MovieChat Forums > The Great Raid (2005) Discussion > Plane buzzing camp

Plane buzzing camp

posted 16 years ago by ddowney-1
7 replies | jump to latest

I saw a documentary recently about this operation-one of the people interviewed was Robert Prince himself-it was very good. They also interviewed some of the prisoners who were there at that time.

The plane that buzzed the camp during the movie was a Lockheed Ventura. It always seemed strange to me that the plane used was a Ventura-somehow it seemed out of place.

During the documentary the prisoners and soldiers talked of the plane that buzzed the camp-it was actually a P-61 Black Widow. The Ventura was used for night fighting(and a number of other missions)too like the P-61 but I don't think there were any squadrons that served in the Phillipines.

The documentary was well done and to me brought out more clearly the danger of this mission than the movie. This was a suicide mission that was almost perfectly executed by the Rangers and the tough Filipinos-magnificent.

[–] sosteel 16 years ago

I haven't researched it, so I don't know, but I suspect there aren't many P-61's still in flying condition. I saw a documentary recently where they were trying to recover one on New Guinea. I suspect the Lockheed was probably the closest thing they could get their hands on. There used to be a PV-2 Harpoon (a later variant) up at a field near Hohenwald, Tennessee that had supposedly seen service in the Aleutians late in the war. I suppose it's possible the Navy used them elsewhere in the Pacific theater; the USAAF also used this aircraft as did just about every Commonwealth air force.

[–] Jade_Falcon 16 years ago

As has been mentioned, apparently there are no airworthy P-61's left in the world.

[–] redwingjs 16 years ago

Yep. There are none that fly and I guess they didn't want to CG it.

I'm not an actor. I just play one on TV.
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[–] rrsbls 15 years ago

Keep in mind that most of the movie was filmed in Australia and the choice of aircraft was pretty slim, I imagine.

[–] colin-barron 15 years ago

Actually I think the twin -engined aircraft used in the film wasn't a Lockheed Ventura at all but the similar -looking Lockheed Hudson. There is just one airworthy Hudson in the world based at Temora ,NSW,Australia and this must have been the one used in the movie.

Colin

[–] stealthman 15 years ago

In a year or so, that will change.
The Mid-Atlantic Air Museum is currently restoring a P61.
I hope to be there when it flies.

"WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND THEY IS US"

POGO

[–] cfeaton 15 years ago

The plane that buzzed the camp in 1944 was a P-61, but (as others have noted) there were no airworthy P-61's available for shooting. For filming they used a Lockheed Hudson, which is based on the civilian Lockheed Super Electra L-14 and was designed by Kelly Johnson. The Hudson was produced in numerous variants for reconnaissance, light bombing missions, troop transport, etc.