Formation of U.S. 8th Air Force B-17 bombers in flight over Germany during World War 2.Gunners firing 50 caliber machine guns from various positions in a B-17, as attacking German interceptor aircraft race past. One German aircraft is hit and pieces of it fall off. B-17 enters bombing run. View of bombardier and bomb sight image. German aircraft continue attacks and gunners continue defending as the bombardier announces "bombs away." This is a high altitude mission and all crew members are on oxygen. Glimpse of pilot and copilot in cockpit. Pilot alerts gunners to a German FW-190 aircraft attacking them. Waist gunners pause to look at a German fighter smoking, as it falls, and strikes the ground in an explosion. Sequence shifts to formation of B-24 Liberator bomber on a mission with bombs visible dropping from bomb bays. Sequence shifts again, rapidly, to a formation of B-29 Superfortress bombers dropping bombs. Nighttime view of incendiary clusters being dropped on Japan. (Note: One of the B-29s seen is serial number 42-24547, assigned to the 6th Bomb Group, 315th Bomb Wing. This B-29 crashed short of the runway on 31 Dec 1944, at Borinquen Field, Puerto Rico, where the 6th bomb Group underwent combat crew training. And the B-29s shown do not display any tail codes.)
Teacher and school children playing amid rubble in Berlin, in the aftermath of World War II. Children receiving food outdoors. Children in a school classroom being given cups of soup by their teacher. In March, 1948, a Soviet soldier is seen lowering their flag from one of four flag poles displaying it, along with flags of the British, American, and French flags. (They no longer wished to share occupation of Berlin with the other Allied powers.) View of Western representatives preparing to issue a new stable currency. Next, the Soviets block all access to West Berlin (the "Berlin Blockade.") Open rail cars filled with coal are brought to a halt in their tracks. Trucks servicing West Berlin are stopped from moving over a highway. West Berlin citizens stand at a fence watching a U.S. Army Air Forces C-47 transport plane flying supplies to them. View from below of a C-54 transport plane descending to land, with supplies, at Templehof airfield in West Berlin. A C-54 taking off to make another supply run. A pallet of coal being offloaded from a C-54. A tram running on restricted schedule. A Berliner planting food in a deserted lot near a demolished building. People assembled in front of the severely damaged Bundestag and in other places surrounded by war torn buildings. Berlin Mayor Ernst Reuter, speaks of seeking assistance from America, England, France, and Italy, to help his city. Closeups of some of the Berliners applauding him. An airlift airplane labeled "Operation Santa Claus" with a soldier dressed like Santa, dispensing wrapped gifts or candy to German children near the plane's doorway. German children can be seen and heard singing "deck the Halls" in English. A soldier dressed as St. Nicholas stands next to one dressed as a Native American Indian. Children sing Martin Luther's hymn, "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"). A British Sunderland flying boat, takes off on the Havel River, in Berlin, after delivering supplies to the city. Grateful Berliners surrounding American pilots. Children run in a street carrying a large model of an airplane to simulate the Berlin airlift. Children playing "airlift" on a sidewalk. An airlift plane crashed and burning in a residential section of Berlin. German fire fighters battle the flames with hoses. A C-54 airlift plane descending to land with its gear extended. Scene at midnight, May 2, 1949, as the barriers isolating Berlin are raised, as the Soviets promised free and improved access to Berlin. People waving flowers as trucks once again move into the city. But Communists are seen violently storming the Greater Berlin City Hall in the Eastern Sector of the city. Non-Communist deputies in the Eastern Sector are forced to meet in West Berlin, where they meet without being molested. View of the Berlin Logo (Bear). Free election vote being deposited in a ballot box. Animated map shows how Berlin was cut in two, separating East Berlin from West Berlin.
United States 8th Air Force Division aircraft attack a traffic center in Mayen, Germany during Second World War. Gun camera footage shows as smoke arises from the target after bombers release bombs.
United States B-17 aircraft fly across to attack marshaling yards and oil storage centers of Gerolstein. B-17 emitting vapor trails. United States 8th Air Force Division drops bombs over the targets in Gerolstein, Germany during Second World War. Bombs impact targets causing smoke.
United States B-17 aircraft fly in formations emitting vapor trail. United States 8th Air Force Division drops bombs from B-17 over Krefeld Germany. Bombs impact targets and smoke rises.
Film starts showing view from inside a U.S 8th Air Force B-17 flying fortress bomber going through clouds of black flak from German anti-aircraft fire over Kassel, Germany during World War 2. View from another airplane of bombs falling from a B-17. View from a bomber of bombs bursting on the ground with heavy smoke rising. More views of flak clouds. A B-17 is truck by anti-aircraft fire has flames coming from its right wing. Crew members are seen bailing out of the plane, as it slowly descends. Closeup of the stricken airplane. Glimpse of a possible open parachute. View from inside a B-17 as cluster of bombs fall from its bomb bay. View of contrails below as seen from inside one of the bombers.
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