I have seen photos of a Spitfire from the film fitted with strobe lamps ( light bulbs essentially) which protruded from the eight gun ports. However no footage of these being used appears in the film. There is one scene in the film (Polish Hurricane attack sequence) where there is a close up head on shot of a Hurricane firing its eight Brownings and you can see flames protruding from the gun ports. I am not sure whether this was done with a real Hurricane in the air or with a replica or even a model in the studio. There is also a similar shot in the film of a Buchon firing its guns – same comments apply.

The shots of the Heinkels firing their nose and dorsal guns appear to employ actual weapons loaded with blanks.

Colin

There was an article about “Airline” in one of the aviation magazines a year or two back which included an interview with Roy Marsden. Apparently it was originally intended that there would be a number of series which would take the story right up to the present day (1982) . In fact they didn’t even make the complete first series of 13 as only 9 episodes were made.

I remember at the time the first series ended (1982) there were articles in the newspapers about alleged disagreements between series creator Wilfred Greatorex and Yorkshire TV which apparently led to some episodes being dropped and further series being cancelled.

I also recall that the proposed second series was to have featured not just a Constellation but a Bristol Freighter.

Colin

Mosquito T3 RR299 was not in fact used in “633 Squadron” as it was undergoing an overhaul at the time. However it was used in “Mosquito Squadron.”

Colin

Several guys were of the opinion that all the aircraft were burned following completion of the film. One poster, a volunteer at the NMUSAF, didn’t realize the Mossie he sees daily is a film “star”. With the exception of the much missed RR299, the planes that survived filming (two (RS718 and TA724)destroyed during filming, one (TA642) wrecked in a ground accident before filming) are still with us.

At least they made good use of the bellied-in ship in the films…using the footage twice in the first film and again in the second.[/QUOTE]

“The Last Enemy” has been discussed before on this forum. The problem is that the estate of Richard Hillary has vetoed previous attempts to make it because of concerns about the production. Around about 1990 there were press reports that both the BBC and ITV were to make rival versions of “The Last Enemy” and a cinema version was also planned.

In the event none of these three productions ever happened. Instead we got “Perfect Hero” (ITV) which was based on a novel which was clearly inspired by the true story of Richard Hillary.

Interestingly the BBC did make a version of “The Last Enemy” in the 1950s starring Pete Murray (later a DJ). See imdb for more details.

Colin

The series “Buccaneer” will definitely still exist in the BBC archives. However sometimes old TV series cannot be repeated or released on DVD because one or more members of the cast or crew refuse to let this happen (their consent as to be obtained). A good example of this would be “Target”, the BBC cop show from 1977 -78 which has never been released on DVD allegedly because some members of the cast /crew don’t want this to happen.

Also sometimes there are legal rights issues preventing DVD releases. This held up the release of “Colditz” for years and also the “Man from Uncle” TV series.

Colin

Peter Vacher was recently interested in buying a Mosquito in Canada but the deal fell through as we all know. Does he have any other Mosquitoes in mind?

Also it it is possible that Kermit Weeks’ Mosquito RS712 may fly again in the future.

Colin

What About the Air Display?

And of course Leuchars holds the best Air Display in Scotland every September – so that will go as well .

What’s happened to the Perth Airshow? None listed so far for this June

Colin

Its interesting to see the actual film rushes that were shot but not used in the film appear from time to time in other productions. First Light, Fighting The Blue, Dark Blue World amongst others have used sequences that were filmed but never incorporated into the 1968 production. The Dark Blue World shots have actually been enhanced with some animated cartridge cases flying about. I wonder who actually owns these unused sequences? They’re certainly making more money now then they did lying on the cutting room floor !

All these clips from the B of B film are owned by a firm called “World Backgrounds” and if you visit their website you can play them on a small screen on line free of charge.

Colin