SPITFIRE 944
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- Опубліковано 16 жов 2024
- In 2005, an 83 year-old World War II pilot is surprised to see 16mm footage of his 1944 Spitfire crash for the first time.
SPITFIRE 944 was put on UA-cam as part of the Sundance Film Festival Memorial Day observance through from May 22 through June 5, 2013 (UPDATE, ShortsHD is allowing the film to stay on youtube for the moment:) The Sundance portal is here: www.sundance.or....
If you are interested in your own copy, you can find it on iTunes here:
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You take a young American, barely out of college, you give him a wonderful plane, tell him to fly out to Berlin, take some pictures and fly back again! Alone, and, without guns! He did all that thousands of miles from his own back yard - in someone else's domain. No amount of medals could reward that true gentleman of the skies, his honest courage and integrity shines through, his down-home American ideal a credit to himself and the American people. Great respect from a Brit.
Thank you William. My grandfather loves to have family read comments from British viewers. His parents were originally British citizens and an older brother was born in England. His father actually had to appeal to regain his American citizenship after WW1 as he'd shipped out to the trenches from Canada in 1915 after teaching calvary tactics in Oregon. What's never really been covered in any of the stories about my grandfather is that he spent the war with his British aunts, uncles, and cousins after arriving just a year after his grandfather's death. He learned from an uncle at a rocket battery in London who advised him on how to change course at certain intervals to avoid being hit. He went to the 1000th victory party and made friends at Biggin Hill who later looked out for him. I'm convinced that my grandfather improved his odds by constantly seeking out new ideas as he traveled around England. It's also unfortunate that we've never fully documented the rest of his adventures during the war, as he made sure to get as much living in as possible. Someday I'll post a video of a night he's reenacted all of my life, where he came around a corner in London to find himself face to face with Winston Churchill and Churchill's driver. The only other comment, is that he had first joined the national guard a month before his sixteenth birthday and he only made it to college once the war was over. The high point of his life, and it's been a very good one where he's helped a lot of people, has been his days flying a Spitfire and we especially love to hear from viewers from Southhampton. They built one of the greatest planes ever made.
You sir, are a hero. On behalf of all of England and every other allied countries, thank you.
It is MARCH 3, 2015 TODAY, as I type this comment, and TODAY Lt. Col. John Blythe (USAF Ret.) IS STILL ALIVE at age 92. I know because my sister helps him out at his home once in a while in the Olympia, WA area. So Col. Blythe, I salute you, Sir!! I'm a vet myself, and a pilot and a flight instructor with thousands of hours of flying time, but nothing like this. Wow.My Dad was on B-17s. Those boys were brave men. The boys on the other side were brave men too. God bless 'em all.
Patrick Dague my father was bliss massengill in the film with lt.col john blythe you said your sister takes care of him i was wondering if he remembered him
Sorry - my sister moved & she is no longer a care giver for Col. Blythe so I can't get an answer for you.
The person John Blyth is referring to is Kermit Bliss, one of the commanders of the base. www.wisvetsmuseum.com/collections/oral_history/transcriptions/B/Bliss,Kermit%20_OH58_.pdf
What a great guy!
" Any pilot should fly a Spitfire at least once!"
I picked that up, too :)
Love that expression on his face when he realizes he's watching himself! Great documentary.
Spitfire944 is one of most interesting video's that I have seen in a long long time, and I am 90years of age, and there has been some very interesting things shown on UA-cam.
"Any pilot should fly a Spitfire at least once" What a fantastic documentary. Brilliant. Well Done!!
This is an amazing little story. I loved the look on his face as it dawned on him what he was seeing. He seemed so happy and willing to share his stories, and folks like these are becoming so few and far between.
To any young kids out there reading this, if you ever get the opportunity to hear stories from someone of this or any generation older than yourself, take and relish in that opportunity.
I can't watch WWII veterans tell their stories without tearing up, so powerful and moving.
SUPERB !!
I've always loved the spitfire and I used to live near Bradwell where he landed once.
