Ran across this on wimp, and not only is a it very model-worthy; it’s a unique bit of history.
Thanks Cap, neat vid . Now there is another one to put on my to do list !
The Original
Mike Oscar Juliet Oscar
Outcast !
End Transmission- Semper Fi
“Every pilot should fly a Spitfire at least once”…amen. Great video…Thanks!
Joe
I realized after posting that, that I might have created a further monster of “What is the [color standard] matching “PRU Blue”?” yet to come.
Thanks for posting this! Very touching story, it was amazing to see the look on the vet’s face when the film-maker showed the footage of his wheels-up landing.
Great post!
Is amazing how film wars just keep poping up, who knows what still may be laying in some forgotten archive or desk drawer. Imagine the possibilities!, D Day footage, the storming of the Reichs bunker… who knows.
As you said it will be a good idea to build a spitfire with all the background and history of the plane.
Wow. 30 minutes over Berlin with no escort or armament, not knowing if the cameras worked and then a wheels-up landing…
Great find, CapnMac82.
Thanks, Capn’, for passing along that link. Great story.
With apologies to the bank card company…the moment when that gentleman is watching the video, unsuspecting, and comments “That’s a Spitfire…wha…that’s me!” is truly priceless. I think the statement “Even fighter pilots don’t believe it when I tell them I flew to Berlin” says it all. May we never forget how much we owe to all those guys (and gals) who did such remarkable things as just their “everyday job.”
Many years ago, I had the privilege of working with a Brit who was a Spitfire pilot during the war. He said the scariest thing was going down to land with an overcast under them. Since the instruments were so primitive, he said the only thing they could do was put the thing into a spin, sinking into the clouds, and hope to God they broke out into decent visibility with enough altitude left to get out of the spin and level off and find the airfield flying VFR. Holy cow!
That was really cool! Loved the guys reaction when he realized that it was a video of his landing. Thanks for sharing Cap!
Thank you so much for sharing this unknown piece of history! It’s one thing to see the photos and camera footage, but it’s taken to a whole different level when you have “the rest of the story.”
What a touching video. Very well put together. And yes - every pilot should get an opportunity to fly a Spitfire at least once. Heck - I want to ride in one. LOL!!!
Thats a very interesting story.
My father in law collected the leaders/ tail ends of the film from those flights and took quite a few photos on his own .
The USAAF flew a number of British types- Spits, Beaus, Mossies and the like.