“Chapter XI: North Africa, Nov. 1942-May 1943” (SFP 263-II) of The Air Force Story film series shows the Allied invasion of North Africa and the ensuing battles that lead to the Allied liberation of Tunis. The chapter opens with a shot of Allied ships on the Mediterranean on 8 November 1942 preparing to invade North Africa as part of Operation Torch. A Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is lifted up onto the flight deck of an aircraft carrier (01:34). There is a shot of P-40s on the deck of the carrier, which is followed by the planes taking off (02:00). Allied jeeps drive along a rural road; General Dwight D. Eisenhower talks with his officers (02:35). Allied men and horses carry supplies on foot along a mountain road (03:16). What appears to be a B-25 is pulled from the mud by a tow truck (03:27). German pilots check their planes then climb aboard; German bombers take off from an airfield (03:45). Footage shows the Luftwaffe dropping bombs on Allied harbors and airfields (04:04). Wounded Allied soldiers are evacuated on jeeps and planes (04:35). Men work on repairing ordnance (05:00). General Eisenhower talks with officers (05:10); Generals Henry H. Arnolds and Ralph Royce visit the 12th Air Force Fighter Command. German General Erwin Rommel gives orders to his men (05:58). Nazi troops prepare to evacuate an airfield (06:30). German ME-109 Fighters take off near Tunis (06:45); there is footage of the planes flying in the air. P-40s engage the ME-109s (07:28); a German transport ship is shot down (08:14). P-40s fly through the air (08:52) and over fields. Axis forces fire heavy artillery (09:12) as they defend their North African positions. U.S. General Bernard Montgomery stands in the desert (09:20). The Allied 8th Army is pinned down by Axis forces. Footage shows U.S. planes flying in formation then bombing and strafing Axis targets. What appears to be P-38s drop fire bombs on German targets (11:40). Allied tanks and troops break through German lines. There is a shot overlooking Tunis (12:14). Allied troops are greeted by the people of Tunis. The film concludes with shots of captured German soldiers (12:56), destroyed Nazi planes, guns, and ships, and Eisenhower reviewing a military parade in Tunis (13:20).

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