All language subtitles for Heroes.Of.The.Sky.The.Mighty.Eighth.Air.Force.2020.720p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

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TIBBETS: When I'm flying,
I'm no longer on this planet.

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

But up in the blue, zooming
down through endless time.

It's so completely satisfying and so
hauntingly unrecapturable.

PILOT (over radio): Fighters, 10:00.
You got three on your tail.

PILOT (over radio): Pull 'em up,
pull 'em up.

PILOT (over radio): There's two more.

TIBBETS: My hair is soupy with sweat
each day I hold hands with death.

But I'm not scared. Not yet.

NARRATOR: When humanity was faced with a
catastrophic threat,

a madman, with millions of supporters

determined to conquer the world.

A group of men came together to create the
world's largest air force.

PILOT (over radio): Three
planes, 9:00 coming around.

NARRATOR: And win back
the skies of Europe.

This is the astonishing
true story of their courage and sacrifice.

PILOT (over radio): B-17
out of control at 3:00.

NARRATOR: Told in the actual words of the
men who were there

and shown through
incredible real-life images

fearlessly filmed by
actual combat cameramen.

This is the story of the
Mighty Eighth Air Force.

(theme music plays).

(air raid alarm, explosions).

(marching).

♪ ♪

MAN (over radio): Stand
therefore with truth like a bel

around your waist, righteousness like...

TIBBETS: I'm flying high above Georgia,

on my way back from a training mission,

trying to pick up some actual
music instead of the sermons

they always play on weekends.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Medical school dropout
Captain Paul Warfield Tibbets,

is considered not only a fierce
and highly dedicated soldier

but the best pilot in the US Army's newest
branch, their "Air Forces".

Tibbets' grace under pressure
will be essential for the

US in the days and years ahead.

REPORTER (over radio): We interrupt this
broadcast to bring you this

important bulletin from the United Press.

Flash Washington, The White
House announces Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor.

REPORTER (over radio): From the
National newsroom in New York,

President Roosevelt said in
a statement today that the

Japanese have attacked Pearl
Harbor in Hawaii from the air.

REPORTER (over radio): Another bulletin,

the Secretary of War has just
announced that all military

personnel on active duty is
to appear Monday in uniform.

TIBBETS: By the time I land,
people are streaming out of

the buildings and all over the fields.

War was suddenly a reality.

NARRATOR: With the US
officially at war with Japan,

young men all across the country begin to
enlist in the military.

Paul Tibbets stands by
waiting to see where he'll be assigned.

TIBBETS: We still didn't know
what Uncle Sam had in mind

for us but I was determined we'd be ready.

NARRATOR: Despite the Japanese attack,

Winston Churchill and FDR agree on a
"defeat Germany first" policy.

The ultimate goal, an
Allied invasion of Europe.

But how?

The Luftwaffe, Germany's fearsome
air force rules the skies over Europe.

They have thousands of battle-tested
pilots and planes and

two years of combat experience against
Britain's Royal Air Force.

(gunfire, explosion).

But unlike the Germans, the US' pilots
have only flown peacetime patrols.

They have zero combat experience.

And yet to win this war,

somehow the US must smash
the Luftwaffe out of the sky.

ROOSEVELT: We know now
that if we lose this war,

it will be generations or
even centuries before our

conception of democracy can live again.

NARRATOR: The US designates air force
units all around the world.

Starting with the number 1,
each unit will be given a

different mission.

Some will train airmen
stateside and guard the

American homeland while others
will go abroad and bring the

fight to the Axis powers.

The 8th Air Force will be sent to England.

Their official mission to
bomb German military targets

throughout Western Europe.

The newly formed 8th
will need a commander.

Someone who can build the
world's largest air force.

From scratch.

EAKER: This is what I have
been waiting for all my life.

This is what I have been
training for, for 24 years.

I aim to show they did not
pick the wrong guy for this

job I am about to undertake.

NARRATOR: General Ira Eaker
has been flying planes for

over 20 years, but like
almost every other member of

Air Force Command, Eaker
has zero combat experience.

He has only tested planes
and trained pilots.

He arrives in England in February of 1942,

with zero planes and another six men.

The RAF gives Eaker his
headquarters at High Wycombe.

The most important mission
of Eaker's career begins the

Eighth Air Force must start bombing
Germany as quickly as possible.

General Eaker tours a
country that's in bad shape.

The British are holding
on but just barely.

London is filled with
bombed out buildings,

the constant drone of air raid sirens,

and food ration lines that
wrap around the block.

EAKER: I have daily
discussions far into the night

with the British bomber
commander about different

approaches to bombing.

He tells me their own experiences
bombing the Germans.

NARRATOR: At the war's start,
the Royal Air Force only flew

missions by day.

It made for more accurate
bombing, only military targets

were hit and innocent
civilians were kept safe.

But flying during daylight
meant British bombers were easy targets.

They kept getting shot
down by German fighters.

But in 1940 when Germany
began to indiscriminately bomb

British civilian targets, the
RAF took their gloves off and

began to bomb German cities and civilians

at night deliberately
blanketing large areas.

This "Area bombing" in darkness meant
their men would be safer.

But they knew their bombs
would be less accurate,

killing civilians.

Now, the RAF continue to sow
terror among the enemy hoping

to break German morale and end the war.

And they want Eaker and the Eighth
to join them on their nighttime missions.

But Eaker and the US refuse.

They'll do things their way.

EAKER: Area bombing just doesn't make
tactical sense for the Eighth.

Their bombs fall and
hit houses and churches.

I have a distaste for the whole business.

We'll bomb by day, the
British can bomb by night.

We'll hit the Germans
right around the clock.

NARRATOR: Finally, in July of 1942,

the first group of bomber
crews arrive in England

ready to carry out Eaker's orders.

The RAF is amused by the
Americans' naive arrogance.

Since he first landed in
England with visions of

daylight bombing, the Brits
have been calling his men

"Eaker's Amateurs".

But even though the RAF think
daylight bombing is suicide,

Eaker and the US have faith
that they will succeed where

the British have not.

Thanks to a powerful
weapon in their arsenal,

The B-17 Flying Fortress.

Each bomber is equipped with
a top-secret Norden Bombsight

that allows crews to calculate
how flight conditions will

affect a bomb's trajectory.

Confident American engineers
make exaggerated claims that

it can help drop a bomb
into a pickle barrel from 30,000 feet.

But that's not why it's
called a Flying Fortress.

