Mighty Eighth Air Force 'Target For Today' Film

Here's a very detailed account of an 8th Air Force maximum effort mission build-up for multiple strikes against German targets. If you sit back and watch this film, you will come away with a wealth of information about what it took to get hundreds of B-17s and B-24s on target, and just how it was done. We bet you will learn something you did not know about the operations of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. Just think of the veterans you have known, and see how they did it. As you listen to the mission unfold, it is interesting to see how the loads are differentiated for D-models and H-models, a likely reference to the era when B-24 groups had a mix of B-24Ds and B-24Hs. At one point, a briefer for a B-17 group says "You'll have full Tokyos", a reference to fuel tanks in the wings of B-17Fs called Tokyo Tanks, a hopeful nickname for the additional range such tanks provided. Another briefer says "We will drain Tokyos as soon as possible". The narration and film goes into useful details about how elements form up after takeoff. This film is packed with insights into what it took to mount such a mission. When this film was made, Gen. Ira Eaker was shown as commander of 8th Air Force, placing the story not later than January 1944. But other pieces of film and narration suggest the film was finished later in 1944. Some of the views of B-17s and B-24s in flight show the occasional use of dull gray overpainted on the white stars and bars of the national insignia to make the insignia less prominent from a distance for enemy fighters. Please give this video a Thumbs Up, and subscribe to the Airailimages Channel for more historical and current aviation and railroad films and videos.

And here's a link to another great wartime AAF film:    • Army Air Forces 1944 Report