Fighter Pilots & Flight Officers
8 Episodes
This series tells the story of the heroic accomplishments of U.S. military pilots from World War One, Word War Two, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. Topics include dog fights, bombing missions, getting shot down, being a prisoner of war, search and rescue, and what families and friends must endure when a beloved pilot is killed in the line of duty.
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09:42Episode 1
Gianmarco Bellini: Gulf War POW
Episode 1
Directed by Maria Luisa Forenza
On the eve of the Operation Desert Storm in the first Gulf War, the Italian government deployed eight Tornado Fighter-bombers. Gianmarco Bellini was one of the pilots, shot down, captured, abused and returned beat up but able to rise to the rank of General.
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12:22Episode 2
Navigator: Lt. Col. Ken Murray
Episode 2
Directed by Daniel Leonard Bernardi
A former U.S. Air Force air tanker navigator, Lt. Col. Ken Murray’s career takes us from the horrific accident that killed 70 people at an airshow demonstration in Ramstein, Germany to Operation Just Cause in Panama to the Iraq War. Through it all we experien...
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12:20Episode 3
Raoul Lufbery: Fighter Ace
Episode 3
Directed by Alexander Zane Irwin
The story of WWI Pilot Gervais Raoul Lufbery, a triple confirmed WWI ace, mechanic and world traveler. Explores the Lafayette Escadrille squadron, a formation of volunteer pilots serving in France on behalf of the United States whose service marked the early ori...
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Ralph Parr: Fighter Ace of the Twentieth Century
Episode 4
Directed by Alexander Zane Irwin
Ralph Parr flew as a fighter pilot in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam and made the transition from propeller fighter planes to the antecedents of the jets our combat pilots fly today. In addition to rarely seen archival footage, include footage of dog fights, it featur...
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12:04Episode 5
Jack Ensch: Hanoi Hilton POW
Episode 5
Directed by Daniel Leonard Bernardi
Jack "Fingers" Ensch served in the Navy for 30 years. Recounting his experience of getting shot down and held as a POW in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, Jack explains how he was able to move forward from the experience and enjoy a full life.
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06:52Episode 6
John Heroux: Gulf War Fighter Pilot
Episode 6
Directed by David Washburn
In 1991, John Heroux served in Operation Desert Storm, piloting one of forty F16 Fighter Planes sent in to target large manufacturing facilities deep inside Iraq. Looking back on these missions, John explains that pilots, himself included, felt no pride at causing dest...
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09:59Episode 7
LCDR Che Barns: Fallen Brother
Episode 7
Directed by Alexander Zane Irwin
Lieutenant Commander Che Barnes, who died in 2009 after the plane he was flying was struck by U.S. Marine Corps helicopters, is remembered by his two brothers for his passion for flying and saving lives. Barnes and his fellow Coasties and U.S. Marines died in th...
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11:48Episode 8
Fighter Pilots of Vietnam
Episode 8
Directed by Carolina Gratienne
Fighter Pilots of Vietnam tells the story of a gathering of American and Vietnamese fighter pilots almost fifty years after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Veteran pilots talk of their mutual respect as pilots despite their training, aerial combat encounters, a...