Packed with 10 crew members,
each B-17 is typically

equipped with 12 .50 caliber machine guns

covering nearly every angle.

These bombers they insist
along with their counterparts,

the B-24 Liberator, can defend
themselves against anything

the Luftwaffe can throw at them.

With their men, planes,
and strategy in place,

the Eighth is finally ready
for the first B-17 daylight

bombing mission of the war.

The Eighth Air Forces' very existence may
depend on its success.

General Eaker needs a
capable pilot to lead this first mission.

He chooses a familiar face.

One that's arrived with
the first wave of men,

Paul Warfield Tibbets.

On August 17th, six months
after he first touched down in

England, General Eaker
gives the all clear.

Paul Tibbets and his crews are
about to engage in an act of

war against the enemy.

TIBBETS: The last couple
of days have been tense with anticipation.

We have sufficient military training.

PILOT (over radio): All right,
Major Tibbets, you are clear for takeoff

and good luck to all of you.

TIBBETS: But no experience
in actual warfare.

What is it like to be fired at?

Will we keep our positions
when under attack?

We'll soon find out.

We just crossed the channel
not far from our target.

We're at 23,000 feet, in attack formation.

NARRATOR: Their target is a
military rail yard near the

City of Rouen in Nazi-occupied France.

The attack group consists
of only 12 bombers.

And because the Eighth
doesn't have their own fighter plane yet,

a handful of RAF Spitfire planes will ride
along to protect them.

TIBBETS: I think we've caught
the Germans by surprise.

I look out the cockpit window
waiting to see some sign of

enemy fighters but we're
still in the clear.

NARRATOR: Over the
objections of his officers,

General Ira Eaker insists on joining them
in one of the bombers.

He follows behind Tibbets' plane as they
approach the target.

EAKER: All combat crewmen
take up their stations.

We're alert and vigilant.

Then Tibbets banks right leading
the formation on our bombing approach.

We're all astonished there
are still no fighters or flak.

My theory that day bombardment is feasible
is about to be tested.

I see the target ahead, long lines of
railroad track crowded with freight cars.

TIBBETS: I give the order
to open the bay door,

then switch control of
"Butcher Shop" to the

bombardier up in the plexiglass nose.

It's his plane now.

I hear the call over the intercom.

PILOT (over radio): Bombs away.

TIBBETS: All 12 planes drop their bombs,
37,000 pounds in total.

NARRATOR: Paul Tibbets becomes
the first B-17 pilot to attack

German-held territory from the air.

From the back of the formation,

General Eaker keeps close
tabs on the group's progress.

EAKER: Mushroom clouds of
smoke drift up toward the sky.

One from within the central target,

and a few others around
the lengths of track.

This is better than we
could have asked for

on our first combat mission.

Our first direct attack on Hitler.

We caught them off-guard.

Now, time to get out of here.

PILOT (over radio): Holy mackerel!

TIBBETS: Now comes the
flak, leaving stains of smoke in its wake.

It's erratic at first
but then zeroes in on us.

Then I spot.

PILOT (over radio): 9:00
clock high, enemy fighters.

TIBBETS: Three German ME-190s
coming in for the attack.

PILOT (over radio): Watch
those two at 12:00,

they're coming in same thing at 3:00.

PILOT (over radio): I see him.
Low, he's going low.

11:00 low.

PILOT (over radio): Watch it, Paul.

EAKER: They come zooming out
of the Earth and open fire

on our Fortresses.

Their fighters let their
tracers loose on our

formation, but our
gunners let loose on them.

PILOT (over radio): It's
coming on the Air Force.

Pull her up, pull her up, pull her up.

PILOT (over radio):
Shoot, shoot, he's right there.

11:00, straight up.

PILOT (over radio):
Watch your fighter at 3:00.

They're coming in. I think I hit one.

EAKER: Suddenly, we got
new gunfire erupting above and below.

PILOT (over radio): The
Spits are on their back.

EAKER: Our escorts, British
Spitfire fighters are engaging

the Germans, giving us cover.

NARRATOR: A group of 35 to 40
German planes keep their distance...

watching.

TIBBETS: It seems like they're
simply looking over us.

We head back across the channel.

PILOT (over radio): All clear.

TIBBETS: And the tension is almost gone.

NARRATOR: As all 12 bombers
return safely back to base,

US military officials and press
crowd the tarmac to hear how it went.

COMMANDER: General Eaker commanding
the bomber command led this flight

and he may like to say a few words.

EAKER: I saw some FW 190s,
attacked some of our ships,

I could see their gunfire and
I could also see the reply of

our turret gunners.

Our people held formation excellently.

I don't think you need to worry about the
training of our crew.

NARRATOR: American commanders point to the
successful mission on Rouen

as proof that their
daylight bombing can work.

And for the next couple weeks, it does.

Major Tibbets and his crews
fly nine bombing missions

without losing a single plane.

But that's all about to change.

On September 6th, Major
Tibbets leads 30 planes

on another mission to Northern France.

But this time, the Luftwaffe
is not watching them from afar.

TIBBETS: We're on our
way home when it happens.

PILOT (over radio): What
in the hell is that?

NARRATOR: German fighters bulldoze
past the Eight's spitfire protection,

spraying bullets into
the bomber formations.

Tibbets and the other
Fortresses perform evasive

maneuvers to escape the enemy.

(gunfire, explosions).

Explosions fill the sky.

TIBBETS: An explosion to my left.

It's Lieutenant Lipsky's plane.

We watch as he spins out of
formation and makes that last

grim smoking dive to Earth.

We just lost our first plane.

Up to this time, the war had seemed
little more than a game.

We considered ourselves
supermen whose skill in the

sky would always bring us back safely.

Now at last, the war was a
bloody reality for all of us.

NARRATOR: Five weeks later,
Tibbets is transferred out of the Eighth.

But by the war's end, he will
cross paths with them again.

While leading a top secret
mission that will change

the course of history.

STEWART (over film): The roar of 100,000
motors sing their song

and theirs is a song of freedom.

A few thousand of these babies
will win this war for us and a

few thousand guys like
you in there flying.

This is where you'll serve America best.

Young men of America,
your future's in the sky.

Your wings are waiting.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Throughout 1942,
the US war economy goes into overdrive.

And more bomber units are
deployed to Europe to join

General Ira Eaker's Eighth Air Force.

Just eight months removed
from 0 planes and 6 men,

the Eighth now has over
300 planes and 13,000 men.

