Air Force

film by Hawks [1943]

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July 20, 2026

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Air Force is a 1943 American war film directed by Howard Hawks. The film focuses on the heroic crew of a B-17 bomber during World War II. It highlights the experiences and camaraderie of the airmen as they undertake dangerous missions deep into enemy territory. The film is noted for its realistic portrayal of aerial combat and the psychological toll of war on soldiers, a theme also explored in films like Twelve O'Clock High. Hawks, a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps, brought his firsthand knowledge to this patriotic depiction of wartime aviation.

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Howard Hawks
Films of the 1940s
The patriotic Air Force (1943) transposed Hawks’s Air Corps experience and men-at-work ethos to World War II, with John Garfield, Gig Young, and Arthur Kennedy as part of the heroic crew of a B-17 bomber.
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The patriotic Air Force (1943) transposed Hawks’s Air Corps experience and men-at-work ethos to World War II, with John Garfield, Gig Young, and Arthur Kennedy as part of the heroic crew of a B-17 bomber.
Read More