Does have a bunch of nifty P-47 footage...
But how lazy did the producers have to be to use P-51s as the German fighters?
This was 1948, and they could have gotten ACTUAL Bf109s (or equiv HA-1112 or AVIA S-99) from Spain, Israel, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia Hungary, etc...
Thank goodness audiences demand more now!
Yes......audiences demand. And what do they get?
FRIGGIN' CGI CARTOONS!
Can you say "Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor", boys and girls?
Sure ya can!
Mustangs as Messerschmitts or not, "Fighter Squadron" is still a great classic from the era.
Six Actual......OUT!
Not really a matter of being lazy... it's improvisation born of necessity.
This film was a Ham and Egger, and it didn't have a really huge budget; not enough to go to Europe, or to import the proper airplanes.
They used a cooperative Air National Guard squadron in the area (Van Nuys) to play the Bad Guys... which cut costs in another way; they didn't have to search for and hire pilots who are checked out in BF-109s.
If you want to see one even WORST than Nazi P-51Ds... check out James Cagney's CAPTAINS OF THE CLOUDS.
They used an RCAF Hawker Hurricane as a Msesserschmidt to attack Lockheed Hudsons!
Actually, the early Allison-engined P-51s/A-36s (w/o the prominent chin-scoop of the Merlin-engined models) were so similar to the Me-109 in profile that some were shot down by friendly fire. Now, if you want to get me started, look at THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE, where M47 tanks are passed off as King Tigers, and M24 Chaffes are passed off as Shermans. At least THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS, KELLY'S HEROES, and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN used T-34s that were made up to look like Tigers.
shareExcept the movie uses D models with the bubble canopy, which is painfully obvious to not resemble any Messerschmitt fighter. Can't even draw a close comparison to FW birds.
Yet "The Battle of Britian" dug up relatively authentic era German fighters and bombers, no less. Budget I guess, and BOB is just a much better movie overall.
The Battle Britain used Spanish BF-109s that used Rolls Royce engines
shareAnd even more ironic: Just a few short years before "Patton" was filmed in Spain, the Spanish military sold it's remaining Wehrmacht vintage vehicles (Pzkw IVs Medium Tanks; STG Self propelled guns; Halftracks) to Syria. If only collectors were around 'back then'.
Why can't you wretched prey creatures understand that the Universe doesn't owe you anything!?