This silent film footage comes from a U.S. Navy fighter aircraft in the Pacific Theater in WWII. It was shot by a 16mm “gun camera” linked to the aircraft’s guns, to record the pilot’s attacks. It would have been reviewed by intelligence and the pilot’s commander, to both verify hits on enemy targets and assess gunnery skills.

Visible in the footage at the 12 second mark, is a beach with Japanese emplacements. White dots seen below are likely flak tracer being shot at the aircraft. At the 38 second mark, a pass is made on a Japanese ship. Action continues at the 3 minute mark, with multiple passes on the ship until it is seen burning at the 3:10 mark. Some odd footage at the end of the reel may represent an attempt to empty gun magazines, a procedure sometimes employed during the war to minimize the chance of ground casualties should guns go off during landing.

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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