LABLOTIER: I came over to
England on a convoy of

100 ships and got put right to work.

We're talkin' 15-18 hour days.

They put me on the Armaments crew.

Apparently, I'm gonna be
doing everything around here.

We're lifting 200-pound
bombs clean over our heads.

NARRATOR: Part-time gun range operator,

weapons expert and plane mechanic,

Sergeant Frank Lablotier is one
of thousands of grounds crewmen

essential to the operation of the Eighth.

He even joins the occasional mission as
a B-17 waist gunner.

Before the war, Frank was MIT-bound,

now the fast talking New
Yorker and the other men

of the Eighth adjust to
their new lives on base.

LABLOTIER: Let me tell you, we ain't got
nothing but toast and tea.

All the Brits have to eat is pigeon.

And if we miss a shipment,
we don't eat at all.

There ain't too much fun
to have here on base.

I say let's get a three-day
pass and hit London.

PILOT: If it wasn't for London,
we'd all have gone crazy.

PILOT: London was the
biggest city I've ever seen.

PILOT: There was this
little bar in Cambridge.

PILOT: Sometimes we'd get so drunk,

we get lost on our way back to base.

PILOT: They took the street
signs down in case of an

invasion, so we just had
to sleep on the street.

PILOT: The ladies of
Piccadilly Circus are gonna be

the richest people in England
by the end of this war.

PILOT: American airmen were
the best thing to ever happen

to British women.

NARRATOR: More men and planes
arriving in England means more

missions for the Eighth Air Force.

And the more they fly,
the more the problems with

so-called precision bombing are exposed.

By the fall of 1942, Eaker's
inexperienced crews are

struggling to hit their
targets while fighting off the Germans.

It's chaos.

They're losing planes and men.

Daylight bombing is not working.

The British see the Eighth
struggling and insist that

they join them on their
night area bombing missions.

General Eaker continues to resist,

he is certain that
daylight bombing will work.

But if the Eighth is going to survive,

they'll need a change in tactics and
they'll need it now.

LEMAY: Some of the guys
in charge here have the

military efficiency of Camp Fire Girls.

I wanna go berserk, beat
my head against a wall.

These people didn't know
where half their bombs fell.

And most of the bombs didn't
hit the target anyway.

If I'm being honest, the bombing of the
Eighth is just stinko.

NARRATOR: Colonel Curtis LeMay arrives in
England in October of 1942.

Always chomping on a pipe, he
is a tough-as-nails aviator.

Behind his back, his
men call him "Iron Ass".

LeMay reports to General
Eaker and has 33 B-17s under his command.

Without anyone asking, he
makes it his mission to fix

the Eighth's inaccurate bombing.

LEMAY: I lay in bed thinking about it.

Burning in my mind all
the time was the thought,

"What are we going to
do about the bombing?"

I study our formations,
crews, procedures, everything.

I watch as we take off,
as we fly over targets,

engage the enemy, and then land.

I notice two problems immediately.

First, we're engaging in
evasive maneuvers far too

close to our bombing targets.

No wonder we're not hitting crap.

From now on, once we're
a couple minutes out,

we fly on a direct line to
the target no matter what

they're hitting us with.

Any plane that takes off
will go over the target,

or the crew will be court-martialed.

Second, our formations are too
sloppy and easily penetrated.

From now on, we'll
stack our bombers tight.

That way, our gunners
will be closer together,

giving us more firepower.

And tight formations will mean our bombs
are more concentrated,

giving us a better chance
of accurate bombing.

Yes, we're going to lose men.

But I tell them, I will be in the lead
plane on every mission.

If this can end the
war even a day earlier,

it'll be worth it.

LABLOTIER: When one of the
gunners are too hung over,

they ask me if I wanna go up.

I asked, "Do I got a choice?"

PILOT: Hey, don't forget the coffee.

NARRATOR: For crewmen like
waist gunner Frank Lablotier,

LeMay's tactics are terrifying.

LABLOTIER: My first
mission, I froze on my gun,

broke out into a sweat,
my hands on the buttons,

pressing with my thumbs, I
just counted Mississippi one,

Mississippi two, Mississippi three,

until the fighter was gone.

When you're on a bombing run,
you can't deviate from it,

they'll put the flak all
around the target so

you have to fly right into it.

NARRATOR: LeMay's new tactics
are a major turning point for

the Eighth Air Force.

Their bombs start hitting
their targets more frequently.

By the end of 1942, General
Eaker makes LeMay's tactics

the official bombing policy of the Eighth.

And Eaker finally convinces
Churchill that daylight bombing can work.

Eaker begins to push the
Eighth deeper into Nazi-held

territory on increasingly risky missions.

The bigger the Eighth's missions become,

the more fighter protection they'll need.

And starting in March of 1943,
they'll no longer fully need

the RAF for help.

After relying on the
British for fighter support,

the Eighth finally has their
own fighter plane to replace

the RAF Spitfire,

the P-47 Thunderbolt.

Nicknamed the "Jug," for
its milk jug-like shape,

the Eighth's new fighter plane has a top
airspeed of 400 miles per hour,

eight .50 caliber machine guns and

can out-dive any other plane in the sky.

Thunderbolts begin to escort the Eighth's
bombers on missions,

protecting them from German fighters.

But The Eighth's bombers are
still being picked off by the

Luftwaffe because the
P-47 has a major problem.

Range.

The P-47 can't escort
the bombers beyond the border of Germany.

The moment the bombers cross
into the Nazi homeland,

the fighters have to turn back and refuel.

The Eighth's bomber boys are not happy.

LABLOTIER: Planes are being
shot out of the sky and

some are landing half destroyed.

I saw a Fortress come back
with over 500 holes in it

the other day.

We got a hangar at the end of
the runway with a brand new

Fortress that we've been
scrappin' for spare parts.

NARRATOR: By the start of August,

the Eighth has lost almost 400 planes

and over 3,000 men.

And despite the issues with the P-47,

commanders have no
intention of slowing down.

NARRATOR: In August of 1943,
the Eighth Air Force's growing

fleet of bombers and fighters
prepare for their biggest and

most dangerous mission yet,

deep inside Luftwaffe
controlled territory.

US Commanders identify two
high-value targets in the

German cities of
Schweinfurt and Regensburg.

The factories there are
essential to the entire

German war industry.

