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WWII historians...help!!

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  • Member since
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WWII historians...help!!
Posted by jody_c on Monday, October 26, 2009 7:43 PM
I have a strange question. For years I have seen a clip from WWII battle of Midway. It is of a Corsair coming in for a landing on an aircraft carrier, hitting the superstructure, crashing, and splitting in half just behind the pilot. The pilot lived and actually walked away. The scene was in the 1970's movie "Midway" with Charlton Heston. My question is..What aircraft carrier did that happen on ??? I can find the clip on the internet, but never a description on the aircraft carrier, the pilot or anything. I suppose I could try to get the movie, but I figured somebody in here might just have the answer. HELP !!!
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Posted by onyxman on Monday, October 26, 2009 8:00 PM
Whatever carrier it was, it wasn't at Midway.  There were no Corsairs at Midway. 
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Posted by ddp59 on Monday, October 26, 2009 8:02 PM
that wasn't a corsair but a f6f hellcat. that wasn't from battle of midway but i think from the mariannas turkey shoot(june 1944) in which 300+ japanese aircraft(land & naval) were destroyed. the aircraft carrier is most likely an essex class carrier.
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Posted by Anonymous on Monday, October 26, 2009 8:09 PM
 ddp59 wrote:
that wasn't a corsair but a f6f hellcat. that wasn't from battle of midway but i think from the mariannas turkey shoot(june 1944) in which 300+ japanese aircraft(land & naval) were destroyed. the aircraft carrier is most likely an essex class carrier.
Ditto...a diorama in 32nd scale was actually made of that incident by Master Modeler Lewis Preneau...
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Posted by jody_c on Monday, October 26, 2009 8:56 PM
Well that's what I'm looking to do, I wanted to model the ship with the crashed aircraft on the deck. That's why I was wondering if anybody knew exactly what ship it was. I swear looking at the video, it looked like a F4 corsair, and I know the actual clip was used in the movie Midway. By the way..where can I find the dio of Lewis Preneu, any links?
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Posted by bondoman on Monday, October 26, 2009 9:02 PM

CV-10 Yorktown. She was commissioned in 1943, sailed from Pearl Harbor on 8/22/43 in first combat sortie.

Trumpeter in 1/350:

http://hsfeatures.com/yorktownrc_1.htm

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Posted by bondoman on Monday, October 26, 2009 9:42 PM
 ddp59 wrote:
that wasn't a corsair but a f6f hellcat. that wasn't from battle of midway ...the aircraft carrier is most likely an essex class carrier.
One more reason why that movie stinks.
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Posted by subfixer on Monday, October 26, 2009 9:48 PM
The movie stinks for sure, but I was there when they filmed it so I cut it a little slack.

I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

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Posted by Anonymous on Monday, October 26, 2009 10:38 PM
 jody_c wrote:
I swear looking at the video, it looked like a F4 corsair, and I know the actual clip was used in the movie Midway. By the way..where can I find the dio of Lewis Preneu, any links?
The Hellcat had a slight "gull wing" when viewed from the front but it was a Hellcat for sure...there are other clips showing crack-ups that do involve Corsairs...the dio from Lewis was in an old issue of FSM---I'll see if I can dig up the pic...
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Posted by bondoman on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 10:33 AM

Thanks for the recollection, Manny. Looking back at those Verlinden Dios is really humbling.

Here's Lewis Pruneau with the dio.

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Posted by ddp59 on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 3:11 PM
jody, the canopy is wrong for a corsair but right for a hellcat.
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Posted by jody_c on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 4:42 PM
Thank you folks for all the info. I really do appreciate it. So in conclusion, It was a hellcat, on MOST IMPORTANTLY, the CV10 USS Yorktown ? BUT this didn't occur durring Midway, right ?
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Posted by stikpusher on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 4:44 PM

If you look on this link, at 3:05 the clip appears to be the same. The deck number is 10, USS Yorktown. And it is an F6F.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcl9XkZOrUU

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

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Posted by bondoman on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 4:49 PM
 jody_c wrote:
Thank you folks for all the info. I really do appreciate it. So in conclusion, It was a hellcat, on MOST IMPORTANTLY, the CV10 USS Yorktown ? BUT this didn't occur durring Midway, right ?
No, at Midway this ship was still under construction.
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Posted by stikpusher on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 4:58 PM

 jody_c wrote:
Thank you folks for all the info. I really do appreciate it. So in conclusion, It was a hellcat, on MOST IMPORTANTLY, the CV10 USS Yorktown ? BUT this didn't occur durring Midway, right ?

Nope, the Yorktown at Midway was CV-5, where she was sunk. CV-10 was renamed after her, prior to being commisioned. The Hellcat did not see operational combat on carriers until 1943. That clip was taken from the documentary film, "The Fighting Lady" filmed during the Marianas campaign in mid 1944.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

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Posted by jody_c on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 5:06 PM
Got it !! Thanks alot folks. I was tossed up between Trumpeters 1/350 Hornet or the Yorktown. I just figured I would add a little interest by having a wrecked plane on the deck. Both look awesome, if I do the Hornet, then it was going to be the Doolittle Raid theme. But the Yorktown models I've seen have a selection of aircraft, therefore being of interest in itself. SO...OFF i GO TO BUY ONE..AGAIN THANKS TO ALL. Jody
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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 5:16 PM
I always wondered if those guys were able to get out of the way from that Hellcat sliding on its belly on the deck to the island in that YOUTUBE clip...?
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Posted by Mike F6F on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 5:28 PM
Looks like the island in the diorama shot is a CVL or CVE island, not an Essex-class one.

