Dating to the post-World War I era, this fragmentary film shows a U.S. Navy exercise in the Caribbean Sea. The film starts with images of battleships and destroyers moving at high speed. These include USS Dale (:29). This ship (DD-290) was a Clemson-class destroyer decommissioned in 1930. At :39, scout biplanes are launched from a battleship and/or cruiser. At 1:03, footage of the fleet transiting the Panama Canal as seen from a biplane. At 1:24, scout planes are used to get bearings for the ship’s guns, as they open fire as part of the exercise. At 2:04, depth charges are dropped from patrol craft and at 2:20 torpedoes launched. At 2:30, an “enemy” ship rolls over and is sunk. The fleet turns homeward.

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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. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com