Wings for This Man (1945)

Genre

documentary film, propaganda film

Country

United States

Runtime

10 min

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This film documents the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots in the U.S. military during World War II. It shows their training, overcoming prejudice, and combat successes in aerial dogfights over Europe.

propagandisticinspirationalpatriotichistoricaltriumphantsolemninstructionalearnest

What happens

Wings for this Man is a propaganda film produced in 1945 by the U.S. Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first unit of African-American pilots in the US military formed during World War II. The film begins with dramatic footage of aerial combat over Italy, showing an outnumbered American squadron successfully dogfighting a Luftwaffe formation. When the pilots land they step out and are revealed to be black. The picture then tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, starting with the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and the founding of the airstrip near it. The narrator, future President Ronald Reagan, notes that the airmen had to overcome exceeding odds to get the unit created and notes that "there was misunderstanding, distrust and prejudice that had to be cleared away" before the unit could form. A rather standard training/combat/casualty sequence then follows, culminating in the third anniversary celebration of the unit followed by a parade. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• Rise Above (2011)
• Double Victory: The Tuskegee Airmen at War (2012)
• Red Tails (2012)
• The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
• Flying for Freedom
• The Negro Sailor (1945)
• The Negro Soldier (1944)
• Black Panthers of WWII