Wing and a Prayer, The Story of Carrier X
Movie (1944)
Also Known As : Queen of the Flat Tops or Torpedo Squadron Eight
German title : Mission im Pazifik
French title : Le porte-avions X
Italian title : La nave senza nome
Korean title : 윙 앤 프레어
Starring:
Don Ameche (Commander Bingo Harper)
Dana Andrews (Lieutenant Commander Edward Moulton)
William Eythe (Ensign Hallam "Oscar" Scott)
Charles Bickford (Captain Waddell)
In the desperate early days of World War II in the Pacific theater, the newspapers are asking: where is the navy? What will it do? In fact, under the seal of secrecy, an aircraft carrier has been designated to operate alone and act as bait to lure the Japanese Navy into revealing itself...
Grumman TBF Avenger
Star of the movie, the crews of VT-5 (as clearly said by Dana Andrews), a torpedo/bomber unit of the US Navy flying Grumman TBF Avengers (or TBMs if built by General Motors).
VT-5 was a US Navy Torpedo and bombing squadron of the 1920s later known as VS-41 then VB-41 in the first stages of America at war, operating for the Atlantic Fleet! This squadron transferred to the Pacific Fleet only on November 1944.
An alternative title was Torpedo Squadron Eight refering to the famous squadron decimated in the Battle of Midway when operating Douglas TBD Devastators. It was the first squadron equipped with the new Grumman TBF-1 Avenger. However, the script is not the story of the VT-8.
Identification Models
1 : PBY Catalina ?;
2 & 3 : Short S.25 Sunderland;
4 : ?
1 : Junkers Ju 90;
2 : Curtiss SOC-1 Seagull;
3 : A floatplane, probably a Fokker T.VIII (2 floats and tail close to the Dutch aircraft);
4 : ?
1 : Curtiss SOC-1 Seagull;
2 : Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon ?
Grumman F6F Hellcat
Curtiss SB2C Helldiver
Grumman F4F Wildcat
Grumman F4F Wildcat performing as Japanese fighter.
Curtiss-Wright SNC-1 Falcon
Curtiss-Wright SNC-1 Falcon, another American aircraft -an advance trainer- performing under the Hinomaru : it's all for show!
Nakajima B6N Tenzan
A 531st Kokutai Nakajima B6N1 shot down after making an unsuccessful torpedo attack on the USS Yorktown on 4 December 1943 during the Marshall Islands campaign.
Same aircraft in other movies at Frequently Seen Aircraft (Military Fixed-Wing).
Unidentified Japanese Kamikaze
Aichi D3A or Mitsubishi Ki-51 ?
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