18 Sep The Thousand Plane Raid
The Thousand Plane Raid, WWII Movie starring Christopher George
(1969) In 1943, the 8th Air Force planned a daring 1000 plane bombing raid on an industrial target deep into Germany. Christopher George (later he starred in the TV series “Rat Patrol”) is a USAAF Colonel who persuades his superiors that a massive daylight bombing raid would hasten the end of the war. The British would supply the fighter escorts for this huge operation.
According to the credits, the B-17’s were supplied by the Ontario Air Museum and two other aviation specialty companies. There was also enough wartime footage to make this a good movie for B-17 fans.
This movie was part of the Military Channel’s “An Officer and a Movie.” During the commercial breaks, host Lou Diamond Phillips interviewed USAF General John Jumper about different aspects of the strategic bombing strategies. One thing they mentioned was that the RAF actually pulled off the first 1000 plane raid on June 26, 1942.
These raids were extremely hard on the bomber crews with many losses of men and planes. “If it’s successful, fewer planes and crews will be lost in the future.”
The Thousand Plane Raid at amazon.com
Watch a trailer on the YouTube website.
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