Wings (1995)

Commando, Flying Tiger, Avenger, Lightning, Zeke, Mitchell, Betty – these are the names that made World War II the most amazing air war ever. Exciting action footage puts you in the cockpit of the military’s greatest fighters – from nimble P-51 Mustangs to the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Discover little-known air combat facts. Meet the American and Japanese pilots who waged war over the Pacific. Relive all the pivotal campaigns and aerial battles, from Pearl Harbor and the Coral Sea to Midway and ultimate victory at Iwo Jima Follow the air campaigns of the Pacific, from Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima, and discover how American birds – like the F6F Hellcat – matched up against their Japanese counterparts – like the Ki-100, nicknamed "Tony" by the Allies.The American Avenger dive bomber, P-40 Tomahawk, P-38 Lightning, P-51 Mustang and the B-29 Superfortress bomber are profiled. Learn the tactics American and Japanese pilots used to adjust to ever-evolving aircraft, changing battle strategies and the logistical problems of fighting a war that spanned thousands of miles. Through archival footage and reenactments, we see their aircraft in action and relive the major aerial campaigns of a battlefield that covered nearly one third of the earth's surface. Rare footage presents military aircraft in wartime missions, dropping bombs and facing enemy wings head-on. See how the war in the Pacific was fought, from Pearl Harbor to the Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, and onward to the ultimate and decisive air attacks on the Japanese home islands.

'I know I'm going to die. I just don't know when. And worrying about when it's going to happen is killing me.' - U.S. Fighter Pilot, World War One. When the First World War broke out, powered flight was barely a decade old. Within the first few months of the war, the first flimsy aircraft would change ground warfare forever. An Allied reconnaissance plane spotted a crucial weakness in the German lines at the Marne in August 1914. However, as the Allies massed in attack, a German aircraft saw them and the element of surprise was lost. Armies could no longer manoeuvre without being seen - and the era of trench warfare began. At first rival pilots regarded each other as brothers, but the desperate need to knock out the enemy 'eye in the sky' led to the swift development of the first fighter aircraft. World War One would be fought with equal ferocity in the air as on the ground. The life expectancy of a pilot could be as little as 3 - 6 weeks. 17,000 pilots would die in the air, earning the aircraft the grim nickname 'Flying Coffins'. With rare film footage and the testimony of a WWI fighter pilot, FLYING COFFINS traces the development of the aeroplane over the course of the war, along with the tactics and technology used. It also features stunning colour and air-to-air film of the WWI vintage replicas at Old Rheinbeck Aerodrome including the Sopwith Camel. Nieuport 11, Fokker Triplane and Albatross, as well as exclusive interviews with the men who restore and fly these magnificent old aircraft today. - Note - Part 2 contains DVD extras which I decided to add in the release, about 15 mins of nice widescreen footage shot from various UK airshows and including flying examples of S.E.5 and Bristol F.2 Fighter among others. Because of aspect ratio difference I couldn't simply join it to the main movie.

'I know I'm going to die. I just don't know when. And worrying about when it's going to happen is killing me.' - U.S. Fighter Pilot, World War One. When the First World War broke out, powered flight was barely a decade old. Within the first few months of the war, the first flimsy aircraft would change ground warfare forever. An Allied reconnaissance plane spotted a crucial weakness in the German lines at the Marne in August 1914. However, as the Allies massed in attack, a German aircraft saw them and the element of surprise was lost. Armies could no longer manoeuvre without being seen - and the era of trench warfare began. At first rival pilots regarded each other as brothers, but the desperate need to knock out the enemy 'eye in the sky' led to the swift development of the first fighter aircraft. World War One would be fought with equal ferocity in the air as on the ground. The life expectancy of a pilot could be as little as 3 - 6 weeks. 17,000 pilots would die in the air, earning the aircraft the grim nickname 'Flying Coffins'. With rare film footage and the testimony of a WWI fighter pilot, FLYING COFFINS traces the development of the aeroplane over the course of the war, along with the tactics and technology used. It also features stunning colour and air-to-air film of the WWI vintage replicas at Old Rheinbeck Aerodrome including the Sopwith Camel. Nieuport 11, Fokker Triplane and Albatross, as well as exclusive interviews with the men who restore and fly these magnificent old aircraft today. - Note - Part 2 contains DVD extras which I decided to add in the release, about 15 mins of nice widescreen footage shot from various UK airshows and including flying examples of S.E.5 and Bristol F.2 Fighter among others. Because of aspect ratio difference I couldn't simply join it to the main movie.