"Spitfire IX MJ730 Color Footage" plus more.... colour film 1944 in Italy ?

[Troy Smith]

This popped up on youtube, not seen it before,  and the Spitfire footage is superb,  shot t by Memphis Belle director William Wyler in 1944. (that being the WW2 documentary I presume) 

 

Possibly at Calvi in Corsica (mentioned in comments)

 

link to that time 

 

 

really interesting for detail on dusty Spitfires.  

Also has a B-17 and P51B,  it's too late to go detail digging.  Film inof

 

ah, re the P-51 

again, link to time

this in comments

"Invasion of Southern France, August, 1944. P-51, "Rome Gnome" was assigned to Navy Flight, 111th Tactical Recon Squadron. Naval Aviators from cruiser scouting squadrons flying Mustangs with the AAF."

 

"My father flew the Rome Gnome P51 after transferring to the 111th in October 1944, he had flown about 75 missions by then. As he said, all the American pilots wanted to fly P51s. And there was a bit of bother with his group commander in the 316th where he had been flying bomber escort for months (very boring he said) when he ran out of gas flying the commanders personal L5 Sentinel, had to land in a cornfield, no damage but they had a helluva time getting it back to base. He did fly out of Corsica, earlier in 1944, but I he was in P47s until transferring to 111th in October. He was shot down Xmas day 1944 flying the Rome Gnome, and interned at Luft 1 POW camp until VE Day. There is a page on him and the plane at a great website, WingsRemembered, an artifact museum in TN where salvaged parts from downed planes are exhibited - including parts of the Rome Gnome, and, Bills shoe which came off as he was bailing out - he always told us about trying to invert his plane and get the canopy open to bail out, hanging from his seat-straps upside down, smoke coming from the shot engine, and falling free he went end-over-end and somewhere in there his shoe came off. Thanks for this great video."

 

Hope of interest  

[noelh]

Very interesting, also of note is the first  RAF pilot shaking hands with the Americans. He is no other than Wing Commander Wilfred Duncan Smith. The other pilot, a Flight Lieutenant looks very like him oddly enough.

 

Great shots of the Spitfires.

 

Duncan Smith's  book 'Spitfire into Battle' is a great read.

[Phoenix44]

What's great film! Lots of interesting stuff, just to pick a couple, some of the Spitfires had yellow leading edges, some not, some had sky (?) bands, some not. The codes on some looked unusual too - size and font.

 

Thanks!