Hacker Cinema
Memphis Belle
1990 · Film · 107 min
Directed by Michael Caton-Jones
The "Memphis Belle" is a World War II bomber, piloted by a young crew on dangerous bombing raids into Europe. The crew only have to make one more bombing raid before they have finished their duty and can go home. In the briefing before their last flight, the crew discover that the target for the day is Bremen.
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2 comments on Hacker News
I doubt there were gun cameras installed on B-17s because:
1. I've seen a lot of WW2 aviation footage, and none appeared to be from B-17s.
2. The combat footage that exists for B-17s was shot(!) for the "Memphis Belle" documentary, and some footage for it left on the cutting room floor. This was filmed by a camera crew going along for the ride on several missions. Memphis Belle footage appears in countless WW2 documentaries.
3. My dad flew 32 missions in one and never mentioned gun cameras, though he did talk about them when he flew ground attack missions in the Korean War. I have a couple of them from his airplane that the military didn't want.
I have an exercise for you you may enjoy.
Watch the hollywood version of "Memphis Belle". Then watch the documentary "Memphis Belle" which was filmed by cameramen going on actual B-17 missions and getting shot at. All the footage is real, there are no actors. You can see the fear in their faces, the bravery, the hurt, the relief when they return. It's all terribly real.
My dad few 32 missions in B-17. He said the documentary nailed what it was actually like. The hollywood version, nope.