WWII U.S. ARMY AIR FORCES RECRUITING FILMS BASIC TRAINING & OFFICER'S CANDIDATE SCHOOL OCS 24964

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Here are two WWII U.S. Army Air Forces recruiting films. The first "Survival of the Fittest" is about how physical training is important for survival in combat. This is copyrighted 1944. The second, "Sustineo Atlas" is about the elite the Officers Candidate School. It dates to 1943.

Opening titles: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST (:06-:31). An U.S. Army Air Force officer who survived for weeks in the jungle receives a medal. Another officer receives a medal. He is seen walking through high snow. Men stand at attention in front of a superior officer. Airmen float in life rafts (:32-1:49). Newspaper stories on heroic airmen. The men and women who make up the USAAF including WASPS or ferry pilots (2:05). Injured crewman in B-17. Air raid siren goes off and P-40 pilots scramble. P-40s in a dogfight against German airplanes. A plane is shot down into the ocean. The pilot manages to bail out (1:50-4:11). The pilot swims in the water on his back. Men train to swim on their backs as part of a survival swimming course. He hears another who needs help and he swims to him. Training flashback shows swimming towards an injured person. The pilot pulls the injured man to the shore. They avoid enemy gunfire from a plane. He then carries the injured man onto the sand. He carries the man through a marsh and woods (4:12-7:02). The man moves on while holding the injured man. Training shows recruits running uphill and then performing calisthenics on the beach in what looks like Miami, Florida. Physical education continues (7:03-9:20). Drill instructor counts as they do calisthenic and an obstacle course. Up a wall, climbing up and down rope. Men train to land during a parachute landing. Hand to hand combat (9:21-11:22). Men do sit ups, pull ups, run, and then march. WASPS or WAACS perform calisthenics (12:32). A tug of war between two sides with one side going into the muddy water. Volleyball game. Soccer and football. A group of African American soldiers do a workout (13:34). The soldier carries the injured man to a group of African American stretcher bearers who assist them. The injured man is put onto a truck and then from there loaded onto a C-47 airplane. A medal is placed on that soldier's jacket (12:40-15:19). Large groups of recruits perform calisthenics on a beach (15:20-16:12). The End.

Opening: Official Training Film - SUSTINEO ALAS (16:27-17:03), narrated by actor Clark Gable, who served in the USAAF in WWII. The film's title is from Latin, meaning "I Sustain the Wings", or "Keep 'Em Flying". This was the motto of the USAAF Technical Training Command and its Officers Candidate School (OCS), which is the subject of the film.

B-17 flies over the trackless Pacific. The navigator has lost his nerve and the crew is lost. The crew stare and smoke. An X is placed on the screen. Miami Beach, Florida, home of the Officers Candidate School (17:04-18:59). Rifle drill. Candidates take tests. Corporal stripes. A candidate salutes his superiors. Physical tests. Men stand at attention as officers or drill instructors look size them up and try to shake them down (19:00-20:52). Some OCS candidates' background is given (20:53-23:03). Officers interrogate candidates and make them feel uncomfortable. (23:04-25:03). Quarters or dormitories. Beds are inspected as are clothes and sheets. Dust is checked, the bed folded correctly. Clothes in the closet on hangers. Bathroom is spotless. Men walk as punishment holding rifles (25:04-27:17). Reveille whistle awakens the men. Men charge out ready for the day. Men salute. Men use the stairs, not elevators. Men march towards breakfast (27:18-28:56). Large group of men march. Men attend class. An instructor puts on a gas mask. All the classes they attend are explained. Men stand in a semi circle (28:57-30:38). Men do calisthenics. Obstacle course. U.S. flag flies. Men march in a parade (30:39-32:07). Men stand at attention for a long time. A fellow soldier collapses. None of the others move. He is assisted by medics. The band marches. An officer salutes (32:08-33:37). Men march. Men eat supper. A training film. Visiting the cleaners. Study. A whistle blows, lights out. Men study in the bathroom. A man guards the coastline over night. Men sit and listen to church services (33:38-35:49). The men sit on the lawn, they are graduating. They all stare straight ahead. Men salute. The men stand and salute. Afterwards the men walk the grounds, they have graduated. A man kisses his girlfriend (35:50-37:59). Gable makes a brief appearance. End credits (38:00-38:08).

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