This silent gun camera footage dates to 1944 and was shot by members of the VIII Fighter Command. This film was one of roughly 20 retrieved from longterm storage from a garage in Georgia. They were discovered in wooden crate that was originally sent to Army Air Force Intelligence in New York City.
The first film shown at :16 shows Lt. H.W. Elin of the 84th Squadron, 78th Fighter Group. The aircraft used here was likely a P-47 Thunderbolt, as it dates to August 3, 1944 (In December of that same year the 78th converted to P-51 Mustangs). What you see in this film, roughly eight weeks after D-Day, are a series of air superiority missions against German supply lines including trains.
At :50, Lt. P.J. McKenney’s run from the same day is shown. At 1:08 he flies above a stopped steam locomotive. At 1:26, Lt. J.J. Myler strikes a train, hitting the locomotive and cars. Other members of the group have similar footage, with trains being struck repeatedly. Look closely you can see tracer bullets in use.
At 3:38 the date is now August 4th and you’re seeing Major Hoey of the 353rd Fighter Group, followed by Lt. Colonel Bailey. Again the attacks are related to air superiority, striking ground targets. At 5:35 an enemy aircraft is fired upon by Lt. Aal, and it appears he scores several hits. Apparently this particular footage was shot by Olger I Aal who, according to the American Air Museum in Britain website, was posthumously awarded the Air Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart. He was killed in action over Brussels on August 24th, 1944 — 20 days after this mission. He was from North Dakota and only 21 years old at the time of his death.
Another air-to-air duel is seen at 5:40, this time by a Lt. Allison. A lot of the footage you’ll see following is hard to make out due to exposure issues.
The VIII Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit of command above the Wings and below the numbered air force. Its primary mission was command and control of fighter operations within the Eighth Air Force. In the World War II European Theater, its primary mission was air superiority. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, being stationed at RAF Honington,
It was formed at Selfridge Field, Michigan in February 1942. In May, the headquarters moved to England to conduct combat operations over Occupied Europe. After the end of the European War in May 1945, VIII Fighter Command took part in the occupation of Germany until May 1946 while simultaneously coordinating its own demobilization. It inactivated in March 1946 at RAF Honington, the last Royal Air Force station used by the USAAF to be returned to the British Air Ministry.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
