PACIFIC FIREPOWER

This black & white educational/propaganda film is about the battle of Saipan during World War 2 in the Pacific between the USA and Japanese forces. The copyright is 1945. Opening titles: U.S. Navy Training Film nonclassified, PACIFIC FIREPOWER (:07-:36). The Marianas Islands. Tanks ride in Saipan. Saipan is the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands. Cities on the island are shown on a map. Aslito Airfield, renamed Isley Field in name of an American flyer - P-47 planes land on the airfield. Japanese retreated as U.S. pushed them back. Explosions. American forces fire at the enemy. The map of Saipan is shown with how the Japanese forces were retreating and finally were overcome. Dead Japanese soldiers strewn about, more than 16,000 were killed. 1,000 Japanese taken prisoner (:37-2:27). Pacific fleet marches onward in the Pacific Ocean. Jeeps and tanks covered on a ship. A ship is near shore and jeeps and trucks are unloaded. Truck drives through mud. Bulldozers push through heavy brush and tall trees. Tall trees are toppled. A crane moves dirt. An airfield is being made by the military. Men set up a command post. An officer uses a radio. A Republic P-47 Thunderbolt lands on the new airstrip. The P-47 is then stationary on a beach. A heavy transport plane lands which carries spares and equipment. There is also a Navy Nurse on board. She waves at the happy men. She shakes hands and the men are happy. A Japanese Zero lands. The droppable fuel tank gives them more distance. The Japanese Zero takes off. Lt. Colonel Joe Renner holds a tiny Japanese Zero model and explains it (2:28-5:32). The Navy's new bomber, the Helldiver. A pilot gets in it, taxis out. Three of them take off down a runway. Ships on the ocean. Guam. Planes in the air, ships off the coast. Bombs explode on Guam. Fighters in formation in the sky. A battleship fires shells. Landing craft rendezvous, they then head for shore. The ship fires shells at the Japanese forces on Guam. A U.S. Soldier bites down on a cigar. Soldiers huddle together on the amphibious craft as they head for shore. Landing craft head for shore. Bombs explode all around them, the U.S. loses two craft. The amphibious crafts get on shore. Admiral Shimada, a Japanese Navy officer, followed by Hideki Tojo was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army exit vehicles. Tojo stands before the cameras. A poster distributed to Japanese production plants is read. Workers at work. The Japanese Rising Sun flag. Japanese Soldiers on the march (5:33-9:32). End credits (9:33-9:39).

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Transcription

it took 25 days to complete the capture of Sipan in one of the most significant battles of the Pacific after a four-day bombardment the 2nd and 4th marine divisions and the 27th infantry landed at a Gingin point their first objective was a sweet old airfield the capture of a sweet o airfield renamed isley field in honor of an American Flyer gave us an airbase less than 1,500 miles from Japan but the rest of Sipan was yet to be taken and as the Japs retreated into the caves and ravines of the mountainous interior we're going got plenty tough we threw every kind of punch we had in beating the Japs back across the island 12 and 16 inch naval guns offshore had a terrific firepower to the attack of the land forces as yard by yard we gained mount a pachow and then swarm down on gara path as the Japs were compressed to the northeast tip of the island they staged the counter-attack of fanatical violence but the counter-offensive burned out quickly and by the 15th of the month the last defenses were overcome when it was all over 16,000 Japs had been killed they hold life cheaply and there were a lot of them 1,000 however were taken prisoner more than usual and so sigh plan was cleaned up this is a part of the Pacific fight that you won't find in the headlines this is a battle you won't see in the newsreels well this is the ordinary fight of ordinary soldiers sailors and Marines a struggle to establish bases and airfields to launch the next offensives it's a battle against insects hunger and being tired it's not Kate or 10 but 12 hours a day and no extra pay for all the time this could be home except that here the deadlines are more urgent there are no Sundays as we know them for an airstrip must be rolled out of this Pacific jungle and the longer it is delayed by just so much is the day of victory prolong the boys that put up this control tower were engineers used to comfortable offices easy hours but no more this is a different temple of life where hours and minutes can account for casualties and deaths at fest the coral air strips of the Pacific got tough on tires for planes land fast hard and often tire and engine changes must be made quickly for every moment counts in the drive across the island seas there is a heavy transport loaded with spares and much-needed supplies and something even better yes sir it's a navy nurse behind that smile is a hypodermic full of typhoid shots but who cares now here are previously unreleased pictures of the hemp one of Japan's most efficient light fighters a zero type plane it is one of the fastest and most maneuverable enemy planes in the Pacific the droppable fuel tank was first developed by the Japs in the war with China it gave them more distance and forced us to make some quick design changes to get similar tanks on our fighters sleek and fast it is nevertheless vulnerable because it does not carry self-sealing fuel tanks the absence of this protection is explained by Lieutenant Colonel Joel Renner Marine aviator recently returned from the Pacific the reason these jet planes are so fast and maneuverable is because the Japs consider performance more important than the pilots lives they achieve this performance by leaving out armor plate and self sealing tanks but our aircraft can carry the extra weight and still outperform anything that Jeff's have to offer thanks to our superior designers and builders Americans today are building the finest aircraft in the world there is no doubt about that by contrast here is one of the best protected most deadly aircraft yet developed the Navy's new dive bomber the hell diver made by Curtis right Fairchild and Canadian Corran foundry it is also the product of many contributing plants all over the country the outer panel comes from Hudson the center panel from Chrysler the turtle back from Procter & schwarz the speed ring from wood all industries these are just a few of the plans to whom the Navy owes tribute for the best fastest carrier-based dive bomber in service today this is Guam with a now familiar lineup of overwhelming force standing offshore ready for action for 17 days without letter the island defenses were bombed from the air and pounded by gunfire from ships offshore the boss included most of the Fifth Fleet and ships of the third amphibious group air cover and air attack was provided by carrier-based fighters and I farmers a phosphorous shell bursts on shore in the midst of a defending champs landing craft rendezvous and then in a long line streak for the shore it's okay boys bears what you're looking for air cover is there in strength blasting the shore defenses ahead of the landing craft we to pay a heavy price as to amphibious tanks are hit squarely in the assault the significance of the capture of the Marianas was apparent even before the retaking of Guam a week after the capture of Saipan it was announced that Admiral shimada was relieved as commander-in-chief of the Japanese Navy and two days later Tojo and his War Cabinet resign but as Tojo himself said in announcing the loss of Saipan the real battle is going to be fought from now on a poster distributed to the workers in Japanese production plants reads this is a war of production the Americans are soft we who have learned to live the hard way shall triumph through persistence we are strong we are determined to such settlements Tojo added the words there is not a single grain of delusion in US and there is not the slightest hesitation in our eyes in facing death under white that is what we have to fight I

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