The Last Bomb

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Movie
Original title The Last Bomb
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1945
length 35 minutes
Rod
Director Frank Lloyd
production United States Air Force
occupation

The Last Bomb is a 1945 American documentary directed by Frank Lloyd . It deals with the last major bomb attack on the Japanese city ​​of Tokyo by the US Army Air Force during World War II .

B-29 during the attack on Tokyo

content

At the beginning of the film it is told about the planning and preparation of the bombing raids on Tokyo. In Guam , where the strategically important American air force base Andersen Air Force Base is located, not only are numerous aircraft of the United States Air Force stationed, there are also war material and everything that is necessary to carry out the planned attacks. A speaker outlines what will be discussed at the preparatory conferences in which the operations are planned. Details of a five-point plan are discussed and checked off. General Curtis E. LeMay discusses a planned daytime raid on industrial areas in Tokyo with his people. A Boeing B-29 bomber squadron will be used.

Then recordings are shown showing the Air Force machines in action over the various targets over Tokyo. Lots of bombs are dropped at various points over the city, there are no places to be spared. However, the devastating effects caused by the bombing can only be guessed at in the film. The recordings are limited to aerial recordings from cameras attached to the machines.

After the bombers return to the base, there is talk of the danger associated with landing such large planes in times of war that could be fatal. At the end of the film, the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima is faded in and spokesman Reed Hadley points out that thousands of American lives have been saved by preventing a Japanese invasion.

Production and Background

It was filmed in Culver City in California , in Guam , in Tinian , one of the three large islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , and Tokyo in Japan .

The film starts with the display: ". The War Department presents" ( presented The War Department .) It continues: Army Air Forces Combat Camera Units and Special Personnel of the AAF Motion Picture Unit in Technicolor.

In the last two months of World War II , air strikes on Tokyo destroyed over 50% of the city. In the period from December 1944 to August 1945, Tokyo was the target of United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) bomber units over thirty times. There were no more air strikes on any other Japanese city. Some of these attacks are among the most destructive in history. Among other things, the P-51 , an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter aircraft was in use over Tokyo . It was mainly used as a long-range escort fighter for the bomber units against the German Reich and Japan. Boeing B-29 machines were also in use.

Award

In 1946 the film was nominated for an Oscar in the category “Best Documentary” , but could not prevail over the film The True Glory , which deals with the preparations for the Allied invasion of Normandy and its consequences.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Last Bomb at filmaffinity.com (English)
  2. ↑ The 18th Academy Awards | 1946 at oscars.org (English)