P-38 Reconnaissance Pilot starring William Holden (1944)
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- I have uploaded a much better quality copy of this video. See it here: • P-38 Reconnaissance Pi...
Photo recon pilots (Photo Joes) had one of the riskiest, highest impact jobs in the war. Flying camera equipped, unarmed, and often unescorted aircraft -- in this case the Lockheed F-5, a "stripped down" P-38 -- pilots flew deep into enemy territory. "Reconnaissance Pilot" follows Packy Cummings. from basic training to the skies over New Guinea. He's not particularly happy to be flying reconnaissance -- his Dad was a renowned World War I ace recently killed by the Japanese and he wants revenge. The story of the film is how Packy comes to realize the absolutely essential nature of photo recon and how one Foto Joe can have more deadly impact than a whole squadron of combat '38s. Along the way, you'll learn about photo recon and see some nice F-5 footage, The climax of the film, an action packed clash with a Japanese Zero, is based on a real incident where Alex Gary, the most decorated US recon pilot of the War, deep sixed his opponent without firing a shot. Starring William Holden ("Bridge on the River Kwai") as Lt. "Packy" Cummings.
My Father flew “Recon” with the 509th Composite Group. He was a flight engineer on “Silverplate B-29s”. On some missions he was a camera operator. He would work up in the nose with the bombardier. Until they dropped “The Bomb” they were photographing Japanese Cities that LeMay hadn’t “firebombed”. They would fly in small groups and do all kinds of things with the exception of dropping bombs. If they had only known what they were in for. Later in his career in “SAC” he flew the B-36 and then the B-47. They both had the same “jet pod” and he worked a lot of missions photographing targets. My Dad was really a Patriot . . . and that was America was great.
One of my uncles flew this aircraft in the South Pacific. He was wounded, ditched in the ocean, later to be rescued by a PBY Catalina. He survived the war.
While my dad helped to keep our planes flying in the South Pacific, my uncle, Max, few reconnaissance missions over Germany and German-held territory, taking pictures, with no guns, with only his wits, flying skills and the speed of his aircraft to keep him alive to return pictures that helped win the war. He and his unit were cited many times. I am proud to name him as my Uncle, and happy that he was willing to serve in this critical effort!
Dad died about two weeks ago. He flew a P38 out of Okinawa over China, Korea and Japan. I have to wonder if he saw this particular film. Our fathers, and uncles, did heroic work.
The father of our CEO, Lt. Allan V. Elston Jr., flew a P-38 F5 and was part of the 8th Air Force of the USAAF, PS13 based in Mt. Farm during WWII. He flew recon missions just like what is portrayed in this movie. He was the pilot who flew the P-38 S/N 43-28616 that after having the right engine shot up by enemy Me-109s, made an emergency landing in Sweden - The first time anyone in Sweden saw the "advanced" P-38. Now parts of that plane are in a museum there!
Was Mt. Farm in East Anglia??...... Also, remember reading about USAAF crews interred in Sweden--other than feeling "out of the fight", they said it wasnt too bad.....I imagine being a Photo Joe in the South Pacific was a whole lot safer than being one in Europe
William Holden became a pilot in "I Wanted Wings", then became a "P-38 Reconnaissance Pilot", then flew Navy jets in Korea at "The Bridges at Toko-Ri", then finally became a test pilot in "Toward the Unknown". He was one busy actor.
lincbond442, He reminds of David Jansen
By 1950, he was rewriting Hollywood scripts about the war; had some FINANCIAL problems, took a job as a male escort and drowned in a pool.
@@paulryan2128 He was drunk, tripped on a rug, hit his head on coffee table, ending his life. He was connected with Stephanie Powers and did work to save animals in Africa.
@@olsonspeed Holden slowly bled to death and he would not be discovered for a few days. Very Sad!
He was also shot down over Germany and did a spell at "Stalag 17".
My Dad was a a Crew man in the 500th at Saipan. Thanks for the clip!
Wow, thanks for posting this! Big Bill Holden fan and this was one his films that escaped me. Thanks again!!!
My last combat tour was as a Special Operations team member, gathering Intel on Afghani Insurgents. I wore the Special Forces patch as well as a CIB earned during my first tour in Iraq.
Every so often a cook or mechanic might bring it up, envious that I was out in the fight. But I told them truthfully, there are no unimportant jobs in the Army. From the Staff Officer down to the guy who sorts mail, every job is part of the machine, and everyone is critical to the welfare of all.
