Army War Show #2

Army%20War%20Show-2, a photo by bucklesw1 on Flickr. The “War Show” debuted in Baltimore on June 12, 1942. LIFE Magazine ran photos of the opening performance in its June 29th issue. 70 years later, here are some of those same photos along with their original LIFE captions: “For an hour and 40 minutes, the big Baltimore Stadium rocked to the sound of antitank guns, mortars and 105’s. Tanks, combat cars and jeeps circled in swift, intricate patterns. Flamethrowers hurled tongues of living fire. Steel-topped infantrymen deployed in combat maneuvers. Throughout the thunderous performance, opaque curtains of smoke seethed and eddied, rising recurrently to meet a drizzling rain from the sky. In the Stadium, wet but awe-struck sat 25,000 Marylanders and bigwigs from Washington. During this summer, the Army’s War Show will be presented in outdoor stadiums in 14 U.S. cities, terminating at New Orleans on Sept. 21. Anticipated revenue: $2,000,000.”