In General, What is Everyone Doing?

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Bronc,

I, too, have an interest somewhat afield from the mainstream of this site. Who shot down whom is not of particular interest to me. My focus over the last 55+ years has been on the twin-jet Me 262, with a slight branching out to other advanced Luftwaffe types. I have an interest in the development history, production, and the physical construction of the aircraft. Of these, production was affected by the air and land wars, so I have nudged a bit into the circumstances under which Germany found itself. WW II is a particularly fascinating period and there was an extreme amount of drama packed into a very few years.

You mention that you are tasked with writing a screenplay for a major motion picture company, the subject to be the transition year of 1943. I would hope that you have obtained a selection of good histories of the period to get as good an overview as possible. This is essential to be sure that what you write carries the correct message.

I can cite 2 movies, 1 excellent and 1 incredibly bad, for you to review. The good movie is Command Decision, a fictional, but well written and well acted account of attempts to knock out a specific factory producing the Focke-Schmidt, a mythical name for the Me 262. The incredibly bad movie, Red Tails, is of much more recent vintage. My lady friend wanted to watch this and so we rented it. It was very painful to watch. The acting, writing, and completely messed up history represent a classic case of how not to do a WW II era movie. Most of the aerial scenes showing aircraft, if not all, were computer generated, and here, too, these images were third rate. I would recommend viewing both to steer you away from schlock toward quality.

While there is a large warbirds community restoring WW II aircraft, there are still a limited number of aircraft available to possibly be used in a WW II movie. There are a fair number of P-51's available, but most of these are the D model. There are a few BF 109's available, as well as Spanish built versions called Buchons, although these are distinctly different from the German Bf 109's and I cringe when I see them used in WW II movies. There are now a number of new build Fw 190's and 3 new build Me 262's, although the latter wouldn't be of any interest for a 1943 era movie. There are some B-17's and B-24's, although I'm not sure of how many. However, for massed aircraft, I think you'll be stuck using computer graphics. CG can produce really excellent results if time and care is taken in generating them.

Regards,
Richard

[obdl3945]

Hi, Bronc... and all other contributors .

I like the question, and really like the varied answers. For me, a child of the early Sixties, I grew up with my father making model aircraft of his point of reference, World War 1. I followed that example, but this time looking back to World War 2. I saw some images in a book showing the 'Humbie Heinkel' (Humbie is a small hamlet near Dalkeith, which is near Edinburgh, Scotland) and immediately fell under the spell of this iconic machine. I began to read about the Heinkel and then other German aircraft, but much of the literature still had information originating from wartime, and everything was described as 'inferior' compared to British aircraft... not surprising, I dare say.

However, this in turn triggered a curiosity in me... surely not all German aircraft could be as bad to fly and operate as they were being described? I also marvelled at the many and varied colour schemes, and colour combinations are quite often still a trigger for me to build and finish a model in a given pattern or with particular markings. Also, modelling was one of the few mechanisms by which I could see and fully visualise a German aircraft - other than, say, a Messerschmitt Bf109 or Ju87 - at that early age... Fw200s, He177s and undoubtedly Bv141s all became wonderful reality through modelmaking.

Although I did actually make kits of many nationalities' aircraft, I eventually gave in completely to my interest in the Luftwaffe. I have been an avid modeller for 40+ years now and although never considering myself an expert, I occasionally chip in here with some information, or an image or two. The community here on TOCH has always been helpful, both to myself and others and I also believe it to be a courteous place to interact and learn with others. I have attended one event with Luftwaffe veterans present, and travelled abroad on occasion, both as a direct result of being a member of this forum.

TOCH is a place where many come and contribute and/or learn to varying degrees, but it is never a dull place to visit. I hope it will remain as helpful, friendly and informative in the future.

