Bombing of Pearl Harbor and Burning of SS Normandie

This silent Castle Films newsreel, likely released in 1942, compiles dramatic footage of two pivotal WWII-era events: the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the burning of the SS Normandie. The first segment captures the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, with stark black-and-white visuals of smoke billowing from battleships like the USS Arizona as bombs rain down. Silent shots show planes strafing the naval base, sailors scrambling, and wreckage littering the harbor, conveying the shock of America’s entry into the war. The second half shifts to February 9, 1942, in New York Harbor, where the luxury liner SS Normandie—requisitioned as the USS Lafayette—burns fiercely after a welding accident. Flames engulf the ship’s ornate decks, tilting her into the icy water as firefighters spray futile streams, her grandeur reduced to a smoldering hulk. Without sound, the film relies on rapid cuts and grim imagery to evoke urgency and loss, offering a civilian glimpse of wartime chaos. A Castle Films classic blending raw history with silent-era intensity.