The 20th Air Force Pacific B-29s WWII DVD contains WWII B-29 movies that highlight the revolutionary Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber which delivered the atom bomb to Japan and ended the Pacific War. This two DVD set includes (16) B-29 films in color and B&W that cover the first B-29 raid on the Japanese home islands all the way to the dropping of the atom bomb.
Film #1 - Target Tokyo - Narrated by Ronald Reagan, this film documents the first B-29 bombing mission to Tokyo on the Nakajima aircraft factory. It begins with training of the B29 crews in Grand Island, Nebraska, then traces the journey of the B-29s to Bakersfield, California where they were formed into the 21st Bomber Command. Continuing on to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and then their final destination: Saipan Island which had just been liberated by U.S. forces just 4 months prior.
There is great footage of B29 bombers landing and taking off as well as in-flight to Tokyo. See construction of the Saipan island airfield as well as Japanese raids on the island. Follow the preparations for the bombing mission from crew briefing to aircraft maintenance and arming.
Film #2 - Saipan B-29s - Taken by the 11th Combat Camera Unit in January 1945, this color film is of the 73rd Bomb Wing, 497th, 499th, and 500th Bomb Groups with B-29s warming up, taxiing, and taking off for targets in Japan. See battle-damage on the returning B-29s, B 29 crashes, machine gun turret maintenance, and shots of P-38 P-47 and P-61 fighters taking off, landing and in flight. Run time of 25 minutes in color.
Film #3 - The Last Bomb - This excellent B-29 documentary about XXI Bomber Command is all in color and shows some great B-29 footage both on the ground and in the air. Bases in Tinian and Saipan are shown. See General Curtis LeMay with his staff planning and executing bombing missions to Japan. P-51 fighters escort the B-29 Superforts to their targets from their Iwo Jima base. P-51s are seen strafing ground targets and dogfighting with Japanese airplanes. Witness a B-29 ditching off the coast of Iwo Jima and another crash landing. Run time of 40 minutes in color.
Film #4 - Tinian B-29s - This color and B&W film shows the 509th Composite Group which arrived on the island in May 1945. See preparation and loading of the first atomic bomb onto the B-29 bomber Enola Gay and the release over Hiroshima. Upon return to Tinian, pilot Col. Paul Tibbetts was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross from Gen. Carl Spaatz. Also shown are preparations and execution of the second atomic bomb mission to Nagasaki. Run time of 23 minutes in color and B+W.
Film #5 - Interviews with Crews of the Enola Gay and the Great Artiste - Several of the crew members from the historic first and second atomic bombing missions to Japan describe their observations and experiences in this film. Run time of 8 minutes in B+W.
Films #6 to 11 - United Newsreels - A collection of eleven B&W United Newsreels with B29 bomber related material. Run time of 35 minutes in B+W.
Total run time for 20th Air Force Pacific B-29s WWII DVD is about 2 hours and 35 minutes in two DVDs. Format is NTSC DVD and region-free.
You may also be interested in the following B-29 DVDs:
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Boeing B-29 Superfortress WWII Vol 2 DVD + Pilot Manual
Boeing B-29 Superfortress WWII Bomber DVD
Boeing B-29 Superfortress WWII Bomber Disc 2 DVD
US Bombers B-17, B-24, B-25, and B-29 Go To War DVD
Birth of the B-29 - WWII B-29 Superfortress DVD