An old fella in Southminster my Mum knew, used to take a horse and cart loaded with vegetables from the farm to Bradwell airfield for the pilots kitchens. One day he arrived just as a spitfire was coming in all shot to pieces, glass smashed, no wing tips etc and it came in on it's belly. When the pilot got out, he marched across the field in a stiff legged way and shouted.. "The bastards nearly got me that time" It was Douglas Bader :0)
Hey man i couldn't stop grinning when i saw the reaction of this veteran on the footage of his belly landing! .... jesssusss over Germany without guns, this is truly a hero ..... respect, humongous respect!.
+Pitt Brad This is so well done, and what a great guy. Last year I met a photo-recon pilot who flew an unarmed Phantom in Vietnam. He said his only defense was speed; I'll bet the PRU blue Spitfires went like greased lightning.
Really enjoyed this video!
Lt. Col Blyth came to speak to our Cascade Warbirds group at the Historic Flight Foundation museum back in October of 2013. Great storyteller and an overall fantastic person.
My group asked me to build a detailed model of his PR.XI in 1/48 scale which I did. He actually cried when I presented it to him!
I love how you can still see a hint of the young man's smile as soon as he sees himself.
Those guys really were the greatest generation. I'm so glad you found him so he could see this.
how he said that sentence " i always flew unarmed....and alone...." respect sir !
Congratulations to Lt. Col. Colonel John S. Blyth USAF on 1 MILLION UA-cam views of SPITFIRE 944 since May !
Great work!
I was born in Malta and I knew the war as a child. I owe my life to people like this gentleman as many more do.
The year is 2016, It is late, but , Sir, I salute you, and thank you
Then you must have seen "Malta Story" (1953). The main character, portrayed by Alec Guinness, was loosely based on the most famous photo reconnaissance pilot of the war, Adrian Warburton, who flew nearly every type of aircraft used by the allies for PR, most notably the Martin Maryland, various marks of PR Spitfires, the Lockheed F-5 and the de Havilland Mosquito.
Such a great story! My wife's uncle flew P47's in the Pacific. He was one of the best men I ever knew. I had the privilege of sitting with him as he passed away. He has "slipped the surly bonds of Earth" for good and now "dances the skies on laughter silver wings"!
One brave man among many who helped to win the war against Nazi tyranny. Respect from a brit.
As a Brit, I loved every minute of this! Amazing job, well done. To fly into Germany completely unarmed is just incredible! Bill - these folk were so unassuming, yet true heroes. The guys who fought the Battle of Britain TRULY saved the western world from domination by Hitler - that Battle was a turning point. My father was evacuated from Dunkirk then fought, in Sicily, Italy, and North Africa. My uncle was killed, age 23, over Hannover. God Bless all those folk who fought, to give us freedom.
That was one of the best videos I've ever seen on UA-cam.
Bravo!!!
(subscribed)
That was so good to see. Loved it.
I wish I could think of something appropriate to say after watching this astonishing film, but it leaves me totally speechless. Thank you Col. Blyth and all those of The Greatest Generation who served with you. You have my undying admiration.
That pilot has balls to do that without guns or bullet-proof glass. The spitfire was a real marvel for it's time, probably kept him alive. Good man with a kind heart it seems.
He really wanted to fly Mosquitos. He's always admired the range and many other characteristics. He flew P-51's after the war, but loved his time with the Spitfire. Someday I'll try to post video of his hand motions as he describes pulling a chandelle after a high altitude Me109 dropped on him. Amazing stuff.
Great for an old veteran to see his contributions appreciated. But it never mentioned the unit he flew with? My dad did photo recon with the 25th BG flying Mosquitos. A lot of people don't know that U.S. pilots flew Mosquitos either. Yah, recon was striped down unarmed planes flying fast and low.
At 1:39 the narration says "the 14th Photo-Reconnaissance Squadron." This was part of the 7th Photo Reconnaissance Group.
So much to admire here; the pilot's incredible detailed memory and obvious professionalism. But what blows me away - he was 18. EIGHTEEN for Petes sake. Great documentary - deserves to do really well.
That was absolutely fantastic. Mr. Blyth is a certified bad ass. That guy could tell stories all day and I would sit right there and listen to every bit of it. I really enjoyed watching his reactions. Great stuff.
