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At that time (1942) all 35mm newsreel and documentary
footage was being shot in black and white, while the only
practical colour film for front line use was 16mm
Kodachrome*. So, all the major US war documentaries
wereshot on that stock. These classics including The Battle
of Midway: The Fighting Lady: The Memphis Belle (the
brilliant documentary,* not the feature film): and
Thunderbolt, were all outstanding records of real front line
action all shot on Kodachrome using Albert Howell’s
wonderful invention the light weight spring wound camera
(no batteries to recharge in the heat of battle).

Hand held or used on a light weight tripod – these 16mm
B&H Filmos, Cine-Kodaks and Victors produced results
that were enlarged up to 35mm Technicolor for cinema A vintage Kodahrome 50ft
magazine film package.
release all over the free world. Many of these amazing
sequences of living history would be used in major feature Cinepix Collection.
films for years after the war. Sadly it was a use that resulted in the loss of some priceless
original footage. Apart from documenting the front line action, Kodachrome was
required for a multitude of training and general use where colour was essential.

Perhaps this GSAP camera filmed
the battle action at Midway in
one of the Aircraft Carrier Planes.
Note the Service Name Plate and
the company that made it – Bell
and Howell -- an electric one this
time -- missing its’ frame speed
dial.

The huge scale on which Combat Cameramen and Photographers were needed to cover
all of this action stimulated the rapid expansion of training schools in all branches of
the armed services. Anyone with any photographic experience or knowledge was
offered a crash course in specialized battle field instruction, handed a camera and was
sent off cover the war wherever --.

In most cases it was a disaster. The movie film sent back by the Cameramen could not
be edited – it consisted of longshots, slow pans, fast pans, static close-ups of faces and
worst of all “Hose piping!” Most would need training on how to tell a story with a
camera – movie or still – so an urgent recall was issued for further training of the
Cameramen.

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