This 1943 War Department training film (T.F. 1-3403) instructs viewers on how to survive a crash landing in an arctic climate. The film follows an Army Air Forces pilot, Hardy, as he recalls his survival training, which is presented as an internal dialogue between the pilot and his instructor. The film opens with footage of a plane flying over snow-capped mountain peaks. A man lies dead in the snow (00:44). The film then cuts to an Army Air Forces briefing room where an officer talks to pilots about the essential gear to carry when flying in arctic regions. The officer talks about their upcoming mission. A B-17 Flying Fortress and what appears to be several Curtiss P-40 Warhawks fly over snow-capped peaks (03:03). One of the P-40s’ engine starts to give out. Hardy’s radio antenna is iced over, and he cannot radio his squadron for help. The pilot goes to bail out of his plane (05:45), but the words of his instructor, saying to stay with the plane if possible, ring out and he stays with the plane. He makes an emergency landing in an opening with some trees (06:42). He climbs out of the upside-down plane and takes in his surroundings. Hardy leaves his pack on the plane and trudges through the snow, but he soon returns to his plane. The pilot of the B-17 realizes Hardy is missing (09:53), and he circles the large aircraft back around. Back at the crash site, Hardy gets out his pocket knife and matches. He opens up a compartment in his plane and takes out a screwdriver to collect oil from the plane (11:59). Hardy looks for dead wood to make a fire. He takes off his boots to shake snow out of them (16:00). He hears his instructor’s voice telling him the perils of having wet, cold feet. Hardy opens his parachute to make an extra pair of socks. He cuts ten-inch-wide strips from the parachute, then he takes off his wet socks and dries his feet. He wraps the strips around his foot and ankle for the makeshift socks. He then cuts canvas from the chute pack to serve as boots (20:40), tying rope around the pieces to secure them to his feet. He removes a piece of metal from the belly of the plane to use as a sled (22:03). He soaks pieces of canvas in the oil he collected. Hardy puts on the parachute harness and attaches it to the metal sled to go collect more firewood. The pilot removes his jacket to avoid getting too hot and perspiring while collecting firewood (25:40). Back at the base (26:55), the squadron members look at a map to identify a search perimeter for Hardy. At the crash site, Hardy uses his metal sled to shovel snow to make a hole for his fire. He strikes a match and lights the tinder for his fire (28:42), concluding Reel 1 of the film.
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