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Dating to 1944-45, these silent films contain a record of Luftwaffe pilot kills over Europe. These kind of “gun camera“ films were used both to document and verify kills and probables, but also to assess the techniques used in the dogfights. The film contains various encounters beginning with an attack by an Fw-190 on a Lagg 5, or Lavochkin La-5 This was one of the Soviet Air Force's most capable types of warplane, able to fight German designs on an equal footing. In this case however the Soviet pilot was shot out of the sky. At 1:25 is footage of the shoot down of a P-38 Lightning by an Fw-190. At 2:30, a B-24 Liberator is attacked by a Bf-109 / Me-109. At 3:34, an attack by an Fw-190 on a Boeing B-17. This approach is typical, from the rear and aimed at the engines and tail gunner. At 4:29 and 4:50, 5:19, 5:55, 6:17, more Fw-190 attacks on the B-17. The attack at 7:43 is very close, likely indicating that the tail gun on the bomber was put out of action. Around 7:42 you can see a large piece of aircraft depart (or possibly someone bailing out through a roof hatch?) At 7:54, 8:39, 9:37, Fw-190 vs. B-24 Liberator. At 9:56, in an astonishing sequence, a Liberator takes a severe beating and is wracked with explosions of cannon fire. The aircraft that were being used in the film are the FW-190 and the Messerschmitt Bf 109. The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger (English: Shrike) is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Focke-Wulf 190 Würger became the backbone of the Luftwaffe's Jagdwaffe (Fighter Force). The twin-row BMW 801 radial engine that powered most operational versions enabled the Fw 190 to lift larger loads than the Bf 109, allowing its use as a day fighter, fighter-bomber, ground-attack aircraft and, to a lesser degree, night fighter. The Bf-109 was a German World War II fighter aircraft that was the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the dawn of the jet age at the end of World War II in 1945. It was one of the most advanced fighters of the era, including such features as all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, and retractable landing gear. It was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine. The G-6 variant (indicated in the title cards in the film) was nicknamed by Luftwaffe personnel as Die Beule (“the bump/bulge“) because of the cowling's characteristic, bulging covers for the breeches of the 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns, with the separate Beule covers eliminated by the time of the G-10 model's introduction of a subtly reshaped upper cowling. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example like: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ 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 and 2k. For more information visit
