As if the Falklands hadn’t already proved that ships alone cannot defend themselves, let alone anything else. Not so much a short sighted decision as a blatantly criminal one. I only hope it doesn’t cost lives like the last such bunch of idiot decisions.

Very well said. One of the reasons we nearly lost the Falklands War was because we didn’t have any full size aircraft carriers. If Labour hadn’t decided to scrap the aircraft carriers in 1967 it is likely that the Falklands War would never have happened or if it had most if not all of the shipping losses could have been prevented. A task force equipped with AEW aircraft and long range Phantoms would have decimated the Argentine Air Force before it got anywhere near our ships.

I see from the most recent “Sunday Express” that Argentina is doing some sabre rattling again over the Falklands and its air force is now double the size it was in 1982.

Colin

A viewing of the movie may be in order tonight – I don’t recall seeing a Buchon, but it would explain the cover art showing Michael Caine standing in front of one.

(What extended version??)

I bought a “Collectors Edition” DVD of “The Eagle Has Landed” a year or two ago. This has a number of Special Features. You can also view an “extended” version of the film featuring previously deleted scenes. This includes a lengthy scene on the airfield where Caine & Co discuss the forthcoming mission. It is here that you see the Buchon in the background . I believe it can also be glimpsed very briefly in the background in the shorter version of the film just before the paratroops are first shown the Dakota.

Colin

I read something about the De Wilde ammo which was provided to RAF Fighter Command just in time to make a difference. If there is any truth in this I don’t know as Dornier 17’s came back peppered with bulletholes.

Cees

I have mentioned this point in other threads before but Wing Cdr “Dizzy” Allen wrote a book called “Who Really Won the Battle of Britain?”,published in the 1970s. Allen was very critical of the 8 x 0.303 machine gun armament of 1940 RAF fighters. He said that even in 1940 it wasn’t really up to the job of downing German Bombers. He mentioned cases where German bombers returned to base safely with 300 bullet holes in their structure. He said that just 50 rounds of 0.50 cal ammuntion would have caused the average German bomber to explode.

One 0.50 cal gun has three times the firepower of a 0.303 weapon plus greater range so a battery of just four 0.50 Colt-Brownings would have been more effective than 8 x 0.303 . By the way the 20mm Hispano gun had three times the firepower of the .50 cal and nine times the firepower of the 0.303.

Colin

My old office at Northolt looked out at the “Bond Hangar” as it’s still known on the base, as it was used in Goldfinger as the base for Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus.

The real flying for the Octopussy Bede “fly through” was done elsewhere but the Northolt T2 was used for the interior shots that were done with a model.

When they came to shoot the scene where the small jet flies through the hangar,the only reason they didn’t do it for real was because it would happen too fast and the camera would have recorded a blur. So they fixed the plane to a pole mounted on top of an old Jaguar with the roof and side pillars cut off. Then they drove it through the hangar very fast!

Colin

One of the problems facing the makers of any British war epic is that British WW2 films do well in the UK but not very well anywhere else,particularly the USA.

Let me illustrate this point by considering three films – “633 Squadron”,”Battle of Britain” and “A Bridge Too Far”.

Frederick E. Smith’s 1956 novel “633 Squadron” was based on his wartime experiences in the RAF (as an air gunner I think) and was fairly accurate.
However the 1964 film version had a simplified and “Hollywoodised” plot to ensure success at the US box office. In particular the British Wing Commander Roy Grenville became Ex – Eagle Squadron American pilot Roy Grant who was played by Cliff Robertson ,then the Brad Pitt of his day following his starring role in “PT -109”. Erik Bergman was similarly played by the Greek American actor George Chakiris who was also a hot property.

These casting decisions might have annoyed some people but they ensured the film’s success at the US box office.

Five years later the producers of “Battle of Britain” avoided casting any American actors on the grounds of accuracy. The result was that the film was the most successful production at the UK box office that year (and was also a success in W Germany) but it bombed everywhere else and made a big loss for United Artists.

A few years later the producers of “A Bridge Too Far” were forced to emphasise the US role in “Operation Market Garden” to ensure the film’s success.

This illustrates the problem with British war films – to get them made you sometimes have to have Americans in the cast and sometimes a distorted storyline simply to ensure their commerical success.

Mention was made earlier of “Thunderbirds”. All these Gerry Anderson productions were made in the UK but they tended to feature American voice artists (and later American actors) simply to make sure they would sell in the USA. This was the same reason that every episode of Brian Clemens “Thriller” always featured at least one American actor.

So this is a potential problem for any “Dambusters” remake. It may only get made with American finance – and the price to pay for this may be American actors in the cast however inaccurate this may be.

Colin

Guy Gibson’s Correct Age

In various postings I have seen Guy Gibson’s age at the time of the Dam’s raid being given as 23 or 25. I always thought it was 24 so I decided to check out this fact.

According to Richard Morris’s book “Guy Gibson” he was born on 12th August 1918 which means he was 24 at the time of the Dams raid and 26 at the time of his death in September 1944.

Colin

I have an article somewhere about the making of “The Longest Day”. I believe the two Nords were sourced in France. They may have been the very same ones which appeared in “633 Squadron”.