Oh yeah, "The Dawn Patrol" is a great one, here's the trailer...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U409HIwikoQ
But there's two things I can't figure out, why the film-makers set the story in 1915, long before the air war really got cranked up, ("Bloody April" of 1917 would have made more sense) and why they call it the Royal Air Force, in the time of the film it was the Royal Flying Corps, hence the variety of uniforms the actors are wearing, many of the RFC pilots wore the uniforms of the British Army regiments they originally came from. It really puzzles me because World War One wasn't ancient history in 1938 and Hollywood was full of WW1 veterans, both British and American. Basil Rathbone was a front-line veteran himself, finished the war as a captain* and was decorated with the Military Cross, kind of equivalent to an American Silver Star.
That being said, great acting from all concerned, great flying, and a strong anti-war message as well.
* His regiment was the Liverpool Scottish Rifles
No more difficult to figure out why the Dawn Patrol was "RAF" than why Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes sometimes fought Nazis. Applied patriotism sometimes trumps historical accuracy...
Remember that 1938 was the era of Churchill crying in the wilderness while Hitler's Germany took Czechoslovakia ... and the bumbershoot proclaimed 'peace in our time'.
You know, the crazy thing about Sherlock Holmes being updated to the 1940's was, in it's own way, it worked.
Probably because Basil Rathbone was Sherlock Holmes! No-one's done him better, even though others have come close.
Sure, Winston was "...a voice in the wilderness..." in 1938. After the horror of the First World War no-one wanted another one and the British and French leaders of the time were terrified of another one. Hitler knew that and played on it mercilessly. He smelled the fear. It's probably not for nothing Adolf's nickname as a boy among his friends was "Wolf."
But things change. Three years after "Dawn Patrol" Warner Brothers released another great aviation film called "Dive Bomber," and if you're a fan of "The Golden Age of Aviation" it's one you have to see. Shot in Technicolor it's not just a movie, it's a time machine. It's 1941 now, and pacifism is out and preparedness is in. Check out the trailer...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPrW5Lq5K80
Firelock76Probably because Basil Rathbone was Sherlock Holmes! No-one's done him better, even though others have come close.
I don't think it's possible to have a better. He's better than the literary character, and that's saying something!
Rare for someone to be so good as one of the greatest heroes of the British tradition, just a couple of years from being one of the greatest villains (as the Sheriff of Nottingham) -- and nailing both of them canonically.
(On the other hand, it does have to be said that Leslie Howard, may he rest in peace, made a much better Scarlet Pimpernel, so good he could even do a knockoff on his own role.)
switch7frg ... those Rolls- Merlin engines in the Mustang sure do whistle a pretty tune.
So do the Packard V-1650s more commonly encountered there, don't you think?
(I am well aware of actual Rolls-Royce construction in the United States; I had a car that was made in Springfield and it's the full American equivalent of 54light's Britannic Citroen. But license-built is not Derby-built...)
Firelock76 But things change. Three years after "Dawn Patrol" Warner Brothers released another great aviation film called "Dive Bomber," and if you're a fan of "The Golden Age of Aviation" it's one you have to see. Shot in Technicolor it's not just a movie, it's a time machine. It's 1941 now, and pacifism is out and preparedness is in. Check out the trailer...
I watched "Dive Bomber" some 30+ years ago and it was quite the time capsule of the US in '40-'41 (early Heinlein stories are another good time capsule). Interesting to see the pre-war aerial shots of San Diego. Thought some of the plot lines were kind of hokey, but the recognition of flight surgeons was nice.
Overmod- A Rolls-Royce, obviously. Indeed! I had the Monogram model of it until I encountered firecrackers. There have been other American-made cars such as Fiats (Made in Poughkeepsie, New York) and Mercedes, not Mercedes-Benz, but Mercedes which would be pre-1925, actually from around 1914 but I don't recall where they were made. But Packard? In a class if its own from East Grand Boulevard in Detroit and no wonder that RR picked them to build the Merlin. Their production methods were far superior to anything that was done in the U.K. They had the capability and were available. Ford was busy with Willow Run where Rosie built the B-24 but I digress.
Ever hear a straight-eight Packard run? No, you haven't heard a Packard 8 run. Why? Because it doesn't make any noise! Refined! A refinement that obviously appealed to the Rolls-Royce people scouting out U.S. plants. The production capacity of the U.S. spelled doom for the turd reich. There was just no way for Adenoid Hynkel to win once Yankee (and Canadian) production got going. .