That's the way I feel about it anyways.
SSG. U.S. Army (Medically Retired) Infantry / Sniper / SOF Intel (SOT-A), multiple tours
Loved showing the real pilots at the end.. Bless them, probably deceased now...
Those two soldiers at the end, are the real deal!
@@andyrock8109 did you read what someone said about the guy on the left?
I have uploaded a much better quality copy of this video. See it here:
ua-cam.com/video/VMK1MCV_0x0/v-deo.html
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It should say F-5 Reconnaissance Pilot. My great uncle flew the F-5 in Europe and was killed in action on June 17th 1944. I need to watch this movie.
Love these old training films.
My grandfather watched this film way back in 1959...but, I digress.
and already a really good actor
In memory of the men of the 34th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron who served with distinction in the European Theater of Operations (1944-1945).
Thanks for posting this clip.
Only some “commy love’n fool” would dislike this
Flying over New Guinea, how the hell did William Holden end up in Stalag 17 ?
Ah, yes, that explains it.
John macain had him transferred
He was very talented....
Took the bridge over the river. . . . . .
Got a transfer.
"squints are putting up the ack ack" and "Mr. Squinty". Lol
Using the J word got me three days in Facebook jail.. it was a tough stretch
My Dad was on Liberty ships and was credited with shooting down a German Recon Plane (JU-88) at Anzio.
thanks for sharing. it was a treat
Anyone catch the connect with his characters name? Packard A. Cummings
Yawuul Zenos! Thanks for the updated film link! 👍👍 10⭐
According to the book "Target: Rabaul", Arthur Post, one of the two real life photo recon pilots at the end of the film, was a real jerk to his Australian coastwatcher saviours while in their company behind enemy lines in the jungles of New Britain. Among other things, he apparently regularly mouthed off about how superior USAAF pilots (of which he was one) were in comparison to those of all the other allied air forces in the South/South West Pacific including the RAAF, USN and USMC, and how poorly he thought the British war effort was being run.
He also was said to have bragged about the number of Aussie women he had bedded while stationed in the Sydney area. Needless to say, none of this went down well with his benefactors. He at one point essentially demanded that the coastwatchers request a submarine or PT boat make a special trip simply for the purposes of picking him up and returning him to civilization (he said he had information of great importance to the high command) instead of waiting for the next supply drop which was then a month or so in the future. The coastwatchers rightfully did not support his 'request' for immediate extraction and he was picked up on the next regularly scheduled submarine visit.
He did seem full of himself...
Excellent ending!
William Holden had a brother that was killed in WWII. When filming the "Bridges At Toko-Ri", he insisted that the ending not be a heroic one, but that he would die, showing the reality of combat.
Considering Brubaker was also killed in the book also I don't know where you are getting this.
@@hoodoo2001 I got it from an interview with William Holden. The studio wanted to change the ending but Holden wouldn't agree to that ending. He said he wanted the movie to end with the death of Brubaker.
Great Historical film of those critical years of WW11. Exciting times of our History.
Typical syrivando vargas the welfare american calls it world war eleven
FYI at 6:51 that $75,000 P-38 is $1.2 million in 2023 dollars. Quite the deal.
I have often wondered if Japan had openly declared war how events may have unfolded. I read a first hand account of a reporter who wrote Torpedo Junction: With the Pacific Fleet from Pearl Harbour to Midway R Casey. He was with the carriers. He noted how the dive bomber pilots in January 42 missed their "target rafts" nearly every time. But 4 months later, the rafts were being destroyed every time. The level of Japanese training was much better in December 1941, an engagement like Midway then could have been disastrous for the US. US public opinion may have been very different. I believe the Pearl harbour attack was a tactical victory, for Japan but a strategic disaster.
What was in my mind, was that a large fleet engagement in December 41, may have resulted in a crushing defeat for the USA. Much greater losses than Pearl harbour. A reverse of Midway. What would the politics have been then?
When flying in Nam in an O 1 the first stop after a mission was to the outhouse at the field, then coffee, then debriefing report in that order, very day sometimes twice a day over 300 times in a year.
The plant pictured at the first of this film is the K-25 plant in Oak Ridge Tennessee . It was built to in rich Uranium as part of the Manhattan project of WW2 . The large U shaped building was torn down several years ago.
