Title sequence “Air Force Now”. Image of Lieutenant Rex T. Barber, the United States Army Air Force pilot who shot down Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto during a military operation in the Solomon Islands in 1943, taken during World War II. Rex T. Barber is interviewed by Air Force Now. Lieutenant Rex T. Barber describes how he shot down a Japanese bomber that carried Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto during WWII.
United States airmen on wing and fueling a P-38 Lightning aircraft to prepare for a mission in World War II. A military jeep carrying some airmen drives by. An airman gets off the jeep and runs to a P-38. The United States airman climbs the P-38 and takes his seat, his comrade closes the aircraft canopy. An airman closes his aircraft canopy. A P-38 with engines running. A fighter-bomber (Lockheed P-38 Lightning) begins to taxi in the airfield. An airman in the control tower signals using a light. The Lockheed P-38 Lightning takes off from the airfield. A group of Lockheed P-38 Lightning aircraft zoom in the sky. Aerial shot of Bougainville Island coast. Japanese Zeroes flying in the sky, seen via gun camera footage. Two Japanese bombers are flying, one of the bombers catches fire after it was attacked by American aircraft. A Lockheed P-38 Lightning slightly angles in a maneuver. A Lockheed P-38 Lightning fires at the Japanese in front. A Lockheed P-38 Lightning chases and fires at the Japanese aircraft, a Mitsubishi Betty. Cockpit aims at Japanese aircraft. A Lockheed P-38 Lightning fires, the Japanese bomber is hit and explodes into a ball of fire. Three Lockheed P-38 Lightning aircraft fly in the sky. Three airmen, Lieutenant Besby Holmes, Captain Tom Lanphier and Lieutenant Rex T. Barber, laugh facing the camera. Ending slate.
Image of Yuri Andropov, the sixth paramount leader of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. A US Air Force C5-A Galaxy lands in an airbase. Air man signals to the aircraft. A BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile is unloaded from the C5-A Galaxy’s front. Close up to a soldier’s arm badge, a airborne paratrooper insignia. The BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile slowly drives to a hangar. Colonel John Bacs, 501st Tactical Missile Wing, speaks about the NATO operational capability in Europe of the BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile on schedule at Royal Air Force Greenham Common. Soldiers working on BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile in a hanger. A soldier, wearing glasses, drives a BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile to a launch site. Sergeant Ginnie Baird speaks about the mobility of the BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile. Two camouflaged soldiers set up a pole and net. A net partly covering a BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile in the forest as a camouflage. Senior Airman Thomas Snell speaks about the training and exchange of best practices with the Royal Air Force. A Royal Air Force soldier adjusts a Ground Surveillance Radar (GSR) and asks about its range with an African-American Air Force soldier, wearing sunglasses.
A fleet of Fighter-Bomber aircraft (Lockheed P-38 Lightning) of the United States Army Air Force in flight over the South Pacific Ocean during World War II. The 339th Fighter Squadron of the United States Army Air Force intercepted and shot down Imperial Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in 1943. Three Lockheed P-38 Lightning fly together. One by one, the three aircraft tilt to the right downward. A fleet of Lockheed P-38 Lightning flying in formation near the clouds as seen from an aircraft’s side window. Three Lockheed P-38 Lightning aircraft went up to a higher altitude vertically in unison.
During World War II, Major John W. Mitchell (339th Fighter Squadron) is seated in the cockpit, the cockpit canopy opened. Smiling briefly, Mitchell puts on and adjusts his helmet with goggles. Mitchell closes the cockpit canopy. Another United States Army Air Force pilot of the 339th Fighter Squadron is seated and gives a thumbs-up at the camera. The pilot smiles and adjusts his helmet before closing the cockpit canopy. Another pilot adjusts his helmet as he smiles to the camera and closes the cockpit canopy. Pilots smiling at the camera before adjusting their helmets and closing their cockpit canopies. These are the 339th Fighter Squadron Pilots who intercepted and shot down Imperial Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. View of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
A group of United States Army Air Force pilots belonging to the 339th Fighter Squadron, who intercepted and shot down Imperial Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, walk together beside a Lockheed P-38 Lightning during World War 2. They sit together near the aircraft and discuss with a map. The commander, Major John Mitchell, holding the map points straight to his comrades before pointing something on the map. On his right are Lieutenants Besby Holmes and Rex Barber. To the left of Major Mitchell is Captain Tom Lanphier. The pilots are standing again near the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, discussing together. Major John W. Mitchell, wearing helmet and goggles, poses and smiles while holding a propeller’s blade.
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