War Zone: Air Wars: Fighter Aircraft

Documentary, War

War Zone

Thunderbolt:
Academy Award®-winner William Wyler (Ben-Hur) and nominee John Sturges (Bad Day at Black Rock) co-directed this documentary about the U.S. Army Air Force's P-47 Thunderbolt fighter bomber. Oscar winner James Stewart (The Philadelphia Story) introduces this dramatic account of the vital role played by the P-47 during the Italian campaign, narrated by Commanding General Carl Spotz. Through genuine combat footage, taken from plane-mounted cameras, you'll fly with these P-47 pilots in "Operation Strangle" to bomb bridges, strafe enemy supply trains, and blast munitions storehouses.

Report From The Aelutians/ Hook Down, Wheels Down:
Report From The Aelutians - Father and son Academy Award®-winners Walter and John Huston, named Best Supporting Actor and Best Director for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, narrate this Oscar®-nominated 1943 documentary. U.S. Army and Navy airmen repulsed the Japanese fleet that invaded Dutch Harbor in June 1942 as part of an all-out attempt to secure domination of the Pacific. Also included is a short "war film," Angel In Overalls.
Hook Down, Wheels Down - Told through a combination of modern-day interviews and authentic contemporary combat footage, Hook Down, Wheels Down is the story of the United States Navy's "ungainly floating airfields," the aircraft carriers. These are the men who made history from the decks of carriers, and have always been inseparable from the flying machines they love, as dramatized by Clark Gable and Wallace Beery in scenes from Hell Divers.

The Fighting Lady:
Oscar®-winner William Wyler (Mrs. Miniver, The Best Years Of Our Lives) directed this 1944 "newsdrama," narrated by Lieut. Robert Taylor, USNR (Bataan), and photographed in zones of combat by the U.S. Navy. The film follows one of the many new aircraft carriers built since Pearl Harbor, known as The Fighting Lady in honor of all American carriers, as it goes into action against the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean in 1943. See the ship and its pilots undergo their baptism of fire, attacking the Japanese base on Marcus Island, and gain in experience and confidence with each new battle - Kwajalein, Truk, and "The Marianas Turkey Shoot."

Combat America:
Oscar® winner Clark Gable (It Happened One Night) escorts you on a tour of the 351st Bombardment Group (H) AAF at its air base in England, home to a group of mighty Flying Fortresses. Gable takes you for a close-up look at every detail of their operation, from the tactical briefing room to the tireless ground crews who work for ninety hours straight repairing the planes that rattled Hitler. Then you'll join the 351st on an actual bombing raid on Germany, with live color combat footage, as those B-17s drop tons of bombs and fight off attacking Messerschmitts in a spectacular aerial combat.