My Dad, a career USAF man, let me know that of the many unique things about Jimmy Stewart wasn't only his WW2 flying record, but that he had stayed in the reserves until he was forced into retirement, and that he was one of the very few pilots that was "checked out" on all aircraft the USAF had at the time. He was allowed to sign out and fly all that the USAF had.
I was fortunate enough to meet Jimmy Stewart at Tibenham the home of the Norfolk Gliding club in the East of England. It was originally the US Airforce base he served at during the war. He was invited up while in London do Harvey the White Rabbit on stage the West End and to everybody's surprise, he accepted and arrived one weekend. He flew in a couple of gliders, spent time talking to the club members touring the old airfield which by then, the 70's had only the tower in disuse remaining and few wrecked buildings. He loved it, was a real gentleman and was happy to become a life member and I think, honours President of the club. I can only describe him as a wonderful human being.
flyus747. We actually realize full well how rare these shots are and we value them as such. Totally agree with your comments. See, even the dialogues did make sense, unlike in today's so-called aviation crap they're serving us (Beyond Enemy Lines, Dunkirk, Stealth, Pearl Harbor etc.). They all feel fake and dumb. We're just left with souvenirs and nostalgia in the end, I guess.
Glad they are available here on utube and I would like to read comments from as actual crew members. I was stationed in Eniwetok atoll and would hear the unique rumble of B36's flying Overhead in assumingly at 35,000 or 40 000 ft Miss them.
I recall seeing a B-47 fly rather low over my Las Lomitas Elementary School yard (Menlo Park, CA) in the late 1940s when I was in the 3rd or 4th grade. It was shocking and awesome.
One of the really great movies ever made! Some really great up close looks at the aircraft of the time inside and out. Love the B-36 scenes - Harry Morgan and Jimmy Stewart - two awesome actors! The sound of the B-36 is really captured in this movie.
Used to watch this flick and others with my grandpa in his big TV room with the money he earned flying B-25's, B-29's, KB-50's, C-141's, and for a time during Vietnam he was Westmoreland's briefing officer. He used to have to fly him everywhere in a Sabreliner off the clock because he was the only one around qualified to fly it. Told a story about waking up in a nosedive at night after falling asleep from exhaustion at having to fly all the extra hours, he said the face of my grandma appeared telling him to wake up. Whenever you asked if needed help with something he would say "Hey! I used to fly the big ones y'know! I can handle this." He was hilarious and had tons of stories. He said "I was recommended for fighter school, but they needed more meat for the bombers." Flying was incredibly dangerous back then, and he witnessed dozens of accidents. Refused to fly a certain B-29 that was the "Dog of the fleet" and was dangerously malfunctioning. Command ordered the plane out, and the very next flight a friend of his volunteered to crew it and the aircraft completely exploded about 30 seconds after taking off in full view of the entire airbase. Also knew a whole B-29 crew who flew directly into a mountain, I think this is the report here. www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-boeing-kb-29p-superfortress-near-talkeetna-8-killed Died last year, 90 years old. RIP Lt. Col. Donald F. O'Neill
This is the best USAF movie ever made. And a lot of that had to do with Jimmy Stewart. With him being a real USAFR officer and pilot, he was able to make it real. As real as Hollywood could make a movie like this. Thanks Petittwo for putting this together.
What makes the movie good is Mr Stewart, a veteran and able to lend genuine experience and authenticity in his flight scenes. Always fast forwarded past scenes with June Allison.... The movie with all the Aircraft scenes is a Gem.. the B-36 and B-47 Scenes are magic...... and no CGI !!! just the real thing.. I have the greatest respect for the Pilots and crews of those early Jets as they were very unforgiving and breaking new ground in an age where the pilots had to rely on pure skill and nerve.
This and "The Bridges at Toko Ri"....my two favorite aviation films and both defined a nation at that time. United, proud, rugged, dedicated to excellence; we were strong!
The scene at Carswell AFB looked like it was filmed at the house we lived in when we were stationed there. Love that movie and Mr. Stewart is one of the greatest.
What I love about this film is that it shows that even when there isn't an actual conflict going on, this military service is still risky. Col. Holland nearly has his second crash at the climax. Gives you a WHOLE new respect for the folks who do this work!
I got to meet General Stewart, when I was stationed in Thailand, 1967. He was making rounds at different bases, during the Vietnam war. Even though he was retired, he was still a strong supporter of the Air Force.
My dad was a navigator on the RB47 with Reg Urschler as command pilot. hope i spelled his spelled right. When we would go out camping my dad would tell us the greatest stories about flying on the RB47. Thank you, Reggie, for always bringing my dad home safe.
