Other titles:THE AIR BATTLE OVER CENTRAL GERMANY [Translation]
Summary: Film record for public exhibition of the aerial battle between 8th USAAF bombers and Luftwaffe fighters on 11 January 1944.
Description: Titles describe the approach of strong formations of enemy bombers with fighter escorts. 88mm flak opens fire and Me 109s, Fw 190s and Me 110s scramble to intercept the first wave of B-17s. Fighters attack the bombers from the rear and front, scoring several successes and hitting a B-24 in a later wave. Remainder of film and titles are intended to convey the impression that the German air defences defeated the American raiders, alleged to have lost one third of their planes. The wreckage of a B-17 and its dead crew and a scrap heap of other crashed planes precedes a view of some captured "air gangsters", later seen being interrogated. Fighters return to base where pilots sketch graphic accounts with their hands of their recent victories.
Alternative Title:THE AIR BATTLE OVER CENTRAL GERMANY [Translation]
Personalities, Units and Organisations: German Army (regiment/service)
German Air Force (regiment/service)
United States Army Air Force, 8th Air Force (regiment/service)
Keywords: combat, German - anti-aircraft (object name)
combat, United States - air raid (object name)
aircraft, German - combat: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 (object name)
aircraft, German - combat: Messerschmitt Bf 109 (object name)
aircraft, German - combat: Messerschmitt Bf 110 (object name)
aircraft, United States - combat: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress & [wrecked] (object name)
aircraft, United States - combat: Consolidated B-24 Liberator & [damaged] (object name)
casualties, United States dead (object name)
operations, German air - return (object name)
prisoners of war, United States - interrogation (object name)
propaganda, German - inflammatory: anti-US (object name)
propaganda, German - inspirational (object name)
weapons, German - gun [AA]: 88cm Flak (object name)
Germany (geography)
Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W
Sound format: Silent
Soundtrack language: None
Title language: German
Subtitle language: German
Technical Details: Format: 16mm
Number of items/reels/tapes: 1
Footage: 342 ft; Running time: 8 mins