This is an incredible story and you had luck to identify the pilot and interview him after such a long period.
Thank you very much for the upload.
Best regards from Germay
*RCSA*
This video is AMAZING. I am fascinated with WWII history so this is so cool. Ironically, General Dixon is my great grandfather, I am so glad I found this video.
That's great -- Small world !!
DAvenport 3-2614
Phenomenal work lads. Really well done.
Awesome job, I am so glad that people are now taking the time to honor these veterans. To Mr. Blythe, Thank You for your service.
The best UA-cam video I have seen in a long time.
It's great when you find a real gem like this video shinning brightly amid all the vacuous nonsense of modern life. Thanks for posting.
The telecine in SPITFIRE 944 was made at Fotokem in Burbank in 2004 to Beta SP tape. Ultimately this SD material was blown up to 35mm film and then remastered on HD in 2007. Earlier this year (2013) I had some of the color 16mm elements re-scanned at 4K resolution by Image Trends -- you can see this on my UA-cam Channel. The AGFA stock in my family archive was used for the pre-war home movies, such as my Great Uncle's graduation from Stanford, and other family hanging out in their backyard.
Great film- I live in Astoria Oregon and bumped into a gentleman charging his Tesla Model S so I decided to strike up a conversation with him. After about 20 minutes we got onto the subject of his dad after the gentleman saw I had an SR-71 sticker on my truck. He continued to tell me about his father and how he did these missions and then he says to watch this documentary. I did and I love it. I hope to bump into Scott again one day and further our discussion. BTW, when I saw Mr. Blythe I couldnt believe how similar he and his son look.
You'll be happy to hear that SPITFIRE 944 is six years old and played at 23 film festivals around the world during 2006-2008. It's completely acceptable to me if people have their own preferences about narration, music, or the film in general (as long as they are polite.) As I've pointed out earlier, in our view, the first person voice was central to establishing point-of-view, and electronic music befits a film about an internet search. Of course, this is all debatable. Thanks for watching.
Excellent video . Thanks to the few American pilots who flew with no guns and no escorts . Luckily he was flying the best aircraft ever built. It proves to some American deniers ( Wilbur Finnigan ; Mark Park et al ) that Spitfires DID fly to Berlin and back !!!!
Many thanks to William Lorton, the Savage family, & everyone involved in Spitfire 944. My grandfather, John Blyth, has really enjoyed hearing about the responses. We talked over the weekend about friends he'd lost during the war and he retold great stories about Wendell "Blick" Blickensderfer who died on Jan. 19, 1944 and Charles Goffin who died on Sept. 8, 1944 (Both can be found on aircrewremembered). I got to hear again about how Goffin was able to get two Me 109's in an Italian biplane.
13:43 that was the sweetest Aeroplane, any pilot should fly a Spitfire at least once!! Loved that bit
The look on Mr. Blyth's face is enough reason we celebrate remembrance or veterans day. Great footage
Glad you liked it! In 2011 the BBC licensed some of my Great Uncle's WWII footage and spoke to John Blyth for their documentary about how all the cameras these planes used were stereoscopic. It was called "Operation Crossbow" and I think it aired on PBS in some form. UA-cam won't let me post the link in this comment but if you search BBC and "Operation Crossbow" it will come up.
Great Film. "Every pilot should fly a Spitfire at least once." I've heard a lot of British WWII pilots say that, but to hear an American say it just shows what a great bird they were.
Very brave men doing dangerous work. There must be thousands of untold stories just like this.
That was awesome! My Dad was a side gunner on a B-17 during those times. My wife and i just finished watching, we have tears in our eyes. Just a great story, thank you so much for sharing this!
Now THAT was the best thing I've seen on youtube, period
You made his day!
I had a similar experience-I played the 45th Anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission, where Commander Borman "barbeque-rolled" the capsule, and they ended up taking the Earthrise photo...I played the NASA video they posted on Christmas Eve, for Frank Borman himself, right in my office at work. He'd never seen/heard the actual tape of he, Lovell and Anders, as they shot the still photos. Frank smiled, tears in his eyes, and I stood next to him, my arm around his shoulders. It was an epic moment. We shared that trip down his memory lane, and I'll never forget it! :-)
What a guy!
