Motion Pictures
Robert Gillespie, MD, MPHExclusive: 🎬 U.S. Army WWII Hospital Train VideosÂ
The U.S. Army produced miles of 35 mm film documenting their activities during WWII, both in the U.S. and abroad. This included many rare scenes of hospital trains and their personnel. These silent, black-and-white films provide a fascinating and poignant look into their real-life operations, and the people involved. These films have been stored in the National Archives near Washington, DC for decades. Due to their age and fragility, they have never been available for viewing. In 2026, RailwaySurgery.org was able to have them digitized. We are proud to present them to be viewed for the first time ever.
Notes: Scene lists are the descriptions of scenes as documented in the National Archives catalog. Numbers in parentheses are the catalog numbers.
Film #1:Â Evacuation of Wounded, Vicinity of Naples, Italy 16 Jan 1944 (111-ADC-556)
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Film #2: Evacuation of Wounded by Hospital Train, Italy [1944] (111-ADC-559)
Film #3:Â MDSC Evacuation of Wounded, Charleston, South Carolina, 1944 (111-ADC-2864)
Scene list   Note: Only the first minute of this film depicts hospital trains; the rest is the hospital ship St. Olaf
Exclusive: 🎬 U.S. Army Post-Korean War Hospital Train Videos
The U.S. Army produced these silent 35 mm films in 1954, shortly after the end of the Korean War. As with the WWII films above, these were stored in the National Archives and not viewable until RailwaySurgery.org had them digitized in 2026. We are pleased to make these available for the first time ever.
The first two films show the next generation of hospital cars, developed for future use. These cars never went into service, however, as the military discontinued the use of hospital trains. These scenes are believed to have been staged to show how the cars would work in actual use.
The third film shows hospital train operations and transfers in Germany. These show real-life operation, mainly using converted European rail stock rather than the new purpose-made cars.
Film #4:Â Army's hospital ambulance train, Fort Eustis, Virginia [1954] (111-LC-37244)
Film #5:Â New Cars For Hospital Trains of the Future, Fort Eustis, Virginia [1954] (111-DD-149-54)
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Film #6:Â Hospital Train, Rhine Medical Depot, Germany [1954] (111-LC-36174)
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Previous U.S. Army WWI Hospital Train Videos
These silent films were produced by the U.S. Army during World War I. They were previously digitized and are available for viewing on the National Archives website.