Are these the best World War Two air combat scenes in movies? War historian, NATO Advisor and presenter of History Hitâs Warfare podcast James Rogers reviews scenes from films about World War Two that show aerial combat.
You can listen to the Warfare podcast here: https://podfollow.com/the-world-wars/view
First up, he reviews scenes from Memphis Belle (1990) which depict the famed B-17F being attacked by a fleet of German planes, praising the film for its historical accuracy in telling the story of the iconic bomber.
Next, he rates the scene from Dunkirk (2017) where a dogfight takes place over the English Channel. While he likes the film, he points out that there are a few factual inconsistencies, including the lack of diversity in the actors chosen to portray pilots.
James then reviews the Japanese surprise attack from Pearl Harbour (2001), so important in history as it was the trigger for drawing the United States into the war. James praises the film for its accuracy in showing the level of destruction enacted on the harbour.
Next, itâs the ending scene from Saving Private Ryan (1998) where Tom Hanks faces off against a tank, with a little bit of aerial help. James explains that the decisive role that airpower shows in the film was accurate, especially during the Normandy invasion.
Finally Unbroken (2014) is reviewed, with James finding the aerial combat to be reasonably accurate and commending the depiction of the planeâs landing despite having an exploded tire.
Do you agree with James Rogersâ choices? Let us know in the comments!
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00:00 Introduction
00:36 Memphis Belle (1990)
07:25 Dunkirk (2017)
11:30 Pearl Harbour (2001)
18:07 Saving Private Ryan (1998)
20:48 Unbroken (2014)
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This isn't really a review as much as a narration of what is happening in the scenes..
I loved the beautiful Spitfire dogfight scenes in Dunkirk (saw it in IMAX), but I had to chuckle, because Tom Hardy had obviously set his Spitfire's ammo to "unlimited" haha. He must have fired off 4x the normal amount of ammo a Spitfire could actually carry. Beautiful dogfight cinematography otherwise.
My grandpa did 30 combat flights on a b24 and his plane "Blood n Guts" flew 39 missions before it was ditched do to icing in the north sea.
Forgot to mention, I really think Memphis Belle is a very underrated movie. Yes, the story isn't historically accurate, but the tension and immersion they were able create made it feel like you were one of the crew, absolutely give them credit for that alone. One of my favorite movies.
Midway and the Pearl Harbor also both portray the Doolittle raid
Dunkirk – it is not a factual inconsistency saying fighter pilots are portrayed as well educated. You said yourself this was the case at the beginning of the war, which is precisely when Dunkirk took place.
the only weapon on a p-51 that could have killed a tiger, was maybe a bomb, and if this was a bomb, the only thing left of the character tom hanks played in saving private ryan would have been red mist đ€.
Regarding tank busters in WW2 , allied ground attack aircraft were notoriously inaccurate in hitting and taking out tanks. Only around 5% of German armour was taken out by allied air power of all types including carpet bombing.
Allied air power was more effective in hampering movements of German armour.
The reason Pearl Harbor was not the "Knock Out" blow the Japanese were hoping for was not purely due to the harbor being shallow (though that did help with the collosal workload that was thrown into repairing, refitting, retrofitting all the damaged ships). What kept it from being a Knock Out blow, was that the American Carriers, (which were their primary targets) were not in port at the time. Shallow-water or not, if the Carriers had been there and taken out it would have been incredibly harder to 'get back into the fight' in the Naval area.
I appreciate his knowledge and in depth descriptions, but I do struggle with how he talks. I donât understand..we he pauses. Itâs just very..off putting. And he does this all..the way through
Iâm reading David Walliams âgranddadâs great escapeâ about a boy and his grandfather who was a spitfire pilot to my class. Iâm a lifelong aviation buff. So I showed the kids just a couple of minutes of the dogfights in Dunkirk to show my class what the grandfather did during the war.I was mindful of content. The children were totally riveted as I explained what pilots went through and how you shoot down another plane. A powerful moment.
sucks tora tora tora and Battle of Britian arent in this review
They chose to falsely show the Japanese fighters attacking civilians, because the director wanted to give the viewer a similar sense of anger for the attack.
