What is your favorite WWII aviation movie

[renrich]

Actually PB, I thought the book was better than the movie. Of course it was more comprehensive and included a lot of stuff about RAF tactics at that time and the failure of those tactics. The movie featured Spits which made it worthwhile to watch but since the book was about the flying in France in 39 and 40 it was Hurricanes. Same author wrote a book about WW1 flying which was good but I can't remember the author's name or book title.

 

[ToughOmbre]

John Wayne Flying Tigers

I love the Duke, but "Flying Tigers" had the AVG in combat against the Japanese prior to the Pearl Harbor attack. Big, big historical error.

TO

 

[evangilder]

Excellent point, TO. I totally forgot that they didn't actually engage the Japanese until after Pearl Harbor.

 

[Thorlifter]

Man, I haven't seen Catch-22 in a month of Sunday's. I'll have to see if I can buy that one.

 

[LWulf]

For me it's The Tuskegee Airmen.

 

[MIflyer]

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. Period.

A Guy Named Joe is not as good, and is fictional, but they used the real Doolittle Raiders as extras.

 

[XBe02Drvr]

Tora! Tora! Tora!



BoB
12 O'Clock High

 

[swampyankee]

Catch 22

I also thought Patton was very good, albeit more than a bit of a hagiography.

 

[buffnut453]

One of my all-time favourites is Angels One-Five. A bit old-fashioned and clichéd but, for me, one of the best depictions of the mindset and attitudes of RAF fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain (and which, frankly, hasn't changed much in the intervening 78 years!).

Agree with others on Twelve O'clock High, Reach for the Sky (Bader is one of my all-time heroes), Tora Tora Tora, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, the Dambusters and, of course, the Battle of Britain.

Command Decision is also pretty good, although it's not really about flying per se.

I also still have a soft spot for 633 Sqn...there's one bit where the Mossies are flying up the fjord and, just before the movie fades to the next scene, you get a glimpse of one of the Mossies that looks like it's about 30ft off the water! Love it...and a chap can't have too many Mosquitos (de Havilland variety only, if you please)!!

Just to wrap it up...one immediate postwar movie that often gets overlooked is The Sound Barrier with some fantastic footage of the prototype Supermarine Attacker. Yes, we all know it wasn't supersonic and the film is replete with "stiff upper lip-edness" but I still like it.

 

[MIflyer]

Battle Hymn has some WWII scenes in it but is mainly about the Korean War. Probably the best film ever if you like to look at P-51's.