Dive Bomber?" Anything with Errol Flynn is worth seeing. If you see "Objective Burma," you will see one Phil Cochrane, the model for Milton Caniff's "Flip Corkin," a major character in his legendary comic strip, "Terry and the Pirates."So sue me, I'm a train, car, aircraft, movie and comic strip geek!
IIRC, one of the changes that Packard made to the Merlin was converting to SAE screw/bolt sizes and threads. I've also heard that the Packard built Merlins were better built than the wartime RR built Merlins. Interestingly enough, the P/F-82's (Twin Mustangs) were built with Allison engines.
Historical tidbit on the Merlin: The first step in the design of the Merlin was pushing a seated draftsman's back against the wall and tracing out his outline - no need to make the Merlin cross-section any smaller than the pilot sitting behind it.
If you have an interest in Packard products, in Dayton Ohio there is a Packard museum. Contains about 50+ Packard motor cars through the years, but also has a display of the Merlin engines, including the difficulty building the first ones. Converting from metric was one problem already mentioned. Another was that RR was making changes and improvements to them so fast during the wartime conditions that the changes were not properly documented. The plans RR sent didnt match the sample engines that were provided. Required Packard to do some back engineering.
Finally Packard built PT boat engines. These suckers were huge. There are some examples at the Dayton museum too.
Me, I love Packards! I'll take a 31 Roadster anyday. Who wouldn't? At the University of Toronto there is or was an engineering hall with a lot of vintage engines on display including a Merlin and various steam engines as well as a cut-away 36 HP Volkswagen engine. I haven't been there for 20 years but I do recall the Merlin.
54light15Me, I love Packards! I'll take a 31 Roadster anyday. Who wouldn't?
Form a line on the right ... behind me.
Love them ever so slightly earlier: always wanted a 745; may someday get one, but it has to be drivable every day. That rules out concours examples where the value goes down an odd hundred thousand if you scuff up the undercarriage.
Overmod 54light15 Me, I love Packards! I'll take a 31 Roadster anyday. Who wouldn't? Form a line on the right ... behind me. Love them ever so slightly earlier: always wanted a 745; may someday get one, but it has to be drivable every day. That rules out concours examples where the value goes down an odd hundred thousand if you scuff up the undercarriage.
54light15 Me, I love Packards! I'll take a 31 Roadster anyday. Who wouldn't?
Cars are to be driven - not put on pedestals! Operable 'barn finds' are pulling bigger $$$$$$ in some cases than Concours quality restorations.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Driving. That's what cars are for. The best trophy you can put on your old car is a stone chip. My 54 Light 15 Citroen came out of a barn in Quebec 13 years ago. The paint was chipped, there were dents and holes drilled for purposes I could never figure out. I re-did it mechanically and rewired it but left the body alone. People asked if I was going to restore it. I would say, "It is restored."
But one day, a kid in an SUV rear-ended it and it went to a body shop to get the damage repaired and the body guy repainted the whole thing after taking all the paint off including the original lacquer. Looked great when it was done, but that barn find patina was gone, damn it. It bugged me so much I ended up selling it. I ended up buying a 1949 Citroen that did come out of a barn, it looks it and that's the way it's going to stay. It's only original once.
My other Citroen is a 1954 Normale. It came out of a guy's backyard in 1983. It was painted in 1986 (it had to be) and is showing its age with a bazillion stone chips, scratches and so forth. It can be driven daily. Will I re-restore it? Nope. It's got patina on it that I earned myself.
BaltACDCars are to be driven - not put on pedestals! Operable 'barn finds' are pulling bigger $$$$$$ in some cases than Concours quality restorations.