Schweinfurt accounts for 40% of all of
Germany's ball bearings,

tiny steel balls essential
to virtually every

single machine in the Reich.

And the plant in Regensburg
is where they make

Messerschmitts, some of
Germany's most-feared planes.

The US believes that
destroying both plants will be

catastrophic for the Nazis.

The plan is to hit both
targets at the same time

with 376 bombers.

The Regensburg group will
take off first with the

Schweinfurt group following close behind.

Once the P-47s reach
their range and turn back,

the Regensburg group will
take the brunt of the

Luftwaffe attack letting
the Schweinfurt group

travel freely to their target.

After both groups bomb their targets,

the Regensburg group will
avoid the Luftwaffe's fighters

by traveling south to an allied air base
in North Africa.

Then, it will be the
Schweinfurt group's turn

to fight as they make their
long journey back to England.

But General Eaker is
worried that this deep penetration mission

requires a much larger bomber force than

the Eighth can currently put in the air.

EAKER: We're being pushed
into this before we're ready.

I protested bitterly with Washington.

Colonel LeMay will lead
the Regensburg group of the operation.

MAN: Everyone, synchronize your watches.

NARRATOR: Right from the start,

the mission runs into serious trouble.

LEMAY: Damn this English weather.

My bombers managed to
get up through the fog,

but the Schweinfurt group
is stuck on the ground.

If I had known it was
going to go like this,

I would have stayed in bed.

CONTROLLER: Gentlemen, you are clear for
takeoff and good luck.

LEMAY: Over three hours later,
they're finally up in the air

but we're well on our way to Regensburg.

NARRATOR: Colonel LeMay
acts as a navigator in the lead plane.

No one will be veering
off-course on this mission.

As the bombers reach the German border,

the P-47s turn for home.

PILOT (over radio): Fighters, 10:00.

6:00 level toward 5:00, watch it.

PILOT (over radio): I got my sights on it.

PILOT (over radio): I see him.

PILOT (over radio): There's two more.

PILOT (over radio): My God.
They're everywhere.

PILOT (over radio): There's
four of 'em, 1:00 high.

PILOT (over radio): Watch
that fighter coming in 3:00.

PILOT (over radio): 9:00 level.

NARRATOR: As planned,
LeMay and his group face

over 150 Luftwaffe pilots.

Unfortunately, the delayed
Schweinfurt group won't

benefit from the diversion.

PILOT (over radio): It's
down on number four,

cover him as well as you can, everybody.

11:00 below, 5:00 high.

I got him.

B-17 in trouble on our 2:00.

(gunfire, explosions).

LEMAY: It's only blind
luck that we aren't hit

on our final approach.

The crazy part,

we dropped most of our
bombs right on target.

(explosions).

The formation held as well
as could be expected.

Now, I have to get us out of here.

NARRATOR: The Regensburg
factory has been hit hard.

And the group sets a course
southward over the Alps,

heading for allied
airfields in North Africa.

It takes LeMay a few days
to learn the fate of the

Schweinfurt arm of the mission.

Because that group had been delayed so
long by bad weather,

the Luftwaffe had time to refuel.

So instead of having a
clear shot at their target,

they had to fight their way both into and
out of Schweinfurt.

Over both Schweinfurt and Regensburg,

60 bombers are lost.

And another 200 are damaged.

552 men killed or lost in one day.

In 1943, being on a B-17
bomber crew for the Eighth

is as close as you can
get to a death sentence.

Then, just weeks after the
costly double-mission,

General Eaker gets grim news.

The bombings did major damage to the ball
bearing factory in Schweinfurt.

But not enough.

The Germans started
rebuilding immediately.

General Eaker must tell his men they're
headed back to Schweinfurt.

After establishing his new
tactics and leading the

Regensburg mission, LeMay
is promoted to General and

eventually given his own
command in the Pacific.

He'll make a gigantic
impact on World War II

and in the process, become infamous for
the rest of his life.

NARRATOR: On October 14th,
1943, General Ira Eaker

is forced to deliver dark news to his men.

Just eight weeks after their
first savage mission there,

the Eighth must return to Schweinfurt.

Even though the Schweinfurt
bombers hit their targets

causing extensive damage to
the ball bearing factory,

the Germans had it back up and
running within a few weeks.

PILOT: Anytime you were
getting fed a good breakfast,

you knew you were going
on a dangerous mission.

PILOT: I was on the first
Schweinfurt mission.

PILOT: Schweinfurt,
that was a killer town.

PILOT: We'd all heard the
stories of the first raid.

PILOT: It was a massacre.
A slaughter, really.

PILOT: We all knew what it meant to fly
that far into Germany.

PILOT: I knew I had to go back to my bunk
and write home one last time.

PILOT: I was scared.

We were all scared of Schweinfurt.

LEADER: Let us all
synchronize our watches.

EAKER: I was asked, "What does
it do to your guts when you

know you have to send men
out, and by the thousands

they are gonna get killed?"

After an important mission
like Schweinfurt you wonder if

you might have taken other
courses of action that would

have prevented heavy losses of lives.

If I worry too much about the past.

CONTROLLER (over radio):
Clear for takeoff.

EAKER: It will decrease my
ability to deal with the future.

CONTROLLER (over radio): Good luck, boys.

NARRATOR: 3,000 men take
to the air to try and destroy Schweinfurt,

where they will engage...

in one of the most savage air battles
of the entire war.

PILOT (over radio): Got three ships down,
one just crashed and burned.

PILOT: There were bogeys at 12:00, then
2:00, 4:00, and 6:00.

PILOT: My navigator was shot.

I couldn't get the damn
bomber to stop shaking.

Flak was firing everywhere.

PILOT: I saw B-17 tear in
half right in front of me.

PILOT: I heard counts as high as 800.

PILOT: I didn't care
about the consequences.

There was no way I was
going back up again.

NARRATOR: The aerial battle
raged for over three hours,

across hundreds of miles of sky.

The Eighth managed to lay
bombs on the factory but

at a heavy cost.

60 bombers were lost outright.

Over 650 of the nearly 3,000
crewmen are now listed as

injured, killed, or missing in action.

18% of the Eighth's entire force.

The details of the battle
become international news

and earn the Schweinfurt
mission the nickname,

"Black Thursday".

PILOT: At that point, we all expected we'd
be shot down eventually.

PILOT: Something was seriously
wrong and we needed support.

NARRATOR: Under increasing
pressure from his commanders

to show evidence of the
Luftwaffe's collapse,

General Eaker presents the mission on
Schweinfurt as a success.

