A documentary series on the operations of the 57th Fighter Group in 1944. Stationed in Corsica, their missions largely consisted of low-level attacks on the Italian mainland, far behind the frontline. Their targets were German supplies and the infrastructure carrying it. This was part of Operation Strangle, the idea of which was to weaken the German front-line forces through depriving them of supplies, thus helping the Allied offensive through Italy. The 57th Fighter Group flew one of the greatest fighter-bombers of the war, the iconic Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
Superb documentary, directed by famed Hollywood director William Wyler (with John Sturges as co-director). Wyler's previous contribution to the Allied war effort was the equally-superb "The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress".
Through clever placement of cameras on the Thunderbolts - behind the pilot looking forward, in the instrument panel looking at the pilot, in the wings, under the wings, in the undercarriage bay - we get a unique and illuminating perspective of the missions the 57th Fighter Group flew. Captures well the essence of their operations, and the dangers.
The human side is well told - we see the pilots during their down time, learn something about them and understand how they lived and the rigours they went through.
On that note, the movie is quite unique for a wartime documentary in that it shows the horrors of war. We see Allied casualties, including the charred remains of a P-47 pilot whose plane crashed.
Wyler himself was one of those casualties, suffering total deafness due to filming much of the action from a noisy B-25 bomber.
Unfortunately, WW2 ended before Wyler managed to have the movie released. It ended up only being released in 1947.
Superb documentary, directed by famed Hollywood director William Wyler (with John Sturges as co-director). Wyler's previous contribution to the Allied war effort was the equally-superb "The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress".
Through clever placement of cameras on the Thunderbolts - behind the pilot looking forward, in the instrument panel looking at the pilot, in the wings, under the wings, in the undercarriage bay - we get a unique and illuminating perspective of the missions the 57th Fighter Group flew. Captures well the essence of their operations, and the dangers.
The human side is well told - we see the pilots during their down time, learn something about them and understand how they lived and the rigours they went through.
On that note, the movie is quite unique for a wartime documentary in that it shows the horrors of war. We see Allied casualties, including the charred remains of a P-47 pilot whose plane crashed.
Wyler himself was one of those casualties, suffering total deafness due to filming much of the action from a noisy B-25 bomber.
Unfortunately, WW2 ended before Wyler managed to have the movie released. It ended up only being released in 1947.