Wonderful documentary... thanks for posting. Amazing story.
Excellent job, you must be very proud!!, I saw the face of that gentleman when you show him the movie and his eyes lighted up!
Excellent documentary, very moving...Those were brave young men that saved us from tyranny, and kept us free!They are now passing on one by one...I sure hope we can come up with more like them.
Absolutely incredible!! So good that Jim savage captured such things - & John Blyth - WHAT A GUY!!
Well done, & thank you HEAPS for sharing this - with us, and especially with John.
Heartwarming.. Top respect from the UK sir.. :)
Just watched this amazing film, great work guys, not just for the film but the amount of research that went into this project, but to get all this to the actual pilot, just AWESOME.
Wow! Incredible that you were able to locate and show him. The expression on Mr. Blyth's face is truly priceless!!!!! Thank you for sharing this history with us, a great story we all should be told. Good job!!
This is brilliant. A magnificent aeroplane, and a magnificent man. Well done all on this film.
Absolutely Fabulous, couldn't hold the tears back telling my wife about it. Thank you so much for sharing it, and Thanks to all who served and serve our county.
This is probably one of the best videos I have ever watched. So touching and what a great inspiring video. Love to see our heroes smile years later after their service to our country.
I believe no matter what military you served, this story tugs at your heart strings and likely will bring a tear to your eye. A great sense of pride and joy is felt for having the opportunity to meet albeit via UA-cam, this wonderful gentleman pilot. Thank you DAvenport 3-2614 for sharing this story and we feel Brisdad53 has said it best.
Thank you for your service Colonel Blyth and thank you for the Interview.
This is fantastic! What a mini-documentary this is!
One of my uncles served on an aircraft carrier in WWII and Korea, so I have a real interest in this.
Well done and thanks so much for remembering the veterans of the largest war in history!
Thanks to all who contributed!
Very interesting and moving. Thumbs up from Germany!
Mate, great work. I congratulate you for preserving the original film onto digital media.
What you have done for that Gentleman is nothing short of fantastic. Well done and keep trying to find those guys. Thank you for sharing that moment.
What a fabulous testimonial to this brave man! Thanks for what you did, and more so, for sharing with us all.
Well that was really Fantastic .just love that footage .and the story really well Done
Im now 76 and have lots of RAF books on WW2 Fighter Pilots .
I really appreciate that Story and film footage
Excellent video! I didn't know they flew those unarmed missions in spitfires either. Blyth is one hell of a flyer
I love that you as a film maker utilized the treasure from your great uncle (WWII Film) and intelligently tracked down a very interesting, articulate, and distinguished veteran who could be astounded by the film and fill in blanks for the storytelling. I hope you are able to continue filling in the information blanks and track down other veterans who can tell their storys. Hurry, we are loosing them so fast and those old films are a magic gift.
What a truly humbling video
Well done across the board: Historical footage, background information, giving an old vet a smile and some terrific memories, and wrapping it up with a personal connection. Good job!
"Any pilot should fly a Spitfire at least once."
Yeah! What he said! Lets do that!
Awsome and breathtaking film. Thanks for sharing a piece of history.
Nicest thing I've seen all day...respect.
Great job! This is part of History and therefore it's great that you found this pilot, to show him this footage and that he could comment it today! Big emotion and really a nice story for this Spitfire 944! Bravo!
So damn COOL!!! God bless the generation that won that horrible war. Dunno if folks nowadays would be up to the challenge.
What a lovely little film and what a strange, lonely war those PR pilots must have had. Thank you for posting. P.s. You're pre-war home movies are terrific.
Absolutely wonderful film. So great to see Lt Col Blyth's reaction to seeing the footage he thought lost after all these years- I had a lump in my throat by the end. Well done to the film crew.
You are a true legend, bravery only dreamt about these days.
Inspirational!
brought both a smile and a few tears after watching.
Well done boys!
What a great story. Thanks for sharing.
What great young men, very brave like all the PR pilots US and RAF alike. Nice to see his reaction to the film.