I remember seeing this and thinking "Jimmy Stewart really knows his stuff, you'd think he had actually been in the Air Force" Then I found out he actually had been!
@@williampow69I think it was the B-24. He was also trained in the B-17 and certified to fly the Convair B-36 Peacemaker, Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing B-52 Stratofortress intercontinental bombers of the Strategic Air Command. During an active duty Reserve stint, he even flew as an observer in a B-52 on an Arc Light bombing mission during the Vietnam War.
I love those old movies when REAL airplanes were flown, not the cheesy CGI effects that are used in today’s movies. Nobody can play a more believable pilot convincingly than Jimmy Stewart because he is a real veteran B-24 pilot! 👏👏👏.
My Dad was in TAC back in late 50' s till 1976. You cut part where they are ferrying the B-47 to Japan and they are talking about sitting on concrete and picket fences. Great movie with a great and real American Hero, General James Stewart. RIP. Not like the sewage Hollywood produces now.
Always a favorite of mine, Jimmy Stewart was an honorable man, flying many combat missions in WWII, then he had became the admired actor. He was astute, kind, but also had a great sense of humor. I was very touched hearing the poem he wrote about his dog, "Beau" after he lost him; he read it on Johnny Carson and I wrote down the lyrics. I can empathize with it so much. Great man and Countryman, was Jimmy Stewart!
He was actor first, then he joined Air Force, flew combat missions and retired as Brigadier General of USAF. He certainly wanted to earn some badass-credentials and got them as well.
I remember seeing this movie at the Totowa Drive-in Movies back in the 50's. It was one of those films I could not forget. The takeoff always reminded me of the Passaic County Mosquito Commission that would spray all the towns back then in North Jersey. The Meadowlands were nearby and there seemed to be a mosquito for every cubic inch of air. Perfect white clouds of DDT. All us kids used to run after the truck and pretend we were flying through them. I have this movie in my DVD and BD collection now. I liked its patriotic tone. We were a more unified nation back then, having come off of the realities of WW2, Korea and the Cold War. My parents were veterans and these kind of films always hit home for me. My father was in the Navy in the South Pacific and my mother was an Army nurse in England and France and they never told any war stories either. No doubt Jimmy Stewart was instrumental in creating this work. Imagine that, a patriotic Hollywood actor.
Great to see MacDill AFB. My father was stationed there in '68, doing a tour at Phu Cat in Nam in '69, and then returning for another 2 years till we moved to Chanute AFB, IL. Our house was off base but right off approach to 22R so all the flights would pass over the house at all hours of the day and night. He would take me on base whenever he could and that's when I fell in love with F-4's. I miss those days.
Jimmy Stewar ... tOne of the all-time greats. Outstanding in every character h ever portrayed. I think I've watched every one of them. Westerns, war ... Flight of the Phoenix ... It's a Wonderful Life. What a terrific man!
I love this movie; the in-flight photography is wonderful. General Jimmy Stewart was perfect with his combat experience as a B-24 bomber pilot in WWII. He flew other types after the war including the B-58 Hustler. His mannerisms were completely natural portraying a command pilot. I grew up with the B-36's and remember hearing their distinctive sound, particularly at night when they were practice bombing American cities. A few B-47's were still around when I was in the USAF (1963-67). Some flew weather recon out of Clark AB, P.I. Boeing built a beautiful bomber that could really pack a punch with the smaller and lighter nuclear weapons available toward the end of its career.
I live near Pease and was in the CAP with a navigator on a B-47 in the early 60s. He sure had some great stories about them. They would take them out over the Atlantic where they couldn't be seen on radar and some pilots loved to wring them out. Aileron stalls, spins, air starts. I think he said it took about 13,000 feet to get an air start. My buddy had a Piper Pacer, it took less than 1300 to get an air start. I miss those days of hearing them break the sound barrier and was very disappointed when the government made them go up and down through it out over the ocean. That boom had a sort of comforting sound to it for me. The B-52s were there at about that time too and one or the other was commonly flown/landed with side doors and/or bomb bay doors open causing a lot of UFO reports. I also had a drinking buddy at the time who had a 10 engine license. He was a little short fellow, must have needed a NYC phone book to sit on. He had 2 B-17s shot out from under him in the war.
My father was a mechanic on the 47’s stationed at Pease AFB back in the 60s. I was born at Portsmouth Naval while he was stationed there and the 52’s were phasing them out. He opted to leave after four before getting his hands on the 52’s. For his birthday I got him some memorabilia here at Wright Patterson where they still have one in the museum.