EAKER: This does not represent disaster,

but it does indicate that the air battle
is reaching its climax.

This is the final struggle of
a monster in his death throes.

We have our teeth in the
Hun Air Force's neck.

NARRATOR: In private, when he
hears his commanders refer to

25% losses on a mission as
"acceptable", he's conflicted.

EAKER: I've got to accept losses.

I have to take that.

But there is a mental fear,

a fear that I am costing men their lives.

It's a war of attrition out there.

But we can keep it going,
maybe better than they can.

I need more planes, more
men, more everything.

We'll keep losing men, but so will they.

So we will continue with unrelenting fury.

This we shall do.

NARRATOR: A few days after
Schweinfurt, General Eaker

contradicts his death
throes claim by stating,

"There are no definite
indications yet that the

German Air Force is on
the verge of collapse."

In fact, the Nazi war machine
is still operating effectively

and it's not just waging
war against the Allies.

It's also serving a far
more sinister purpose.

Mass murder.

In the months after Black Thursday,

Eaker's bosses order him to
send the Eighth's planes up

into the air in greater
numbers than ever before.

The last three months of 1943
are the bloodiest to date in

the skies over Europe, over
2,700 men killed in action.

But command wants even
more bombers in the air.

They fear that General Eaker
isn't utilizing the full

strength of the Eighth Air Force.

To some, he is no longer the right man to
defeat the Luftwaffe.

Eaker's men are hurting.

When asked what needs to
change, they don't hold back.

PILOT: We all knew what's wrong.

And then at a briefing, a
pilot finally screams it out.

PILOT: For goodness' sake,
we need better damn fighters!

NARRATOR: It's the
worst-kept secret in the air,

the P-47s with their limited
range just aren't cutting it.

The Eighth needs a better fighter plane
and they need it now.

NARRATOR: If the Eighth is
going to protect their bombers

deep over Germany, they'll
need new fighter planes

with a longer range and
talented pilots to fly them.

PREDDY: I'll never forget
the first time I saw a plane.

I was hooked.

My first flight was the most wonderful
experience I've ever had.

I knew right then, I had
to become an aviator.

NARRATOR: Captain George
Preddy's war began flying fighter planes

in the Pacific theater
against the Japanese.

But after recovering
from a mid-air collision,

he's come to England to
fight for the Eighth.

And he's exactly the kind of gifted
dogfighter the Eighth needs.

PREDDY: Not long ago I got my third Jerry.

Three kills in my Thunderbolt.

But I got hit by a flak coming
home and had to bail out

before I could get across the channel.

It was a cold time of
the year to go swimming,

but the air sea rescue
picked me up in an hour.

I get back to base, they
gave me a slap on the back,

a bottle of brandy, and
a brand new Mustang.

NARRATOR: They started
arriving in November of 1943.

Equipped with British
Rolls Royce Merlin engines,

perfect for speed and maneuverability,

armed with six machine guns,
faster and deadlier than

any plane in the sky.

They're a dogfighter's dream.

They've been given the designation "P-51".

But everyone just calls them "Mustangs."

And their most important feature?

Range.

The Mustangs are the answer to
the Eighth's fighter problems.

They can escort bombers
2,000 miles deep into

Germany and back again.

PREDDY: I sure like this Mustang.

There's nothing tricky or mysterious about
flying fighters,

you must know your airplane
and how to operate it.

Our missions run very long,
sometimes five and six hours

and the old fanny gets pretty sore.

NARRATOR: The U.S. is convinced that their

Mustangs will give the Eighth an edge on

their German counterparts
and lead them to victory.

But General Eaker won't be
there to see how it plays out.

On New Year's Day 1944, the man who turned
the Eighth from a ragtag

group of airmen to a viable
air force is transferred.

Officially, he's 'promoted'
to Commander of the

Mediterranean Allied Air Force.

Unofficially, he's devastated.

EAKER: I feel like a pitcher
who has been sent to the

showers during a World Series game.

Having started with the
Eighth and seen it organized,

it's heartbreaking to leave it
before the invasion of Europe.

NARRATOR: U.S. leaders want a fierce new
commander who will be

more aggressive in using the
Eighth's growing fleet of

fighters and bombers to
accelerate the Air War and

they know exactly the guy for the job.

General Jimmy Doolittle is
already a household name,

known as the pilot who
led the first air raid

on Japan after Pearl Harbor.

MAN (over radio): All the volunteers for
this secret and hazardous job

had been specially trained
by Colonel Jimmy Doolittle.

NARRATOR: An international celebrity,

he's already commanded the
12th Air Force in North Africa

and the 15th Air Force
in the Mediterranean.

Before the war, he competed
for aviation records and was

known as the King of Speed.

But as the men of the
Eighth soon discover,

General Doolittle is relentless.

Until now, bomber crews have
been allowed to return home

if they survived 25 missions.

General Doolittle
immediately changes that.

DOOLITTLE: I'm raising the
number of bomber missions

required by our crews
from 25 to 30 missions,

to achieve greater efficiency
from experienced crews.

I need our best men here, not back home.

NARRATOR: Doolittle also changes the very
core of the Eighth's mission.

DOOLITTLE: When I get
to the HQ of the Eighth,

I see a sign hanging up, it
says 'The first duty of the

Eighth's fighters is to bring
the bombers back alive.'

I tell them to take that damn thing down,

and to put one up saying,
'The first duty of the

Eighth's fighters is to
destroy German fighters.'

From now on, I'm giving
our fighters free rein.

They have the full order:
seek and destroy any Luftwaffe

fighters they encounter or any
German aircraft on the ground.

I don't want the Germans to
feel safe in the air ever again.

NARRATOR: As his fighters
begin to go on the offensive,

Doolittle is given his most
important orders yet:

final planning is underway
for the long-awaited invasion of Europe,

the Eighth must clear the
skies of the Luftwaffe but

they only have five months to do it.

NARRATOR: The countdown to the
invasion of Europe has begun.

General Jimmy Doolittle orders
his men to do the impossible,

rid Europe of the Luftwaffe completely.

On February 20th, 1944,
the Allies launch a massive

six-day campaign known as Big Week.

Each day, 800 of the Eighth's
bombers fly into Germany

escorted by nearly 800 fighters.

DOOLITTLE: One of my personal
frustrations is that

I'm forbidden to fly any
missions over the continent.

