Missions That Changed the War - Season 1 (2010)

A seemingly insignificant mission that, in historical retrospect, had a pivotal affect on the war with Japan.

Gunther Rall was one of the highest-scoring fighter aces in Germany. Hub Zemke was the commander of the 56th Fighter Group, the deadliest fighter outfit in the Eighth Air Force. They met in battle on 12 May 12, 1944, a day that altered the course of WWII.

June 1940: Germany launches its fateful invasion of the Soviet Union. Interviews with Luftwaffe fighter pilot and commander Gunther Rall - seen for the first time anywhere - reveal the savagery, folly, and betrayal of Hitler's failed conquest of the East.

The War in the West: The doctrine of strategic bombing, developed before the war, is tested by the American Eighth Air Force and British Royal Air Force. Through exclusive interviews, Robert "Shorty" Rankin and others profile Hub Zemke's "Wolf Pack."

Nazi Armaments Minister Albert Speer will later call it the day that Germany lost the war. May 12, 1944 brings a fateful encounter between Zemke, Rall, and Rankin, revealed in exclusive first-hand interviews.

A series of bombing missions utilizing make-shift rope slings to carry Russian 500 lb bombs under war-weary aircraft, in historical retrospect, had prevented the fall of China and the linking up of Japan's Army with Nazi Forces in North Africa.

A series of bombing missions utilizing make-shift rope slings to carry Russian 500 lb bombs under war-weary aircraft, in historical retrospect, had prevented the fall of China and the linking up of Japan's Army with Nazi Forces in North Africa.

A series of bombing missions utilizing make-shift rope slings to carry Russian 500 lb bombs under war-weary aircraft, in historical retrospect, had prevented the fall of China and the linking up of Japan's Army with Nazi Forces in North Africa.

A series of bombing missions utilizing make-shift rope slings to carry Russian 500 lb bombs under war-weary aircraft, in historical retrospect, had prevented the fall of China and the linking up of Japan's Army with Nazi Forces in North Africa.