I flew the B-47 from 1959 thru 1064. It was a good aircraft, but pilots needed to be aware of some bad characteristics to be safe. Like slow engine acceleration to avoid compressor stalls, aileron ineffectiveness at high air speeds, bicycle landing gear, airspeed control during landings, and others. Our wing lost 5 aircraft and crews during the 5 years I flew the B-47. The B-52 was/is a much better aircraft.
My dad was a B47 navigator-bombardier . His ejection seat would have propelled him Downward, not a great option during a takeoff problem. Our base lost five bombers over a ten-year period. No crew member survived. Hence the name "The Widowmaker". I also saw the fireball from a takeoff crash from about a mile away. Brutal.
Well, we make better aircraft as we learn what works and what does not. The aircraft after the B-47, the B-52 was/is a great aircraft, has flown a long time, and is scheduled to fly into the 2050's so I'd call that a success! (Thank you for your service to our Country.)
I was an AF corpsman at a USAF hospital in England in the early 60s. One of my patients was a B47 pilot who'd crashed on landing - at Brize Norton, I think. He had suffered burns on both hands and forearms. The navigator was killed.
A whole lot more believable with no CGI and the fact that Jimmy Stewart a real USAF bomber pilot who retired as a general and flew combat missions in WW2.
He flew combat missions in Korea as well. He only flew one combat mission in Vietnam, and that one he did without authorization because the Pentagon didn't want him risking this life.
A great American hero and a lovely man and I say this as a Englishman. He stood for all the great things America could offer to the world, shame you didn't have more like him
My father was Russian Voice Intercept/enlisted flyer in the USAFSS from 1953 to 1983 and at one point after his time flying on the RB-36 his TDY/SAC unit was reassigned to RB-47Hs. Believe it or not he was 1 of 3 additional crew members tucked away in the belly of that bird as Electronic Warfare Raven... he said after the RB-47 came his less glamorous EC-121 assignment. Wow! I love my Daddy!!!
I remember the 1960 Russian shoot down of a RB-47 in International Waters. The navigator and co-pilot survived but not the A/C and the 3 ravens in the back.
I'm a SAC Brat! All my sibling were born on SAC Bases (Dyess, MacDill, Offutt and Malmstrom). I've seen this movie a million times and I still love it. The aerial photography is outstanding! I would love to see a B-36 in person. What a machine!
This still has to be one of the coolest aircraft take offs ever filmed. And Jimmy Stewart was a great pilot. What an actor. I am not sure if he flew this aircraft for real , although he was a very high ranking officer (LT. Col.?) A classic.
What a perfect film for Brigadier General Jimmy Stewart ... who was one of America's greatest and bravest bomber pilots during WWII ... and one of the very few Hollywood Stars to volunteer for actual combat duty.
YES, besides James Stewart the list of Holywood actors who participated in combat duty during WWII is a relatively short one. Here are some who did:' CLARK GABLE CHARLES DURNING JASON ROBARDS KIRK DOUGLAS DAVID NIVEN (UK) JACKIE COOGAN JAMES ARNESS LEE MARVIN ERNEST BORGNINE HENRY FONDA JAMES DOOHAN (SCOTTY-STAR TREK) CHARLES BRONSON TONY CURTIS MEL BROOKS PAUL NEWMAN RUSSELL JOHNSON (THE PROFESSOR-GILLIGANS ISLAND) SABU AUDIE MURPHY
@@GFSLombardo You can add the late Eddie Albert to that list. He was a combat officer aboard an LST at Tarawa. Tyrone Power, and Robert Montgomery were also Navy and saw action in the Pacific. The character actor James Whitmore was an infantryman in Europe. Jack Palance served. A training accident burned his face and gave him that distinctive look he had. There are a few more, but still, the list is short, even adding these guys.
I love that B-47 aircraft! The one before the B-52. The swept-wing was what airliners copied later on. I saw that B-47 when I worked at a SAC base in the mid-'60s. I did not see the SAC movie of 1955, but would love to see it now, since Jimmy Stewart was one of my favorite actors.
I've always had a fascination with the B-47 ever since I saw one on static display at a USAF base. It was in a deserted part of the base where some old dorms had been decommissioned and I was taking an exercise walk. I couldn't stop looking at it, so later on, I got up-to-speed on the jet and it's history.
One of my favorite films in my youth. Recreated the cockpit in my folks closet with both pilots, one in front and one in back (clothes in between) with cardboard painted instruments and dowell joysticks. Even had communications from front of cockpit to the back via a vacuum cleaner hose we talked into. I was around 10 at the time. Fold memories even today. I went on to learn to fly in my late teens. This film got me hooked.
one of my favorite movied. at the time the movie was made,I believe Mr Stewart was a bird col.in the air force reserves. He retired as a 1 star General!!