Mike

Mike

 

"Grumman on a Navy Airplane is like Sterling on Silver."

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Posted by stikpusher on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 5:51 PM

 jody_c wrote:
Got it !! Thanks alot folks. I was tossed up between Trumpeters 1/350 Hornet or the Yorktown. I just figured I would add a little interest by having a wrecked plane on the deck. Both look awesome, if I do the Hornet, then it was going to be the Doolittle Raid theme. But the Yorktown models I've seen have a selection of aircraft, therefore being of interest in itself. SO...OFF i GO TO BUY ONE..AGAIN THANKS TO ALL. Jody

There was a damaged Yorktown F4F that had a hard landing on Hornet during the Battle of Midway that might make for an interesting dio. Here is a link with info and photos.

http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Ships/CV8/MidwayF4FDamageReport.html

Manny I wonder the same thing about those deck crew guys... obviously a very hazardous job during flight recovery ops.

 

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

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  • From: EG48
Posted by Tracy White on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 6:03 PM

 Mike F6F wrote:
Looks like the island in the diorama shot is a CVL or CVE island, not an Essex-class one.

It'd be a later CVE if anything. I know for certain it's not one of the Independence class CVLs. 

Tracy White Researcher@Large

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Posted by bondoman on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 7:20 PM
 Mike F6F wrote:
Looks like the island in the diorama shot is a CVL or CVE island, not an Essex-class one.

Mike
I noticed that, but I'm really going to stick my neck out and suggest that unless William Wyler and the Gov't. were fibbing us, it's the Yorktown, and the modeller probably chose not to create what would be a towering study of an island structure, but use a little license to focus on the deck scene.
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Posted by rcboater on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 8:23 PM

 jody_c wrote:
I know the actual clip was used in the movie Midway.

That movie has to be one the biggest stinkers of all time.  It has a ridiculous collection of stock and retread footage used throughout.  The biggest gaffe has to be Charlton Heston's plane-- he takes off to attack the Japanese in a 2 seater-- by the time he's over the fleet,  he's in a single seat fighter.  When he crash lands on the ship, his plane is now a jet!

About the only historical fact you can take from that movie is that there was an island named Midway......

Webmaster, Marine Modelers Club of New England

www.marinemodelers.org

 

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Posted by stikpusher on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 8:50 PM
While it did have many technical errors, mainly in footage chosen, it still stands up better historicly than say, Battle of the Bulge or Pearl Harbor.... It did follow most of the historical facts. If they had cut out the romance sub plot, they could have had the time for the factual stuff that was left out.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    April 2005
Posted by ddp59 on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 9:26 PM
jody, which hornet are you thinking of getting, the yorktown class carrier hornet or the essex class carrier hornet? the hornet that launched the doolittle raid is of the yorktown class carrier.
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Posted by bondoman on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 9:38 PM
 ddp59 wrote:
jody, which hornet are you thinking of getting, the yorktown class carrier hornet or the essex class carrier hornet? the hornet that launched the doolittle raid is of the yorktown class carrier.
Sign - Ditto [#ditto]Jody go back to my earlier post of the Essex/ Hornet...
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Posted by bondoman on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 9:42 PM
 stikpusher wrote:
While it did have many technical errors, mainly in footage chosen, it still stands up better historicly than say, Battle of the Bulge or Pearl Harbor.... It did follow most of the historical facts. If they had cut out the romance sub plot, they could have had the time for the factual stuff that was left out.
Sure, and the Godfather trilogy is better than the American Pie series, I think... Compare it to TTT though. The big sales pitch was the sound system which rocked the building. Actually the reason I don't like it is that it virtually ignores that the battle was largely won by land based forces.
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Posted by subfixer on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 10:24 PM

 bondoman wrote:
Actually the reason I don't like it is that it virtually ignores that the battle was largely won by land based forces.

Midway was largely won by land forces? Please elaborate, bondo. (This should be good)

I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

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Posted by bondoman on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 10:35 PM
 subfixer wrote:

 bondoman wrote:
Actually the reason I don't like it is that it virtually ignores that the battle was largely won by land based forces.

Midway was largely won by land forces? Please elaborate, bondo. (This should be good)

Forces based on land.
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Posted by subfixer on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 10:45 PM

(smart aleck!)

You are referring to the B-17s, B-26s, TBFs, and SBDs based at Midway and were launched the initial attack, I take it. The main effect that these aircraft had, from what I understand, was to set the Japanese formation into disarray. The carrier aircraft from Yorktown, Hornet, and Enterprise delivered the killing blows, unless I am mistaken, which I may very well be.

I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

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Posted by Aaronw on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 10:57 PM
 stikpusher wrote:

If you look on this link, at 3:05 the clip appears to be the same. The deck number is 10, USS Yorktown. And it is an F6F.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcl9XkZOrUU

 

That deck crewman at 2:46 has a quite a pair. They didn't have much in the way of fire protective clothing in WW2 and he is just up on the wing to get the pilot out ignoring that ball of fire below. That would be pretty risky with modern PPE. Make a Toast [#toast] 

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