Wheels up landings on films

Hi,

Thanks for all your replies.

I can remember most of these incidents, but not at the time of asking the question.

Memory is a funny old thing……….

Alex

I think what Texas Raiders did was a touch-and-go, while what the Tora B-17 did was a landing with an expensive conclusion. Looked good on film, though. That Tora footage was not planned, by the way, just the result of a gear malfunction and an alert film crew who thought to grab the footage.

Wasn’t there one in the Battle of Midway as well?

Yes, and it’s the same bit of footage! Midway was rather notorious for recycling its aircraft sequences. There was even a shot of some Spitfires and Buchons in there at one point!!

How can we forget the one wheel down landing of the B-17 in Tora Tora Tora – that was real wasn’t it?

Wasn’t there one in the Battle of Midway as well?

Hi all

Then of course there was the famous recent incident with the B17 retracting it’s wheels after landing for the cameras (Well there was a camera filming at the time) – how are the repairs going.

Regards
John P

Texas Raider’s did it all the time until the insurance company said enough!

Cheers,

Lynn

The Great Waldo Pepper featured a Tiger Moth-cum-Jenny which did a sort-of wheels-up landing in a pond after Robert Redford’s character undid the wheel bolts!!

And yes, the B-17 one-wheel landing was real!

In the film Villa Ride’s, a Tiger Moth made up to look like a Curtis Jenny was crashed for real. It was flown by Derrek Piggot who was brought in specialy to do the crash sequence.

How can we forget the one wheel down landing of the B-17 in Tora Tora Tora – that was real wasn’t it?

When I first saw 12 O’clock High I was amazed that they actually crashed a B17. The pilot certainly had lots of guts to do that, there would be no telling what could have gone wrong.

I have spoken to a number of pilots over the years and one or two of them told me that when it came to the option of balling out or trying to carry out a wheels up landing they preferred to take to their ‘chute.

Alex

The B-17 wheels up landing in 12 o’clock high was done especially for the movie.
Guess they had a couple ’17s to spare back then

Yes, famous film piulot Paul Mantz did it for the film…reused often sice then.
I beive he was paid $5000…and took the B-17 off solo.
Greatr bit of flying.
And yes, they did have a lot of surplus B-17s back in 1949, so wrecking one wasn’t quite as controversial it would be a few years later when they wrecked Mossies for 633 Squadron.

In the movie “First of the Few”, one of the Spits crashes off screen, and is seen looking a bit bent in the next shot. Whether this really happened or not I’m not sure, but it looks pretty realistic.

There was a mossie crashed in to a lorry in 633 sqn from memory

The B-17 wheels up landing in 12 o’clock high was done especially for the movie.
Guess they had a couple ’17s to spare back then

the film accidents in 12 o’ clock high were mainly true wartime b&w footage I guess..
As per other movies with crash landings, Air America is a good example, then Flight of the Phoenix and .. I can’t think of others but I’m sure there are… uh, wasnt there even a movie with B-25s where they scrapped a couple?

Alex