Tin Cans, Cruisers, Battle Wagons & Flat Tops: The US Navy in Action. 10 films with more than two and a half hours of exciting video

* Your Job in the Navy; Aviation Ratings. (1944,Color,30:00)This series of five color films is an amazing look behind the scenes showing what \made the US Navy's Air Arm tick during World War 2.Not only will you see ratings going about their highly specialized duties, you'll get up close looks at aircraft like the SBD Dauntless dive bomber, Vought OS2U Kingfisher catapult scout plane, four engined Consolidated PB4Ys &PB2Ys, Avengers, Hellcats.& more.

• Aviation Machinist Mate – You'll see Prop Mechanics, Carburetor Mechanics, Instrument Specialists and Flight Engineers at work, repairing & servicing a wide variety of aircraft.

• Aviation Metal Smiths produce a replacement engine cowling from scratch in the field, including producing a mold and casting, for a PBY Catalina and repairing a PB4-Y (the Navy's B-24) with a new nose turret.

• Aviation Armaments Ordnancemen bore sight the guns on a F6F Hellcat, arm and mount 1,000 pound bombs on an SBD and load a wing mounted torpedo on a Coronado amphibious bomber.

• Aviation Radiomen handle communications & repair aboard a Jeep carrier, on a long range bomber and in the back seat of a Dauntless Dive Bomber, where they doubled as an observer, navigator and rear gunner.

• Aerographers Mates were the Navy's Weathermen. See them take readings aboard ship, launch & monitor radiosonde balloons and analyze and graphically represent data for crucial forecasts.

* Destroyers Greyhounds of the Seas. (1956, B&W, 30:00) Narrated by the legendary actor & ex Marine Corps DI, Jack Webb, This fascinating documentary covers the history of “Tin Cans” from the US Navy's first “Torpedo Boat Destroyer,” the U.S.S Bainbridge (DD-1) in1903 to modern guided missile and ASW Destroyers operating in Hunter/Killer groups in concert with Aircraft Carriers. Excellent archival footage from World Wars I & 2 along with captured films from inside U-Boats. Particularly interesting are the differing roles played by Destroyers in the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters in World War 2. Another highlight is the heroic attack of Destroyer Squadron Des Ron 106 against the battleships Japanese fleet in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

* Floating Fortress (1952,B&W,15:00) This is a unique look inside an Iowa class battleship, the U.S.S. Wisconsin, during the Korean Conflict. Essentially unchanged from World War 2, the Wisconsin provided fire support for amphibious landings and inland battles, hurling 16 inch shells 20 miles. The Wisconsin was a floating city at work. You'll see all aspects of daily operations including inside the gun turret in action, on the bridge, the fire control center, messes, bakeries, butcher shops, the PX, print shop, the engine room and much more. (And incidentally, the ship is commanded by highly decorated Capt. Thomas Burrowes, leader of Destroyer Squadron Des Ron 106 attack against the Japanese in Leyte Gulf.)

* Battle Ship (1988,Color,25:00)This film was produced as part of the ceremony commemorating the recommissioning of The Battle Ship Missouri in 1986. You see a history of the Iowa class Battleships, from launching during World War 2 through Korea & Vietnam to extensive refitting with modern electronics & Tomahawk cruise missiles before the 1^st Gulf War.

* Surface Strike Vietnam. (1976,Color,20:00)This classified US Navy report tells the fascinating, and now largely forgotten story of 7^th Fleet hit run surface strikes conducted by destroyers and cruisers, close to the shores of North Vietnam in support of Operations Line Backer 1 & 2 starting in April 1972 through January 1973. The overall objective was to to disrupt enemy lines of communication in support of ongoing air strikes. In addition to interdicting supply ships, Navy Task Forces of up to 14 ships conducted high speed gunfire attacks, often at night, against troop concentrations, AAA & Sam missile sites, supply depots, command & control centers, munitions factories and more, all North of the DMZ and within range of NVA artillery and Migs, who scored hits on US ships. The films examines specific tactics employed for different kinds of operations, supplemented by color film and detailed graphics. You'll see a number of ships in action, including the cruisers Newport News, Oklahoma City and Providence along with many destroyers identified by name and number. The film concludes with a frank discussion of the overall effectiveness of the operation, including the recommendation that “pilotless aircraft” (drones) be developed to assess damage on enemy targets.

* The Attack Carrier. From U.S.S Langely CV1 to U.S.S. Enterprise CVAN 65 (1969, Color and B&W,30:00) This is a concise history of US Navy Attack Carriers from the US Langley in 1921 (CV-1) through the deployment of the first Nuclear powered aircraft carrier, the USS:Enterprise (CVN 65). You'll learn about the theory and practice of Carrier based warfare, including dive bombing and torpedoes from its earliest days, supplemented with extensive archival footage, and the development of the ships themselves, including catapults, elevators, slant decks, “Super Carriers” and the right aircraft to do the job. You'll see how visionary Admirals King and Halsey developed and shaped doctrine that was put to good use in World War 2 and beyond.