FIREPOWER
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Year Published: 1942
Format: 16mm
Description: This WWII propaganda film deals with the Army and Navy Ordnance Bureaus, responsible for supervising the planning and construction of new munitions factories, and responsible for overseeing civilian industrial production of small arms, artillery, tanks, and ammunition during the conflict. The film shows Allied arms flowing to Greek forces, Yugoslavian partisans, and of course American, British, Australian and Allied forces. Footage also includes Poland, China, and other areas around the world that lack "firepower" to stop the Axis and require the support of American labor and technology. The film includes shots of Maj. General Levin H. Campbell, Gen. Brehon B. Sommervell and Undersecretary of War Robert P. Patterson, Rear Admiral W. H. P. Blandy, and Undersecretary of the Navy James Forrestal. Levin Hicks Campbell, Jr. was a Lieutenant General in the United States Army. He was the Army's Chief of Ordnance from 1942 to 1946. Brehon Burke Somervell was a General in the United States Army and Commanding General of the Army Service Forces in World War II. Congress established the Bureau in the Department of the Navy by an act of July 5, 1862 (12 Stat. 510), which transferred the hydrographic functions of the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography (1842–1862) to the newly established Bureau of Navigation. During the early 20th century, BuOrd became involved in the development of aerial weapons. This often led to friction with the Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer), which had responsibility for the development of Naval aircraft. BuAer's work on "pilotless aircraft," or drones, conflicted with BuOrd's development of guided missiles. After World War II, the Navy examined ways to improve coordination between the two bureaus; ultimately, the decision was made to merge the two organizations into a new bureau, to be known as the Bureau of Naval Weapons (BuWeps). It was heavily criticized during the Second World War for its failure to quickly remedy the numerous issues with the Mark 14 Torpedo which had an over 70% dud rate. BuOrd was disestablished by Congress by an act of August 18, 1959 (73 Stat. 395), and its functions were transferred to the newly established Bureau of Naval Weapons. BuAir merged with BuOrd to form BuWeps. BuWeps, in turn, was disestablished in 1966 when the Navy overhauled its material organization, and was replaced with the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). Other system commands included the Naval Ship Systems Command and the Naval Ordnance Systems Command. Ship and Submarine ordnance functions fell under the new Naval Ordnance Systems Command while Air Ordnance stayed with the Naval Air Systems Command. In July 1974, the Naval Ordnance Systems Command and Naval Ships Systems Command merged to form the Naval Sea Systems Command. Traditional Naval Ordnance functions are now conducted at the Naval Surface Warfare Center which falls under the command of Naval Sea Systems Command.
Transcription
the jumping off place port of embarkation secret transports secret outfits secret destination secret now but japs and nazis will soon remember it forever manpower the strength and courage of a nation's fighting men firepower the wallet they packed with weapons and explosives firepower tried and tested in ordnance proving grounds planned and supervised by ordinance officers in the 25 army and navy arsenals and thousands of privately operated plants where a million workers produce over two thousand complete items items innovated developed by long and careful research and perfected by ordinance men with technical experts and specialists in washington are the headquarters of the departments entrusted with these prime essential war jobs army and naval ordnance army's chief of ordnance major general levin h campbell who is responsible to lieutenant general breon b sommerville chief of the services of supply and under secretary of war robert p patterson rear admiral w.h.p blandy navy's chief of the bureau of ordinance under secretary of the navy james v forestal you realize the immensity of ordnance's job this battleship requires well over ten thousand pounds of firepower for one broadside in the coral sea and at midway the japs lost four aircraft carriers with all their planes three cruisers four destroyers three battleships and numerous cruisers and destroyers were severely damaged it took almost 240 000 pounds of bombs and torpedoes this mechanized division requires one million two hundred thousand pounds of firepower for one day's fighting to possess superior firepower means survival and victory to lack it means ultimate defeat somewhere over the mountains of yugoslavia airborne supplies dropped in canisters attached to parachutes chapnicks gorillas fighting under general draya mikhailovic there are 150 000 chetnicks under his command men who are sworn to death before surrender made in the united states of america because of these deliveries 20 000 square miles of yugoslavia still remain unconquered the other 76 000 square miles are occupied by german and italian troops this is bosnia where the henchmen of anti-pavlich hitler's puppet premiere murdered more than 300 000 men women and children countless families have been driven from their homes and now wander and starve and die along these picturesque roads no one dances in yugoslavia today unless the ghosts dance in the ruins of the market places ii was a beautiful country free prosperous educated a country that muddled his form of government after hours the suck old patriotic physical culture congress attended by 100 000 people exactly the number of checks now in nazi jails and concentration camps forbidden to carry guns checks are also forbidden to call upon god to protect them the shrines like this they now climb to pray in secret some 500 people lived in this town to the glory that was greece the proud memory of its ancient culture has come a new glory now the hopeless gallant stand its poorly armed soldiers made against axis armies constitution square in athens when the greeks were free this was a park the nazis have made it a cemetery the people of norway the people that loved peace but were not strong enough to protect it many in these scenes are now corpses in poland over a million have perished of starvation disease hanging shooting the gas chamber that is the fate of a nation when it loses its weapons when its people are defenseless incapable of firepower but poland fights on from its headquarters in london all the occupied nations fight on and american labor is giving them the fire power to fight with in connecticut americans with polish names are creating firepower for our own army and navy so that america will never know the anguish of occupation and firepower too for the two hundred thousand poles in exile fighting with britain and russia from our government arsenals bombs for ourselves and for the three thousand polish aviators flying with the raf one-fourth of the german planes shot down in the battle of britain were attributed to them americans of check extraction produced shells in ohio firepower for the thousands of czechs fighting and dying on the battlefields of russia americans with greek names forge gun barrels in illinois refined copper in utah copper for rotating bands firepower for the two brigades of greeks serving in the middle east firepower for the strong greek naval units shipmates with the royal navy a cruiser three destroyers three torpedo boats the american sons of norwegian pioneers they are lumberjacks in washington wood fabricators in maine paper for powder containers for primer linings firepower for the hundreds of young norwegians raiding with the english commandos workers with names like the yugoslavian hero general mikhailovich smelt metals in new jersey puddle steel in pennsylvania mine coal in west virginia good americans of german and italian lineage producing firepower to drive the dictators from the countries their forefathers once called home we have much to do for others more to do for ourselves men and women call smith jones and brown men and women who work with skill and care and ask themselves these constant questions would i put this gun into my own son's hand into my sweetheart's hand into my brothers some of the jobs in mill and mine and forest are hard but american labor sticks to them and produces despite the attractions of soft to work elsewhere it knows that it must stick so that america can create the greatest firepower in history firepower for the exile dutch for the fighting french firepower for our new ally brazil firepower for those who first felt the blows of the jab the soldiers of chiang kai-shek fire power for all our english-speaking allies a common tongue a common cause and a common pledge of sweat blood and tears until victory is achieved firepower for the people and fighting men of soviet russia who have killed and captured more germans than all the other united nations put together and beyond and above all this firepower for our own american soldiers and sailors and marines and flyers leaving the ports of embarkation to all the far-flung battlefronts with them they carry the weapons american labor and american industry have given them to fight for freedom the firepower to win this war the firepower to win the peace the firepower to smash the fascists now and forever the firepower to set the rising sun you
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