Being shot down in the desert question

[Thumpalumpacus]

The Desert War must have been a popular TV theme. There was also an episode of the Twilight Zone about a B-25 that went down in North Africa. The original air date was 1960, only 15 years after the end of the War.

"King Nine will Not Return"

When I lived in Iran, AFRTS for a short time reran an older series called The Rat Patrol, based on British raiding exploits in the Desert War. According to Wiki, which is probably right about pop-culture stuff, it ran in America for a year. I remember watching a few of them many years later overseas.

Of course, AFRTS was a military network, so there's gotta be some bias in the selection of material to air. They also aired World at War in its entirety.

 

[nuuumannn]

I keep thinking about that Kittyhawk flown by Flt Sgt Dennis Copping and his fate. Also the Lady Be Good crew. I realize they did not go down as a direct result of combat but thinking about them got me to thinking about the guys Marseille shot down who were able to make it down alive.

Here's a good article about the aircraft, including pictures of it now at the El Alamein war museum.

Desert War Kittyhawk Unveiled in Egypt

After several years of speculation concerning its whereabouts, a combat-veteran P-40 Curtiss Kittyhawk has again resurfaced in Egypt.

warbirdsnews.com

 

[wingnuts]

An interesting extract from Wiki about Hans Joachim Marseille:

"As Marseille began to claim Allied aircraft regularly, on occasion he organised the welfare of the downed pilot personally, driving out to remote crash sites to rescue downed Allied airmen. On 13 September 1941 Marseille shot down Pat Byers of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) No. 451 Squadron. Marseille flew to Byers' airfield and dropped a note informing the Australians of his condition and treatment. He returned several days later to second the first note with news of Byers' death. Marseille repeated these sorties after being warned by Neumann that Göring had forbade any more flights of this kind.".

Hans-Joachim Marseille - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[tyrodtom]

The rigid German officer slapping the Sherman tank festooned with Balkenkreuz and calling it a panzer. The cowardly Troy McLure (you may remember him from such films as....).
Hopping around the dessert in a wounded P-40. Delightfully awful.

That's Doug McClure, from the 60's TV series The Virginian, and many movies.
Troy McClure is from The Simpsons.

 

[rob23]

I thought it had flak damage (the P-40) somewhere back by the tail, no? Would it have helped if he set it on fire? Maybe the tires on a calm day, and someone, anyone would see? I wonder...

I thought I had read the engine had been repaired, not well apparently, and Copping was flying it back from the repair depot when it quit. I might be remembering wrong however.

 

[GrauGeist]

The fuselage shows damage from small arms fire/light flak.
One of the photos taken by the Polish guys also shows damage to the radio wiring that corresponds with the holes to the upper fuselage (indicating ground fire).

So chances are, the Flight Seargant took ground fire that damaged his engine and radio, causing him to fall back un-noticed.
Unable to raise the others on the radio as they continued, with a failing engine and a dead radio, he was in big trouble.
The ground fire may have come from Bedouins, too, as they were known to shoot at anything.

 

[SaparotRob]

When I lived in Iran, AFRTS for a short time reran an older series called The Rat Patrol, based on British raiding exploits in the Desert War. According to Wiki, which is probably right about pop-culture stuff, it ran in America for a year. I remember watching a few of them many years later overseas.

Of course, AFRTS was a military network, so there's gotta be some bias in the selection of material to air. They also aired World at War in its entirety.

The Rat Patrol. I loved it as a kid. A Jeep with a .50 cal. My idea of a dune buggy. If it weren't for a satire of the show in Mad Magazine, I wouldn't have known that England participated in that theatre.
Did you notice each character had a different hat?

 

[pbehn]

Years ago I read a serialised account of a couple of competitors in the Paris Dakar rally, before it became a well organised event. The start in Paris was eventful, then the journey through France and the racing was very dramatic. They got lost and crashed in the Sahara, which left them fighting for survival, eking out meagre food and water rations. In the final instalment they were found by the locals who live there, given food and water and transported to a pick up point. Which kinda undermined the tale of survival. In many deserts there is lots of water. My office in Saudi Arabia was 4 ft above the water table, they dug a hole for a new machine in the test house next door and it flooded (filled to the level of the water table) overnight. It is drinkable water. Same in North Africa, there is or was plenty of water in many places but you need to be organised with equipment to get it, a man with a pick axe will die of dehydration before reaching it.

libya man made river - Bing

Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

www.bing.com

 

[rob23]

The Rat Patrol. I loved it as a kid. A Jeep with a .50 cal. My idea of a dune buggy. If it weren't for a satire of the show in Mad Magazine, I wouldn't have known that England participated in that theatre.
Did you notice each character had a different hat?

I had a Rat Patrol lunch box. Wish I still did.

 

[SaparotRob]

I had a Rat Patrol lunch box. Wish I still did.

Probably worth way more than lunch now.

 

[fastmongrel]

If it weren't for a satire of the show in Mad Magazine, I wouldn't have known that England participated in that theatre.

I remember talking to someone about the desert campaign and he was stunned when I told him that the Italian army did most of the fighting. He had read a book about Rommel and the Afrika Korp that never mentioned Italy.

 

[skyskooter]

Margaret Thatcher nearly lost her son Mark in the desert when he went missing on a motor rally during her time as Prime Minister.

 

[herman1rg]

Margaret Thatcher nearly lost her son Mark in the desert when he went missing on a motor rally during her time as Prime Minister.

Paris - Dakar 1982

 

[pbehn]

Margaret Thatcher nearly lost her son Mark in the desert when he went missing on a motor rally during her time as Prime Minister.

Unfortunately someone found him.

Edit from Wiki. Mark Thatcher - Wikipedia

Sir Bernard Ingham, the Prime Minister's press secretary, suggested that he could best help the government win the 1987 general election by leaving the country.

 

[Dimlee]

Saint-Exupery and mechanic-navigator André Prévot survived for 3 days in the Lybian Desert...

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And now we have Le Petit Prince.

 

[Dimlee]

On the light side does anyone remember this made for TV movie from '73?

Even on the lighter side... Not in the desert, sorry.
www.facebook.com/mikhial007/videos/1052425871446832/

 

[ARTESH]

Saint-Exupery and mechanic-navigator André Prévot survived for 3 days in the Lybian Desert...

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And now we have Le Petit Prince.

WoW!