Bill Valentine I am a senior citizen and I admired him as a person and an amazing actor. They don't make them like him any more. Audie Murphy, John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Jean Autry, Steve McQueen, Tom Selleck, and many more from the GOOD OLD MOVIE DAYS. MY ERA!
Bill Valentine Unlike a lot of people, he wasn't a desk jockey. He flew bombers in WWII. I think he said once he was checked out in B-25, B-36, B-47 and the B-58. He was a good man all around.
I grew up going to the air shows down at MacDill AFB here in Tampa. I recall when the B-47's were training at MacDill, and many of them were on the tarmac out at MacDill. A great deal of this movie was filmed here in Tampa. I can see familiar landmarks in this clip, to include the bay.
As a kid growing up on a air force base i could tell you what type of aircraft that was taking off just by engine sound. Couldn't tie my shoes or tell time but i knew military air craft.
Some years ago, Air Classics Magazine published an article describing the production of this film, and also showed the cut-away aircraft portions that were used for sound stage filming of aircraft interior shots. Interesting article.
My dad flew this plane. He left me his "Best of the Best 8th Air Force Outstanding Crew" trophy. Presented to him by Curtis LeMay. He was a triple rated pilot, a product of the cadet program IIR.
Don't remember much about the performance of this aircraft (some have said it was outstanding!), but I do remember thinking it was one of the most beautiful aircraft I have ever seen. Last seen at an open house at Brookley AFB, Mobile, Alabama many years ago. Before Johnson closed it in retaliation for Alabama not voting his way. For all you history buffs: Brookley was the only AFB in the world with road, railroad, air, and sea facilities.
I think that a good comment. I’ve always thought the most beautiful and technologically challenging aircraft were all from the 1950’s and 60’s. And by that I mean aircraft from the USA, Britain and the USSR. They had the balls and confidence to push the limits of possibilities back then, epic stuff!
Andrew Page, also it was PRIDE..professional results in daily effort..except when I was stationed at SAC HQ after I was commissioned, then my boss claimed it became SHAME..sustained half-assed minimum effort. (He was kidding, I hope.)
and WITHOUT ANY CGI . REAL PLANES; REAL FLIGHTS, YOU WILL NEVER SEE THAT AGAIN IN A MOVIE OF TODAY AND IN FUTURE:. i like it so much , greetings from germany to you.
Jimmy Stewart served two tours in B-24's in the ETO. Balls of steel! I worked with GCA in Germany. Pilot has no NAVAIDS, just the controllers voice to trust.
Good movie with great shots of B-36 and B-47 aircraft. And of course, Jimmy Stewart was the real deal. During WWII, fearful the army was going to assign him to bond selling and publicity duties, Stewart volunteered for a combat assignment and became commander of the 445th Bomb Group flying the B-24 Liberator.
I was stationed at Barksdale AFB 1973-75 and we had a B-47 as a gate guard at the North Gate. A beautiful aircraft that I always admired for it's fighter like lines.
One of my all-time favorite films, but I must say that when I saw the movie for the 1st time on a late night local movie TV show during the scene as Jimmy & crew are approaching the Tokyo area, and a full-bull colonel inside Yokota Tower is issuing Jimmy the current WX, I busted out laughing! In my 2 years of working traffic at Yokota AB, never once did I see anyone above the rank of captain make the 98-step climb to the top of the control tower, let alone operate a radio there. Officers did not work traffic. They acted as administrators.
I wonder if any of the older folk who lived in Carterton (home to USAF Brize Norton) filmed the B-47 modifying their climb angle after farmers beyond the runway complained of livestock production suffering? I remember tests were announced in the local newspapers, so us kids used to run along to take-off point. The aircraft with RATO was so loud you couldn't breathe for a while. The only aircraft I saw take off at that angle was a later visiting Vulcan just before transfer of command back into RAF hands.
Everybody seems to forget that James Stewart was a Brigadier General in the Air Force. A command pilot flying B17 in the European Theatre and became a Squadron Commander. Well respected and loved as a leader.
A beautiful and streamlined bomber. Not your traditional "shoot-em-up" military and/or war movie. While there was a good emphasis on the hardware, the study of human emotions and the mindset of that era was abso-bloody-lutely brilliant. Stewart, Allyson, Lovejoy, and Flippen brought the added dimension to pull of a movie such as this. I personally know of two families who were torn apart by decisions to stay or retire from the U.S.A.F. One stayed in SAC while the other retired. The one who stayed in service also remained married. The other ended up getting divorced and regretted every day for retiring.
