Great is over used a lot of times to describe something pretty good or even mediocre, but I think this movie, taken in context, IS great. I didn't see the racism that Sargebri@earthlink.net saw, but after all the movie was made in 1943, we were at war with Japan and since they started it, it is understandable that our attitude toward them was pretty edgy.
I always look at characters and the kinds of feelings they create and whether a movie can develop a mood. I think the characters and the mood in "Air Force" do that very well. It shows what a downer war really is (it doesn't make any difference if you are right or wrong)and how much people lose during war. It also emphasizes the futility of it all sometimes when you know you're going to die, but you are willing to do your job anyway. Have to hand it to those guys at Wake Island.
I saw this movie for the first time way back in the 50's and had the pleasure of seeing it again recently. It's STILL a great movie. James Brown who was Tex Raider the pursuit pilot (played Lt. Rip Masters on the TV show Rin Tin Tin) and John Garfield who was Joe Winocki are my favorite characters but like Sargebri it was a hoot to see George Tobias as a young man.