What a great memory and time for this gentleman to be able to re-live! Hat's off to him for his service and to these young people who worked to make it happen!
There are brave men and women in the armed forces that we never hear about. Here is one that I can only described as "Hero". thank you for helping save the entire world from evil.
I live in England and have just watched this fantastic video. The World War 2 pilots were amazing and this film will help the generations who came after them and owe them our freedom to remember that. Hope many many people see it, especially the young of today.
Congrats to one of our True American heroes!
Wonderful stuff guys, well done. Brought back many memories of my grandfather telling me his own spitfire pilot stories.
Marvellous film. Great man. And the "sweetest" plane. ...There's a very good BBC Documentary "Operation Crossbow" dealing with similar material.
Thanks. Yes, "Operation Crossbow" details how the photos taken by these Spitfires were stereoscopic so it would be easier to identify rocket installations from altitude. The BBC licensed our footage for that show.
Brilliant. An amazing story. Wonderful that all that film footage is still around and more importantly, that it has been it has been transferred on to a media that will ensure that it's around for many generations to come.
What a wonderful film I'm watching it for the second time now, god bless you guys for doing this. I had no idea americans flew spits untill this. And unarmed no less, truthfully probably the best aircraft to do this kind of thing at this time. He is a hero no doubt about that.
Wonderful work! thank you for preserving the footage and especially for the kindness and delicacy with which you approached the interview with the Spitfire pilot.
Brilliant story how it unfolded and priceless !! he sure was brave to fly alone with no guns and no armour . respect Sir !
Great job on the film. I'm always interested in PRU stuff - my father was a PRU pilot in Mossies. He was around the Spits, Liberators and Lancasters. He preferred the Mosquito though. I wish he was still around to have seen this, but he's long gone.
Thanks again for this effort.
Lt Col. John S. Blyth was only 22 when this happened. Hats off to you sir.
Thanks Verdun. He will be 92 on June 9, 2014.
I purchased Spitfire 944 via iTunes and like many others would LOVE to see more. Glad to see you're agreeable. MANY THANKS! Happy Memorial Day!
p.s., My mother was a war widow and after finding her previous husband's name and squadron in the basement while cleaning up, we found the accident report of his death on the internet. RIP: Capt. Ward "Jack" Williams, USMC, VMD-154, PB-4Y. Mom then found my father who survived the war in the Pacific and started our family. Wow...
Great job. Really enjoyed this short. Keep up the good work and thanks to both your great Uncle and John Blyth for their service to our country.
Thank was a great job guys! You should be proud of yourselves!
Very impressive. Thanks so much for doing that, being persistent at finding the fellows in the video, and following up. Superb effort!
Damn this hero is so brave and courageous like.... Who would go to an enemy territory unarmed and had no escort... Respect for your sir!
Many pilots did in both Spitfires and Mosquitos, they were usually too fast for the Luftwaffe to catch up.
Ye but focke wulf is another problem.
SpUngE
The Fw 190 could not catch either, in fact even the Me 262 had enough trouble with the fast PR Spitfires and Mosquitos.
Great work. Your research is outstanding. This is the kind of work that "fleshes" out all history by interviewing the participants if possible and adding their words, photos and contributions. Too bad this stuff is not taught in school any more. These videos, interviews etc should be mandatory for high school history classes.
"Every pilot should fly a Spitfire at least once". I think every pilot agrees with him, but sadly...
This is beyond awesome. I'm just seeing it for the first time. You have rediscovered a rare moment and privileged information that should not be lost to history. What a special treat to see this all recorded and rediscovered while the pilot was still alive.
Incredibly brave. Respect. From Guernsey (West of France)
A fabulous piece of history. What a brave bunch of guys they must have been. It is a privilege to have seen such a feat of bravery. Not only in flying the missions, but also for a near perfect landing. Absolutely amazing film, and still an amazing aircraft. I am really moved by that. Well done.
It was great to watch that much better than most of the stuff tv
I never get tired of watching this. Just amazing. Adding those tanks to the Spit to give it that extra range, amazing film. I hope you can put much of the rest of those films on here. I'd love to see them. What a story. Bless those guys for being there for us.