Warmest regards to all,

Paul

[FrankieS]

Somehow a lot of us had relatives involved ín all these WW2 circumstances or
we are moved by single fates of crashed/KIA/MIA aircrews.

bye, good luck to all,
excellent and most helpful forum this,
truly more than one could wish for,
FrankieS

[jednastka]

For my part, my grandfather was my kick start. Although he passed on when I was 4, I still vividly recall his association with aircraft. As a WWI vet, he entered the Polish Air Force in 1924, then the French in 1940, and finally the RAF. I started building model aircraft with my father when I was 5 or 6, and am now slowly amassing a large collection of kits. The curse is that when one is young, time is endless and money is tight, and the reverse is true as one ages. My area of model kit interest is 1918-1945, specializing in eastern Europe. I also collect on-line photos of these aircraft. I am also researching my grandfather as part of a larger "family history" dsocument.

Vic

[ahafan]

Originally Posted by edwest

Andy,


I could not have said it better. The dignity and politeness of the people here truly warms my heart. As I'm sure everyone knows, too many internet forums are filled with unruly and rude people. That is why, today, I only have a handful of forums I visit, and a few where I rarely post due to the aggressive nature of the moderators and other posters.


Regards,
Ed

Yes' Right!
we are friendly.an Ignorant to some.
Sharon

[Broncazonk]

Johannes has been helping me (offlist) on Experten kills and claims. The idea is to create a near historically accurate screenplay that has none of the pseudo-drama that was featured in a recently released WWII aviation film.

The other question I have: Are steps being taken to protect, back up and preserve the archives of 12 O'Clock High!? The archives are a world-class, historically relevant, resource. It would be a tragedy if they were lost due to a computer memory failure or hacking.

Bronc

[Marc-André Haldimann]

Oops, good thinking Bronc! Ruy, your thoughts on those possible threats?

Cheers
Marc

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Bronc,

Before 2004, the very thing you worry about was a constant occurrence. The server Ruy used limited the number of postings in a forum such that, about every 5-6 weeks, that great bit of info would go off to never never land. I believe one of our members has actually saved the records from before 2004. As for myself, with Ruy's permission, I transferred reference material to my Luftwaffe Archives Group (LWAG - www.lwag.com) website.

In 2004, Ruy was able to find a server service without the entry number limitation. So, everything you see here dates back to then. I also found it generally unnecessary, due to the changed circumstances, to do much further transferring to the LWAG site.

Both sites are still active today. I presume that TOCH! is protected with backups.

The bigger question is what happens to either site when the administrators are no longer around.

Finally, in regard to the refined decorum found on both sites, this was not at all by accident. If you go back some 10 years you would have found some doozie of flame wars on TOCH!. With constant pressure from Ruy and the membership, these were eventually extinguished. As for the LWAG site, the rules were set in stone at the start, so flame wars never developed and hopefully never will, as these can be a big headache for a site administrator.

Regards,
Richard

[Mikkel Plannthin]

It all started with an Airfix Spitfire model and many years later a visit to the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum in Southern England. Here, to my surprise, I encountered a Spitfire replica with a Danish flag on the side of the fuselage and a list of Danish volunteer pilots in RAF. This was at the time, 12-14 years ago news for me.

I started researching for the construction of a model of a 'Danish' Spitfire. I have been researching ever since...

A few years later I participated in a conference (with other members of this forum) at which the idea of using a database-driven approach of storing and sharing my research developed. This eventually led to my website danishww2pilots.dk, and en route to invaluable help from this and other forums. Some of this was specific pieces of information, some generel tips on reseach issues, archives etc.

And 'suddenly' I find myself being asked questions within my niche... As I am only an amateur historian, I am trying to find the time to enlighten my countrymen about the Danish contribution to the air war through the website, articles and, hopefully one day, the book projects in my drawer.

Had not happened without help from many here. Thank you!

Mikkel

[fanatyk]

Hi!

Please don't get me wrong... But I am just a Fanatic .

Otherwise I'm a mechanical designer, a freelancer

Regards!
F.