Fighter Combat Formation: Attacks and Escorts(1944)

movie - first aired/released 1944-03-13 - 14 min

Documentary, War

Directed by Otho Lovering

An ace fighter pilot captain expects to get leave, but instead is ordered to Washington, where a colonel explains that mounting casualties among fighter pilots require new, battle-tested tactics in combat. The captain sets out to train a group of young and relatively inexperienced pilots in the new methods. Fighter planes are used as both attack aircraft and as escorts for heavy bombers, and a variety of flight patterns and defensive and offensive maneuvers are explained to the young pilots.