Yeah, it’s an inside joke. I’ve always thought from that angle it looks like the picture of Warner Brothers studios in Hollywood they used to show at the beginning of all their movies. So I thought its a good fit for the home of “Military Arts Pictures.” 😎
My dad was a crewman on Shimea
I dont understand how the 13 "dislikes" got here-- these old training films are historical artifacts of national significance-- I dont know if people dislike it for it's lac k of artistic merit or technical achievement-the fact that it feature's an unknown actor in the main role who went on to a prominence in the the film industry increases its interest- Maybe it was disliked for the obvious racial tone referring to the enemy as "Squints", I dont know. Maybe the 13 people who disliked it our of Japanese or other Asian ethnic group that resents the term "Squints"- What do you think?
Our past is our past.
Both the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Our cause was essentially just, but was tinged with a racism that still haunts us.
This just goes to show that "Intentions" are not all that matters in a cause, and that we have as much to learn from our poor behavior as a society as we do from the bravery of those who fought for the USA and Allies during WWII.
What is more, we have much to learn even from those who fought on the side of the Axis.
Not all of them were evil, and many were misled by lies, or adhered to a code of honor that deserves a respect of its own.
And... It is not surprising that the Younger generation, who were born long after WWII (and not within a single generation of the event) do not understand the vast differences that exist between then and now.
*****
I wonder what kind of soldier or Marine Wayne would have been in WWII had he actually served in the military and saw combat? I think he was a little old during that time to be a front line fighter
Michael Avery
In war it doesnt matter what people call each other---and history should never be "Sanitized" for the sake of some fruitlooped politcal correctness mavens.
Just young folks that have never come together as one to protect anything. Spoiled i dont mean that in disrespectful way . Back then everyone had to fight weather they wanted to or not. Even the women and children did their part. Living on rationed food working in factories and the kids collected news paper and metal scraps for recycling. Can you just imagine how kids today would balk ?
JOHN WAYNE BLEW OUT HIS KNEES PLAYING COLLEGE FOOTBALL and was unable to join the service so he made Victory Bond movies and war movies. Give the man his due he supported our troops like many others.
Enjoyed the movie for what it was. Encouragement for all the guys who serve without recognition for what they do. That's what wins wars. That's why "propaganda" like this is necessary or we would all be living in Imperial Japan or Nazi Germany. Or the dictatorship of Stalin and Hirohito, which is why Truman dropped the atomic bomb. Don't judge the actions of people in places of responsibility at the time unless you were there, in their shoes, had their responsibility. Times have changed, could you have done better???
Wild Bill Cummings was an Indy race driver in the 1930's.
I wonder if any relation to Wild Bill Kelso that flew P-40's?
Bob Cummings: "I think you are going to like this picture!" 🤓
Picture at opening is one of those that ushered i the atomic age. It is the gaseuos diffusion plant K25 at Oak Ridge, TN.
Oh, oh...no caps in the O-club!!!
How many thousands of
movies was Holden in?
Those 'ole photo Joe's...
William Holden did all his fighting in front of a camera......
Holden was in the Army Air Corps. They put him to work doing what he did best: acting in their training films.
Z
Also his brother was KIA in the pacific (Robert W. "Bobbie" Beedle) in January 1944.
Even if he wanted to go and fight the military will not allow it, simply to prevent another Sullivan like debacle in which 5 brothers were killed on the USS Juneau back in 1942. From my understanding that caused such an outrage back home. That the military had to change policy..
William holden fucked jackie kennedy.chew on that ya green eyrd douche bag
Was his bit of skirt a young Kim Hunter?
I'd say so, good catch.
Yup..!! Dat's her..!!!⚘
Great. That simple.
Welp. We know where William Wyler got the idea for Best Years of our Lives (one of the greatest American films of all time)
It's funny that they say he's "Wild Bill Cummings" kid. There was an Indianapolis race driver named that. There was no WW I Spad ace by that name though.
70 odd years since the war and these cake holes are still arguing about it!
I was in the military for 20 years (which included the USMC ,TN Army Guard and the USN) never once did I sleep in pajamas during my time in service. What this just in the movies or what?
John Moore My guess is that officers have that privilege. Who knows?
John Moore Wake up!. This movie was made in 1944 when husbands and wives in movies slept in separate beds. It would be morally reprehensible for a bloke to jump into/out of bed in his shorts. See, there is another, "shorts" what is so wrong with the word "underpants"?
