“THUNDERBOLT“ WWII AIR COMBAT DOCUMENTARY ITALIAN CAMPAIGN w/ JAMES STEWART INTRODUCTION 57074

The color version of this film, without the James Stewart introduction, can be found at: Directed by William Wyler and John Sturges in 1944, “Thunderbolt“ shows the air battles that raged over Italy during World War II. It focuses on the life and death struggle of a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber squadron in the 12th Air Force. In addition to showing how the pilots’ activities seriously crippled the German military’s fighting ability, hastening the sweep of Allied forces into Rome, the film also shows the suffering of non-combatants on the ground. The narrators are Lloyd Bridges and Eugene Kern, music by Gail Kubik, script by Lester Koenig. Note: this version of the film was released in 1961 and features a special introduction by Jimmy Stewart, which was shot in 1947. Stewart was a licensed amateur pilot prior to WWII and who enlisted in the Army Air Forces shortly after Pearl Harbor was bombed. The specific aerial operations shown are part of Operation Strangle, when flye