From the Collections
The Fighting Filmmaker: The Photography of Dwight Long and the Naval Aviation Photographic Unit
“There wasn’t any Betty Grable or Clark Gable in it. It was just men fighting a battle.” -Dwight Long
Director and producer Dwight Long captivated American audiences with his films from an early age. At only 21 years old, Long circumnavigated the globe in a 32-foot ketch called the IDLE HOUR. The film footage from this journey later became his documentary, Sailing All Seas.
At the start of World War II, Long enlisted in the US Navy and joined the Naval Photographic Unit under Edward Steichen. The Naval Photographic Unit had one objective: focus on photographing the men.
Steichen had an extra assignment for Lieutenant Dwight Long. As a documentary filmmaker, Long was tasked with capturing the day-to-day lives of the sailors on board the USS Yorktown (CV-10). His work became an Academy Award winning feature film called “The Fighting Lady.” The film documents the lives of the crew from July 1943 through June 1944, with combat footage and naval aviation featured throughout. The film won the 1945 Academy Award for Best Documentary. The photography of Dwight Long features some of the most memorable images of Yorktown crewmembers in the museum’s collection.
Director and producer Dwight Long captivated American audiences with his films from an early age. At only 21 years old, Long circumnavigated the globe in a 32-foot ketch called the IDLE HOUR. The film footage from this journey later became his documentary, Sailing All Seas.
At the start of World War II, Long enlisted in the US Navy and joined the Naval Photographic Unit under Edward Steichen. The Naval Photographic Unit had one objective: focus on photographing the men.
Steichen had an extra assignment for Lieutenant Dwight Long. As a documentary filmmaker, Long was tasked with capturing the day-to-day lives of the sailors on board the USS Yorktown (CV-10). His work became an Academy Award winning feature film called “The Fighting Lady.” The film documents the lives of the crew from July 1943 through June 1944, with combat footage and naval aviation featured throughout. The film won the 1945 Academy Award for Best Documentary. The photography of Dwight Long features some of the most memorable images of Yorktown crewmembers in the museum’s collection.
