John Ford and the birth of the FPB

The creation of the Field Photographic Branch

In the 1930s, John Ford, then a member of the United States Navy, created an image-taking unit that could intervene in case of need. In 1939, the Field Photo of the 11th Naval Section became a rational operation. A few weeks before Pearl Harbor, Ford announces having trained about sixty technicians.

General Donovan, Coordinator of Information, then director of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), then brings Ford to him: it is the birth of the Field Photographic Branch (FPB).

John Ford and his Midway team,
1942
Lilly Library, Indiana University,
Bloomington, Indiana

From Pearl Harbor the Battle of Midway

Among the films produced by the FPB and personally watched by John Ford are December 7th, which features the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and The Battle of Midway, a victory against Admiral Yamamoto on June 5, 1942. Both allowed Ford to receive the Oscar for best documentary in 1943 and 1944.

John Ford for his boss op rateur
in the pacific, s.d.
Lilly Library, Indiana University,
Bloomington, Indiana