National Archives WWII: Air War

Actual documentary films of the second world war.....Starts of with Memphis Belle in color no less, their last mission, great footage and story.....Then the fleet that came to stay a rendition of the war in the Pacific,.....then Air Forces in the Pacific ....lastly, The Air War in Europe....Fight for the Sky......The modern day directors can't duplicate the actual footage in these movies, along with a bit of propaganda.........

The National Archives supplied the motion-picture elements used in this compilation. According to the container, the titles in the set were "selected by Specialists at the National Archives." Here's a list of the set's contents. Except as noted, the elements used in the transfers were in very good condition. The production dates and running times are taken from the container and have not been verified.VOLUME I:The Rear Gunner (B/W, 1943, 26 min.) -- Produced by the U.S. Army Air Forces in cooperation with Warner Brothers; featuring Lieutenants Burgess Meredith and Ronald Reagan; directed by Ray Enright. The first few minutes of the film are affected by recurring image washout, which affects the soundtrack as well. The source of the problem is the original print since the soundtrack fade occurs about a second after the picture fade, matching the 20-frame sound advance on 35mm film.The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (Technicolor from a 16mm original, 1944, 43 min.) -- Presented by the War Department; distributed by Paramount Pictures; directed by Lieutenant Colonel William Wyler. Worn print, uneven color, with plenty of vertical scratches and cinch marks. If you want a better version, look for Aircraft Films' 60th anniversary collector's edition, also available from Amazon.com.VOLUME II:Bomber: A Defense Report on Film (B/W, 1941, 10 min.) -- Presented by the Office of Production Management. Poet Carl Sandburg wrote the suitably bellicose narration for this film on the production of B-26 bombers.Thunderbolt (Technicolor from a 16mm original, produced in 1944, released theatrically in 1947, 43 min.) -- Presented by Monogram Pictures; directed by Lieutenant Colonel William Wyler and Captain John Sturges; introduced by James Stewart.VOLUME III:Combat America (Technicolor from a 16mm original, 1945, 62 min.) -- Presented by the U.S. Army Air Forces; featuring 1st Lieutenant Clark Gable.VOLUME IV:Expansion to Air Power (B/W, 1944, 43 min.) -- The original classification of this film was Restricted. Presented by the Statistical Control Division, Management Control, Army Air Forces. A summary of the "story of the Army Air Forces from June 1939 to December 1943."Army Air Forces: Pacific (B/W, 1944, 18 min.) -- An Army Air Forces film. Introduced by General H. H. (Hap) Arnold.VOLUME V:Air War in Europe (B/W, 1943, 14 min.) -- Presented by the Army Air Forces Motion Picture Service Detachment. Newsreel-style summary of recent air operations.AAF Report (B/W, 1944, 41 min.) -- Prepared for the U.S. Army Air Forces by the Office of Strategic Services. Official motion-picture report from, and introduced by, General "Hap" Arnold on the accomplishments of the AAF since Pearl Harbor.VOLUME VI:The Fight for the Sky: Our Fighter Pilots versus the Luftwaffe in Western Europe (B/W, 1945, 20 min.) -- Produced by the First Motion Picture Unit, Army Air Forces; presented by the 8th Air Force Fighter Command. Concentrates on the accomplishments of the P-38 "Lightning," P-47 "Thunderbolt," and P-51 "Mustang" fighters. Features General James Doolittle.The Thunderbolts: "Ramrod" to Emden! (B/W, 1943, 33 min.) -- Presented by the First Army Air Forces Combat Film Detachment; produced by the U.S. Army Pictorial Service (Signal Corps) and the Eighth Air Force Photographic Section. The story of one operation in the Battle of Germany as Thunderbolts of the 56th Fighter Group accompany a bombing mission to Emden.

Well done...the film is good quality....some of the items shown are hard to believe that they were produced in the quantity they were....a differentgeneration than what we have today...would purchase again,

The air war definitely determined the war in Europe, and to a significant extent the pacific conflict. Without control of the skies, the allies could not have invaded the european mainland. The carrier task forces of the pacific war, took the struggle to the japanese, and decimated their carrier forces. This made the island invasions an easier undertaking for the ground forces. The second world war also produced some of the best fighter aircraft ever created. JRV

The quality is excellent as it has been taken from a 16mm while much of the original footage is filmed in actual dogfights...this is a well put together dvd on the air war and the planes involved in WW2... recommend you buy before they are gone forever..thanks!

If you like to research WWII like myself, you will enjoy watching this series. Well worth the 20 bucks or so to have in my collection

I believe every American should acquire this documentary because it is recollection of facts!

very good dvd