Battle of Britain Film – Analysis

Battle of Britain – The Movie
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0951983296/qid=1082545213/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_8_5/026-8446860-7878855

Battle of Britain Film – The Photo Album
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0953853934/qid=1082545605/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_8_3/026-8446860-7878855

Hope this helps.

I recently found the “making of” book on Amazon for BlueNoser352. Worth another look, I suppose!

Mark 12 was kind enough to send me the ‘dummy’ picture, and so that is obviously how it was done. The following one is of a pleased looking Mike Vickers, so he must have flown it, but not quite in the way I had thought! Maybe he was as disenchanted as I was at the thought of somehow ejecting the chap from the front seat of the two seater.

Wish I’d been able to attend the anniversary at Duxford, and had a chance to meet some of those old mates. Health and geographical problems made it impossible. Health ones overcome, but geographical ones remain!

Finally, can anyone tell me where I can get copies of the two books by Robert Rudhall about the making of the film. I have seen the book of photos, very kindly lent by a Ppruner, and would like a copy of my own, as well as the account. I never met Mr Rudhall, in fact only heard of him lately. Very sad to hear of his passing.

😮

I am, yet again, the monkey’s bare-assed uncle!

…and finally.

.

By Jove I do believe we have cracked it!

The good offices of Aeroplane have sent me a couple of picture boards used at their 30th Anniversary Celebration of the film at Duxford back in 1999.

From pilots and photographic evidence there was clearly experimentation using several methods to eject the dummy. I am however sure that these picture boards show the final screened version as in the posted still clips.

Interestingly this Spitfire is not MK297 the Mk IX with the ‘lump’ as first posted. This Spitfire, a Mk V, with flared exhaust, wing stiffening strakes, cannon bulge, and five aperture wheels is AR501 of the Shuttleworth Trust.

For good measure there is also a picture board of the Buchon dummy ejection process.

A very sporting gesture from Aeroplane and many thanks.

Mark

Thanks airgage for your comments; it is nice to have an excuse to look through the old log books, if only to think’what on earth was that all about’.

Neil Medcalf, I got your PM, and will reply by e mail in the next couple of days. Not sure how much help I can be though.

Interesting sequence of dummy bale out. I’m still quite sure it was done from the front seat of the two seater, with Mike Vickers driving. My short flight was only an airtest to see how it felt, no cine work was involved. I certainly don’t remember any talk of tying the dummy to the wing root, or winches and the like.

I was also interested in the Spit line up, and the one of the G/S camera. Both were taken during the period when most of the Spits had gone to Montpellier in the south of France to try and find some cloudless sky, reminiscent of England in 1940. The other Hurricane pilot, Dave Curry, and myself had to stay behind in case they could do some Hurricane filming. In the event, all we did was taxi non flyable Spits through exploding holes in the ground, for the airfield bombing sequence. As I complained at the time, exciting enough, but hardly south of France by Spitfire!

Please find attached story board drawing #519.

This shows Harvey’s Spit going down. Please note the word Dual.

This story board was drawn by Maurice Carter’s Art dept team.

Septic.

The aircraft spiralling down, the aircraft emitting smoke and the ‘dummy drop’ machine are not necessarily the same Spitfire.

Assuming you have the same film cut as myself, the first still I posted is as close as I can get to the start of the drop sequence post the close up of the other pilot looking at the tragedy developing.

Now I can’t see an aerial in that sequence but the front windscreen is visible for a few frames and that may be because it is set further forward on the two seater.

I believe in my low quality digi shots I can make out an AI code – what say you?

Here is a shot I took of TE308 on the set at Duxford on 6 August 1968. Note the smoke generators on the starboard cowling and the AI code.

Note also a Spitfire flying with a Buchon Prop and spinner.

I can make out an aerial mast and the AI codes. Look closely at the first shot – just above the starboard wing L/E – you can see the mast there.

IIRC there is no ‘cut away’ shot of, say, the pilot Peter before you see the Spit’s pilot jumping, so in theory it should still be the same Spitfire.

I imagine, after editing the film’s flying shots, the director decided to use a ‘general’ jump shot, instead of a specific one. That would probably explain the AI codes. He would probably hope that the codes couldn’t be seen as the aircraft rolls over – cinema-goers weren’t as anally retentive then as they are nowadays! 😉

Daz,

The aircraft spiralling down, the aircraft emitting smoke and the ‘dummy drop’ machine are not necessarily the same Spitfire.

Assuming you have the same film cut as myself, the first still I posted is as close as I can get to the start of the drop sequence post the close up of the other pilot looking at the tragedy developing.

Now I can’t see an aerial in that sequence but the front windscreen is visible for a few frames and that may be because it is set further forward on the two seater.

I believe in my low quality digi shots I can make out an AI code – what say you?

Here is a shot I took of TE308 on the set at Duxford on 6 August 1968. Note the smoke generators on the starboard cowling and the AI code. Other Mk IXs had the smoke generators fitted and perhaps that AI is further rearward in my b/w. 🙁

Note also a Spitfire flying with a Buchon Prop and spinner.

……………………………………………………………..

airgage,

Thank you for the tip re Power DVD.

I hear he words ‘kid’ and ‘sweetshop’ ringing loud.

I have googled and will purchase.

Mark

When I studied the footage on my ordinary DVD player, my other half (who is getting more versed in Spitfires in the run-up to Duxford! :D) and I noticed that the Spitfire does appear to have a mirror AND an aerial mast, which neither of the two-seaters have in the movie.

To prove it, we paused it where those features are most visible and sat a model in front of the screen at a similar angle. Looked spot-on to me!

To grab a still from DVD, use Power DVD in it’s latest form and their is a grab still frame function. I am sure other players have a similar function.

If you want to get really techy you can convert the DVD footage back to an avi and look at the frames in a conventional video editing package. There are freeware programs to do this….actually you could then re-edit the whole film, rerender as a dvd and…..

…and 4

3

2

A profuse apology to Neil Medcalf

I had stated that the ‘dummy drop’ Spitfire was a single seater. 😮

I have more closely studied the DVD and the way the ‘drop’ footage is linked and edited in to the full sequence. In the actual first frame to last of the ‘drop’ footage it is not possible to tell whether it is a single or a twin seat Mk IX.

The dummy certainly appears to come from the region above the port wing where the ‘lump’ would be but it equally may have got there by the device located in the front cockpit of the twin seater.

I am sure there are more sophisticated means of getting stills from DVD but for the purpose of this exercise here are four frames off the screen with the digital camera.

Mark

It’s got a bit of the Gee Bees about it now.

Like the idea of getting all the way to Poland, then going “Bugger! where’s the cameras!”

I kinda like it.

Very nice photoshop, but where are the cameras now? Are we down to one behind the cockpit still?

Nice work Ant;) 😀

I have to admitt though, it looks kind of stupid that way;)