Look up the Hayes Act. It applied to what could be shown in motion pictures of the time, like in a bed scene there had to be one foot on the floor visible at all times. Puritanical bullshit but as I once saw written: The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."
Holden did serve in WW2 making these movies as a USAAC officer. His direct officer in the division- another guy you may have heard of - Ronald Reagan. Holden was the first married Hollywood star to enlist when the war broke out.
Kerry you wouldn't find a single Hollywood cupcake today with the courage to do as much! Bunch of damned treason'es cowards!
Excellent Film #ZenosWarBirds
Sucks the camera guy's pictures killed more than he ever could, just cant paint the zeros on the side of the plane.
Yeah, he was gone 14 months and for the life of him can't figure out why she's pregnant.
she had been wearing his shorts.
Will Boyd, come on Will. Cut the man some slack. As long as the pussy is there when he gets back. Everything is going to be alright. It was funny though
14 months and says u talk to much
Will Boyd, he was gone for 14 months & for the life of him. He can't figure out why the baby has nappy hair.
Milkman rings twice
Wide seats and smoking allowed!!
no sound
Ben Wine Yes sound
Thank you.
God I want to light a smoke in a plane or a train or a restaurant so badly.
Generals don’t fly airplanes. Generals push paper and give speeches. Even for a Lt Col to fly he’d have to be a squadron commander.
PHOTORECON IS MORE DEADLY THAN FIGHTERS . THOSE CAMERAS CAN KILL THOUSANDS OF ENEMY SOLIDERS .
All the talk about you cant wait to see your girl.and the 1st thing he says to her is you talk to much.some things never change
B-17D's
Donate to the "Wounded Warrior Project"
Kawea? (sp) Coming in on the boring milk run 28K feet on oxygen. When you're jumped by 5 Squints in Zero's above you and on the port side----------------AT 28K FEET???? I was about to yell BS on the 28K feet ceiling for the Zero but they had a max ceiling of 33K. WOW! Other than being a plane that burned too easily it was ahead of us at the start. The P38 though was better--much later but better. Ask Yamamoto.
the best air plane for the reconnaissance no one can flight upper and with colr it was invisible
As an Chinese-Italian family we found the ease as which some stereotypical words used toward the Japanese uncomfortable, but we also understand the country was not only segregated but also isolated (from the world). To think that the War Department made these propaganda films happen is really amazing; can you imaging the DoD making films like this today? Crazy times.
pentagon is making / backing a mass of them , chock full of propaganda.
And what do you think the Japanese were calling Caucasians back then ?
John, are you joining up with minorities that are offended by even the word "boy'? Check out the Glenn Miller song Chattanooga Cho Cho. If a usa airman bailed out over Japan his survival rate was a little better than 30%. If he bailed out over Germany then his survival rate was over 50%. One airman said the Japanese were the cruelest people during WW2 do you deny this? Read your history. Thanks to their defeat the Japanese military no longer kill and rape civilians.
Alwey Wong
Wong, you read much ?....., Who was that Japanese commander that ate the liver of downed American pilots ?
My father was a reconnaissance pilot during WWII in Europe and photographed Normandy before D-Day. I viewed this in preparing his obit. While I am more than glad we no longer have these racist views towards the Japanese, it was still an educational video for me, as far as what my father did in Germany. I'm also glad that we no longer refer to the Germans as Krouts. Or whatever that word was. Thank God we have made progress but there is still so much more to be done.
LGPDX so, your father was a true hero and your only comment is to lecture us all on political correctness? Classy.
P-38 was the fastest plane in WW2.
You ever hear of the ME 262 or the ME 263.
This was a PROPAGANDA FILM!! PURE AND SIMPLE!! It was also full of baloney!!!!
hmmm....perhaps. But the bit about a recon pilot splashing a zero (I think it was a zero) without guns actually happened. Look it up. Often fact is stranger than fiction.
I read a book by a Swordfish pilot who brought down a German fighter. He dived down hard and then, being very experienced pulled up just in time. the German fighter pilot failed to realise that his plane could not pull up anywhere nearly as well. So he dived into the sea. But as the Swordfish pilot had not actually fired its gun, he was not credited with the kill.
romanbrough True account but it was an Italian fighter he downed.
vast majority of u.s. population supported war in '44. propaganda? vet audiences who have been there done that its very exciting
No, not baloney, it all happened and there actually was a war on. Perhaps you should be on the PC police patrol. They need you in the EU right now! Peace out, at any cost.
Worst action movie ever!