I know too much about the invasion.

NARRATOR: Over a period of
a week, the Eighth's planes

drop over 10,000 tons of bombs on target.

The bombers hit aviation
plants and draw out the

Luftwaffe for the fighters
to swoop in for the kill.

(gunfire).

The all-out assault costs the Eighth

hundreds of bomber planes

(explosion).

and thousands of men,

but through sheer force of numbers,

they begin to accomplish the impossible.

DOOLITTLE: The Luftwaffe don't
seem to be rising against us

in the same numbers they were before.

What is hurting the Germans
the most is the deterioration

in the experience level of their pilots.

NARRATOR: In the four months since General
Doolittle took over,

the Germans have lost 1,000 fighters total
with 434 destroyed

during Big Week alone.

The most seasoned Luftwaffe
pilots are forced to "fly until they die."

(gunfire, explosion).

And their replacements are easy pickings.

The Eighth might just achieve its goal.

(whacking).

DOOLITTLE: We have to keep
up a maximum effort because

the tempo of our attacks has increased,

the Luftwaffe is well aware
that an invasion is imminent.

I woke up before dawn today
and got up in the air

as soon as possible.

I fly above the beaches
of Northern France.

High above the clouds.

I can't help but feel an
overwhelming sense of pride

for my boys; the skies are
clear of German planes.

We made this happen;

complete air supremacy over the beaches.

NARRATOR: After five months pounding the
Luftwaffe into oblivion,

the Eighth has paved
the way for the Allies.

In the battle to clear the
skies for the invasion,

they have suffered 10,000 combat deaths.

But now, the invasion of Europe is here.

Eighth Air Force planes take
to the sky and drop pamphlets

to let French civilians
know the Allies are

coming to liberate them.

The moment he lands, General
Doolittle reports back to

Eisenhower, beating the
Supreme Commander's own

intelligence staff by several hours.

He wants to deliver the
news to the General himself.

DOOLITTLE: I tell Eisenhower,
"The only planes our guys on

the ground and ships will
see are Allied planes.

There are no Luftwaffe in sight."

NARRATOR: And then, it begins.

On the morning of June 6th, 1944,

156,000 men head toward the
beaches of Normandy to hurl

themselves against
Hitler's Atlantic defenses.

(explosions).

(gunfire, explosions).

(gunfire, explosions).

The landing forces face
heavy resistance immediately.

If the invasion is going to succeed,

the men on the ground will
need aerial support from

both bombers and fighters.

Allied planes with special
D-Day markings take off

over 13,000 times that day over France.

The Eighth's goal, to stop
more German reinforcements

from entering Normandy.

PILOT (over radio): Bombs away.

NARRATOR: They bomb key targets,

strafe the shore defenses,

(gunfire, explosions).

and hunt down any Luftwaffe
fighters that dare to appear.

It's the largest single day
air operation in history.

Waist Gunner Sergeant Frank
LaBlotier logs more hours

that day than ever before.

LABLOTIER: Everything's going so fast.

They're telling us to take out bridges,

so that the Germans
can't get into Normandy.

We go up for one mission,
head back to England and

refuel like a racetrack team.

Before I know it, we're
back up in the air.

NARRATOR: Over 4,000
Allied troops die that day.

But after a few days with
the help of air support,

the Allied ground troops
manage to take the Normandy beaches.

Meanwhile, the German
army heads to the coast,

hoping to throw the invasion
force back into the sea.

NARRATOR: After taking
the beaches of Normandy,

the Allies slowly advance
into the countryside.

The German infantry meets them
head on and for six weeks,

the two sides viciously battle suffering a
combined 100,000 casualties.

It soon becomes apparent
they're in a stalemate.

Allied commanders want the Eighth to
come in and break it.

The German and Allied armies
are on either side of the

St. Lo Periers road.

Allied Command wants a massive force of
over 2,000 planes

to target the German forces
to the south of the road,

blowing a hole wide
enough for Allied tanks

to pour through and continue to Paris.

But the armies are only
a mile and a half apart.

DOOLITTLE: I argue with my commanders.

We're too close to our own men.

Thousands of bombers cannot drop thousands
of bombs accurately.

NARRATOR: But command wants it done now.

On July 25th, the Eighth's
bombers take to the skies

and General Doolittle
joins them to observe.

DOOLITTLE: And then I see it happen.

The wind shifts.

Instead of blowing smoke and
debris away from the exploding

bombs toward the enemy lines,
it blows back over ours.

The bombardiers drop visually
and lose their aiming points.

I'm powerless to stop it.

It's one of those harrowing
moments you dream about

and then wake up, except
this time, it's real.

NARRATOR: The attack is a success.

But the Eighth's bombs
kill over 100 U.S. troops.

DOOLITTLE: How does anyone
explain to families that

American fliers snuffed out
the lives of American soldiers

who had no way to defend
themselves or even to know

that they were being bombed.

NARRATOR: Later, Eisenhower
sends General Doolittle a

formal letter absolving him of any guilt.

100,000 combat troops pour through the gap

created by the Eighth's bombs.

They move through the French countryside
toward the capital city.

After four years of occupation,

the French welcome the
Allies with open arms.

They're overjoyed to see
the troops and lavish them

with gifts and gratitude.

On August 25th 1944, the
Allies march into Paris,

liberating the city.

(cheering).

(cheering).

The Allies are now one step
closer to Hitler's doorstep.

In August of 1944, the Germans are in
retreat all over Europe.

And their decimated Luftwaffe
is now sending up any pilots

they can find no matter how inexperienced.

For the Eighth's remaining fighter pilots
like George Preddy,

it's open season.

(gunfire).

Major Preddy has been putting
his new Mustang to good use.

PREDDY: I sure as hell am not
a killer but combat flying is

like a game and a guy sure
likes to come out on top.

NARRATOR: On August 6th,
Preddy records six kills

in five minutes.

(gunfire).

It sets a single day record,
bringing his total kill count

to 23 confirmed.

He's now one of the highest ranking aces
in the European theatre.

PREDDY: I'm not aiming
for any particular score,

I just wanna finish the job in Europe
so I can go back to the Pacific.

I'd like to get another crack at the Japs.

NARRATOR: But Preddy has
already voluntarily extended

his tour of duty three times.

So later that August, he's
finally forced to take a

mandatory leave back stateside.

Back home in North Carolina,
he receives a hero's welcome.

And gets to spend quality
time with his family.

