The Mighty Eighth

Ah.. I remembered it as 30 February, but now you mention it you could well be right.

Moggy

Ha .. I thought it was the eleventy-first of Septober.

I think Len Deighton did his NS not long after the war as a photog attached the equivalent of P&SS so certainly met many of ‘the right types’ to populate his book with.

Ah.. I remembered it as 30 February, but now you mention it you could well be right.

Moggy

If I remember correctly the actual bombing raid takes place in the early hours of the 31st June. I’ve always liked that literary device; it avoids absolutely any chance of fiction trespassing on the lives of real casualties of Bomber Command’s war.

The BBC Radio production of Bomber is one of the most powerful things I have ever listened to.

When originally broadcast it was split over an entire day, so the airtest section was broadcast in the afternoon, the take-off early evening.. etc.

Come to think about it, wasn’t yesterday the actual anniversary of Creaking Door’s momentous flight?

Moggy

Perhaps, Len Deighton has an astonishingly high book-to-film production ratio.

I didn’t know until very recently that Len Deighton had actually served on Lancasters; I presume it was wartime service as that would explain an awful lot about how good his book ‘Bomber’ is.

I owe most of my adult interest in historic aviation to Len Deighton; I generally don’t read fiction but after I picked-up somebody’s copy of ‘Bomber’ on holiday (and couldn’t put it down) I was hooked and simply had to find out how much truth there was in that work of fiction. It turns out, quite a lot!

Edit: Len Deighton must have been too young to see wartime service on Lancasters.

Perhaps with the success of SS:GB we may see ‘Bomber’ produced as a big production series?

Most detailed report I have seen

http://www.edp24.co.uk/business/tourism/multi_million_pound_hbo_series_could_show_the_compelling_story_of_two_us_airmen_based_in_norfolk_1_4902289

The writer of the series has also denied that the title of the production is The Mighty Eighth

I’m hesitant to visit that link – WarHistoryOnline and “current” don’t normally go together!

This link however is a bit more current

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/featured/hbos-mighty-eighth-update-getting-close.html

Moggy

That link above which rattles on about Manston is from 2015.

Moggy

See bbc Look East for a report

Looks promising, sounds like they’re still interested as the idea for producing the film has been around for quite a while now. Not only will it create interest for the 100th at Thorpe Abbots, but the possible use of other disused airfields in the UK…
http://reelbrief.com/hbos-masters-of-the-air-wwii-mini-series-filming-in-england/
I’m just hoping that they can get Lavenham airfield up and running again for the production.
If the production is going to be as good as Band Of Brothers & The Pacific, this will be a a huge boost for local museums in the east of England.

See bbc Look East for a report

Anybody know the rough breakdown of B-17 / B-24 sorties (I mean missions, of course!) from Britain?

I will say though, that having watched Unbroken recently, I was quite impressed with the CGI B-24s in that movie.

Best regards;
Steve

As was I, it was well done.
But let’s be honest, if someone is going to produce a series at a cost of $500 million and it turns out to be largely CGI, we’d be disappointed.

You want good CGI aerial scenes?

Get the Japanese to do it:

Good CGI is pretty convincing.

What we notice most is bad CGI. Particularly physically impossible flight models.

Moggy

J Boyle!

Ah! The refreshing voice of common sense! Agree entirely! I will say though, that having watched Unbroken recently, I was quite impressed with the CGI B-24s in that movie.

Best regards;
Steve

You would have thought that they might have picked up on Jimmy Stewart’s command of a B-24 group for a storyline?

Stewart wasn’t one to trumpet his service exploits, though years ago I stumbled across a very moving article by him in a faith magazine discussing his fears of facing combat (sadly, I’ve been unable to find a copy)and many of the details of his service have only recently come to light.

I really don’t think there is a anti-Liberator conspiracy out there, rather the scarcity of flying…or even static…examples and the resulting public unfamiliarity with them is to blame.
To put it another way, if the BBC were to do a series on Bomber Command, would you expect them to use Lancasters or a Halifax or Stirling?

Would Cosford or the AAM be willing to dis-inter their B-24s for ground shots?

Besides, if they did make a Liberator film it would have to be largely CGI, and I can imagine the howls here if that were to happen! 🙂

Tibenham’s runways are virtually intact, rare for an 8th base that isn’t still in military use, though there is scarcely an original building left.

Moggy