''Target-Invisible'' is a 1945 documentary

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

produced by the

First Motion Picture Unit The 18th AAF Base Unit (Motion Picture Unit), originally known as the First Motion Picture Unit, Army Air Forces, was the primary film production unit of the U.S. Army Air Forces (AAF) during World War II, and was the first military unit mad ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The film depicts the uses of radar in aerial direction-finding and precision high-level bombing by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during World War II. At the end of ''Target-Invisible'', the air force narrator (

Arthur Kennedy John Arthur Kennedy (February 17, 1914January 5, 1990) was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage", especially in the origi ...

) thanks Americans for their contributions to the war effort but even though the war is over. The film mentions the dropping of the

atom bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

in August 1945. The plea is for Americans to help win the peace by supporting scientific efforts through buying Victory Loan war bonds.

Plot

In 1945, a

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

squadron of bombers flies from their base in the

Marianas The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

on their mission to attack a target in Japan. Although the target will be invisible due to overcast conditions, the mission will continue as a high-altitude bombing raid. After six hours of flight time, the

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

operator (

Clayton Moore Clayton Moore (born Jack Carlton Moore, September 14, 1914 – December 28, 1999) was an American actor best known for playing the fictional western character the Lone Ranger from 1949 to 1952 and 1953 to 1957 on the television series of the sa ...

) is able to identify the islands that lie off the coast of

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

. Directions from the radar operator to the bombardier help guide the B-29 to its ultimate target. The pilot is also given discrete flight adjustments to fly directly to the objective. After arriving above the target at 23,000 ft altitude, although obscured by a thick cloud cover, the bombardier uses the

Norden bombsight The Norden Mk. XV, known as the Norden M series in U.S. Army service, is a bombsight that was used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and the United States Navy during World War II, and the United States Air Force in the Korean and t ...

to aim, before releasing the bomb load. The attack is successful with widespread destruction of the Kiyoshi aircraft plant located north of Tokyo.

Cast

as Air force narrator (Uncredited) *

as B-29 radar operator (Uncredited) B-29 in flight

Production

''Target-Invisible'' was produced for the Motion Pictures and Special Events Division of the War Finance Division,

U.S. Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

. The short has an orchestral score, and has a combination of live-action shot in the

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

studios and stock combat footage of B-29s.

Intended Purpose and Audience

''Target-Invisible'' was typical of the films of the period produced under the auspices of the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

.Koppes and Black 1987, p. 58. In the closing minute, the narrator states that the movie's purpose is to encourage the post-WWII public to buy bonds so that scientists can continue to develop inventions like radar for the security of the nation at peace.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Koppes, Clayton R. and Gregory D. Black. ''Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits and Propaganda Shaped World War II Movies''. New York, The Free Press, 1987. . * Moore, Clayton and Frank Thompson. ''I Was That Masked Man''. New York: Taylor Trade Publishing;, 1998. .

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1337029
Complete film at Google Video
1945 films American World War II propaganda shorts American aviation films First Motion Picture Unit films Articles containing video clips American black-and-white films American short documentary films 1940s short documentary films 1940s American films