Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Hauksbee

Lawrence of Arabia...

Recommended Posts

Early in the film, just as Lawrence reaches Faisals camp, he finds it under air attack. What kind of planes were used? They had that boney, rickety Aviatik/Rumpler look. I realize that it would be highly improbable to find a airworthy Aviatik, but whatever those planes were, at least they weren't Tiger Moths tarted up with Iron Crosses.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Early in the film, just as Lawrence reaches Faisals camp, he finds it under air attack. What kind of planes were used? They had that boney, rickety Aviatik/Rumpler look. I realize that it would be highly improbable to find a airworthy Aviatik, but whatever those planes were, at least they weren't Tiger Moths tarted up with Iron Crosses.

 

 

I'm almost absolutely certain they were merely Tiger Moths "tarted up" with Turkish markings. by that point I think the Germans had wised up and weren't using Iron Crosses on their machines as that incurred the wrath of the locals.

 

if they had taken the time (or had the inclination) to change the engine cowling it would have looked a bit more convincing. but it's still pretty obviously not a German machine of any sort.

 

still a great scene from a wonderful movie.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I read somewhere earlier today that they were Tigermoth's, dressed up to look like a 1917 Rumpler CV.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I read somewhere earlier today that they were Tigermoth's, dressed up to look like a 1917 Rumpler CV.

Well, if you voted for 'Tiger Moth', I owe you a beer in the mess. I looked up a Tiger Moth pic. and matched it to MikeDixonUK's screen caps., and sure enough, there it was. Check the landing gear. Good disguise. I think they modified the rudder somewhat. Earlier in the day, as I was looking at some Hansa-Brandenburgs, I found a pic. of one that was actually an Albatros built under license by H-B. It looked so good, I thought I'd finally cracked the code on the movie plane. After all these years.

 

Thanks much, guys. Now I know.

.

Edited by Hauksbee

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

To illustrate my point, scene from the action flick 'High road to China' http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

 

 

Yeah, but I still loved that flick.

Man!.... now I'll have to pull ito out of my archives and go watch it again.

Let's face it,... we're the afficianados. The rest of the universe wouldn't notice; if it's got two wings, it's a biplane.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I thought from the start the wings and nose had a Tiger Moth look, but the empenage threw me. They obviously at least took the time to refit those to look more Hun, which is more than can be said for most movie producers.

 

Uncleal, I don't know what your hangup is with Death Hunt. I admit being somewhat predisposed to it, having first seen it as a young special forces member stationed in Anchorage, AK, but not only was it a great movie in terms of action, plot and subplots, scenery and the plausibility of what was portrayed (with the major exception being Bronson's escaping unscathed the bomb that destroyed the cabin), but if that wasn't at least a replica Bristol F2b I'll eat it. And given the history of the Brisfit, it's exactly the plane that would have been available to the RCAF in the early 1930's and if available would have been the perfect choice for this task. OK, I admit they blew it by putting the gun on the top wing instead of using the real one, even though they did have the hole in the nose through which the real one fired. But considering the cinematic horrors to which we WWI aviation buffs have been subjected over the years, this is a minor, almost miniscule, infraction.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue..