Pathfinders – TV Series

Hi Alan –
Some Navigators never left their station during the raids and therefore never even directly saw the ‘fireworks’ going on around them !

Around 45 years ago, I worked with a chap who flew on a pathfinder squadron. I seem to remember he
was either a navigator or radio operator.
I don’t know how many flight’s he made, but I remember him saying that he never saw an enemy aircraft.

Trailer for DVD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0ho9urCD5s

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but we are gradually re – watching our way through the box set ,we watched ep 8 last night which was about H2S and probably the first episode to include much about ‘Pathfinderey’ work 😀
For all the faults -as Moggy said at the start –

Meticulous attention to uniform and period detail teamed with 1970s haircuts that would have had any senior officer going berserk back in the 1940s.

– the programmes do have areas of interest ,and it is lovely to see parts of West Malling (now mostly history sadly).
With Hamish Mahaddie as tech advisor one would expect accuracy in certain areas – uniforms and flying badges are spot on,the aforementioned haircuts were appalling and perhaps the programme suffered from not having a few more ‘regulars’ in the cast (only ‘The Laird’ and the ‘Doc’ seemed to be regulars).
Watching the series brings quite a few laughs of course and we have been having fun ‘spotting’ young up and coming actors who later became more famous –
So far we have seen Tony Selby (Cpl Marsh from ‘Get Some In),Christopher Cazenove,Kate O’Mara,The lovely Jane Seymore :D,Mark (Taggart) McManus as the ‘jonah’ Flt Sgt Navigator and Rutger Hauer !
One of the scenes that I always giggled at was the ‘birdstrike’ which appeared to be a very sticky pizza which hit the screen and slowly slithered down it when of course at 150mph the poor old bird would just have bounced off the screen or smashed straight through it !

Wing Commander Ken Wallis also participated in this programme, from an article I wrote many years ago:

Other Wallis autogyros have also appeared in films and tv but as a camera-ship: giving the supposed view from a Lancaster in a tv programme (The Pathfinders) about the World War Two bombers, and later the supposed view of the Luftwaffe pilot as the (12 foot wingspan model) Lancaster was shot down, Ken Wallis had to fly in formation with this model (to film it) before “shooting” it down.

And with reference to Family At War, didn’t Sally B also star in this programme prior to We’ll Meet Again? (or have I got my wires crossed?).

With reference to Sally B and Family at War….
I bought the dvd box set of this series last Christmas for a relative, and the photograph on the box shows one of the actors in RAF garb standing in front of a B-17. I would assume that this would have been Sally B, but not having seen the series, can’t add any more. I would assume that she did appear though if she appears on the dvd box…

Regards;
Steve

I know quite a lot about the making of this series. It was filmed in the Summer of 1971 at West Malling. Hamish Mahaddie was the technical advisor.

Some footage of PA474 was taken for the series but most scenes were effected using large radio – controlled Lancaster models ,rather unconvincing full scale mocks – ups of sections of Lancasters and a lot of stock footage.

In some later episodes the large radio controlled Lancs were used for some rather unconvincing shots of Lancs sitting on the ground ,taxying etc.

Wing Commander Ken Wallis also participated in this programme, from an article I wrote many years ago:

Other Wallis autogyros have also appeared in films and tv but as a camera-ship: giving the supposed view from a Lancaster in a tv programme (The Pathfinders) about the World War Two bombers, and later the supposed view of the Luftwaffe pilot as the (12 foot wingspan model) Lancaster was shot down, Ken Wallis had to fly in formation with this model (to film it) before “shooting” it down.

And with reference to Family At War, didn’t Sally B also star in this programme prior to We’ll Meet Again? (or have I got my wires crossed?).

Pathfinders series, judge for yourself.

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/pathfinders-for-better-for-worse-series-about-the-raf-in-/275077585/?icid=VIDURV05

‘Les Chevaliers du ciel’ is the French film your thinking of, which funny old think was the name of a 60’s French TV series which was shown in the UK as ‘The Aeronauts’

Remember a few of the stories, and was going to put them on here but for the fact, was covered on here a while back.

As for the Pathfinders, got them on video a few years back, yes it could have been a hell of a lot better than it was, but did enjoy the one ‘Nightmare’ which started with the Wingco Flying catching the Cpl pretending to be Aircrew in the pub. (most of the stories in the series were loosely based on fact). Cpl gets killed at the end, saving the lives of a number of people. The real pity was the only one I remebered from the series when I saw it on TV as a kid was the one where two young pilots are attached to a SD unit flying Lysanders for being bad boys. (13 were made, 12 went on to DVD and the I remember wasn’t one of them)

Loved the theme music though.

I’ve still got the 1973 Aeronauts annual, along with a Warlord and two Battle annuals…..happy days…
I’m sure I’ve seen a recent mention of an Aeronauts movie with Rafales taking the place of the Mirages. It was a French language film though which may explain it’s lack of publicity….

I remember…

Think it was on Wednesdays, 2 part episdodes, very grainy in places, dubbing…. as mentioned above !

No sign of it on DVD (I bet its dismal now) but if you search it on Amazon you can get the 1973 annual for less than a fiver…….

Gawd, so there WAS at least one other (on here) who watched it !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought it was (um) ‘different’

All I remember, was seeing LOADS of twin-engined ‘Vautours’ (which I enjoyed V.much) = & YES, the ‘dubbing’ was (truly) cack :(:D

I’m sure it would be embarrassing by todays standards, though I’d enjoy seeing those Vautours again

I seem to recall it was screened around Lunchtimes on BBC.2 (co-inciding with school-holidays, mid-week)

Circa 1973/’74 :confused: I.I.R.C. ??????????????/

I remember that, though I remember almost nothing about it. Didn´t they crash in the desert one episode? Would like to see that again.

Most inappropriate haircut in a war film ever…….Well George Chakiris’s bouffant masterpiece in 633 Squadron must be right up there with the best of them ! 😮

Can I nominate Clint Eastwood’s DA from Where Eagles Dare? The sight of it wobbling as he fires his ‘Schmisser’ is a film highlight…

Only if anybody else remembers “The Aeronauts” – French series about 2 Mirage III pilots?… as a lad I loved it, badly dubbed or not, I bet its poor if you could see it now

Gawd, so there WAS at least one other (on here) who watched it !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought it was (um) ‘different’

All I remember, was seeing LOADS of twin-engined ‘Vautours’ (which I enjoyed V.much) = & YES, the ‘dubbing’ was (truly) cack :(:D

I’m sure it would be embarrassing by todays standards, though I’d enjoy seeing those Vautours again

I seem to recall it was screened around Lunchtimes on BBC.2 (co-inciding with school-holidays, mid-week)

Circa 1973/’74 :confused: I.I.R.C. ??????????????/

Family at War did include sequences shot at night of NX611 at Blackpool.

Second everything you have just said. The care that was lavished on the film was amazing.

A minor classic.

Moggy

Overlord is currently out on DVD with some useful extras like a commentary by the director and interviews with some of those involved in the productions. The lengths they went to to blend contemporary and modern footage was very laudable, including sourcing 1940s lenses for the cameras. They also tried hard to get the best quality contemporary footage, so rather than nick from newsreels, went back to source wherever possible.

There’s some great footage (modern) of PA474 and (contemporary) of Douglas Bostons heading out on a low level mission.

It’s an interesting and unconventional take on the war film (the ending was so sudden and unexpected it had me shouting ‘what?!!’ at the screen and replaying the last few minutes to make sure I hadn’t missed something) but so much better than more modern ‘sexed up’ versions.

Only if anybody else remembers “The Aeronauts” – French series about 2 Mirage III pilots?… as a lad I loved it, badly dubbed or not, I bet its poor if you could see it now

Ah yes, I remember it, although I didn’t remember what it was called. It certainly appealed to me. Only a couple of years afterwards I was on a school French exchange where there were Mirages streaking overhead every day. Brilliant!

If no-one’s beaten me to it (okay you did!), it’s called Overlord. Info here:

http://www.movietome.com/movie/363560/overlord/index.html

Simon

I remember the Flambards as being mildly entertaining, but I think perhaps distance is lending enchantment.

I chickened out of a second op with the Pathfinders this afternoon (I’m off work recovering at the moment as you might have guessed) and watched something I had recorded a few months back. The problem is I’d chopped off the first few minutes so I have no idea what it was.

Dated MLMLXXV (1975.. or there might have been three XXX in which case 1985) shot in black and white so that the archive footage could be integrated, following the career of a Tom Beddoes from enlistment in the army in 1943 to D-Day.

Lots of brilliant archive footage, particularly of low level Boston strikes.

Well acted, well filmed, well scripted, near faultless period detail.

Anybody know what it was? I’d like to recommend it highly.

Moggy

Answering my own question

The critically hailed but rarely seen World War II film Overlord gets a timely U.S. launch this month.

Made in 1975 by director Stuart Cooper with the help of the Imperial War Museum in London, the film has been hailed for combining a story with military footage from the D-Day invasion, which unfolded 62 years ago this week.

The above from a 2006 review in USA today

Moggy

If you get the chance – watch it.

I remember the Flambards as being mildly entertaining, but I think perhaps distance is lending enchantment.

I chickened out of a second op with the Pathfinders this afternoon (I’m off work recovering at the moment as you might have guessed) and watched something I had recorded a few months back. The problem is I’d chopped off the first few minutes so I have no idea what it was.

Dated MLMLXXV (1975) shot in black and white so that the archive footage could be integrated, following the career of a Tom Beddoes from enlistment in the army in 1943 to D-Day.

Lots of brilliant archive footage, particularly of low level Boston strikes.

Well acted, well filmed, well scripted, near faultless period detail.

Anybody know what it was? I’d like to recommend it highly.

Moggy

Nope, you’re certainly not alone there. It winds me up that as far as period hairstyles are concerned, a lot of films, especially those made in the 60’s ad 70’s, fall at the last hurdle. Get the uniforms right, forget the rest!

Glad you reminded me of “Well Meet Again”. As bad as it might have been, I wouldn’t mind seeing it again just to catch a few nostalgic glimpses of West Malling pre urban sprawl. I remember watching the cast bumping up and down the crowdline in a jeep along with Gary Numan at the 1983 Great Warbirds Air Display…in the pouring rain….lovely!

I’m trying to remember just how much flying/West Malling footage there was in that series amongst all the romantic slush? Still my mum liked watching it!

Maybe we could start a new thread about 60’s and 70’s TV drama with an aviation content…didn’t Family at War also have a bit of flying in it?

Regards;
Steve

Only if anybody else remembers “The Aeronauts” – French series about 2 Mirage III pilots?… as a lad I loved it, badly dubbed or not, I bet its poor if you could see it now