Arquivo

Documentary on the participation of Brazilian pilots in Second World War. This is the first part of a trilogy that includes films on the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB), on the Brazilian Army and on the Navy. The First Brazilian Fighter Plane Aviation Group, consisting of volunteers who fought against the Nazi forces, disembarked in the Port of Livorno, in Italy, on October 6, 1944. The group consisted of 466 persons: 49 pilots and 417 men for support on land. The Brazilian pilots flew in their P-47 Thunderbolt fighter planes until 1945 and destroyed 85% of the deposits of munitions and 70% of the troop vehicles of the Third Reich in the Po Valley. Altogether, the Group took part in over 2,550 missions. Interviews with war veterans, the majority of these in their eighties, pictures from files, photographs of the time and illustrations make up the documentary. Twenty-three are interviewed including pilots, support personnel, and other military personnel connected to the air squadron, their motto being: "To pitch themselves against the enemy with decision, accurate vision, and the desire to annihilate."