# New WW2 action movie by George Lucas features the P-51 plane



## StefB (Feb 19, 2010)

I'm really looking forward to seeing 'Red Tails' - a great looking big-budget action movie, opening this Friday in the U.S, about highly decorated African-American fighter pilots in WW2 and will feature over an HOUR straight of aerial combat action. The film is produced by George Lucas, (of Stars Wars and Indiana Jones fame).

And the plane featured is the P-51! For those lucky owners of this latest Bremont LE, this movie is right on time!

Red Tails - Movie Trailers - iTunes


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## CaptLeslie (May 15, 2011)

Back In 1987, I was lucky to fly in the 302 TFS Red Tail squadron. We flew new F16C fighters. The squadron was reconstituted from WWII to honor the Tuskegee airman! When the squadron had its opening ceremony there were numerous Tuskegee airman there that we got to meet and they shared numerous stories worthy of a great film! The squadron is now located in Alaska flying F22 Raptors! I too am looking forward to the movie! Check Six! Cheers Jim


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## CaptLeslie (May 15, 2011)

The wife and I were out at Luke AFB to update our ID's and then we are off to see Red Tails! This is one of the Red tails I flew 18 years ago! Cheers Jim.


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## Noodlefish (Mar 24, 2008)

I'd not seen the F16C in that livery before. Very nice! Matches the MB1 perfectly!

M


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## CaptLeslie (May 15, 2011)

Noodlefish said:


> I'd not seen the F16C in that livery before. Very nice! Matches the MB1 perfectly!
> 
> M


We never flew the aircraft painted with the whole tail painted red! This was only done for the static display to honor the history of the red tails! Painting a combat airplane red today would turn you into a missile magnet! On our combat aircraft we just painted a red strip on the top of the tail! Before the 302d put 291 on a pedestal she flew in a few air shows looking like this! Cheers Jim.


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## napel (Feb 21, 2011)

I have always been a fan of aviation. That is one heck of a movie, but there was a ton of stuff left out.


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## Janne (Apr 16, 2007)

Unfortunately, not much truth in the movie.


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## napel (Feb 21, 2011)

Janne said:


> Unfortunately, not much truth in the movie.


Not sure I agree with that. Like any historical movie, hollywood adds its own tid bits to make it interesting for the viewer. There were lots of truths in the movie especially historically, lots left out as well. Can't say I disagree on the action parts. Nonetheless awesome movie.


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## Janne (Apr 16, 2007)

As they used CGI, the aircraft do many in real life impossible maneuvres. The P-51 lost the wings if certain maneuvres were made at high speed.
It had a narrow margin between the top speed and failure of the wings. 
Many P-51's crashed because the pilot dived, went over the max recommended speed, and then lost the wings when he tried to pull up.

My father remembers very clearly the aerial fights, as he lived in an area where the US bombers and fighters flew on the route to targets in Bohemia and eastern Germany. There was a Luftwaffe airfield outside the town, and the aerial battles were very visible.
When the US flew over, the Air raid siren went off, and they had to leave home/school. He told me it was very interesting, the masses of bombers and fighters flying in one direction, to see the German fighters going up to meet them, the aerobatics, how the stricken aircraft dropped towards the earth.
Quite a few aircraft crashed around his town. 
The remains of the US pilots ( usually not much) were buried and the graves exhumed by Gen. Pattons people. I guess they shipped the remains home.

As soon as the US aircraft met the Germans, the P-51 had to jettison the extra fuel tanks. The civilian population used to collect them, take the remaining fuel and use it, and to make stuff like throughs.
Highly illegal, of course, as the Germans demanded that the tanks were reported and given to them.

He told me that they could see which unit flew the p-51 depending how the ratio German/US got shot down.



He told me that many people felt that the Afro-American unit was insufficiently trained, and rushed to the front.

There are other aspects too, which I prefer not to disclose in public.


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## Mike Pearson (Oct 15, 2011)

Evening all,

I saw Red Tails last night and the planes were filmed beautifully, the P-50's and 51's looked stunning but the movie was pretty poor.
George Lucas at his softest but the flying scenes on a big screen were fantastic.

Hope you are all well

Mike Pearson

PS Captain Leslie, I love your wrist shots!!!


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## napel (Feb 21, 2011)

Janne said:


> As they used CGI, the aircraft do many in real life impossible maneuvres. The P-51 lost the wings if certain maneuvres were made at high speed.
> It had a narrow margin between the top speed and failure of the wings.
> Many P-51's crashed because the pilot dived, went over the max recommended speed, and then lost the wings when he tried to pull up.
> 
> ...


Its awesome that you got a first person point of view of the aerial combats, however all you mentioned aside from the combat had nothing to do with the movie or the story in general. And if I'm not mistaken a war was going on...lots of people got rushed to the front. The awesome record on bomber escorts speak for itself. I bet there are a ton of bomber units that will also disagree with you.


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## Janne (Apr 16, 2007)

Politics guide the information.
For a long tome, in fact untill recently, it has been said that the US did not lose one bomber when protected by the Red Tails.
After I saw the first movie, with my dad, he told me othervise. He himself saw a few going down.

I believe they have now revised the number. 
The USAAF had a very strict system in the airmen/pilot training. Only the best became Pilots, the rest became the other crewmembers.
It is possible that they rushed the Afro-American Fighter pilots, I do not know, maybe because of political pressure?? Who knows!

I know that the Afro-American Bomber units were not ready for combat untill the war ended, so they did not rush them through. It took more tha one year to become a pilot, if not more.

I am going to visit my father in July and ask him more.
About 15 years ago, we went on a trip through Central Europe, and he showed me the history of our family. The school where he studied during the war is rebuilt, but the fields behind are stll there. He showed me one place where a P-51 crashed. All the large pieces were collected ( aluminium was scarse) but we coud still find small pieces of the aluminium spread on a large area. 
According to him, the engine and most of the remains of the pilot are still underground, it was a high speed vertical crash, and there was not much left of the poor boy.

My dad told me that the pilots flying the US fighter planes were known for their stamina and strength. In a bomber, the pilot could be relieved and rest, but not in a fighter.


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## napel (Feb 21, 2011)

Janne said:


> Politics guide the information.
> For a long tome, in fact untill recently, it has been said that the US did not lose one bomber when protected by the Red Tails.
> After I saw the first movie, with my dad, he told me othervise. He himself saw a few going down.
> 
> ...


Take photos if you see some scattered parts (wouldn't mind having a piece of that history myself). Reminds me of an article I was reading a few weeks ago Malaysian jungle adventurers solve WWII mysteries - Channel NewsAsia.


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## Janne (Apr 16, 2007)

After almost 70 years of agricuture (plowing etc) the pieces were pretty small. My dad told me the engine and front of fuselage are still there. Lots of crash sites like this in Europe, many thouand. My ex neighbour in UK ( Five Ashes, East Sussex) dug up a wreck when he dug for one of his ponds.


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