My Dad, a career USAF man, let me know that of the many unique things about Jimmy Stewart wasn't only his WW2 flying record, but that he had stayed in the reserves until he was forced into retirement, and that he was one of the very few pilots that was "checked out" on all aircraft the USAF had at the time. He was allowed to sign out and fly all that the USAF had.
With General Stewart, you never need a stand in double as the pilot. He was the real deal.
Here's Stewart flying the B-58 ruclips.net/video/cEKyTxnrXIc/видео.html
I was fortunate enough to meet Jimmy Stewart at Tibenham the home of the Norfolk Gliding club in the East of England. It was originally the US Airforce base he served at during the war. He was invited up while in London do Harvey the White Rabbit on stage the West End and to everybody's surprise, he accepted and arrived one weekend. He flew in a couple of gliders, spent time talking to the club members touring the old airfield which by then, the 70's had only the tower in disuse remaining and few wrecked buildings. He loved it, was a real gentleman and was happy to become a life member and I think, honours President of the club. I can only describe him as a wonderful human being.
No one will realize how rare these shots are to come by. Full color, HD shots of a relic in its glory. Something we probably won't ever see again.
OOOOOOO - so true ; moment come & gone
flyus747. We actually realize full well how rare these shots are and we value them as such. Totally agree with your comments. See, even the dialogues did make sense, unlike in today's so-called aviation crap they're serving us (Beyond Enemy Lines, Dunkirk, Stealth, Pearl Harbor etc.). They all feel fake and dumb. We're just left with souvenirs and nostalgia in the end, I guess.
Glad they are available here on utube
and I would like to read comments from as actual crew members. I was stationed in Eniwetok atoll and would hear the unique rumble of B36's flying
Overhead in assumingly at 35,000 or 40 000 ft
Miss them.
I recall seeing a B-47 fly rather low over my Las Lomitas Elementary School yard (Menlo Park, CA) in the late 1940s when I was in the 3rd or 4th grade. It was shocking and awesome.
HD ? These are actually most likely to be 35mm film in fact.
One of the really great movies ever made! Some really great up close looks at the aircraft of the time inside and out. Love the B-36 scenes - Harry Morgan and Jimmy Stewart - two awesome actors! The sound of the B-36 is really captured in this movie.
Used to watch this flick and others with my grandpa in his big TV room with the money he earned flying B-25's, B-29's, KB-50's, C-141's, and for a time during Vietnam he was Westmoreland's briefing officer. He used to have to fly him everywhere in a Sabreliner off the clock because he was the only one around qualified to fly it. Told a story about waking up in a nosedive at night after falling asleep from exhaustion at having to fly all the extra hours, he said the face of my grandma appeared telling him to wake up. Whenever you asked if needed help with something he would say "Hey! I used to fly the big ones y'know! I can handle this." He was hilarious and had tons of stories. He said "I was recommended for fighter school, but they needed more meat for the bombers." Flying was incredibly dangerous back then, and he witnessed dozens of accidents. Refused to fly a certain B-29 that was the "Dog of the fleet" and was dangerously malfunctioning. Command ordered the plane out, and the very next flight a friend of his volunteered to crew it and the aircraft completely exploded about 30 seconds after taking off in full view of the entire airbase. Also knew a whole B-29 crew who flew directly into a mountain, I think this is the report here. www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-boeing-kb-29p-superfortress-near-talkeetna-8-killed
Died last year, 90 years old. RIP Lt. Col. Donald F. O'Neill
This is the best USAF movie ever made. And a lot of that had to do with Jimmy Stewart. With him being a real USAFR officer and pilot, he was able to make it real. As real as Hollywood could make a movie like this. Thanks Petittwo for putting this together.
I first saw this movie on a color TV in 1964 when I was 9. Was one of the reasons I joined the Air Force when I graduated from high school.
Thank you for the movie. Ol" jimmy Stewart is a hella' actor in my opinion. Anyone??? ✌ ✌
A family friend was a 3 Star General in the Airforce and good friends with Brig. General Stewart. Had him over for dinners!
What makes the movie good is Mr Stewart, a veteran and able to lend genuine experience and authenticity in his flight scenes. Always fast forwarded past scenes with June Allison.... The movie with all the Aircraft scenes is a Gem.. the B-36 and B-47 Scenes are magic...... and no CGI !!! just the real thing.. I have the greatest respect for the Pilots and crews of those early Jets as they were very unforgiving and breaking new ground in an age where the pilots had to rely on pure skill and nerve.
This and "The Bridges at Toko Ri"....my two favorite aviation films and both defined a nation at that time. United, proud, rugged, dedicated to excellence; we were strong!
One of the BEST and Classic Cold War movies ever made. The airborne photography was TOP NOTCH!!!!!
