Segi Airfield New Georgia Islands World War II SBD - Airailimages National Archives

Segi Airfield on New Georgia Island in the Solomons was set up by the Seabees in the summer of 1943 after Marines secured the area. The runway was 3,300 feet of crushed coral. Navy SBD Dauntless dive bombers joined Grumman F6F Hellcats and TBF Avengers at this tropical airstrip. Watch for a Douglas C-47, or Navy R4D variant, as well as a Grumman Duck biplane amphibian.
The Dauntless dive bombers have their tailhooks removed, since they are not aircraft carrier-based. Scenes show a Dauntless gunner freely swinging the twin .30-caliber machine guns he uses to protect the rear of the dive bomber from attack. Crews plot a mission on a map spread out on the hood of a jeep. The grit of the crushed coral runway and hardstands is palpable. You can be sure crew chiefs checked tires carefully for cuts inflicted by sharp bits of coral.
This vintage film from the National Archives has suffered the ravages of time and the elements, but that only adds to its patina as a window into the past.
I'm Fred Johnsen for the Airailimages Channel. Thank you for watching.

[@ChiefAUS]

Good history that needs to be preserved. Thanks

[@glorialotz3333]

Excellent footage!

[@airailimages]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@roybartran6756]

the usual great stuff......
my grandpa was a Seabee in the Pacific....never hit a Seabee he might be your friends grandfather....

[@SteveBull-tg8mi]

Hard to believe we did that, all those guys are long gone, but there's the film to testify what they did for us.

[@flippinnickelproductions298]

Dauntless!!!
🇺🇸

[@airailimages]

Yes! Can't have enough Dauntless! Thanks for watching.

[@boompowell7108]

Note the gunner standing on the wing during taxi to see what is in front.

[@airailimages]

Yes! Not that crew's first rodeo.

[@Kickinpony66]

I noticed an amphibious Jeep, Hellcats and 2 different styles of Roundels, one without side bars and several with; which places this film after 14 August, 1943. I also notice you spelled it Segi and not Seghe.

[@airailimages]

Thanks for watching. A number of references spell it Segi; like so many place names, it has other spellings too.

[@user-jq2rf4nf3o]

Film probably developed at Eastman Kodak New York as the spots on the film was from radioactive fallout after the White Sands test... Filmed in 43 developed later

[@airailimages]

That's an interesting observation. One other time I have encountered white spots like this is another film in the National Archives that shows wartime activities at the Ford Willow Run plant.

[@user-jq2rf4nf3o]

@@airailimages Kodak was sworn to keep the issue secret for national defense and also paid for damages (Air filtering plant)

[@MichaelMoore-qp2xf]

White spots almost look like a special effect added to the film for unknown reason; maybe to make it look like an old film. They seem like perfectly round bubbles, to perfect based on old WWII films I've seen. I hope not, but if true what a dumb thing to do to an awesome historic film.

[@user-jq2rf4nf3o]

@@MichaelMoore-qp2xf Radiation affected film stock . Raw or exposed. What an ignorant post questioning historical fact.

[@MichaelMoore-qp2xf]

@@user-jq2rf4nf3o All I'm saying is that I've seen hundreds if not thousands of WWII videos over my entire lifetime and I've never ever seen one with this much distortion or more specifically this type of white bubble effect. So don't get all bent out of shape just because I've never one like this before.

[@thewatcher5271]

Good Video Showing How It Was 80 Years Ago! Notice The Different Insignias At 8:15. I Wonder If It Came From Newsreel Footage Or 8mm Home Video. Thank You.

[@airailimages]

U.S. Navy footage, so the original was probably 16mm and maybe even 35mm, suffering the ravages of time. Thanks for watching.