On September 18, 1944, the United States Eighth Air Force carried out a 110-aircraft supply flight over Warsaw. The city was in active battle against the Nazis occupying their land, and this supply flight, the seventh operation under the codename “Frantic,” was meant to bring vital assistance to the Poles in their fight. American pilots performed shuttle flights from Great Britain, Italy, and the USSR, flying  at dangerous heights to make the drops and avoid detection. Many pilots were shot down and killed or captured, but their mission sent a message that Poland was not alone in its fight for freedom.