Absolutely beautiful aerial photography
The scene at Carswell AFB looked like it was filmed at the house we lived in when we were stationed there. Love that movie and Mr. Stewart is one of the greatest.
It REALLY WAS filmed at Carswell. The Air Force was quite Proud of Positive PR.
What I love about this film is that it shows that even when there isn't an actual conflict going on, this military service is still risky. Col. Holland nearly has his second crash at the climax. Gives you a WHOLE new respect for the folks who do this work!
I got to meet General Stewart, when I was stationed in Thailand, 1967. He was making rounds at different bases, during the Vietnam war. Even though he was retired, he was still a strong supporter of the Air Force.
Had the pleasure of saluting Gen. Stewart at an Arnold Air Society event in NYC 1967/68.
My dad was a navigator on the RB47 with Reg Urschler as command pilot. hope i spelled his spelled right. When we would go out camping my dad would tell us the greatest stories about flying on the RB47. Thank you, Reggie, for always bringing my dad home safe.
"Although often admired, respected, cursed, and even feared, the B-47 was almost never loved..."
--Brig. General Earl C. Peck
I remember seeing this and thinking "Jimmy Stewart really knows his stuff, you'd think he had actually been in the Air Force"
Then I found out he actually had been!
He was a b25 pilot flew over German for many missions
@@williampow69I think it was the B-24. He was also trained in the B-17 and certified to fly the Convair B-36 Peacemaker, Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing B-52 Stratofortress intercontinental bombers of the Strategic Air Command. During an active duty Reserve stint, he even flew as an observer in a B-52 on an Arc Light bombing mission during the Vietnam War.
in 1975, Gen. Stewart came to visit us cadets at the USAFA. Gave a GREAT speech to us. Very inspiring
@@williampow69 ; Sorry Bill but Stewart flew a B-24H a A/C of the 15th AF.
@@michaelquillen2679 ;Stewart did fly a B-58 Hustler out of Elmendorf,Ak. shortly before his commission was up..Retired Lt.Col.
From the Glory Days of Hollywood, when movie stars were Patriots and real heros.
These movies are a national treasure..the HD resolution almost gives it an unreal feeling. I find myself watching them over and over.
real men back then rest in peace JIMMY STEWART
the shots inside the cockpit are amazing
I love those old movies when REAL airplanes were flown, not the cheesy CGI effects that are used in today’s movies. Nobody can play a more believable pilot convincingly than Jimmy Stewart because he is a real veteran B-24 pilot! 👏👏👏.
My Dad was in TAC back in late 50' s till 1976. You cut part where they are ferrying the B-47 to Japan and they are talking about sitting on concrete and picket fences. Great movie with a great and real American Hero, General James Stewart. RIP. Not like the sewage Hollywood produces now.
...call it sewage is being rather kind....
Great movie and a great man. Theu don't make them like him anymore. RIP Brig Gen James Stewart, USAF Reserve
Always a favorite of mine, Jimmy Stewart was an honorable man, flying many combat missions in WWII, then he had became the admired actor. He was astute, kind, but also had a great sense of humor. I was very touched hearing the poem he wrote about his dog, "Beau" after he lost him; he read it on Johnny Carson and I wrote down the lyrics. I can empathize with it so much. Great man and Countryman, was Jimmy Stewart!
He was actor first, then he joined Air Force, flew combat missions and retired as Brigadier General of USAF. He certainly wanted to earn some badass-credentials and got them as well.
I remember seeing this movie at the Totowa Drive-in Movies back in the 50's. It was one of those films I could not forget. The takeoff always reminded me of the Passaic County Mosquito Commission that would spray all the towns back then in North Jersey. The Meadowlands were nearby and there seemed to be a mosquito for every cubic inch of air. Perfect white clouds of DDT. All us kids used to run after the truck and pretend we were flying through them. I have this movie in my DVD and BD collection now. I liked its patriotic tone. We were a more unified nation back then, having come off of the realities of WW2, Korea and the Cold War. My parents were veterans and these kind of films always hit home for me. My father was in the Navy in the South Pacific and my mother was an Army nurse in England and France and they never told any war stories either. No doubt Jimmy Stewart was instrumental in creating this work. Imagine that, a patriotic Hollywood actor.
Some of the BEST footage of the old jets ever.
Great to see MacDill AFB. My father was stationed there in '68, doing a tour at Phu Cat in Nam in '69, and then returning for another 2 years till we moved to Chanute AFB, IL. Our house was off base but right off approach to 22R so all the flights would pass over the house at all hours of the day and night. He would take me on base whenever he could and that's when I fell in love with F-4's. I miss those days.
I got to see a B-47 and a B-52 at an airshow in California. I actually got to go into the B-47. It was so cool!
