Anyone rememember this WW1 film?

[33LIMA]

Seeing a ref to a 'de-tuned' flightless Bleriot used by a pre-war flying school in the book 'Fighter Heroes of WW1' (good book despite the paperback edition's corny title, a bad write-up by one reviewer on Amazon and its concessions to a modrn readership) triggered a distant memory of a WW1 film that I think was about the Lafayette Escadrille. The only bit I recall was the trainee pilots zipping crazily about the airfield in Bleriots (the Channel-crossing type monoplanes) which had had their wingspan clipped well short, so they could not take off, for ground training purposes. It's not Hell's Angels nor Dawn Patrol in any of its incarnations.I'm pretty sure the trainees in the clipped Bleriots were US ones, so I thing the Escadrille Lafayette/Americaine was the subject.

 

Anyone else remember this one and can name the movie? Was a 'talkie' so not that old, but probably black & white not in colour. Fairly sure it was a movie, not a distant memory reconstructed visually from something I'd read.

[Shiloh]

Was if the "Lafayette Escadrille" made in 1958 starring Tab Hunter perhaps LIMA?

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051840/

Edited September 6, 2011 by Shiloh

[33LIMA]

That'll be the one! Funny I never saw any refs to it in online discussions of WW1 airwar movies. Doesn't sound too bad, must see if I can find it for sale. Cheers!

[Shiloh]

I'm glad I was able to pinpoint it for you LIMA. I did watch the first 30 minutes or so a few weeks back but wasn't able to finish watching. Good DVD hunting and enjoy it!

[Hauksbee]

There's some available on Amazon.com...but not cheap.

[carrick58]

I remember seeing the film, Its mostly about Tab running after the skirts. However, the clipped wing training a/c are a sight to behold as they run a muck on the airfield.

[+RAF_Louvert]

.

 

Just as a point of interest, back in the day those clipped wing trainers were lovingly referred to as 'Penguins' by students and instructors alike.

 

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