That's the quandry we have with our 1932 fire truck - one of a small handful of that model left (only 32 were built). As nice and shiny as it would look if we did a frame-off restoration on it, it's currently all original.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
54light15Driving. That's what cars are for. The best trophy you can put on your old car is a stone chip. My 54 Light 15 Citroen came out of a barn in Quebec 13 years ago. The paint was chipped, there were dents and holes drilled for purposes I could never figure out. I re-did it mechanically and rewired it but left the body alone. People asked if I was going to restore it. I would say, "It is restored." But one day, a kid in an SUV rear-ended it and it went to a body shop to get the damage repaired and the body guy repainted the whole thing after taking all the paint off including the original lacquer. Looked great when it was done, but that barn find patina was gone, damn it. It bugged me so much I ended up selling it. I ended up buying a 1949 Citroen that did come out of a barn, it looks it and that's the way it's going to stay. It's only original once. My other Citroen is a 1954 Normale. It came out of a guy's backyard in 1983. It was painted in 1986 (it had to be) and is showing its age with a bazillion stone chips, scratches and so forth. It can be driven daily. Will I re-restore it? Nope. It's got patina on it that I earned myself.
What? No 2CV's
He's probably got one stashed in his bedroom closet
CSSHEGEWISCHHe's probably got one stashed in his bedroom closet
Or in the back of his Light 15 in case he runs out of gas
The Packard Museum in Dayton is worth the trip to Dayton. Then you drop by that other museum, you know, the one that the US Air Force has there.
This was about seven years ago, but I'd like to think that some people and some cars last forever.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/automobiles/collectibles/100000000895665/two-classics-one-car.html
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
BOB WITHORN The Packard Museum in Dayton is worth the trip to Dayton. Then you drop by that other museum, you know, the one that the US Air Force has there.
Sorry gents, no 2CVs. There's a lot of them in the club as well as the DS, the SM and others. I don't feel the need to own one when I can drive one pretty much any time I want. My other car is a 1960 Saab 93F, a 3 cylinder 2 stroke-a mint condition garage find as well and since it came from South Africa, not one speck of rust! That thing is a pisser to drive! The chain saw from hell!
Here's an interesting thing about the Saab. it was part of a collection of various European cars such as Mark 2 Jaguars, a 1961 Tatra, VWs and a 1950s Porsche that a guy came over from Germany to buy and paid 400,000 euros for it. It was gone when I picked up the Saab. So, with a price like that, it could not have been an ordinary 356 and I have been unable to find out just what model it was. A 550 Spyder perhaps?
I met Margaret Dunning at the Concours of America show in Michigan a few years ago. She was in mint condition and so was her Packard. I found at a toy show a Hubley metal kit of a Packard roadster like hers so that's how I painted it. It looks nice, too bad it ain't a real one.
Cars, cars, cars and airplanes... Gheesh... my bumper sticker reads:
My other vehicle is a
STEAM LOCOMOTIVE
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Mine:
https://www.moretvicar.com/media/product/2014/04/30/892_2733_w450.jpg
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Mine says "My Other Truck is a Fire Truck..."
Couldn't see it all in the time we had at the USAF Museum. Most impressive.
The Packard Museum is in the original/first Packard dealership.
If you're traveling through Georgia on Route 95 try and make time to see the Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler GA, right off the highway.
The wife and I stopped in for a quick visit several years ago, and stayed for hours!
Well worth a visit!
Firelock76 If you're traveling through Georgia on Route 95 try and make time to see the Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler GA, right off the highway. The wife and I stopped in for a quick visit several years ago, and stayed for hours! Well worth a visit!
Yeah, me too, however Savannah was where the 8th Air Force first came into being, a paper organization at first, and eventually the colossus and military legend it became. Pooler's very close to Savannah and the location off Route 95 gives it a lot of exposure.
anyway, here's a peek...
www.mightyeighth.org
Firelock76 Yeah, me too, however Savannah was where the 8th Air Force first came into being, a paper organization at first, and eventually the colossus and military legend it became. Pooler's very close to Savannah and the location off Route 95 gives it a lot of exposure. anyway, here's a peek... www.mightyeighth.org
I have been to the museum, and if you are ever anywhere close it is well worth your time and effort to go. The Historic District in Savannah (only 10-15 miles from the museum) is one of the best-preserved antebellum areas in the country, and there are a lot of historic locations within easy driving distance. Savannah is especially beautiful in the spring when the azaleas and dogwoods are blooming, and the Historic District is very walkable. One caveat - any time after mid-May the weather will be hot and humid, and it will stay that way until around October 1. There are also plenty of things for your family to do in and around Savannah if they aren't interested in warbirds.
If I am going to tour Savannah, I'll go to Baltimore. Far more interesting that a few little aircraft, really ...
http://www.ns-savannah.org/
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