PREDDY: My preacher asked
me what I intend to do and

I told him straight out. "I must go back."

Back to do my part, back
to fly and give again,

and I am not afraid.

My plane may be shot away,
but I shall not fall,

for I have wings.

Wings not made of steel,
but wings of a firmer kind.

Wings God gave my soul.

Thank God for Wings.

NARRATOR: After a month at home,

George Preddy returns to Europe for his
fifth tour of duty.

(cawing).

Preddy is returning to
an Eighth Air Force at its peak strength,

200,000 men strong.

And the men of The Mighty
Eighth are about to be tested

with their biggest operation yet.

(gunfire, explosions).

NARRATOR: On December 16th, 1944,

250,000 German troops
launch a counteroffensive,

taking the Allies by complete surprise.

(gunfire, explosions).

Known as The Battle of the Bulge,

the Germans attack a thinly-defended

80-mile stretch of the Allied lines.

Their goal?

To punch through to the
Belgian port of Antwerp

disrupting the Allies'
most critical supply chain.

Thousands of Americans are
killed and captured

before they even know what happened.

They wait desperately for air support,

but the Eighth's bombers
are nowhere in sight.

DOOLITTLE: The Germans don't
want us to celebrate the

Christmas holidays.

They started an offensive and
intense fog rolled in at the

same time covering our airfields.

There's nothing we can do
until the weather breaks.

(gunfire).

NARRATOR: A week later on December 24th,

the skies finally open up.

(gunshot).

The Eighth launches a maximum
effort to bomb the attacking

German troops and go after any
Luftwaffe pilots in the area.

2,034 bombers and 853 fighters
darken the skies over Belgium.

(explosions).

(explosions).

The heavy bombing begins
to halt the German counteroffensive.

The next morning, ace pilot
Major George Preddy is ready

to celebrate Christmas
by joining the action.

PREDDY: I show my crew
my bright red socks and

I tell 'em it's gonna be a good day.

My fighting socks are
ready for some action.

(gunfire).

NARRATOR: Since his return,
he's notched up more kills,

bringing his official
total to 25 and a half.

(gunfire).

His squadron of 11 Mustangs
climbs into the sky

in search of the enemy.

For hours, they patrol.

Until...

PREDDY (over radio): Looks like they
started without us, let's join 'em.

NARRATOR: Preddy makes quick
work of two German fighters

bringing his official total
kills to 27 and a half.

Scanning the sky, he spots a
third fighter and gives chase.

He's flying across the battlefield,

closing in on his target when it happens.

American gunners trying to
hit the German fighter he's

pursuing hit Preddy instead.

One round severs his right femoral artery.

Still, Preddy manages to crash land.

And medics rush to try and
get him to a field hospital.

But the bleeding just won't stop.

Major George Preddy, the
top Ace of the Eighth

dies on Christmas Day.

He was 25 years old.

By the end of January 1945,

the German offensive has been

pushed back beyond its
original launching point.

The Battle of the Bulge is over.

Hitler gambled everything and lost.

The German military is crumbling,

but Hitler and the Nazis
show no signs of surrender.

With the Russian Army 40
miles outside of Berlin,

Allied commanders draw up plans to bomb
major German cities.

They'll do what's
necessary to end the war.

In early February 1945,
the Allies order a major

bombing operation against Berlin itself.

It's been targeted before,
at least 300 times.

But this time, it's much larger.

The operation has the
potential to level the city

and cause mass civilian casualties.

When General Doolittle gets the orders,

he wires back a formal objection.

DOOLITTLE: There are no
strictly important military

targets in the designated area.

This mission is an effort
to lower German morale,

to terrorize people, to
destroy their will to endure,

and the chances of terrorizing the German
population into submission,

by merely an increased
concentration of bombing,

is extremely remote.

NARRATOR: Allied commanders wire him back,

the mission is a go.

(explosion).

On February 3rd, 1945,

over 1,400 of the Eighth's bombers and

over 500 Mustang escorts
lay waste to Berlin.

Leaving the city in ruins.

The one mission alone kills
nearly 3,000 Berliners,

wounds 2,000 more, and
leaves 120,000 homeless.

Allied Commanders claim success.

But Doolittle worries the
Eighth has tainted its legacy.

DOOLITTLE: In what may
be one of our last and best remembered

operations regardless
of its effectiveness,

we will have violated the
basic American principle

of precision bombing of targets of
strictly military significance.

We should leave area
bombing to the British.

NARRATOR: Doolittle proves to be right.

Despite the devastation in Berlin,

there are no signs that the
German people have broken.

Or that Hitler's grip on them,
that had begun in the early

1930s, has become any less firm.

(cheering).

One week later, the Eighth is
ordered to launch an attack

on another German city.

One that, unlike Berlin, has
no flak batteries or planes

defending it and that until
now has remained untouched

by the war, Dresden.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: After Berlin,
the differences between the Eighth's

daytime strategic bombing
and the Royal Air Force's

nighttime area bombing continue to shrink.

The Germans who have destroyed
so many European cities,

and murdered millions of people,

now watch their own cities turn to rubble.

The Eighth, at the peak of its strength,

bombs military targets surrounded by large
civilian centers.

Dresden, Cologne, Pforzheim,
Nuremberg and Munich all

suffer massive collateral damage.

When news of the
devastation begins to leak,

the Eighth's public relations
officers are told to stress

how each bombing mission
is only meant to hit a military target.

They are to downplay any civilian
casualties caused by the attacks.

By the end of the war, there
will never be any official

record that the Eighth
targeted civilian areas.

But in the months leading
up to the bombing of these German cities,

President Roosevelt
wrote to his secretary of war.

"It is of the utmost importance
that every person in Germany

should realize that this time,
Germany is a defeated nation.

The fact that they are a
defeated nation must be so

impressed upon them that they will
hesitate to start any new war.

Too many people here and in
England hold to the view that

the German people as a whole
are not responsible for what

has taken place, that
only a few Nazi leaders are responsible.

That unfortunately is not based on fact.

The German people as a whole
must have it driven home to

them that the whole nation has been
engaged in a lawless conspiracy

against the decencies
of modern civilization."

By the end of April 1945, Germany is on
the brink of surrender.

The Nazi government is in shambles and the
military is spent.

The Germans are completely
surrounded by Allied forces.

Finally, on May 8th, 1945, what's left of
Nazi high command

agrees to unconditionally
surrender to the Allies.

