Target for Tonight

A very realistic film although one has to get used to the old English accents which are rarely heard these days. The pilot of F for Freddy was ultimately to be Gp Capt P C Pickard, DSO, DFC, at this time playing a Sergeant Dixon, although I am unsure of that. Pickard became one of the best specialists at pin point low level missions, mainly using Mosquitos and a great air leader. In 1944 AVM Basil Embry, selected him to lead the raid on Amiens prison, a raid of very great daring. Unfortunately after his run to the target a FW190 attached itself to his tail and he was shot down. Gp Capt P C Pickard, aged 28 years of age and his navigator Flight Lieutenant J. A. 'Bill' Broadley, aged 23 years old, were killed. Rest in peace.

I remember seeing this film when I was boy which made me as well as many other youngsters want to join the RAF

I know it was made by the Crown Film Unit and I think it was directed by Harry Watt who was a well known documentary producer and director. The skipper of the crew was Flying Officer Pickard, unfortunately "F" for Freddy was shot down late in the war with the loss of all the crew.

The comment made by most subscribers are very fair, though I cannot agree that the film was "Laughable" as on person put it. I always thought the US war films were more unreal than the UK equivalents. Usually about one man saving an entire army. Example Errol Flynn in the Burmese jungle.

Another good propaganda film was "The Way Ahead" a movie about the Brtish Army which was more fictional than "Target" but based on fact. Has anyone seen it?

I would like to know if a copy of Target for Tonight is available as I would very much like to see it again.

Much of the British wartime propaganda produced by the GPO Unit and then its successor The Crown Film Unit portrayed the British as doughty, courageous victims of German aggression. This film was rather different in concentrating on Bomber Command of sinister memory, which. for all the tea-drinking, pipe-smoking conviviality. would prove the most aggressive part of the British military machine. In 1941, as shown in the film, Bomber Command still concentrated on military targets but would greatly extend its remit from 1942 onwards to engage in more indiscriminate strategic bombing, causing the death of an estimated half a million civilian by the end of the war and being the first, after the US, to introduce the charming novelty of roasting its victims alive with napalm (invented in the US in 1942).

Although this film was awarded an Oscar, it is not one of the Unit's best. While it follows the policy initiated by Brazilian Alberto Cavalcanti (in charge of the GPO Unit and ten the Crown Film Unit after the departure of John Grierson to Canada in 1937) of using non-actors but Cavalcanti left the Unit in 1941 for Ealing Studios (because of its increasingly propagandist slant, he was required to become a British citizen which he refused to do) and the lack of his very special talent (as supervising producer) with sound and the orchestration of dialogue is apparent here. South African born Ian Dalrymple, who took over, was essentially a scriptwriter without the same technical expertise. A companion piece, Coastal Command, directed by Jack Holmes has music by Vaughan-Williams but suffers from similar defects and a rather unfortunate commentary.

A much better film is Watt's 1940 Squadron 992 about a much less well known aspect of the war (the balloon squadrons), quirky and very Scottish with some superb photography (the cinematographer, Jonas Jones, is the same) and a cracking deadpan commentary written by broadcaster Donald McCullough ("a balloon on the ground looks a bit like an elephant that has had bad news").

About 45 minutes short but good, this film takes the viewer through the phases of a bombing mission, starting with the recon photos being dropped by a light bomber in the morning, retrieved by an officer at the base, developed and examined and then the mission being planned by the squadron operations officers.

From there the strategy is laid out: F for Freddy will go in first and hit the target (an oil refinery) with incendiary bombs, the others will follow in a stream about 15 minutes apart and target the fire at the refinery and hopefully destroy the surrounding structures.

The focus of the movie now turns to F for Freddy. The Wellington bomber launches, follows its designed path, hits the target and is itself hit by anti-aircraft fire. The other bombers encounter bad weather and have to turn back, while F for Freddy struggles to get home on a bad engine and with a wounded radio operator. Reaching the base, the crippled bomber finds the airstrip socked in with thick fog, so they land blind, with only oil-burning lamps to mark the runway.

The real heroes of the film are the RAF aircrew who do a pretty good job of acting (though you can tell the boys are real cut-ups and hamming it up a bit for the camera). Aviation enthusiasts and fans of WW2 will enjoy seeing the old Wellingtons flying around. Military historians will appreciate the details that go in to planning the bombing strike, right down to the fake attacks by aircraft over the Channel, designed to keep the Luftwaffe from intercepting the real strike over Germany.

Worth a look if you can find a copy of the film. I found mine in an Experimental Aircraft Association museum gift shop.

This film I believe the was one of the first in a series made during the Second World war using only serving forces personnel and not actors . The crew of F for Freddie were skippered by Squadron Leader Pickard . I think one of the subtle messages that comes across is the informal method of command within the crew for they all knew that their lives depended upon the skills and performance of each other . The crew captain's role was to ensure they worked as a team and this film demonstrates aspect this well . It indeed would be interesting to know if any of the crew survived the war . Regrettably I do know that Group Captain Pickard , as he became , was killed in action about four years after the film was made . His last operation was the bombing of the Amiens Jail to release imprisoned French Resistance Fighters . The raid involved precision bombing by Mosquitoe Bombers to create breaches in the perimeter walls and demolish German Guard buildings . The raid was a success and over 100 Resistance Fighters escaped . Group Captain Pickard was killed during the return journey to England .