Saving Pvt. Ryan tank busters

[Sancho]

At the end of this movie, the German tank (what was it a king tiger? panzer?) is blown up by American fighter bombers.  I just saw that scene again and it looks like one of the ponies is WZ*I Big Beautiful Doll of the 84th FS, 78th FG:

 

I'm not nitpicking here (heh, of course it shoulda been a jug   ), but was the P-51D in service in the days following D-day, and were they flying fighter bomber sorties then?

Another question about this plane.  It was piloted by John Landers, who became an ace in the Pacific flying P-40s (6 kills) and then in the ETO flying mustangs (8.5).  He finished the war with 14.5 kills, but there's 37 kill markers on that plane, which is in my Flying Legends picture book.  Are those someone else's kills, or ground kills or what?

[Tony Williams]

Hmm.  You do wonder just what a P-51 was carrying that enabled it to blow up a Panzer.  Perhaps they loaded nuclear bullets?  

Tony Williams
Author: Rapid Fire - The Development of Automatic Cannon, Heavy Machine Guns and their Ammunition for Armies, Navies and Air Forces.
Details on my military gun and ammunition website: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~autogun/

[Staga]

 http://www.nitpickers.com/
Check out "TopTen"; SPR is No.9 there  

[Nath-BDP]

P-51s began operations in December of 1943, but these were mostly B models and conversion took place over to the D during the summer of 44. So during D-day most squadrons were operating a mix of -B and -Ds.

I would assume those kills marks are from strafing.

[Nath-BDP]

Also, the German tank in SPR was a T-34 modified to look like a Tiger I, you can tell by the drive wheels.

[Vermillion]

I read somewhere (I forget now) that originally the two fighters were suppose to be a pair (or maybe it was four) of P-47's.

However the movie was running late and getting low on budget.

Since flyable P-47's are much more rare, hard to get on set due to airshow scheduling and demand more money for their screentime, the producers/directors decided to go with the less costly and much easier to schedule P-51D's.

------------------
Vermillion
**MOL**, Men of Leisure

[Tac]

Nah, they had AH Mk1 Dweebspano Turbocannons.

 

[Guppy35]

First of the D model Mustangs arrived in late May 44 just in time for D-Day but their numbers were still small in comparison to the B/Cs in use.

Irony is the 78th FG was still in Jugs and John Landers was not with them at the time of D-Day so "Big Beautiful Doll" doesn't fit at all.

That being said, 51s were lugging bombs on and around the time of D-Day although the "tank busters" would have been Typhoons or 9th AF P47s with a few 38s thrown in.

Dan

[Dead Man Flying]

 

Originally posted by Tony Williams:
Hmm.  You do wonder just what a P-51 was carrying that enabled it to blow up a Panzer.  Perhaps they loaded nuclear bullets?  

I'd always figured that the P-51 in SPR dropped a 500 pounder right down the old Tiger's hatch.  Not a whole lot of regard for ol' Captain Miller's safety, but he was a goner anyway.  

-- Todd/DMF

[Voss]

 

Originally posted by Tony Williams:
Hmm.  You do wonder just what a P-51 was carrying that enabled it to blow up a Panzer.  Perhaps they loaded nuclear bullets?  

You mean a 5.5" rocket is useless?

------------------
***-*-

[Tony Williams]

P-51's carried rockets?  AFAIK only a very few P-47 units carried the 4.5" RP; most carried bombs.

Anyway, the rocket wasn't that accurate.  Firing them at tanks right next to your own troops would most probably result in missing the tank, but killing your own men.

Tony Williams
Author: Rapid Fire - The Development of Automatic Cannon, Heavy Machine Guns and their Ammunition for Armies, Navies and Air Forces.
Details on my military gun and ammunition website: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~autogun/  

[Voss]

Yes, Tony, they carried rockets. Any one of the books about the Eighth will give accounts on rocket use. From the gun camera footage I have seen, the usual process was to saddle up on your target and salvo six rockets at a time. I don't think you could salvo a single rocket with a Mustang. Still, I am thankful that we can in Aces High.

I have seen an apparatus designed for the 'Shiney Three' (P-38, P-47, and Mustang) that looked like an inner part of a vending machine. It was designed in the field by a US Army FOO and adapted for use elsewhere IIRC. It found wide use with P-38 squadrons (or so I thought) and allowed five rockets to be carried in a vertical rack.

Tell me, if each bomb rack on the P-51 is labeled "500 LB. BOMB MAX LOAD" how is it the Mustang carries two 1000 lb. bombs?

Answer: It was a US Army Air Force fighter.  

------------------
***-*-