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From: plains!umnstat.stat.umn.edu!rjg@uunet.UU.NET (Robert J. Granvin)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Memphis Belle (P-51's, the 17's, etc)
Message-ID: <1990Nov1.023801.10559@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 1 Nov 90 02:38:01 GMT
References: <1990Oct30.051346.5620@cbnews.att.com>
Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker)
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From: plains!umnstat.stat.umn.edu!rjg@uunet.UU.NET (Robert J. Granvin)
In article <1990Oct30.051346.5620@cbnews.att.com> welty@lewis.crd.ge.com (richard welty) writes:
>
>the most notable slip i saw was the use of P-51s as `little
>friends'; in 1943, escorts were still fairly limited range
>fighters, and the P-51 (with drop tanks) was one of the fighters
>that allowed escort to the target and back.

In the November 1990 issue of Air Classics, there is an article by Jim
Farmer on the making of Memphis Belle.  The article is quite
complete, down to a roster of the aircraft used.

The point about the P-51D's was noted in the article:

[Words of Roger Freeman]
"I remember, we sat 'round a table with them all at a very early date.
This is before I'd read the script and they informed me they were going
to have to use Mustangs in the film, which were in completely the
wrong time period.  The director (Michael Caton-Jones) said we're
having Mustangs because we can't get P-47's.  And I said 'but you want
Spitfires.'  This was the time of the unescorted raid.  Spitfires used
to take the Forts as far as they could (across the channel).  'There are
plenth of Spits in England, use Spitfires.'  And he said, 'No, the British
and American public associate the Spitfire with the Battle of Britain.'
Full stop.  End of discussion.  "You know movie people.  They certainly
discussed each point we made.  I will give them that."

The movie used seven P-51D's, three Messerschmitts, and five B-17's.
All the Me's are Spanish-built CASA HA.1112 Buchons.

Four of the 17's are G models, one a true F.  -17 F-BEEA, who played
Baby Ruth for part of the film was destroyed on takeoff at Binbrook
on 25 July 1989.  Her role was replaced by G-BEDF, Sally B, who took
on the identity of eight aircraft, including doubling as the Belle.

By the way, the camera ship was a B-25J; "Dolly", a veteran camera
aircraft (over 20 years).

Good article.  Some nice insight into how they simulated more than 
the five (or four)-: -17's they had.

Robert J. Granvin                           E/Mail: rjg@umnstat.stat.umn.edu
User Services Specialist                    AT&T:   +1 612 625 9224
School of Statistics
University of Minnesota