Air Force Captain Harold Calvert (Wendell Corey) is sent with other seasoned pilots to train on the new B-29, the next bomber to be introduced into the Pacific skies during WWII. Major Tom West (Forrest Tucker) is running the training school for this upgrade to the B-24. West is a superb teacher, but he is also the target of resentment due to being accused unfairly of cowardice during his last mission. Calvert and West compete for the affections of nurse Helen Landers (Vera Ralston), who is seeing West at the outset but finds herself drawn to the new Captain. Despite questions from D.C. bigwigs about costs and constant propaganda via the infamous Tokyo Rose, the project moves forward. Confessing his demons to Major General Wolfe (Walter Brennan) results in West's reassignment to engineering, his area of expertise. With the overconfident Calvert leading the bombing missions from Guam successfully, West waits for the chance to 'redeem' himself in combat while watching helplessly as Helen gravitates towards Calvert.

This film from Republic Pictures is a tribute to the B-29, the long range bomber that helped win the war in the Pacific. Reliable Allan Dwan directs this attempt to replicate the highly successful SANDS OF IWO JIMA formula for Republic sans John Wayne, with cast members Forrest Tucker, James Brown, Harry Carey and Wally Cassell returning for another tale of the winning of the war in the Pacific. Forrest Tucker gets the role of the commander resented by his men and haunted by past failures, and the film moves from Kansas to China to Guam while preparing for the superfortress' debut. One highlight is the re-creation of Sergeant Henry "Red" Erwin's heroism aboard the B-29. In 1945 Erwin suffered severe burns disposing a white phosphorous bomb during a mission mid-air, saving the lives of his fellow crewmen. This is excellently re-created by Dwan with stuntman David Sharpe portraying Erwin. Wendell Corey's narration tells us about Erwin's Medal of Honor, but the rest of the Sergeant's story is well worth reading up on. Wendell Corey gives his usual solid performance, though he seems miscast as the youngish daredevil. The actor always looked a good ten years older than he really was (37 here; alcohol problems led to his death at 54). He and Tucker would have another romantic triangle, this time with Margaret Lockwood, in LAUGHING ANNE two years later. Oft-maligned Vera Ralston is once again shoehorned into a starring role thanks to her husband owning the studio. Her performance isn't great and she is visibly working in most of her scenes, but she isn't distractingly awful, either. The athletic figure skater looks fetching enough to be a leading lady, especially on the beach. Walter Brennan is, well, Walter Brennan, adding star power to the supporting role of the Major General overseeing the B-29's development. A young Jack Kelly can be seen among the soldiers, and we get ace action director William Witney in a rare acting role, as a new General who embraces Corey's high-risk, high-reward approach.