Victory at Sea — Season 1, Episode 17: THE TURKEY SHOOT: Conquest of the Marianas

Episode synopsis

Guam, a U.S. territory, gets invaded by Japan a few days after Pearl Harbor and remains under occupation for two and a half years before the Americans arrive to take Saipan and Guam back, and finished off as well the Japanese fleet in a classic "turkey shoot". The Guamanians are thankful as expressed on their smiling faces, making it one of the most inspiring segments of Victory at Sea. Meanwhile, the Americans are preparing the bases in the islands as well as in other areas of the Marianas for the ultimate bomber offensive against Japan.

About Victory at Sea

Victory at Sea is a documentary television series about naval warfare during World War II that was originally broadcast by NBC in the USA in 1952–1953. It was condensed into a film in 1954. Excerpts from the music soundtrack, by Richard Rodgers and Robert Russell Bennett, were re-recorded and sold as record albums. The original TV broadcasts comprised 26 half-hour segments—Sunday afternoons at 3pm in most markets—starting October 26, 1952 and ending May 3, 1953. The series, which won an Emmy award in 1954 as "best public affairs program", played an important part in establishing historic "compilation" documentaries as a viable television genre. Over 13,000 hours of footage gathered from US, British, German and Japanese navies during World War II were perused in the making of these compelling episodes.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1DESIGN FOR WAR: Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1941
• E2THE PACIFIC BOILS OVER: Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
• E3SEALING THE BREACH: Anti-submarine warfare, 1941-1943
• E4MIDWAY IS EAST: Japanese victories & the Midway Battle
• E5MEDITERRANEAN MOSAIC: Gibraltar, Allied & enemy fleets, Malta
• E6GUADALCANAL
• E7RINGS AROUND RABAUL: Struggle for the Solomon Islands
• E8MARE NOSTRUM: Mediterranean Command, 1940-1942
• E9SEA AND SAND: Invasion of North Africa, 1942-1943
• E10BENEATH THE SOUTHERN CROSS: War in the south Atlantic
• E11THE MAGNETIC NORTH: War from Murmansk to Alaska
• E12THE CONQUEST OF MICRONESIA: Carrier warfare--Gilberts and Marshalls