Hook Down, Wheels Down - The USN Aircraft Carriers

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[edit] General Information

War Documentary hosted by Lief Ancker, published by US Navy Presents in 1974 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

Hook Down, Wheels Down (1974)

This documentary celebrates the service of the great aircraft carriers, from the USS Langley to the USS John F. Kennedy. The use of documentary footage and live interviews with Naval advisors adds depth and understanding. Some of the classic events of Navel aviation history are shown, including the launching of B-25s from the carrier Hornet, the suicide Kamikaze raids on fleet off Japan, and the Battle of the Coral Sea. Produced in the early 1970s, "Hook Down, Wheels Down" was one of the most comprehensive (and expensive) films made by the U.S. Navy. It covers the history and development of the U.S. aircraft carrier, and does so through interviews with many of the men who made it happen. While dozens of aircraft carriers are featured, it is the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) that takes center stage -- and the material shot on her deck looks like it is right out of "Top Gun". There is wonderful flightdeck action footage, great aerial flight footage, incredible WWII dog fight and bombing footage as well as endless aircraft carrier operational footage. Also shown in this film are very rare images of the first aircraft carrier USS Langley (CV-1) (formerly USS Jupiter AC-3).

The follow on vessels are widely featured including USS Lexington (CV-3) and the USS Yorktown (CV-5) in the Battle of Coral Sea. Also featured: USS Saratoga (CV-2), USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Hornet (CV-8), USS Wasp (CV-7), USS Ranger (CV-4), USS Yorktown (CV-5), USS Essex (CV-9), USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60), the British carrier HMS Furious, the destroyer USS Zeilin (DD-313), and many other warships. Various incidents are shown from Pearl Harbor, Midway, Coral Sea, the capture of the submarine U-505, the Marianas Turkey Shoot, the Doolittle Raid on Japan, and more. Includes interviews or appearances by many WWII naval aviators and aces including Wade McClusky, Alex Vraciu, John Jay Courtney, Billy Mitchell, Gerald Bogen, Leslie Generes, John S. Thatch (of "Thatch Weave" fame), Ensign George Gay, David Campbell (whose Minsi III appears in the film), Edward "Butch" O'Hare, Charles Lindbergh, Glenn Curtiss, Clark Gable and Wallace Beery.

Planes seen in the film include the Wright Brothers flier, biplanes, Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, the NC-4 Flying Boat, Hellcat, Avenger, Corsair, Vindicator, Devastator, Wildcat, and Japanese Zero. Also seen in the film: dogfights, combat flying, the Washington Conference on battleships, the Panama Canal exercise of 1929, WWII and Korea events up to the time of early 1970's.

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[edit] Technical Specs

Video Codec: XviD ISO MPEG-4
Video Bitrate: 1776 kbps
Video Resolution: 688x528
Video Aspect Ratio: 1.303:1
Frames Per Second: 25.000
Audio Codec: 0x2000 (Dolby AC3) AC3
Audio Bitrate: 128kb/s CBR 48000 Hz
Audio Streams: 2
Audio Languages: english
RunTime Per Part: 55:00.320
Number Of Parts: 1
Part Size: 790,112,586 Bytes
Subtitles: no
Ripped by: DocFreak08