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An obscure company called Timkin Films produced this exceptional color film, “Liberators Over Europe.” It dates to the post-war period, but uses rare historic footage to showcase the efforts of the “Flying Eightballs,” the 44th Bombardment Group of the 8th Air Force, to deliver a low-altitude supply drop in support of an assault by 14,000 American and Canadian troops on the east bank of the Rhine River on Saturday, March 24, 1945. Over 3,000 sorties were flown that day, riddling troop concentrations, supply columns, rail yards and airfields. According to an official report, 53 German aircraft were shot down. The 8th lost 22 bombers and four fighters. The bombers in the film are Consolidated B-24 Liberators. Credits: Captain U.P. Harvell, photo intelligence officer of the 44th Bomb Group, director and cinematographer; T.W. Kinnally, narration
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Film opens with audio of men singing “I’ve Got Sixpence (As We Go Rolling Home)” by Box, Cox, and Hall over shots of the B-24 bomber “Diamond Lil” on a runway in Wesel, Germany on March 24, 1945 (however the film’s narrator later identifies the airfield as being somewhere in England) (00:10). Men loading cargo (00:33). Air Force officer putting on parachute (00:49). Men in bomber jackets and parachutes study a map on a runway, plotting a Rhine route (01:07). Lineups of bombers on runways (01:26). Shot of landing gear rolling over runway during takeoff, and slowly folding up into the wing over farmland and countryside (02:01). Cockpit shot in flight: pilot, co-pilot, flight instruments and dials (02:24). Shadow of plane in flight rolling over countryside (02:29). The airfield from the air; hangars; planes on runways (02:34). The airfield from a distance; fields; trees; straight roads fill the frame (02:48). Bombers above the clouds at either sunset or sunrise (03:03). Cockpit shot again (03:14). Mid-air shots of noses of airborne bombers (03:17). Midair shot of underside of a bomber (03:33). Cockpit shot (03:39). Midair shot of engines; spinning propellers (03:43). Bombers flying very low over forested countryside (03:46). Interior shot of gunner firing and reloading (03:58). German plane exploding after being hit by gunner (04:09). Heavily bombed German city of Cologne; Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom, Hohe Domkirche Sankt Petrus); destroyed Hohenzollern Bridge (Hohenzollernbrücke); the Rhine (04:20). Bombed German cityscapes surrounding the Rhine (04:45). Long overhead shot of a bomber flying over bombed German city (05:18). Interior of a gunner firing a couple rounds at an unseen target (05:36). Less damaged German cityscape, still lining the Rhine; intact bridges (05:40). A gunner waits, tapping his fingers on the gun (06:02). A destroyed bridge, still shrouded in bomb smoke (06:12). Dozens of parachutes drop supplies down to Allied troops (06:25). Supplies being deployed directly from bombers (06:41). More shots of groups of bombers flying very low over German countryside (06:48). Title card reads: “Two Liberators are shot down” (07:15). First plane seen hit by enemy fire amid a group of bombers, angles towards the ground, and then exploding after impact (07:20). Second plane is hit and comes to ground in “a near vertical dive” then explodes (07:30). [Note: a 1979 article by Col. U.P. Harvell indicates two men survived one of these crashes -- tail gunner Louis DeBlasio and waist gunner Robert Vance.] Industrial zone of a city; smokestacks; brick buildings (8:00). Mission completed, a bomber lands with damaged nose gear (8:22). Trucks race to the damaged plane (08:40). Narrator notes “old tail markings of 44th Bomb Group; tail markings changed in the summer of 1944” (08:41). Bomber gets a flat tire after landing, plane seen dipping suddenly (08:58). Bomber landing w/o functioning brakes (09:04). Two planes accidentally landing simultaneously, without functional hydraulics (09:14). USAAF personnel watching landings (09:21). Bomber lands with partial landing gear, plane slides on its belly and spins 180 degrees (09:23). USAAF personnel milling about damaged plane (09:47). Injured crewman being tended to by medics (09:50). Men carrying stretcher across airfield (10:00). Staff car drives across runway (10:13). Crew get donuts and coffee and a reprise of “Sixpence” (10:27). Shot of the 44th Bombardment Group’s patch: a falling, 8-ball shaped bomb with cartoon beak, eyes, and bird wings (10:41).

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com