Jimmy Stewar ... tOne of the all-time greats. Outstanding in every character h ever portrayed. I think I've watched every one of them. Westerns, war ... Flight of the Phoenix ... It's a Wonderful Life. What a terrific man!
I love this movie; the in-flight photography is wonderful. General Jimmy Stewart was perfect with his combat experience as a B-24 bomber pilot in WWII. He flew other types after the war including the B-58 Hustler. His mannerisms were completely natural portraying a command pilot. I grew up with the B-36's and remember hearing their distinctive sound, particularly at night when they were practice bombing American cities. A few B-47's were still around when I was in the USAF (1963-67). Some flew weather recon out of Clark AB, P.I. Boeing built a beautiful bomber that could really pack a punch with the smaller and lighter nuclear weapons available toward the end of its career.
One of the best commercials for the Air Force ever.
Stewart loved this role more than any other I believe...
I live near Pease and was in the CAP with a navigator on a B-47 in the early 60s. He sure had some great stories about them. They would take them out over the Atlantic where they couldn't be seen on radar and some pilots loved to wring them out. Aileron stalls, spins, air starts. I think he said it took about 13,000 feet to get an air start. My buddy had a Piper Pacer, it took less than 1300 to get an air start. I miss those days of hearing them break the sound barrier and was very disappointed when the government made them go up and down through it out over the ocean. That boom had a sort of comforting sound to it for me.
The B-52s were there at about that time too and one or the other was commonly flown/landed with side doors and/or bomb bay doors open causing a lot of UFO reports. I also had a drinking buddy at the time who had a 10 engine license. He was a little short fellow, must have needed a NYC phone book to sit on. He had 2 B-17s shot out from under him in the war.
My father was a mechanic on the 47’s stationed at Pease AFB back in the 60s. I was born at Portsmouth Naval while he was stationed there and the 52’s were phasing them out. He opted to leave after four before getting his hands on the 52’s. For his birthday I got him some memorabilia here at Wright Patterson where they still have one in the museum.
The Glory Days of the USAF. I served about 20 years later and that time was great too.
I flew the B-47 from 1959 thru 1064. It was a good aircraft, but pilots needed to be aware of some bad characteristics to be safe. Like slow engine acceleration to avoid compressor stalls, aileron ineffectiveness at high air speeds, bicycle landing gear, airspeed control during landings, and others. Our wing lost 5 aircraft and crews during the 5 years I flew the B-47. The B-52 was/is a much better aircraft.
My dad was a B47 navigator-bombardier . His ejection seat would have propelled him Downward, not a great option during a takeoff problem. Our base lost five bombers over a ten-year period. No crew member survived. Hence the name "The Widowmaker".
I also saw the fireball from a takeoff crash from about a mile away. Brutal.
My uncle, Henry Reeves, navigator, flew the B-47 back in the early 50's after flying the B-36 out of Carswell AFB Fort worth!
Planes didn’t fly in medieval times Maverick.
Well, we make better aircraft as we learn what works and what does not. The aircraft after the B-47, the B-52 was/is a great aircraft, has flown a long time, and is scheduled to fly into the 2050's so I'd call that a success!
(Thank you for your service to our Country.)
I was an AF corpsman at a USAF hospital in England in the early 60s. One of my patients was a B47 pilot who'd crashed on landing - at Brize Norton, I think. He had suffered burns on both hands and forearms. The navigator was killed.
A whole lot more believable with no CGI and the fact that Jimmy Stewart a real USAF bomber pilot who retired as a general and flew combat missions in WW2.
He flew combat missions in Korea as well. He only flew one combat mission in Vietnam, and that one he did without authorization because the Pentagon didn't want him risking this life.
@@armorer94 WAW.....! , He's the real deal or some and he flew in the Vietnam war ! .
A great American hero and a lovely man and I say this as a Englishman. He stood for all the great things America could offer to the world, shame you didn't have more like him
This was a great movie! Ah yes, back in the day when movies were fun to watch!
My father was Russian Voice Intercept/enlisted flyer in the USAFSS from 1953 to 1983 and at one point after his time flying on the RB-36 his TDY/SAC unit was reassigned to RB-47Hs. Believe it or not he was 1 of 3 additional crew members tucked away in the belly of that bird as Electronic Warfare Raven... he said after the RB-47 came his less glamorous EC-121 assignment. Wow!
I love my Daddy!!!
I remember the 1960 Russian shoot down of a RB-47 in International Waters. The navigator and co-pilot survived but not the A/C and the 3 ravens in the back.
Probably one of my favorite movies of all time.