A tank bombed at- what ? – 5 meters from you?! And you are not hit by the blast, shrapnel etc.?! This ist b*ll*s**t
P-51s were not tank busters nor are they known as such. A terrible line that never should have been said by matt damon. Really made me cringe
I do wish heâd look at the camera more but Iâd listen to him for hours and hours.
I especially loved when the bomber was landing and his voice raised and his speech rallied to match the pressure of the braking and attempts to stopâŠonly to give us that calm tone of relief when they made it.
He should narrate feature films.
Good selection of films, intelligent and interesting commentary đ
I suddenly remembered that one movie who used the game war thunder in the movie
No actual review or comment about how accurate Dunkirk is in the aerial fight ..which is pure bs. Dunkirk is so ridiculous in that scene it actually makes the movie shit
I thought the Messerschmitt was considered the "flying coffin", not the Liberator due to it's really cramped cockpit.
We need a "YouTube commenters review…" episode.
Those ships being blown up in Pearl Harbor look awfully modern….
I'm surprised that there was no mention that the P-51s as depicted in Saving Private Ryan would have been unable to bomb the tank since they were not equipped with bomb racks
Did u mix up Canadians with British?? Cuz Canada advanced the furthest on D-Day. Or you think we are the same and we definitely are not.
Talking about how perilous the bombing campaign was, my Aunt (by marriage) lost her brother in 1943 during a raid over Berlin. He was a Pilot Officer in the RAAF flying a Lancaster. He was shot down by a night fighter. Only two of his crew survived. It was his 24th mission. He was just 23yo.
Pearl Harbor:
A massive tactical success.
A monumental strategic blunder.
any good movie featuring the B29?
How is the dambusters not in here đ€Š
Where was The Battle of Britain!?
The crew chief of the Liberator definitely chewed the pilot and copilot out.
The volume is too lowđą
P-51s were not âtank bustersâ. A little disappointed he didnât call that out. But to be fair, thatâs an error with Saving Private Ryan too
I'll take Tora! Tora! Tora! over Pearl Harbor any day.
Didnât hear a word you said. Damn youâre fine !
I know you're British, but the name of the film AND the actual place is Pearl Harbor, spelled the American way.
Come on, man…
I wonder if he realizes there were movies made before he was born? There are earlier films to comment to about this same topic that are better .
13:45 Those Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates will be valuable assets in the war to come.
Pearl Harbor was such a terrible movie. The actual attack is the only thing worth watching. Some say the US government knew the attack was going to happen, and allowed it in order to get us into the war. I personally don't believe that, but you never know.
And japan fâd up by not hitting the oil reserves and the carriers on the other side of the island
Its lucky that enterprise was at sea during pearl harbour, it was literally just luck that she wasn't in port due to a storm
For god sake, why are you even bothering with Dunkirk and Pearl Harbour, get Battle of Britain and Tora, Tora, Tora on.
Dude is reading from Wiki. Common stats and stating the obvious. pick up your check and GTFO. PFFFFFFFFFFFFT….
There was a quote from an interview with a WWII German fighter pilot. He said that fighter other fighters, even if outnumbered, could be exhilerating and even fun, but rolling in on a tight bomber formation could make your life flash before your eyes.
love the commentary, but its clear at some points that he's reading from a script, so it feels a bit less genuine…
Fighter aircraft? That's a bomber đ”âđ«
Very surprised Battle of Brittan isn't in here and Pearl Harbor replaced the better Tora Tora Tora.
And like I have to say on ALL these videos on YT. The attack on Pearl was not a surprise. It was to the lower ranks but Japan declared war before the attack. It was our fault the translators took over 3 hours to translate the message.
And having a shallow harbor helped but it was mainly because the Japanese fucked up and didn't bomb the last dry dock like planed.
The whole goal was to take us out in the Pacific with that attack because they knew they couldn't win a long and drawn out war with us.
And another mistake. The USAF wasn't even a branch during WWII. It was founded in 1947.
With these simple ass mistakes your credentials are HIGHLY questionable.