48), the up and down drafts under the roll cloud region (6:54), down drafts at the core of the storm (6:59) and then another up draft as well as another down draft just before reaching the clearing (7:13). Drafts encountered while entering from the rear will be reversed from that of frontal entry (8:03). Due to this it is important for the pilots to be aware to enter at a higher altitude when coming in from the rear (8:12) than they would when coming in from the front. Storms lying over mountainous ranges do not enable low level flying (8:39). If a storm is over or near an airport, flying men are instructed to wait to land until it passes if possible (8:59). High level flying through a saddleback is the best procedure when faced with rough terrain or when the pilot is unfamiliar with the mountain range (10:12). Pilots are instructed to avoid hanging clouds associated with anvil tops as hail is often encountered from these (10:40). When it is not possible for the pilot to use any of the basic maneuvers there are two other procedures he can follow, one being to fly as high as possible between the storm areas (11:33) or as low as possible between storm areas (11:41). An aircraft weather report dated July of 1942 (11:53) details a pilot’s endeavor as he was not able to use the basic three procedures and was forced to fly through. He decides to fly between two storm centers entering at a right angle (13:33) and turns on the cockpit lights in order to help prevent blindness from lighting strikes (13:40). He hits heavy turbulence though decides to carry on forward (13:50) and when static electricity builds up on the wings of the plane, he again reduces his speed to prevent any bright flashes (15:23). The film goes over his flight procedure again (16:30) and ends with the information that pilot’s must trust their skill, their knowledge as well as their craft in order to make it through any storm safely (17:58). It ends at (18:16).

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