A question on the movie, “Patton”

[RufusLeaking]

In the early scene, when Patton, played by George C. Scott, is in a half track with the siren, there is a placard on the vehicle with the stenciled letters “WTF.”

Any idea of the meaning?

I doubt the first two words are “what the.”

[redman555]

I found one that says "walk to freedom", well it says thats what WTF means, and it says it was used in the army, so im guessing thats what it means.

-BigBOBCH

[Guppy35]

I'm guessing, like most movie code letters, it was made up.  The Battle of Britain is a good example of this too where the letters on the fighters were fictional

Found this listing the 1942 vehicle designations.  Nothing comes close. 

http://www.lonesentry.com/panzer/jeep-markings.html

[cpxxx]

Actually it represents Patton's command. He commanded the 'Western Task Force', WTF. Presumably there was an Eastern Task Force too. Of course that doesn't mean he actually had a pennant with WTF on his halftrack. That could be cinematic licence.

On the point of the the Squadron codes in the Battle of Britain film. I seem to remember that they were fictionalised because many of the principles were still alive, indeed helped out on the film. It was felt that using real squadron codes and numbers could upset some relatives of those killed if they were to see his demise depicted on film. Indeed many of the characters were based on real pilots but with the names changed. Any survivors would be only in their forties at the time. It was thought for example that the character played by Robert Shaw was based on 'Sailor' Malan.

[Greebo]

When I was skinning the Mosquito I found some photos of a Mossie warbird with the code "HT-C". I figured this would be ideal for the default skin. A little more digging however revealed it was painted that way for the movie 633 Squadron and that no RAF squadron ever used that code, probably for the same reason as the RAF codes in the Battle of Britain film.

[Shane]

When I was skinning the Mosquito I found some photos of a Mossie warbird with the code "HT-C". I figured this would be ideal for the default skin. A little more digging however revealed it was painted that way for the movie 633 Squadron and that no RAF squadron ever used that code, probably for the same reason as the RAF codes in the Battle of Britain film.

so?  it was in squadron strength and saw combat.  and it was documented!!   

[RufusLeaking]

Actually it represents Patton's command. He commanded the 'Western Task Force', WTF. Presumably there was an Eastern Task Force too. Of course that doesn't mean he actually had a pennant with WTF on his halftrack. That could be cinematic licence.

A plausible explanation. Complete agreement on the cinematic license. I just watched some of the movie "Pearl Harbor" over the Memorial Day weekend. Don't get me started.

  to all the history buffs on the AH boards.

[Tyrannis]

In the early scene, when Patton, played by George C. Scott, is in a half track with the siren, there is a placard on the vehicle with the stenciled letters “WTF.”

Any idea of the meaning?

I doubt the first two words are “what the.”

when i first saw that movie, i had not read Bradleys book " Soldier's story" so when i saw those "WTF" on the vehicles, i was most likely thinking what you were thinking.

then i read the book, and in the book it explains that WTF stands for western task force.

great book btw 

[rpm]

When I was skinning the Mosquito I found some photos of a Mossie warbird with the code "HT-C". I figured this would be ideal for the default skin. A little more digging however revealed it was painted that way for the movie 633 Squadron and that no RAF squadron ever used that code, probably for the same reason as the RAF codes in the Battle of Britain film.

I don't see why that wouldn't be an acceptable skin. I don't see a good reason why HTC shouldn't give a bit of cinematic license for classic film skins.

[gyrene81]

         that wtf sign and the dog were the 2 most hilarious things in the movie.

always wondered how patton's career would have turned out if he had been a marine...instead of being under the political thumb of eisenhower.

[Reschke]

always wondered how patton's career would have turned out if he had been a marine...instead of being under the political thumb of eisenhower.

He probably never would have made it past a low level company grade officer; odds are he would have been killed in China or some other backwater fight the Marines were always being sent to back then.

[PFactorDave]

Two things always bother me when I watch that film...  Firstly, I find it distracting that the tanks are wrong.  I know it was a production cost thing, but it still bothers me.  And secondly, George C Scott's teeth look horrible!

[gyrene81]

He probably never would have made it past a low level company grade officer; odds are he would have been killed in China or some other backwater fight the Marines were always being sent to back then.

i dunno man...patton was pretty much the "chesty" puller of ww2 from what i've read...no b.s. old school...as far as officers go, compared to his contemporaries of the time, i really think he would have made a good jarhead...everyone knows the real jarheads are the non-comms.

[Reschke]

Well being that they were 8th or 9th cousins and probably knew each other or at least of each other from the area they both grew up in the tidewater region (basically the area east of I-95 from Washington D.C. to Richmond and on south.

Anyway I honestly don't think that Patton had a style that I don't think would have lent him to survival while being a Marine. I could be wrong but who knows.

[Stoney]

i dunno man...patton was pretty much the "chesty" puller of ww2 from what i've read...everyone knows the real jarheads are the non-comms.

I thought Chesty was the Chesty of WWII?

The Marine Corps was too blue-collar for Patton back then.  The USMC at the turn-of-the-century/pre-WWI was mostly made up of sea-going detachments and foreign posts/expeditionary forces.  Promotions for officers were very slow, and a lot of Marine Officers were thought to be second-rate compared to their peers in the Navy.  There were very few command opportunities at the higher levels.  I think the Army of the period appealed to the blue-blood that Patton very much had flowing through his veins--the aristocracy of the officer corps, static posts, etc.  Chesty was a pretty humble officer--a true leader, in my opinion.  Chesty would have never popped one of his guys in the hospital.  Patton was the exact opposite of humble.