Cold War, Hot War: Boomers, Carriers, ASW, Lasers & more – The Post World War 2 US Navy on High Alert

Six Color Films

* Man and the FBN: The US Navy deploys its first nuclear Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines (1960-color-30:00) USS George Washington (SSBN-598) –the lead ship of US Navy's first class of Fleet Ballistic Missile submarines - was the first operational nuclear-powered strategic multi-missile under water launch capable submarine in the World. With 16 Polaris A-1 missiles which had a range of 1,000 miles it entered service in December 1959 and conducted the first active patrol November 1960-January 1961. This fascinating film shows the story in graphic detail of the development, construction, testing and deployment of both the revolutionary new subs and their missiles. New technologies like nuclear propulsion, rockets, subsurface firing, inertial guidance systems, advanced fire control and communications & computer systems had to be taught to a generation of submariners in a remarkably short time. You'll see the the USS Compass Island used tor navigation training; “Operation Sky Catch” using a net to catch test launched Polaris missiles; the USS Observation Island used to train crews in live missile launches; intensive training at the Nuclear Power School in New London CON; Polaris rocket motor testing; the George Washington commissioning ceremony, as well as the construction, launch and shake down cruise of the USS Patrick Henry(SSBN-599), with extensive interior shots of the sub's advanced systems and crew members going about their daily duties all across the boat

* Tracking the Threat: Anti Submarine Warfare at the Height of the Cold War (Color, 1982, 24:00) This is an amazing time capsule that could have come right out of the pages of Tom Clancey's classic thriller, “The Hunt for the Red October.” In this memorable recreation, a US Navy Carrier Task Force detects and tracks a Soviet sub in the North Atlantic. You'll see all aspects of the operation from the high tech Tactical Command Centers aboard the Carrier USS America and Destroyer USS Spruance (DDG-111), to P3 Orion turbo props out of Keflavik Iceland and carrier launched S3 Vikings dropping and monitoring sonobuoy fields, to Destroyers deploying towed arrays =. You'll learn about the essential role played by “The Fleet Numerical Oceanographer Center” in Monterrey California in collecting and disseminating critical data to ships and aircraft world wide, including weather forecasts, wave height, subsurface temperature variations and efficiently vectoring aircraft using OPARS and ASRAP sonar range prediction models. This info was vital in both detecting illusive Soviet subs and positioning USN ships to mask them from enemy detection. This is a gold mine of historic info for ASW fans everywhere!

* Laser Weapons for the Fleet (Color,22:00, 1985) The Vietnam War posed a new challenge for American attack aircraft: how to deliver payloads with great precision against hotly defended targets like bridges in North Vietnam without exposing planes & crews to withering AAA fire during traditional low altitude dive bombing runs. The answer was a new generation of “smart” weapons systems employing laser beams, TV transmission or a combination of both. This report focus on the development, evolution and deployment of laser based systems by both Navy Air and Marine Corps ground units. The film covers the basics of applied laser technology and the evolution and deployment of laser weapons systems from shoulder mounted laser designators to advanced systems like those on A-6Es Intruder bombers fitted with the AN/AAS-33 DRS (Detecting and Ranging Set), part of the "Target Recognition and Attack Multi-Sensor" (TRAM) system, a small, gyroscopically stabilized turret, mounted under the nose of the aircraft, containing a FLIR bore sighted with a laser spot-tracker/designator and IBM AN/ASQ-155 computer.

* Sea Mine Warfare (1968,26:00,Color) Sea mines are one of the oldest naval weapons system still in use for very good reasons: they're relatively cheap, easy to deploy and perform a a wide variety of important functions including blockading harbors, destroying ships at sea, blocking sea lanes and psychological warfare. Mines fields were laid off Korea, Vietnam and in the Persian Gulf. This comprehensive film gives a short history of the development of both sea mine technology and the mine sweepers used to detect and destroy them from the mid nineteenth century, through World War 1 and 2, with a detailed case study of their role in delaying the the landings at Wonsan in the Korean war, plus more modern deployments. You'll learn about the various kinds of mines including contact, pressure sensitive, acoustic and more and their tactical and strategic uses. You'll also see the various counter measure used by mine sweepers to detect &n explode mines, featuring USN sweepers Pinnacle (MSO-462), Sagacity (MSO-469) Agile (MSO-421) and Ozark (MCS-2) in action. This is an inside view of a widely used but little known technology you wont see anywhere else.

* The U.S. Navy from Vietnam to the 21^st Century (2000,17:00,Color) This is an excellent broad stroke report on the evolution of U.S. Navy strategic doctrine and deployment from the Vietnam war through Operation Desert Storm. You'll see how the Navy adapted to the unique challenges presented by the Vietnam War, followed by post war down sizing and then dramatic growth under the Reagan administration's “600 Ship Navy.” Of particular interest are the evolving role of aircraft carriers, the rebirth of the battleship and the introduction of a new generation of smart weapons like the Tomahawk cruise missile, used extensively in the Gulf War.