I am aware of two fascinating and contrasting (and charming!) documentaries about RAF Bomber Command during World War Two.
The first was Target for Tonight, which was a government propaganda movie made and first-shown in 1941; then seen by vast numbers of people in cinemas during the war.
The context was that the UK had experienced the Battle of Britain the year before, and the German bombing campaign of the Blitz continued into 1941.
Target for Tonight was intended to show Britain as aggressor instead of victim: hitting back at the German mainland.
Furthermore, as is obvious; the film did not use actors but real RAF people.
This was part of the sub-theme of demonstrating the "British way" of fighting the war - getting the job done; in a manner that is calm, efficient, humorous - and without personal hatred.
The bombers are Vickers Wellingtons, usually called Wimpys. This was a two engine, five crew aeroplane, produced in greater numbers than any other UK bomber; rather slow and increasingly outdated; but tough and highly-adaptable, with a good bomb load for a twin-engined aircraft of 4,000 lbs plus.
The Wimpy was a workhorse, and operated effectively in many different environments.
You can see that at this stage, night bombing was very much a matter of a few individual aircraft (in raids measured in tens), each finding its way to the target, as best they could; and using highly unreliable methods of navigation such as "dead reckoning".
Consequently, it was extremely rare for bombs to land within even five miles of the target during night operations - and the precision illustrated in Target for Tonight was almost unknown.
Indeed, in retrospect, it is clear that for at least the first two or three years of the war; in strategic and attritional terms; night bombing was far more damaging to the RAF and Britain than it was to Germany - although the benefit to national morale of perceived "hitting-back" against the enemy also needs to be put into the equation.
The Avro Lancaster is, somewhat by contrast, recognized as the premier heavy bomber of WWII - mainly due to its unmatched bomb carrying capacity (up to 22,000 lbs - but more often about 14,000 lbs).
Compared with the earlier movie; by 1944 RAF night raids had increased by an order of magnitude to hundreds of aircraft, each of which was carrying several fold greater loads of bombs than in 1941.
Furthermore night bombing accuracy had greatly increased by 1944 - due to various radar and radio aides, better training, and "pathfinder" marking.
But, on the other side, German use of radar, flak, searchlights and night fighters had also greatly improved.
Therefore, what had not much changed in 1941 was the mortality rate of RAF bombing aircrews and losses of aircraft, which remained very high all through the war - except in the last few months.
Night Bombers is a movie compiled from multiple short takes colour footage of many aspects of RAF wartime life, filmed with a clockwork silent camera in 1944.
This footage came from an RAF bomber pilot - who later (1981) edited it and added sound effects to make the narrated story of a "virtual" air raid.
The result is a very accomplished, as well as authentic-feeling, little movie; which demonstrates the vast increase in scale and effectiveness of Bomber Command aircraft and operations between early 1941 and three years later.
In both movies, there is a poignancy in reflecting on the dedication of the participants, and the courage of aircrew who suffered appalling mortality and loss rates over a long period (five percent of aircraft failing to return per mission, was regarded as acceptable*).
Such that many of the aircrew depicted in these movies will have died in action; the most famous of whom was probably Percy "Pick" Pickard - playing the pilot of "F for Freddie" in Target for Tonight.
Pickard was one of the greatest and most decorated of WWII RAF Bomber Pilots. He was shot-down and killed during the famous Amiens prison raid.
*This was, almost certainly, untrue in terms of war strategy.
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