New Red Tails trailer

I am looking forward to the release of the "Red Tails" movie next month, but I am bothered by something.

From what I have seen in the "Red Tails" trailers, it seems that all the CGI Tuskegee Airmen fighters are P-40's and P-51D's. I am wondering if they bothered to do any scenes with the iconic P-51B/C's which from everything I know were prominently used for a good part of 1944. I could understand P-51D's being prominent if they were relying on real airplanes for the movie, but with CGI they could have created ANY aircraft type they wanted.


Does anyone know if a P-51B/C Mustang is featured anywhere in the movie? A real shame if not.

[Jerry O'Neill]

They had three or four P-51's and I think two P-40's when they were filming a few years ago. I think to ease the production, they didn't bother to have "B's" or "C's". It doesn't really help the story plus the highback P-51's are not very plentiful. Film-wise, it makes sense.
Jerry

They had three or four P-51's and I think two P-40's when they were filming a few years ago. I think to ease the production, they didn't bother to have "B's" or "C's". It doesn't really help the story plus the highback P-51's are not very plentiful. Film-wise, it makes sense.
Jerry

I think it would have been a real plus to have created some CGI P-51C's for the production (and they could have done some of the Tuskegee Razorback P-47D's also). And they could have filmed a few scenes in the U.S. with the restored flying Red Tail P-51C. In my mind there is no point in creating CGI aircraft for an historical movie if you don't depict historically accurate aircraft. I know it is not a documentary and I know that Hollywood has to have a "story," but I think they missed an opportunity here.

[Jesse C.]

They had three or four P-51's and I think two P-40's when they were filming a few years ago. I think to ease the production, they didn't bother to have "B's" or "C's". It doesn't really help the story plus the highback P-51's are not very plentiful. Film-wise, it makes sense.
Jerry

I think it would have been a real plus to have created some CGI P-51C's for the production (and they could have done some of the Tuskegee Razorback P-47D's also). And they could have filmed a few scenes in the U.S. with the restored flying Red Tail P-51C. In my mind there is no point in creating CGI aircraft for an historical movie if you don't depict historically accurate aircraft. I know it is not a documentary and I know that Hollywood has to have a "story," but I think they missed an opportunity here.

First we must remember that they are not airplane geeks like us. Second, I am sure that the CGI animators worked with the planes they had as their models, and those where D's and thirdly, I am sure only a very small portion of those that see the movie will even know what kind of planes they really flew or are flying for the most part.

Lets just hope the plot line does not suck as bad as Pearl Harbor!

I will go see it in the theater, maybe good box office will equate to more history finally being put back on film! Or Digital.

[cooper9411]

They were trying to focus on the story of the pilots and what they went through. All of us can watch any television show or movies that has an aircraft in it and instantly we can tell what it is. Not everyone has that super hero capability. I agree it would have and should have included earlier models of the P-51 and at least some shots of a P-47. In any case it still looks like it will be a decent movie.

[the330thbg]

Looking forward to it either way.

CGI from the previews looks great.

Should look really nice on the big screen with the sounds and vibrations.

[PhantomAce08]

I finally saw the trailer on TV today. While we would all like to see more accurate physics in the planes, it doesn't make for the best movie material. I've been to many air shows that include mock "dogfights", and it is awesome to see, hear, and take in. However, any actual combat moves (aside from from planes trailer each other closely as a "dogfight") are performed far apart and to the point that you lose all detail of the planes. This makes for an awful viewing experience when on a movie screen or TV. Similar to the many complaints on Top Gun about the jets being too close in the filming to be accurate, concessions have to be made to fit this type of action into a movie.

I do agree that they should have used the B/C models as well. If you can "make up" anything, why not do it right?

[mustangdriver]

I think it will be a good movie. A good night to go out, get dinner with the wife, and see a film. Just like Pearl Harbor, it will get a younger generation to take note of this piece of history. If they get introduced to it and want to learn more, there are plenty of places for them to turn. Movies like this are just a taste of the story, but they are needed to get folks that wouldn't normally be interested in the subject to take notice.
If all else fails, I just hope it as good as Thunder Over Reno.

[CoastieJohn]

I wonder how historically accurate the movie will be towards TA's true bomber escort facts? Does anyone know?

[kalamazookid]

I think it will be a good movie. A good night to go out, get dinner with the wife, and see a film. Just like Pearl Harbor, it will get a younger generation to take note of this piece of history. If they get introduced to it and want to learn more, there are plenty of places for them to turn. Movies like this are just a taste of the story, but they are needed to get folks that wouldn't normally be interested in the subject to take notice.
If all else fails, I just hope it as good as Thunder Over Reno.

Good points. I work at a movie theater and a lot of our staff is excited about it. People have been reading about the Tuskegee Airmen online to find out what it's all about. That's a really good thing IMO. Hopefully the movie will offer a reasonable depiction of what the Tuskegee Airmen were all about and their story. You have to expect it to be Hollywood-ized a bit, but if they get the general facts right I'll be pleased with it.

[The Inspector]

As long as it isn't the next Pearl Harbor or Memphis Belle-

[mustangdriver]

In reference to Memphis Belle and pearl harbor remember that once again they have done alot of good at getting veterans recognition with younger generations. I think that most everyday folks know the Memphis Belle from the 1980's movie. Some that are a little more intersted know the documentary, then there are folks like us that of course know the aircraft. I really feel these movies have a place. Pearl harbor gets a ton of heat because of a love story. Once again folks had lives, and the war got in the way of that. If you want to see something more war related then documentaries are your best bet.

[TROJANII]

I think Pearl Harbor gets such a bad rap because it is so unbelieveable. From fighter pilot in Britain to Pearl Harbor to B-25's on the Doolittle raid?

[CoastieJohn]

Like I said...I hope it is historically accurate for the sake of future generations to understand the full dynamics of what took place.

Report: Tuskegee Airmen Lost 25 Bombers

The Associated Press
Sunday, April 1, 2007; 7:26 AM

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- At least 25 bombers being escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen over Europe during World War II were shot down by enemy aircraft, according to a new Air Force report.

The report contradicts the legend that the famed black aviators never lost a plane to fire from enemy aircraft. But historian William Holton said the discovery of lost bombers doesn't tarnish the unit's record.

"It's impossible not to lose bombers," said Holton, national historian for Tuskegee Airmen Inc.

The report released Wednesday was based on after-mission reports filed by both the bomber units and Tuskegee fighter groups, as well as missing air crew records and witness testimony, said Daniel Haulman, a historian at the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery.

The tally includes only cases where planes were shot down by enemy aircraft, Haulman said. No one disputed the airmen lost some planes to anti-aircraft guns and other fire from the ground.


The 25 planes were shot down on five days: June 9, July 12, July 18 and July 20, 1944 and March 24, 1945, the Montgomery Advertiser reported.

"All of these records have been here all along," Haulman said. "It was just a matter of putting them together."

The surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first group of black fighter pilots allowed into the U.S. Army Air Corps, received the Congressional Gold Medal on Thursday from President Bush in Washington.

With nearly 1,000 pilots and as many as 19,000 support personnel ranging from mechanics to nurses, the group was credited with shooting down more than 100 enemy aircraft and _ for years _ with never losing an American bomber under escort.

Haulman told the Advertiser he had discovered the claim that the Tuskegee Airmen had never lost a bomber they escorted to enemy fire first appeared on March 24, 1945, in an article in the black newspaper Chicago Defender. The newspaper's headline read "332nd Flies Its 200th Mission Without Loss."

The information was attributed only to "the 15th Air Force, Italy."

"In fact, on the very day the claim was published, more bombers under 332nd Fighter Group escort were shot down," Haulman wrote.

[cooper9411]

Does not matter. We all need to show appreciation and respect for all veterans! I in no way tried to offend anyone or discredit anyone, all I was trying to say is that the people, no matter if they lost bombers or not, should be shown appreciation and given respect.

Last edited by cooper9411 on Thu Jan 05, 2012 6:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.