Some of the U.S. Navy film holdings in the National Archives appear to be mixes of footage, possibly combined for duplication to use in a specific film project years ago. This results in a dub that is interesting and immersive to view, but not necessarily contiguous .
This footage starts with the landings of a number of General Motors FM-2 Wildcat fighters, including one example with substantial damage to the left wing from enemy action.
Note how the FM-2 has a manual wing-folding operation. Some of these Wildcats carry light-colored drop tanks, leftovers from before the aircraft were painted overall sea blue.
Some TBM Avenger recoveries are also filmed.
Aerial views of Avenger bombers in flight are followed by scenes of landing craft circling before heading to shore for the invasion of Iwo Jima. Aerial and naval bombardment of Iwo Jima had begun in 1944, in advance of the Marine landings on 19 February 1945.
Later aircraft carrier scenes are identified as aboard USS Essex. it is unclear whether the scenes of antiaircraft gunfire aboard the aircraft carrier are combat or training, as no enemy aircraft are shown.
Thank you for watching the Airailimages Channel, and especially thank you for subscribing. We've nearly reached 100,000 subscribers, a threshold in KZfaq that could help us reach even more viewers and get more search engine promotion for our videos. So if you enjoy our videos, you will be doing a great favor by subscribing to the Airailimages Channel. And please comment on this video. We especially enjoy hearing stories told by family members of those who served in World War II.