P-40 refreshers

John-Curtiss Paul · **Posted:** Tue Jul 08, 2008 12:41 pm

They were steel and plastic construction airplanes with real Allisons and real Curtiss Electric props...They used a crude remote control to throttle the engines up to power but had no idea or concept of the torque. This is why you see the P-40's go wildly out of control and almost kill some of the extras. Those actors were not acting in those scenes when the P-40's were powering up and going out of control...they were running for their lives. The prop you see flying across the ramp was real! :shock:

Saville · **Joined:** Tue Jun 28, 2005 8:45 am **Posts:** 520

Wow I never noticed a prop flying out of control - I'll have to look for that.

Thanks!

Nathan · **Posted:** Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:34 pm

Also note on the second P-40 crash went it slammed into the parked P-40s was a bouncing Allison engine that looks like it almost hit an actor. yiks! :shock:

Bill Greenwood · **Posted:** Tue Jul 08, 2008 7:56 pm

"No concept of Torque"? Did they let jet pilots fly these P-40s in the movie?

Jack Cook · **Posted:** Tue Jul 08, 2008 9:22 pm

Tomahawk Heros

2Lt Varian Keefer White 20th PS 1941 Silver Star

2Lt Sam Bishop 44th PS Pearl Harbor Silver Star

2Lt Jim Van Nada 72nd PS 2 kills

Steve Nelson · **Posted:** Tue Jul 08, 2008 9:49 pm

The single-tail B-25 destroyed in the hangar was indeed a real aircraft. It's listed in the registry, but I don't recall the N-number. Apparently, it was a derelict bought by the studio..Mitchells were still relatively cheap and plentiful in 1968.

At least one of the PBYs that was blown up appears to be a fiberglas shell. You can see a huge crack in the bottom of the hull, and there are just flat plates inside the engine cowls.

SN

John-Curtiss Paul · **Posted:** Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:29 pm

There were not actual human beings in the cockpits of the fake P-40's that were being destroyed Bill. Do I really need to clarify the "remote control" portion of my post?

Steve Nelson · **Posted:** Wed Jul 09, 2008 1:58 am

I listened to the commentary track on T-3. The director said that the problem with the P-40 fakes was that the only steering they had was with the brakes. Apparently, nobody realized that when the planes got up to speed, those wings would generate lift. Once one wheel left the ground, all control was lost. The one that plows into the line of parked aircraft was a complete accident. Since it was already wired with explosives, the special effects guys blew it up before it could kill anybody. It was still a close call..all those guys in the scene really were scrambling for cover! You'll note that same shot is seen from at least three different angles in the final film. What's interesting is after it blows up, you can see the box-tube and plywood structure that held the fiberglas shell together.

T-3 is still probably one of my all-time favorite WWII films. The acting and cinematography seem a bit staged and "theatrical" by today's standards, but it's still far more believable and historically accurate than the abomition released a few years ago.

SN

Nathan · **Posted:** Wed Jul 09, 2008 7:27 am

wow Jack. Any way I could get a copy of Sam Bishop?

Saville · **Joined:** Tue Jun 28, 2005 8:45 am **Posts:** 520

John-Curtiss Paul wrote:

They were steel and plastic construction airplanes with real Allisons and real Curtiss Electric props...They used a crude remote control to throttle the engines up to power but had no idea or concept of the torque. This is why you see the P-40's go wildly out of control and almost kill some of the extras. Those actors were not acting in those scenes when the P-40's were powering up and going out of control...they were running for their lives. The prop you see flying across the ramp was real! :shock:

Wait a minute.....

Which movie are you talking about? Are you talking about "Tora"? I was asking about the fake P-40's in "Flying Tigers" with John Wayne.

The Inspector · **Posted:** Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:17 am

the canvas tigers used in that John Wayne epic 'Flying Tigers' were, at a time when the USAAF had about 346,261 P-40's parked all over America, made of tubing and canvas and powered by I believe, Chevrolet 216 C.I. 6 cylinder car engines. :oops:

For some reason the War Dept. refused to loan Repulsive...er..Republic Studios any P-40's for the filming even though it took place in beautiful Simi Valley not far from where all those Republic 'B' Westerns were all shot.

Counter that with the shots of 'F' model P-40's in 'God is my Co-Pilot', suppose those Merlin powered airframes might have made a difference in China? :roll:

Django · **Posted:** Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:30 am

The Inspector wrote:

the canvas tigers used in that John Wayne epic 'Flying Tigers' were, at a time when the USAAF had about 346,261 P-40's parked all over America, made of tubing and canvas and powered by I believe, Chevrolet 216 C.I. 6 cylinder car engines. :oops:

:

What?? Did any survive?

The Inspector · **Posted:** Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:49 am

Don't have any info, but my guess would be no. Republic was a pretty penny pinching outfit so I'll bet the 'airplanes' were recycled in some way for another movie and the engines probably went back to the junkyard or wherever they were sourced from-Does anyone have any further info on Republic Studios??

Second Air Force · **Posted:** Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:53 pm

Cripes/Nathan,

That's a P-63--the horizontal tailplane is shaped differently on the P-39.

Dan Jones · **Posted:** Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:47 pm

Slightly off topic but just to show you what can still happen: I walked into a surplus/camping gear place three years ago and found a complete P-40 tailwheel hub up on a shelf and bought it for $5. It's since gone to a project in NZ.

Keep your eyes open!

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