Target for Tonight
Encyclopedia
Target for Tonight is a 1941 British documentary film
billed as being filmed by and acted by the Royal Air Force
, all while under fire. It was directed by Harry Watt
. The film revolves for the most part around one crew in a single Wellington
aircraft. The film went on to win an honorary Academy Award in 1942
, and 'Best Documentary' by the National Board of Review in 1941
.
flying over and dropping a box of undeveloped film. Bomber Command
develops the film and analyzes the resulting photographs, which are presented for the audience to see. There has been a massive build-up by German
forces in the subject area for the past few months. The film shows the planning of the mission, even detailing how the bomber wing chooses munitions for the task. The weather forecast is expected to be good, and the pilots are briefed. The crew of "'F' for Freddie", the bomber that is the focal point of the film, suits up and takes off. While over Germany, the crew bombs the target, dead on for one bomb, but is hit by flak from 'faceless' anti-aircraft gunners
. The radio operator is hit in the leg. Freddie is the last aircraft to return. There is mist
covering the water, prompting worry at the Command. Meanwhile, Freddie cannot climb after the flak hit. They are not losing altitude, but are in a bad situation. Tension builds in the film until finally, 'F for Freddie' lands. No aircraft are lost and the mission is a complete success.
and at the real RAF Bomber Command headquarters in High Wycombe
with the then-current head of Bomber Command Sir Richard Peirse
appearing in the film. In order not to give away information to the enemy, RAF Mildenhall took the fictitious name of Millerton Aerodrome, and several other aspects were altered involving the day-to-day operations. Squadron Leader
Dickson, the captain of 'F for Freddie', was played by Percy Pickard
, who went on to lead the real-life Operation Biting
and the later Operation Jericho
raid on Amiens
Prison. The second pilot was played by Gordon Woollatt. Also appearing (and uncredited) is Constance Babington Smith
, who as a serving WAAF officer at the time was responsible for photographic interpretation of aerial reconnaissance
pictures.
Although the film was about a bomber squadron flying Wellingtons the aircraft shown on the movie poster are actually Boulton Paul Defiant
fighters.
, in his novel The Winds of War
, included a Wellington bomber christened "F for Freddie" in an episode of the story. The lead character, American naval captain Victor Henry, flies onboard "F for Freddie" as an observer during a bombing mission over Berlin
. Wouk's fictional narrative evokes portions of the real "F for Freddie's" mission log: one of their bombs hits their target squarely, and flak damages the plane and injures one of their crewmembers in the leg (in the novel, the rear gunner rather than the radio operator). They have trouble holding altitude, but make it back after a long, tense flight over hostile territory.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
billed as being filmed by and acted by the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, all while under fire. It was directed by Harry Watt
Harry Watt (director)
Harry Watt was a Scottish documentary and feature film director, who began his career working for John Grierson and Robert Flaherty. His 1959 film The Siege of Pinchgut was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival...
. The film revolves for the most part around one crew in a single Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
aircraft. The film went on to win an honorary Academy Award in 1942
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
, and 'Best Documentary' by the National Board of Review in 1941
1941 in film
The year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
.
Plot
Before the film, several text cards explain bombers and the Royal Air Force chain of command. The film begins with an observation aircraftAerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...
flying over and dropping a box of undeveloped film. Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
develops the film and analyzes the resulting photographs, which are presented for the audience to see. There has been a massive build-up by German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
forces in the subject area for the past few months. The film shows the planning of the mission, even detailing how the bomber wing chooses munitions for the task. The weather forecast is expected to be good, and the pilots are briefed. The crew of "'F' for Freddie", the bomber that is the focal point of the film, suits up and takes off. While over Germany, the crew bombs the target, dead on for one bomb, but is hit by flak from 'faceless' anti-aircraft gunners
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
. The radio operator is hit in the leg. Freddie is the last aircraft to return. There is mist
Mist
Mist is a phenomenon of small droplets suspended in air. It can occur as part of natural weather or volcanic activity, and is common in cold air above warmer water, in exhaled air in the cold, and in a steam room of a sauna. It can also be created artificially with aerosol canisters if the...
covering the water, prompting worry at the Command. Meanwhile, Freddie cannot climb after the flak hit. They are not losing altitude, but are in a bad situation. Tension builds in the film until finally, 'F for Freddie' lands. No aircraft are lost and the mission is a complete success.
Production
The film was shot at RAF MildenhallRAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force station located at Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as an RAF station, it primarily supports United States Air Force operations and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing...
and at the real RAF Bomber Command headquarters in High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
with the then-current head of Bomber Command Sir Richard Peirse
Richard Peirse
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Edmund Charles Peirse KCB DSO AFC , was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:...
appearing in the film. In order not to give away information to the enemy, RAF Mildenhall took the fictitious name of Millerton Aerodrome, and several other aspects were altered involving the day-to-day operations. Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
Dickson, the captain of 'F for Freddie', was played by Percy Pickard
Percy Charles Pickard
Group Captain Percy Charles "Pick" Pickard DSO & Two Bars, DFC, was a British bomber pilot and commander during World War II. He is best remembered by the public for his role in the 1941 wartime propaganda film Target for Tonight in which he featured as the pilot of 'F for Freddie' – a Wellington...
, who went on to lead the real-life Operation Biting
Operation Biting
Operation Biting, also known as the Bruneval Raid, was the codename given to a British Combined Operations raid on a German radar installation in Bruneval, France that occurred between 27–28 February 1942 during World War II...
and the later Operation Jericho
Operation Jericho
Operation Jericho was a low-level World War II bombing raid by Allied aircraft on Amiens Prison in German-occupied France on 18 February 1944. The stated object of the raid was to free French Resistance and political prisoners. The raid is remarkable for the precision and daring of the attack,...
raid on Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
Prison. The second pilot was played by Gordon Woollatt. Also appearing (and uncredited) is Constance Babington Smith
Constance Babington Smith
Constance Babington Smith MBE Legion of Merit FRSL was a journalist and writer.Babington Smith was the daughter of the senior Civil Servant Henry Babington Smith. She was educated at home at Chinthurst, England and in France, before moving to London in adult life...
, who as a serving WAAF officer at the time was responsible for photographic interpretation of aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...
pictures.
Although the film was about a bomber squadron flying Wellingtons the aircraft shown on the movie poster are actually Boulton Paul Defiant
Boulton Paul Defiant
The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force early in the Second World War. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any forward-firing guns. It was a contemporary of the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc...
fighters.
Popular culture
Herman WoukHerman Wouk
Herman Wouk is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author of novels including The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War, and War and Remembrance.-Biography:...
, in his novel The Winds of War
The Winds of War
The Winds of War is Herman Wouk's second book about World War II, the first being The Caine Mutiny . Published in 1971, it was followed up seven years later by War and Remembrance; originally conceived as one volume, Wouk decided to break it in two when he realized it took nearly 1000 pages just to...
, included a Wellington bomber christened "F for Freddie" in an episode of the story. The lead character, American naval captain Victor Henry, flies onboard "F for Freddie" as an observer during a bombing mission over Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Wouk's fictional narrative evokes portions of the real "F for Freddie's" mission log: one of their bombs hits their target squarely, and flak damages the plane and injures one of their crewmembers in the leg (in the novel, the rear gunner rather than the radio operator). They have trouble holding altitude, but make it back after a long, tense flight over hostile territory.