Without googling, how accurate do you think the film Memphis Belle was? Were their any injured? Did they have to hand winch the landing gear down? What was the damage to the Aircraft on their return to base? etc. Just to get you going here is the first part of clips of their 25th and final mission, The take off, to be followed by the bomb run, the turn for home, the others land, Memphis Belle lands. So here is the first bit.
The most recent film? The 1990 one? From memory, the real Belle's final mission was a fairly straight forward with minimal damage, if any. She's currently undergoing a total refurbishment for display in the USAFM so she was moved from her home at Mud Island a couple of years ago or thereabouts. Her pilot, Bob Morgan, died in 2004 (he flew B-29s in the Pacific towards the end of the war). He did name her for a sweetheart in Memphis (Margaret Polk who died in 1990) but didn't end up marrying her. The crew didn't fly in MB every trip and the they actually finished their last trip before the aircraft! The bathing suit of the girl in the noseart was actually blue on the port side and, of course, the script for the noseart is plain when compared to the 1990 movie. http://www.memphisbelle.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 http://www.memphis-belle.com/
The film is used another bit of hollywood hype! The script is very much standard, with a bit build up to the cilmax! From the film, you would think that the yanks were the only ones flying missions out of Britian!
Nice films. 51, do me a favour please and correct the spelling of the thread title? I'm in a puerile state of mind today and am finding it too amusing.
I hadn't noticed that! Classic example of the mind disregarding the eye and registering what it expects to see.
Tried to put a H in it but couldn't edit it. Can edit everything else though. I consider myself severely B******d. I liked the bit about the UK being " like a giant carrier moored off the coast of europe".
I've got a photo of Bob Morgan and his crew taken at the completion of their 25th mission. Give it one click to open and two clicks to see their faces.
