3 items found
Collection ID is exactly "13" AND Geographic Term contains "Sarasota County "
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Sarasota Army Airfield Training Footage and Home Movies

Sarasota Army Airfield Training Footage and Home Movies
Date
1944
Description
Leased to the Army Air Corps in early 1942, the newly constructed Sarasota Bradenton Airport became the Sarasota Army Airfield during World War II. Initially a 620-acre facility, the Army added 250 acres to the site in the course of its use. The 97th Bombardment Group transferred in March 1942 from MacDill in Tampa to begin training on the B-17 Flying Fortress. Designated a sub-base of MacDill in June of that year, the base soon changed focus. Because the runways could not withstand the weight of the bombers, the 69th Fighter Squadron transferred to Sarasota from Drew Army Airfield in Tampa to train on P-39 Airacobras. With the surrender of the Japanese in August of 1945, pilot training was gradually discontinued. The base was deactivated on December 31, 1945, and it eventually became the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport.

This film includes footage of the airfield's personnel and training activities throughout its final year as a military facility. It also incorporates earlier home movie footage of one of the pilot trainees in uniform with his young family in Arkansas and possibly Florida. Shots of a P-51 Mustang show pilots in the cockpit and it taxiing on the runway and taking off and landing. AT-6 Texan airplanes as well as army vehicles, including fuel trucks, ambulances, Jeeps and other equipment, also sit on the airfield. There are shots of barracks, offices and wooden hangers. A close shot shows the airfield control tower along with personnel bicycling, playing horseshoes and clowning for the camera. A sign displays the work requirements and flying hours required for the day, week and month; a second sign says "Squadron T." Fighter planes fly in formation and practice against targets at the shoreline. Cockpit views show the pilots shooting at "target socks" towed behind other airplanes. The film features additional aircraft, including the P-47 Thunderbolt and the Beechcraft Model 18.
Collection
Sarasota Army Airfield Training Footage and Home Movies

Sarasota Army Airfield Training Footage and Home Movies
Ski to the Fair

Ski to the Fair
Date
1964
Description
This film documents a group of skiers as they make a 17-day trip on water skis to the New York World's Fair. Along the way they promote St. Petersburg as a town for "young and old alike." The narrator, Communications Chief Jim Gray, describes the intention of the trip, the difficulties the skiers and boat drivers encounter and each place the skiers stop and speak with the press. The skiers go south through Venice and Fort Myers before cutting across the state via the Okeechobee Waterway. The group then travels up Florida's Atlantic coast, stopping in Jensen Beach, New Smyrna Beach, Jacksonville Beach and Fernandina. They continue along the coast stopping in other states before reaching the Statue of Liberty and New York City. This 1,600 mile trip by amateur skiers ends with a performance at the World's Fair Marina. Produced by FDC; sponsored by St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce.
Collection
Ski to the Fair

Ski to the Fair
Fishin' Fun in Sarasota County

Fishin' Fun in Sarasota County
Date
1950 (circa)
Description
This film has good shots of the Sarasota city waterfront, bridges and Venice jetties. It shows surf fishing off Englewood, bass fishing on the Myakka River, wade fishing in the shallows of Lemon Bay and tarpon fishing in the Gulf. It also shows fishing for sailfish in the Gulf with a nice tail-walking sequence. Produced by Capt. Marty Foster at Florida Film Studios Inc., Sarasota. Sound quality is not great.
Collection
Fishin' Fun in Sarasota County

Fishin' Fun in Sarasota County
Identifier Title Type Subject Thumbnail
Sarasota Army Airfield Training Footage and Home MoviesSarasota Army Airfield Training Footage and Home Movies/fpc/memory/omeka_images/video/thumbnails90px/ba439.jpg
Ski to the FairSki to the FairBoating
Promotional films
Recreation
Water sports
Water skiing		/fpc/memory/omeka_images/video/thumbnails90px/ca086.jpg
Fishin' Fun in Sarasota CountyFishin' Fun in Sarasota CountyBass fishing
Boating
Bridges
Fishing
Promotional films
Sport fishing
Tarpon fishing
Tourism		/fpc/memory/omeka_images/video/thumbnails90px/da012.jpg