Thunderbolt (Memorial Day 2020)

... this is a heck of a good World War II documentary - 'Thunderbolt' (1947) - directed by William Wyler and John Sturges, and photographed by members of the Army Air Forces... it's currently been playing on Netflix - is where we first viewed it a few months back...

(You Tube video)

... excellent accompanying narrative voiced by actor Lloyd ("Sea Hunt") Bridges:

- "This is how ya' live when you're an airplane driver fighting an air war..."

- "Major Francis "Spanky" Manda - squadron operations officer... he's 22..."

- "Captain Howard Hickok - flight leader... he's 23..."

- "Gil Wymond - commander... he's 24 - the old man..."

- "Group commander Lt. Colonel Archie J. Knight... he's 27..."

- "57th Fighter Group... three squadrons... 1000 men..."

- "Alto Air Base, Corsica... good steel mat runway - 150ft x 6000ft..."

- "The brass upstairs plans the war... they want something... you do it... don't always know why... 

   don't always care... but you know there's a reason - a good one..."

- "The P47 Thunderbolt... one man - one engine - extra fuel tanks for range - rockets - 500lb bombs - 

   cameras - you've got eight guns - cyclic rate of 800 round per minute - 106 bullets a second..."

- "You're in the air... game of follow the leader - the squadron leader - he doesn't tell you what to do - 

   does it - you follow - wing tip to wing tip..."

- "No bombsight on the P47 - the pilot does his own aiming... last man goes in - drop your bombs - 

   pull out - black out for a second - the blood drains from your head - but you're young - it comes 

  back fast..."

- "A hit - no more bombs... you've got plenty of gas... plenty of ammo... go on the prowl - see what 

   you can find..."

- "Railroad tracks... not a bad way to find a train... you find one... give it a few squirts - might kill

   somebody..."

- "A light house out there... wonder if I got any ammo left - yep..."

- "Radio station... blow out a few tubes..."

- "Somebody in that field - no friends of mine..."

- "Gerry vehicles parked in that farmyard - must be a headquarters..."

- "Houses around here look kind of suspicious... uh oh... whaddya know!..."

- "Heading home... one plane light... nobody saw it happen... maybe he spun in... maybe he bailed

   out... you'll think about it later..."

- "Alto... home..."
- "All you know is, for some the war is expensive... you wish the people back home could at least
    see it..."

---------------

"... the object of war is not to die for your country 

but to make the other bastard die for his..."

                                           - Gen. George S. Patton