Air Force Story Chapter 10 "The Tide Turns" June-Dec. (1942)

Synopsis

This episode of The Air Force Story - Volume 1 Chapter 10 - is entitled "The Tide Turns" and shows WWII history for June thru September 1942. In this film you'll see the 97th bomber group as it embarks for England; B-17's initiating high altitude precision daylight bombing; Japanese forces closing in on the U.S. Army in New Guinea; Army Air Force personnel and materiel help build runways near the front; P-38's down Japanese aircraft. The film starts at:20 with images of the liner RMS Queen Elizabeth serving as a troop ship to ferry Americans to England. At:32, a girls boarding school being used as HQ of the Eighth Air Force is shown. (Some of this footage is seen in the USAAF documentary "Memphis Belle".) At 1:13, HQ staff is seen and a discussion of the differences between British night attack with Wellington bombers, vs. American tactics for precision daylight bombing, is discussed. At 2:00 the first USA raid in daylight is prepared, an attack on Rouen in German occupied France. At 4:55, all 12 planes make the drop on Rouen, hitting marshaling yards before being bombarded with flak ( 5:20 ). At 5:30 German fighter aircraft come up to meet the Flying Fortresses and a massive dogfight ensues. At 6:20 the film switches action in New Guinea, and the Japanese drive towards Port Moresby. Gen. George Kenney and the Sixth Air Force, which were tasked with moving Australian and American infantry divisions into action in the campaign. (George Churchill Kenney was a United States…

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Details

Running time

14 minutes

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage