''Bombardier'' is a 1943 film

war drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

about the training program for bombardiers of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. The film stars Pat O'Brien and

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor, whose Hollywood career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in dramas, come ...

. ''Bombardier'' was nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

in 1944 for the

special effect Special effects (often abbreviated as F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the fictional events in a story or virtual world. ...

s used in the film. It was largely filmed at Kirtland Army Air Field,

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, site of the first bombardier training school. The film follows the training of six bombardier candidates, seen through the differences between the two USAAF pilots in charge of their training over the efficacy of precision bombing. Brigadier General Eugene L. Eubank, commander of the first heavy bombardment group of the U.S. Army Air Forces to see combat in World War II, introduces the film with the statement:

I want you to know about a new kind of American soldier, the most important of all our fighting men today. He is most important because upon him, finally, depends the success of any mission in which he participates. The greatest bombing plane in the world, with its combat crew, takes him into battle, through weather, through enemy opposition, just so he may have 30 seconds over the target. In those 30 seconds, he must vindicate the greatest responsibility ever placed upon an individual soldier in line of duty. I want you to know about him, and about those who had the faith and vision and foresight to bring him into being, to fit him for his task, long months before our war began.

Plot

In 1941, at a staff meeting in Washington, D.C., two officers of the

U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

(and old friends) debate the importance of bombardiers. Major "Chick" Davis argues that a bombardier, using the

top secret Classified information is confidential material that a government deems to be sensitive information which must be protected from unauthorized disclosure that requires special handling and dissemination controls. Access is restricted by law or ...

American bombsight will be the "spearhead of our striking force." Capt. "Buck" Oliver argues that new pilots are the priority. Davis challenges Oliver to a "bombing duel" to test their respective points of view. Oliver, using a

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

, misses the stationary target, while Davis, bombing from 20,000 feet in a

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

, hits his target with his first bomb. As the first class nears graduation at the new bombardier training school, Davis arrives with M/Sgt. Archie Dixon to take command. Davis is discomfited by the presence of so many civilian women clerks, including Burton "Burt" Hughes, the daughter of a respected Air Corps general and now a

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

. Davis is brusque with Burt and she observes he could use some training in manners. Oliver arrives with the next cadet class, including Tom Hughes, Burt's brother. Davis is mildly disturbed to learn that Oliver and Burt have a romantic history. Davis attempts to make up with Burt. Preflight ground school reveals many shortcomings: Tom Hughes has trouble with fear-induced air sickness, Joe Connors with commitment issues, and "Chito" Rafferty with the lack of women on the base. Connors tells Davis that a

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...

wants to buy information from him about the secret bombsight, and helps Davis lure the spy into a trap where he is arrested. When a bomber develops mechanical problems and the crew is ordered to bail out, Tom Hughes panics and refuses to jump. His friend (and another suitor of Burt Hughes), Cadet Jim Carter, crash-lands the aircraft, claiming that he is the one who panicked, but Hughes confesses afterward. Facing an elimination board, he successfully persuades Davis and receives a second chance. On a subsequent flight, Oliver passes out from anoxia, nearly tossing Carter out of the opened bomb bay without a

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

. Tom Hughes falls to his death saving Carter's life. Guilt-stricken and unable to face Burt, Oliver transfers out of the school. Shortly after, America is drawn into the war by the

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the tim ...

. Davis, promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, becomes a B-17 group commander, and awkwardly proposes marriage to Burt who turns him down. New bombardiers Carter, Connors, Rafferty, and Harris leave for a secret island base in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

, and Burt passionately kisses Jim Carter goodbye, revealing her choice. At the base, Oliver, now a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, joins the group just as it is about to fly a night mission to bomb an aircraft factory in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

. Oliver's assignment is bomb with

incendiaries Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weaponry. Incendiarie ...

to set the target on fire a half hour before the arrival of the group, which Davis will lead at high altitude. Joe Connors is Oliver's bombardier and Sgt. Dixon his tailgunner. Flying low, Oliver's bomber is shot down before he can drop his bombs, and Connors remains at his post, sacrificing his life to destroy the bombsight. Oliver and the remainder of his crew, including Dixon, are captured. Their Japanese captors execute the other crew members to coerce Oliver and Dixon into revealing the location of their base, but Dixon overwhelms his guard and attempts to escape. He is machine gunned in the attempt, but the shots also set fire to a truck carrying barrels of

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

. Oliver drives the burning truck throughout the factory, setting fire to its camouflage netting and fulfills his mission, knowing he will be killed by his own men. The B-17 group fights off Japanese fighters and successfully destroys the target.

Cast

* Brig. Gen. Eugene L. Eubank as Himself * Pat O'Brien as Major "Chick" Davis *

as Captain "Buck" Oliver *

Anne Shirley Anne Blythe () is a fictional character introduced in the 1908 novel ''Anne of Green Gables'' by Lucy Maud Montgomery, L. M. Montgomery. Shirley is featured throughout the classic Anne of Green Gables#Related works, book series, which revolves ...

as Burton "Burt" Hughes *

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor. He is known for his roles on stage and screen and received nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Albert made his actin ...

as Cadet Tom Hughes *

Walter Reed Walter Reed (September 13, 1851 – November 23, 1902) was a United States Army, U.S. Army physician who in 1901 led the team that confirmed the theory of Cuban doctor Carlos Finlay that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito ...

as Cadet Jim Carter *

Robert Ryan Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American actor and activist. Known for his portrayals of hardened cops and ruthless villains, Ryan performed for over three decades. He was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

as Cadet Joe Connors *

Barton MacLane Barton MacLane (December 25, 1902 – January 1, 1969) was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC ...

as Master Sergeant Archie Dixon *

Leonard Strong Leonard Strong may refer to: * Leonard Strong (writer), English novelist, critic, historian, and poet * Leonard Strong (actor) Leonard Clarence Strong (August 12, 1908 – January 23, 1980) was an American character actor specializing in playi ...

as Japanese Officer * Richard Martin as Cadet Ignacius "Chito" Rafferty *

Russell Wade Russell Wade (June 22, 1917 – December 9, 2006) was an American actor. Life and career Russell Wade was born on June 21, 1917, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. He signed an RKO contract in 1942. Having appeared in 80 films, his last one ...

as Cadet Paul Harris *

John Miljan John Miljan (November 9, 1892 – January 24, 1960) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1924 and 1958. Biography Born in 1892, Miljan was the tall, smooth-talking villain in Hollywood films for almost four deca ...

as Chaplain Charlie Craig * Charles Russell as Instructor * John Calvert as Calvert – The Magician (uncredited)

Production

Development

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

began ''Bombardier'' as a project in 1940, with several rewrites to incorporate changes in world events.Nixon, Rob
"Articles: Bombardier."
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: May 18, 2013. With full cooperation of the

, the film was in production from October 12 to December 18, 1942, with six weeks of the filming done on location at Kirtland Army Air Base."Original Print Information: Bombardier."
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: May 18, 2013. All the aviation cadets in training at the base were used as extras, and veteran aircrews assigned to the school as instructors flew the B-17s used in formation shots at the end of the film. At Kirtland, filming featured live action photography of training aircraft including Beech AT-11 Kansan trainers, as well as Boeing B-17C and E series Flying Fortresses,

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

Douglas B-18 Bolo The Douglas B-18 Bolo is an American twin-engined medium bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force (as the Digby) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was developed by the Douglas Airc ...

s and

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allies of World War ...

bombers. A

Junkers Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87, popularly known as the "Stuka", is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the ...

and

Vought SB2U Vindicator The Vought SB2U Vindicator is an American carrier-based dive bomber developed for the United States Navy in the 1930s, the first monoplane in this role. Vindicators still remained in service at the time of the Battle of Midway, but by 1943, al ...

dive bombers are briefly seen at the beginning of the film."Aviation Films – B: Bombardier."
''Aerofiles.'' Retrieved: May 18, 2013. The production moved to

Midland, Texas Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Midland County with small portions extending into Martin County. The population was 132,524 as of the 2020 census. Located in the Permian Basin in West Texas, Midland is a ...

to film the Japanese bombing scenes.

Crew

Notable members of the film crew included

Robert Wise Robert Earl Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) was an American filmmaker. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his musical films ''West Side Story'' (1961) and ''The Sound of Music'' (1965). He was als ...

as film editor, and

Robert Aldrich Robert Burgess Aldrich (August 9, 1918 – December 5, 1983) was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. An iconoclastic and maverick '' auteur'' working in many genres during the Golden Age of Hollywood, he directed main ...

as second assistant director.

Lambert Hillyer Lambert Hillyer (July 8, 1893 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director and screenwriter. He is best known today for his many western features, his horror films ''The Invisible Ray (1936 film), The Invisible Ray'' and ''Dracula's Daugh ...

directed filming (uncredited) of an aerial sequence, while Joseph F. Biroc completed the

cinematography Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...

work begun and credited to

Nicholas Musuraca Nicholas Musuraca, A.S.C. (October 25, 1892 – September 3, 1975) was a motion-picture cinematographer best remembered for his work at RKO Pictures in the 1940s, including many of Val Lewton's series of B-picture horror films. Biography Bo ...

."Joseph Biroc."
''Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers.'' Retrieved: February 9, 2009.

Writing

The central conflict between competing points of view over the importance of specialized bombardier training in ''Bombardier'' reflected an actual doctrinal struggle within the

between 1939 and December 1941, when, as in the film, the proponents of specialized training won out. Three attempts at developing a school had been tried since July 1940 at

Lowry Field Lowry Air Force Base (Lowry Field from 1938–1948) is a former United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) training base during World War II and a United States Air Force (USAF) training base during the Cold War. From 1955-1958, it served as the i ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

;

Barksdale Field Barksdale may refer to: Places * Barksdale, Mississippi, an unincorporated community *Barksdale, Texas, an unincorporated community * Barksdale, Wisconsin, a town ** Barksdale (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community *Barksdale Air Force ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

; and

Ellington Field Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegi ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, before the permanent school was established at Kirtland by Col.

John D. Ryan John or Johnny Ryan may refer to: Business *John Ryan (businessman) (born 1950), pioneer of cosmetic surgery and chairman of Doncaster Rovers *John D. Ryan (industrialist) (1864–1933), American copper mining magnate * John Ryan (printer) (1761� ...

as the first step in meeting a wartime goal of training 30,000 bombardiers.Baldwin, Ben. "Army Air Forces Historical Study No. 5: Individual Training of Bombardiers." ''Air Force Historical Research Agency'', pp. 19–37.

Sets

Albuquerque Army Air Base (renamed Kirtland in February 1942) was constructed from January to August 1941 on the site of the former Oxnard Field (a private airport) in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, at which time the 19th Bomb Group (commanded in combat by Col. Eugene Eubank, who introduces the film) completed training for deployment to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. A permanent Bombardier Training School, the first of 10 in the southwest United States, opened in December 1941 at Albuquerque AAB and eventually graduated more than 5,000 bombardiers.

Reception

''Bombardier'' premiered on May 14, 1943, at Kirtland AAB,"Bombardier."
''Film New Mexico.'' Retrieved: February 24, 2009. (now

Kirtland AFB Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base. It is located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator C ...

). Despite a blistering review from

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

,Orriss 1984, p. 76. the film was well received by the public.Schwartz, Dennis
"Bombardier."
''Ozus' World Movie reviews.'' Retrieved: February 24, 2009. In 1993, 50 years after its first release, a

colorized Film colorization (American English; or colourisation/colorisation [both British English], or colourization [Canadian English and Oxford English]) is any process that adds color to black-and-white, sepia, or other monochrome m ...

version was released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

Turner Home Entertainment Turner Entertainment Co. is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner on August 2, 1986. Purchased by Time Warner Entertainment on October 10, 1996, as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was lar ...

Box office

''Bombardier'' was popular with audiences and earned RKO a profit of $565,000.Jewell and Harbin 1982, p. 184.

Awards

''Bombardier'' received an Academy Award nomination in 1944 for Best Special Effects: Vernon L. Walker (photographic),

James G. Stewart James Graham Stewart (May 21, 1907 in Homewood, Pennsylvania – March 22, 1997 in Los Angeles, California) was an American pioneer in the field of sound recording and re-recording. His career spanned more than five decades (1928–1980), du ...

and Roy Granville (sound)."Nominees and Winners: The 16th Academy Awards (1944)."
''oscars.org''. Retrieved: May 4, 2017."16th Academy Awards."
''Film Affinity.'' Retrieved: February 24, 2009.

Legacy

''Bombardier'' featured a supporting character, the Mexican-American Chito played by Richard Martin. Chito was created by screenwriter Jack Wagner, who had been brought in to work on the screenplay. Chito proved so popular RKO used the character as a sidekick in a series of Westerns, notably with

Tim Holt Charles John "Tim" Holt III (February 5, 1919 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He was a popular Western star during the 1940s and early 1950s, appearing in forty-six B westerns released by RKO Pictures. In a career spanning more ...

.Stempel, Tom
"Tim Holt and the B Western."
''Off Screen'', Volume 17, issue 11, November 2013. Retrieved: May 4, 2017. The

Larry Beinhart Larry Beinhart is an America novelist, columnist, and blogger. He is best known as the author of the political and detective novel '' American Hero'', which was adapted into the political-parody film ''Wag the Dog''. Biography Beinhart has indi ...

novel '' American Hero'', source material for the film ''

Wag The Dog ''Wag the Dog'' is a 1997 American black comedy political satire film starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. Produced and directed by Barry Levinson, the film centers on a spin doctor and a Hollywood producer who fabricate a war in Al ...

'', posits that the film was the inspiration for the

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

videos of

guided bombs A guided bomb (also known as a smart bomb, guided bomb unit, or GBU) is a precision-guided munition designed to achieve a smaller circular error probable (CEP). The creation of precision-guided munitions resulted in the retroactive renaming of ...

falling down smokestacks and air vents.''American Hero'' (AKA ''Wag The Dog'') by Larry Beinhart, p. 168
/ref>

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Carlson, Mark. ''Flying on Film: A Century of Aviation in the Movies, 1912–2012''. Duncan, Oklahoma: BearManor Media, 2012. . * Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies". ''The Making of the Great Aviation Films'', General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989. * Jewell, Richard and Vernon Harbin. ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. . * Orriss, Bruce. ''When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II''. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. . * Zimmerman, David. ''Top Secret Exchange: The Tizard Mission and the Scientific War''. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: McGill-Queen's Press, 1996. .

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bombardier (film) 1943 films American aviation films RKO Pictures films World War II films made in wartime Films scored by Roy Webb Films set in Nagoya Films set in New Mexico Films about the United States Army Air Forces Films directed by Richard Wallace Pacific War films American black-and-white films American war drama films 1940s war drama films 1943 drama films Japan in non-Japanese culture