Bombardier

In 1941 a staff meeting in Washington, D.C. pits Major Chick Davis against Capt. Buck Oliver over the value of bombardiers and the top-secret bombsight. They challenge each other to a 'bombing duel,' and Davis demonstrates his theory by hitting a distant target from 20,000 feet, while Oliver misses at altitude with a dive-bomber attempt. The exchange plants the central debate about who should lead the air striking force.

Davis arrives with M/Sgt. Archie Dixon to take command of the bombardier training school. He is introduced to a crowd of civilian women clerks, including Burton 'Burt' Hughes, the secretary daughter of a respected general, whose presence unsettles him. Davis remains brusque with Burt, who notes he could use some manners.

As a new cadet class arrives, Captain Buck Oliver leads them alongside Burt's brother Tom Hughes and Burt, who have a past romance with Oliver. Davis tries to smooth over the evolving relationships by attempting to make amends with Burt. The tension foreshadows personal conflicts amid the training program.

Preflight ground school reveals the class's weak points: Tom Hughes struggles with fear-induced air sickness, Joe Connors grapples with commitment issues, and Chito Rafferty complains about the lack of women on base. The instructors note these faults could derail their prospects as bombardiers. The atmosphere grows stricter as expectations rise. The seeds of tragedy begin to take root in the training.

Connors warns Davis that a spy wants to buy information about the bombsight, a top-secret device. Davis helps lure the spy into a trap, and the would-be buyer is arrested. The incident reinforces the importance of security around the bombsight.

During a bailout drill, Tom Hughes panics and refuses to jump while a crew member must bail out. Jim Carter crash-lands the aircraft, claiming he panicked, but Tom later confesses. Facing an elimination board, Tom persuades them to give him a second chance.

On a subsequent flight, Oliver battles oxygen deprivation and nearly tosses Carter out of the bomb bay without a parachute. In the same sequence, Tom Hughes dies saving Carter's life. The tragedy hardens the unit's outlook and pushes Burt toward a new resolve.

Wracked by guilt and unable to face Burt, Oliver transfers out of the bombardier program. The emotional fallout sharpens the personal costs of command and training. Burt's affections shift as the war intensifies.

When Pearl Harbor brings America into war, Davis is promoted to colonel and becomes a B-17 group commander. He awkwardly proposes to Burt, who turns him down, while new bombardiers Carter, Connors, Rafferty, and Harris depart for a secret island base in the Pacific. Burt kisses Jim Carter goodbye, revealing she has chosen him.

Oliver, now a major, joins the group just as it is about to fly a night mission to Nagoya. He is assigned to drop incendiaries to start fires, a half hour before the main group arrives, while Connors serves as his bombardier and Dixon as his tailgunner. The mission tests their nerves and loyalty under a brutal deadline.

Flying low, Oliver's bomber is shot down before he can drop the incendiaries. Connors remains at his post and sacrifices his life to destroy the bombsight, removing a key intelligence asset from enemy hands. The surviving crew continues the mission, hoping to fulfill the objective despite the setback.

Oliver and Dixon are captured by Japanese troops. The other crew members are executed to coerce Oliver and Dixon into revealing the base location, but Dixon fights to escape and is machine-gunned. In a final act of sacrifice, Oliver drives a burning gasoline truck through the factory, setting fires and fulfilling the mission even though he faces certain death. The B-17 group fights off Japanese fighters and destroys the target.

The Nagoya mission concludes with a hard-won victory for the B-17 group as fighters are repelled and the target is destroyed. Dixon is killed during the escape attempt, and Connors’ earlier sacrifice of the bombsight is remembered as a key turn in the mission. The unit reflects on leadership, sacrifice, and the heavy costs of war.