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- Combat America with Clark Gable 1943
- This film was was produced, written, directed, and narrated by Clark Gable while he was on assignment with the 8th Air Force. In many ways, it's more a warm hearted home movie than a typical information film. Gable flew with the 351st Bomb Group until he was ordered to stop by "the Brass." He felt he had to share the experience of what these crews were going through combat missions to make an honest film. His affection and admiration for these men comes through loud and clear. This feature is like a picture album out of the past, giving us snapshots of life on a front line American base in the U.K. in 1943..
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- Target for Today 1943
- Target for Today is the classic World War II feature length documentary showing a "maximum effort" daylight bombing mission deep into Germany. This is a new restored HD edition you won't see anywhere else. There are no actors in "Target For Today." This film was shot on location under combat conditions and features the officers and men of the 8th Air Force going about their deadly business. All aspects of an actual major raid in 1943, from early planning through final touch down and crew debriefings, are covered. Anklam. Danzig and the FW-190 plant at Marienburg are the targets hit. You'll see operations from the high command down through Divisions, Wings, Groups & into Squadrons as the missions unfold. Easy to understand graphics show how B-17 & B-24 squadrons were organized in the air for maximum defensive fire and how they were routed to deceive enemy defenses.
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"The Fight for the Sky" U.S. Fighters Win Air Supremacy Over Germany 1944
In February of 1944, General Jimmy Doolittle turned loose his fighters for the first time to go after the Luftwaffe where they lived. This marked a radical change in strategy from the disastrous tactics of 1943 that kept escorting fighters chained to bombers. After this radical change in strategy, US fighters, including the super long range P-51, probed deep into Germany, catching the opposition on the ground, inflicting mortal damage. This tactic marked a turning point in the war in the air in the ETO, and contributed to critical total air superiority over the beaches of Normandy. This feature combines thrilling combat footage filmed by 8th Air Force cameramen with some of the most action packed World War II gun camera footage you'll ever see.
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The Memphis Belle -1943
- This film chronicles the 25th mission of the Boeing B-17 Memphis Belle, flying deep into Germany to strike the all important U-boat submarine pens at Wilhemshaven. This is the original wartime documentary, written and directed by legendary Academy Award winner William Wyler. You'll see Capt Robert Morgan and the men of the B-17 "Memphis Belle," 324th Squadron, 91st BG, going about their deadly business in rare Technicolor footage. The mission shown in the film is both routine and climactic, because 25 missions completed meant the crew could rotate out of combat. (Too many never made it to 25 missions. Bomber losses were high.) It's a measure of both the times and the men who flew these planes that several of the Belle's crew signed on for more missions, even though they could just "go home," finishing the War flying B-29s against Japan
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- Flexible Aerial Gunnery: Making A World War 2 Bomber Gunner-1943
- This Army Air Force training film is the best look inside a World War 2 aerial gunnery school we have seen. Developed to be shown to trainees at the beginning of their course, its a thorough step by step preview of what to expect. Some of the many things you'll see: the role of the instructor, .30 &.50 caliber machine guns, dealing with jams, compensating for bullet drop, estimating range and leading targets, bore sighting and harmonization & a lot more. Live highlights include action on the firing range using transplanted motorized .50 cal gun turrets shooting at moving targets and in the air firing at towed targets. There's even a training session shooting enemy fighters projected on a movie screen -- high tech in 1943.
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Hitting a Moving Target for World War 2 Bomber Gunner -1943
- Hands down the best presentation of how to hit a moving target from a moving aircraft we've seen. This entertaining and informative animated U.S. Air Force training film, "Position Firing," featuring waist gunner "Trigger Joe" (the immortal voice of Mel Blanc) was developed to teach gunners the basics of how to hit attacking fighters from bombers like the B-17 & B-24. (If you think you learned everything you need to know about leading a target on a skeet range, think again.) When you factor in differing air speed, altitude, direction, deflection, & more, it's a whole new ball game. Trying to figure out where to aim so you'll hit a fast moving fighter maneuvering at 350 mph where it will be can be counter intuitive and varies widely depending on circumstances.
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Planning a World War 2 Bombing Mission to Schweinfurt
"The Case of the Tremendous Trifle" 1943
This fascinating film shows how various intelligence sources, including spies, interrogations of refugees & POWs, aerial reconnaissance and seemingly innocuous sources like corporate parts catalogs were tied together and used in the strategic planning and execution of one of the epic missions of World War 2, the bombing of the ball bearing plants at Schweinfurt, Germany. The "tremendous trifle" refers to how the interruption of supply of an apparently insignificant, but vital, part like a ball bearing can have a huge impact on war production because so many machines depend on them.
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- 8th Air Force "Operation Clarion" Air Campaign Report 1945
- This report was produced by the 8th Air force to review a strategic offensive launched against transportation infrastructure in Germany February 22-23 1945. At the time it was shown only to service personnel -- not the general public. The operation was designed to interrupt the flow of key war materials & men to the fighting fronts. Lt General Walter E. Todd, Assistant Chief of Operations, delivers a detailed analysis. Rather than going after major rail yards that were too big to put out of action in a short time, 43 smaller key locations were identified. Maps are supplemented by footage from aircraft taken during the missions. A fascinating time capsule showing the planning and implementation of late World War 2 air campaign strategy.
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Exclusive Documentary in HD! Meet the crew of B-17F “Knock Out Dropper” and follow them on a maximum effort bombing mission to the hit the ball bearing plant at Ekner, West of Berlin. This is a fictionalized recreation a mission made during World War to show bomber crews in training back in the U.S.A. in the 3rd Air Force what to expect when they went overseas. It's a combination of footage of an actual "Knockout Dropper" crew supplemented with actors and combat scenes from a wide variety of sources. Knockout Dropper wasn't just any B-17. She was one of the first "Flying Fortresses" to land with the 303rd Bomb Group in Molesworth England in 1942 and one of the first to enter combat. Flying with the 359th Bomb Squadron, she was the first 8th Air Force B-17 to complete 50 missions and the first to complete 75, earning her the title of "Champ of the E.T.O." In total, she flew a remarkable 88 missions before being retired and flown back to tour the U.S.A.
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