First Motion Picture Unit, United States Army Air Forces

Documentary/training film depicting the duties of a pilot in the Pacific Theatre of the Second World War as he flies reconnaissance missions over enemy-held islands.

A downed American bomber crew quickly falls prey to the clever interrogation techniques of the Germans in this dramatic training film.

U.S. Army Air Force pilot Bob Chilton and North American Aircraft designer Arthur Deeds show an Air Force colonel and major the new P-51B aircraft, explaining the changes in this new model and taking the plane through its paces with full description of its flight characteristics.

This U.S. Army Air Forces documentary short film depicts training methods and instructions for pilots of the C-47 Skytrain troop carrier aircraft. Lieutenant Warren is shown being put through his training paces by his instructor, Captain Mathews, who shows Warren the correct procedures and checklists for preparation for takeoff, takeoff, automatic pilot functioning, feathering a malfunctioning engine, and landing on one engine. Upon landing, Lt. Warren is instructed in taxiing and shut-down of the aircraft.

In this World War II military training film, a B-25 crew bails out over the jungle, and the pilot is separated from the rest of of his crew. The two groups of soldiers must survive until they can meet up and be rescued. The pilot does almost everything wrong, and the rest of his crew does almost everything right. We learn, by both bad and good example, how to survive in the jungle.

Lt. Scott Reynolds is co-pilot on a B-17 bomber. When his ship is forced to ditch at sea, only Reynolds survives. The nine other crew members died as a result of insufficient training in ditching procedure. Sent back to the States and promoted, Captain Reynolds takes command of a new B-17 and indoctrinates his crew carefully in the proper methods of preparation for ditching and for survival at sea thereafter.

A group of sailors kid their shipmate Frank about his constant reading, when they would all rather play cards. But each of them has a dream for the future that they consider impossible. Harry wants a better world for his two kids, Shorty and Eddie want to start a trucking company, Joe wants to learn about engines, and another of the gang just wants to know how to write well. When Frank reveals that he's been studying to get his high school diploma and to have a career in the Navy, the others realize that the educational benefits offered by the Armed Forces Institute can help them achieve their dreams.

When naval Lieutenant Phil Bowen encounters his friend, Air Forces Captain Grover, he inquires as to what Grover's aerial reconnaissance team is doing to protect ships from attack by submarine. Grover introduces him to Captain Smith, an expert at photographic intelligence. The two men explain to Bowen just how aerial photographic reconnaissance works and how their work in the air and on the ground is helping win the war even at sea.

In this documentary short film, a woman volunteer for the civilian aviation observer corps in World War II explains how the U.S. military depends on civilians watching the skies to warn of possible attacking or spying enemy aircraft. An army major explains to a group of civic leaders how volunteers are to be recruited and organized. Then the volunteers man posts day and night, always watching for unidentified aircraft that might be enemy forces.

Documentary short film depicting the correct methods of surviving the crash landing of a military aircraft in the desert. Methods of conserving water, providing shelter, and signaling for help are depicted.

This documentary short film was produced by the United States Army Air Forces' First Motion Picture Unit as a training film for American pilots and other personnel during the Second World War. In it, the Air Corps' CG-4A glider is demonstrated in its cargo- and troop-carrying modes. Takeoffs, landings, and flight/towing characteristics are described. The principal function of the film is to familiarize the viewer with the shape of the glider, so that it can be recognized from any angle and not mistaken for enemy aircraft. The glider's long boxy shape, square-cut wings, rounded tail, and detachable wheels are explained with diagrams augmenting the photographic view of the aircraft from various viewpoints.

Clark Gable stars in this propaganda short about the Officers Candidate School of the Army Air Forces.

An ace fighter pilot captain expects to get leave, but instead is ordered to Washington, where a colonel explains that mounting casualties among fighter pilots require new, battle-tested tactics in combat. The captain sets out to train a group of young and relatively inexperienced pilots in the new methods. Fighter planes are used as both attack aircraft and as escorts for heavy bombers, and a variety of flight patterns and defensive and offensive maneuvers are explained to the young pilots.

The story of Three Cadets and sexually transmitted diseases.

Joe Instructor, an Army Air Forces flight instructor, visits Pilot Heaven and has a discussion with Saint Peter about the unacceptable number of pilots who have died and gone to heaven without ever getting into combat, all as a result of haphazard or inattentive flying. Joe points out several pilots as examples and tells Saint Peter just what they did wrong that landed them in Pilot Heaven.

Documentary feature film depicting the training of young Lieutenant Jim Anthony as a pilot of the B-26 Marauder bomber. Dick, the captain charged with pilot instruction, leads Jim through every aspect of preparation to fly the bomber, going through a detailed checklist of pre-flight procedures, long before he allows Jim to turn an engine over. Once preparations are completed, Dick shows Jim the process of starting the engines, followed by take-off. In the air, further instruction helps Jim understand the various limits and capabilities of the aircraft. When one engine fails, Dick must simultaneously guide the limping plane back to a safe landing and explain to Jim each step of the procedure.

This government documentary short film depicts and explains the processes for retrieving a glider in the field. In combat situations in World War II, gliders were used to transport men and materiel to sites not suitable for landing powered aircraft, and the gliders were constructed so that they could be reused. The preparation of the grounded glider is explained, as well as the preparations and maneuvers aboard the C-47 aircraft which will pick up the glider.

The story of the first bombing raid on Tokyo by B-29 Superfortress bombers of the U.S. Army Air Forces. Crews are followed from their training staging at Grand Island, Nebraska to their bombing embarkation point on the island of Saipan. From there, the B-29 attack on the Nakajima aircraft plant outside Tokyo is depicted.

Documentary on picking the right Cadet.

This documentary short film depicts the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter plane in combat operations in various locales around the world during the Second World War. A variety of pilots are depicted recounting their actions in combat missions such as strafing runs, softening up of invasion sites, bomber protection, and the destruction of enemy resources and fortifications. One of the pilots has made a disastrous error in his mission, and viewers are invited to guess which of the pilots failed in his duty.