Ok I have to ask who saw Red Tails

[Dan Johnson II]

Haven't seen it yet myself, but I do have a quick question. Did pilots in WWII use the modern "callsign" nicknames? I though they generally used some assigned code like "Red Four" or somesuch. I thought indivudual pilots having callsigns like "Lightning" or "Maverick" was more of a modern (Vietnam and later) thing. I'm sure the various pilots probably had nicknames for one another, but were they used in com traffic during combat?

SN

I agree Steve.

When Maj Thomas McGuire flew his last mission, his flight was "Daddy" flight. Daddy Leader (McGuire), Daddy 2 (Weaver), Daddy 3 (Rittemyer), Daddy 4 (Thropp).

From what I remember from my reading, this is how USAAF did it. I think they changed these up and did not use the same names all the time. I don't recall reading about USAAF pilots having individual/personalized Call Signs.

The only thing that comes to mind are the individual code names for Group Commanders or Wing Leaders. Don Blakeslee we generally remember as "Horseback". Douglas Bader of RAF tin legs fame was "Dogsbody". Johnnie Johnson "Greycap", but not individual pilots beyond that.

[the330thbg]

My father's call sign was 'Bald Eagle 29". His squadron was 'Bald Eagle' and his aircraft had a large '29' on the side of her.

[Django]

Here's a video on shooting the cockpit scenes...

http://www.3dtotal.com/index_news_detai ... yGAjRzIyj1

[cooper9411]

Very entertaining, just like the movie.

[the330thbg]

Hey.., Lucas is not ALL that bad!!

He certainly liked the B-29!

[Jollygreenslugg]

Nice view of the Millennium Falcon's Martin Baker bang seats. Ex-Vampire...

Cheers,
Matt

[Steve T]

Ten pages and still not a slangfest. (Unlike Key, unfortunately...) Bravo guys!

I think callsigns and personal nicknames are being (deliberately?) confused by the folks making the films. Hauled out my copy of Robert Rose's little Tuskegee book "Lonely Eagles" after watching Mr Lucas' version of the story last Friday, and it appears about a third of the first several classes of Airmen did indeed have nicknames, as appear in both Lucas' and HBO's films. However the nicknames wouldn't normally have been used as callsigns per se; used in radio chatter, yes, but not as code. I think. However I wasn't there...

Re the "P-51H", I recall going "whoa" at one point during a CGI sequence of a '51 coming in to land. For some reason it looked like one of those halfscale replicas. The canopy was absolutely huge...not differently shaped like a TF-51, just way oversized. It reminded me, not so much of an H, but of the other lightweight Mustang variants, the XP-51F/G/J, with their big long streamlined canopies. That may be the scene in question.

As to George Lucas purloining sequences from old war films for "Star Wars", he did so quite deliberately...as a fan himself, he was paying tribute and injecting some inside-joke humour as well. (The carpet of receding lettering outlining the plot preamble at the start of each Episode of the SW series is also filched...from a 1933 Flash Gordon short! I laughed out loud when the original Flash Gordon bit appeared in a TV doc about Star Wars.) The comparison of the B-29 and Millennium Falcon flightdeck glazing is pretty amusing too...

"Red Tails" isn't my cup of tea. But it was never supposed to be. It apparently did decently at the box office in its opening weekend; I hope it scores with its target audience...and does for World War II aviation what "Top Gun" did for the Tomcat set: spark a higher level of interest in it than would have been the case without the film. For those of us who prefer a closer-to-documentary film about the Airmen, HBO's is really pretty good; and it's a cinch that anyone who sees Lucas' version and is intrigued by the underlying story will seek out and watch the earlier film too. And that, too, would be a good thing.

Incidentally, who's seen the companion documentary "Double Victory", how well done is that and will it also be released on DVD?

Oh, and Dan J, assuming you're the same gent with that name over on Key, you should post that shot of your "mini-me" Red Tail pilot here on WIX too...'tis exceedingly cute! (Actually, I bet WD would like that pic for their recurring "Youth in Aviation" photo series.)

S.

[Steve Nelson]

I did catch the "Double Victory" documentary..it's pretty good. I thought the title was a bit more of Lucasian melodrama, but apparently "Double Victory" was a slogan coined by the black press during the war in referring to the Tuskegee Airmen. The aerial footage was a bit of a mish-mash of archive stuff, but for the most part at least they got the correct types. I hope they documentary is packaged as an "extra" when Red Tails is released on home video.

SN

[kalamazookid]

I just got back from seeing Red Tails. I enjoyed it.

Was it corny? Of course... but no more so than some of the old classics. Find me a war movie that isn't cliche' in some way and I'll buy you a beer.

Was it overly heroic? Of course... but so are nearly all the old war movies we all saw as kids. If you honestly think this was more overly heroic than Flying Tigers, or Sands of Iwo, or pretty much any other movie John Wayne ever starred in, you need to get off your high horse. But then again, those are "classics" so maybe they are beyond reproach

Were there historical inaccuracies? Sure... but they weren't any worse than the Hellcats in Midway, or the Spitfire MK IXs in Battle of Britain.

The dialogue was a little awkward, but I have seen very few war movies where it isn't. The heroic, macho dialogue is played up in so many movies that it doesn't bother me anymore. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as Pearl Harbor in this regard.

The CGI was very good in some areas, and poor in others. In some parts, it was difficult to tell whether real aircraft were being used or not. Many of CGI scenes looked slightly like a video game or flight simulator, but at least everything was accurately shaped for the most part. There were only a couple angles and scenes that really seemed off. The on ground sets were spectacular. There were so many interesting uniforms and equipment to look at that I found myself getting distracted from the plot.

I was entertained. I don't think it's any worse than any of the classic war movies my Dad showed me when I was growing up. It was a very entertaining way to spend an afternoon, and I'll probably pick it up on DVD when it comes out. I just hope I'm not as grumpy and cynical about everything as some of you are by then

[Lynn Allen]

Ok a different direction with a question, are you all going to buy the DVD when it comes out? Me, yes...

[cooper9411]

No! I'll wait to someone I know buys it and then borrow it whenever I have the urge to watch it.

[Jesse C.]

Ok a different direction with a question, are you all going to buy the DVD when it comes out? Me, yes...

If I do, it has to be Blue Ray! Hopefully they will include a DTS soundtrack and not just THX!

[kalamazookid]

I'll definitely pick it up, just probably after the price comes down. I rarely buy new releases anyway.

[Randy Haskin]

Realize that, in the current context, there is a big difference between the callsigns that are a pilot's nickname and the callsigns that a pilot uses over the radio when he flies. They are most definitely not the same thing, unless there is a big coincidence.

[mazdaP5]

Just saw it today with my Parents, and was surely entertained. It was corny, but funny alot, and the audience seemed to like it, so good time all in all.
I thought the 109's looked good. There were plenty of nits to pick, like the crumple wings when any milti engine got shot down, but not enough to take away from a fun afternoon.