“Dead Reckoning Procedure” is the title and the subject of this black-and-white U.S. Army training film, produced during circa 1942. (In navigation, dead reckoning is the process of calculating a current position by using a previously determined, or fixed, position.) The film opens with a scene of an airplane in flight, and a brief explanation to the viewer that in order for a pilot to reach an enemy target, skilled crew members must be familiar with aerial navigation and in particular, dead reckoning. “In flights over land and sea, dead reckoning is used by itself and in conjunction with other methods of navigation. The principles are adaptable to any specific situation,” the narrator explains starting at mark 00:35. The film switches scenes to a lieutenant preparing for a typical flight mission from Georgia to South Carolina. In great detail, the navigator reviews weather maps and forecasts, including wind speeds. Then, determining a fixed position on a map, he fills in his log sheet before plotting a course. With maps laid on before him and the narrator presenting step-by-step explanations, the navigator is shown establishing possible emergency landing sites beginning at mark 06:10, as well as checking for mountains or other hazards along his path.

With his pre-flight routine completed, the navigator boards the aircraft at mark 08:08 and is shown carefully checking the seven instruments he will use in dead reckoning, including a magnetic periodic compass, drift meter, airspeed indicator, temperature gauge, and the altimeter. Airborne by mark 10:10, the navigator is shown noting additional information in his log book, including time of take off, before taking drift readings to aid in the dead reckoning process. Another drift reading (which are taken at five-minute intervals) means another entry into the log book, the narrator explains at mark 12:10. The film continues explaining various scenarios, including additional changes in heading, and verification of air speed.

An animation beginning at mark 15:12 shows the viewer, in painstaking detail, how the navigator uses a double drift process to determine and then calculate changes in wind speed and direction. From there, the film shows the navigator recalculating the plane’s time of arrival. Near mark 21:45, the pilot reports his position to his base as the navigator is shown taking additional drift readings before correcting the airplane’s heading. With oil pressures dropping in one engine, the navigator calculates a location for a possible emergency landing at mark 22:30, before the situation is determined to simply be a false alarm. Following a few more readings, the plane safely arrives at its destination … one time. “The navigator who knows his job will be the one who gets his airplane to any destination, including Berlin or Tokyo,” the narrator says as the films comes to an end.