The war in Europe is officially over.

♪ ♪

After the deaths of
26,000 of their brothers,

the roughly 200,000 men of the
Eighth Air Force in bases all

around England are finally ready to close
up shop and go home.

TRUMAN (over radio): This is a
solemn but glorious hour.

General Eisenhower informs me
that the forces of Germany have

surrendered to the United Nations.

The flags of freedom fly all over Europe.

PILOT: London has become a madhouse, a
beautiful, beautiful madhouse.

PILOT: London has just gone crazy.

PILOT: There wasn't a
dry eye in the house.

PILOT: There's a conga line
down Piccadilly Circus.

PILOT: I'd be walking through
a throng of people with a

pretty girl on my arm and all
of a sudden, she was gone,

replaced by another one.

PILOT: One of our airmen
pledged never to take a drink,

an hour later, we found
him drunk in the gutter.

PILOT: I'm just glad this is over.

DOOLITTLE: We took the
Luftwaffe out of the sky and

made all other successes possible.

Their roads, bridges, railroads,

communications are all
in complete disarray.

I'm proud of my men.

NARRATOR: General Doolittle's
celebration is short-lived.

With the great victory in
Europe come sobering new

orders for his Mighty Eighth.

(gunfire, explosions).

(gunfire, explosions).

DOOLITTLE: The war isn't over.
We're not done.

I've got new mission orders.

(gunfire).

The Eighth Air Force
is getting redeployed.

We're going to Japan.

NARRATOR: In the Pacific,
the Eighth's story will cross

paths with their former star pilot.

The man who led their first
B-17 daylight bombing mission

over German occupied territory,

Paul Warfield Tibbets.

For nearly a year, he's
been in the deserts of

the United States leading
a top secret mission.

One that will change the
world for generations to come.

TIBBETS: We cannot discuss the nature of
our operation with anyone.

My family must be having a difficult time.

I've had to lie to my own wife.

But if we pull this off,
we can end the war.

NARRATOR: After leaving the
Eighth Air Force back in 1942,

Colonel Paul Tibbets makes
his way back to the States.

He's there to help
engineers test fly the most

technologically advanced plane
in the Air Corps arsenal.

It carries more bombs
and goes farther, higher,

and faster than any other bomber.

It's called the B-29 Superfortress.

Tibbets spends over a year
test-flying the bomber logging

more hours in it than
anyone else in the world.

Then, in September of 1944,
the man who is considered one

of the best pilots in the Army
Air Forces is briefed on the

Allies' biggest secret,

the Manhattan Project.

TIBBETS: I've been entrusted
with the successful delivery

of the most frightful weapon ever devised.

I have a great deal to learn,
there will be no room for error.

NARRATOR: Tibbets and his crews spend
months training in the desert

waiting to see if they
will be called into action.

The Allies do everything
in their power to force the

Japanese to surrender.

In March 1945, Curtis LeMay,
the Eighth's former tactical

genius, now commander of the
20th Air Force launches a

firebombing campaign over Tokyo.

85,000 die in one night.

But the Japanese will not relent.

DOOLITTLE: We land on July
17th and officially establish

the Eighth Air Force
in the Pacific theater.

Things are much more primitive here than
the life we led in England.

We're living in tents now.

The wind blows in one
end and out the other.

NARRATOR: Ten weeks after
the German surrender,

General Doolittle and his
officers set up shop

on the island of Okinawa.

Equipped with brand new B-29s and P-51s,

the men of the Eighth Air
Force begin their preparations

to join another bloody air war.

DOOLITTLE: We're now
officially in business.

But we won't be ready to start
bombing until next month.

And I keep getting letters
from boys asking to come join

the Eighth in the Pacific.

NARRATOR: What Doolittle and
the Eighth don't know is that

they'll never drop another bomb again.

After months of training,
Tibbets and his men are also

transferred to the South Pacific.

On August 5th, 1945, Colonel
Tibbets gets the all clear,

the mission he has been training for,

for close to a year, is a go.

The next day, at 2:45 AM,
Tibbets and the crew of the

Enola Gay leave their base
on the island of Tinian.

Traveling a little over five hours to
the city of Hiroshima.

There, at 8:15 local time,
Tibbet's turns control over

to his bombardier.

REPORTER: Colonel Tibbets, will you tell
us some of your reactions over the target?

TIBBETS: Well, as the
bomb left the airplane,

we took over manual control,
made an extremely steep turn

to try and put as much
distance between ourselves and

the explosion as possible.

After we felt the
explosion hit the airplane,

that is the concussion waves,
we knew that the bomb had

explosion, had exploded,
everything was a success.

So we turned around to take a look at it.

The sight that greeted our
eyes was quite beyond what we

had expected because we saw
this cloud of boiling dust and

debris below us with this
tremendous mushroom on top.

Beneath that was hidden the ruins of
the city of Hiroshima.

The first time I dropped bombs
on a target, I said to myself,

"People are getting killed
down there that don't have

any business getting killed.

Those are not soldiers."
If I get to thinking about

some innocent person
getting hit on the ground,

I won't be worth anything if I do that.

I am supposed to be a bomber
pilot and destroy a target.

I made up my mind then that
the morality of dropping that

bomb was not my business.

I was instructed to perform a military
mission to drop the bomb.

Morality, there's no
such thing in warfare.

I don't care whether you're
dropping atom bombs or

100-pound bombs, or shooting a rifle.

You've got to leave the
moral issue out of it.

NARRATOR: The Eighth already
enjoys legendary status

worldwide as the group that
destroyed Hitler's Air Force.

General Doolittle is told that
if he wants the Eighth to get

credit for also serving
in the Pacific theater,

he should put his men
in the air immediately.

But even though Japan doesn't
surrender after Hiroshima,

the end is obviously near.

DOOLITTLE: If the war is over,

I will not risk one airplane
nor a single bomber crew member

just to be able to say the Eighth Air
Force had

operated against the Japanese in Asia.

They've done their job.
It's time for us to go home.

NARRATOR: Three days after Hiroshima,

one of Tibbets's pilots drops
a second bomb, over Nagasaki.

♪ ♪

Six days later, Japan surrenders.

World War II is over.

And the men of the Eighth
begin to make their way back

home to a brand new world.

A world where they are heroes.

Where America is now an atomic superpower.

350,000 men have served
in the Eighth Air Force.

Their actions, accomplishments,

and sacrifices have altered
the course of warfare...

forever.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