I'm a SAC Brat! All my sibling were born on SAC Bases (Dyess, MacDill, Offutt and Malmstrom). I've seen this movie a million times and I still love it. The aerial photography is outstanding! I would love to see a B-36 in person. What a machine!
Mark Daniels USAF museum in Dayton Ohio has a B-36 in the hanger.
MacDill was a SAC base? When I was there it was TAC, and also Special Operations.
Jimmy Stewart a class act. RIP
I love the old color movies' colors !
My Dad was in SAC during these days..we were stationed @ Little Rock AFB in the 50's...Great flick BTW...
This still has to be one of the coolest aircraft take offs ever filmed. And Jimmy Stewart was a great pilot. What an actor. I am not sure if he flew this aircraft for real , although he was a very high ranking officer (LT. Col.?) A classic.
One of my absolute favorite movies!! It's great that he wasn't acting, but really knew how to fly these planes!!
I LOVE the movie! Jimmy Stewart made some great movies!!!!
MR Jimmy stewart . what an outstanding talent in life and in fiction, the likes of which will never be seen again.
What a perfect film for Brigadier General Jimmy Stewart ... who was one of America's greatest and bravest bomber pilots during WWII ... and one of the very few Hollywood Stars to volunteer for actual combat duty.
YES, besides James Stewart the list of Holywood actors who participated in combat duty during WWII is a relatively short one. Here are some who did:'
CLARK GABLE
CHARLES DURNING
JASON ROBARDS
KIRK DOUGLAS
DAVID NIVEN (UK)
JACKIE COOGAN
JAMES ARNESS
LEE MARVIN
ERNEST BORGNINE
HENRY FONDA
JAMES DOOHAN (SCOTTY-STAR TREK)
CHARLES BRONSON
TONY CURTIS
MEL BROOKS
PAUL NEWMAN
RUSSELL JOHNSON (THE PROFESSOR-GILLIGANS ISLAND)
SABU
AUDIE MURPHY
@@GFSLombardo You can add the late Eddie Albert to that list. He was a combat officer aboard an LST at Tarawa. Tyrone Power, and Robert Montgomery were also Navy and saw action in the Pacific. The character actor James Whitmore was an infantryman in Europe. Jack Palance served. A training accident burned his face and gave him that distinctive look he had. There are a few more, but still, the list is short, even adding these guys.
wowwwwwww what quality of images!!!
General Jimmy Stewart, as large of a man in real life as he was on the silver screen...
I love that B-47 aircraft! The one before the B-52. The swept-wing was what airliners copied later on. I saw that B-47 when I worked at a SAC base in the mid-'60s. I did not see the SAC movie of 1955, but would love to see it now, since Jimmy Stewart was one of my favorite actors.
Jimmy Stewart a gentleman, a hero, a great leader and of course a great actor.
I've always had a fascination with the B-47 ever since I saw one on static display at a USAF base. It was in a deserted part of the base where some old dorms had been decommissioned and I was taking an exercise walk. I couldn't stop looking at it, so later on, I got up-to-speed on the jet and it's history.
One of my favorite films in my youth. Recreated the cockpit in my folks closet with both pilots, one in front and one in back (clothes in between) with cardboard painted instruments and dowell joysticks. Even had communications from front of cockpit to the back via a vacuum cleaner hose we talked into. I was around 10 at the time. Fold memories even today. I went on to learn to fly in my late teens. This film got me hooked.
Ever since I was a kid and watched B-47s flying over our house, I've thought they were the most beautiful planes ever designed.
Absolutely jaw-dropping footage!
one of my favorite movied. at the time the movie was made,I believe Mr Stewart was a bird col.in the air force reserves. He retired as a 1 star General!!
Bill Valentine
I am a senior citizen and I admired him as a person and an amazing actor. They don't make them like him any more. Audie Murphy, John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Jean Autry, Steve McQueen, Tom Selleck, and many more from the GOOD OLD MOVIE DAYS. MY ERA!
Bill Valentine Unlike a lot of people, he wasn't a desk jockey. He flew bombers in WWII. I think he said once he was checked out in B-25, B-36, B-47 and the B-58. He was a good man all around.
Too many people don't have respect for thei
In point of fact, it was around the time this movie was in the works that Stewart had just qualified on the B-47 and won his star.
What exactly was wrong with the characters arm? If altitude caused this, does that mean he can’t fly commercial as a passenger?
I grew up going to the air shows down at MacDill AFB here in Tampa. I recall when the B-47's were training at MacDill, and many of them were on the tarmac out at MacDill. A great deal of this movie was filmed here in Tampa. I can see familiar landmarks in this clip, to include the bay.
They even recorded the break and tire squeal. WHY DON'T THEY MAKE MOVIES LIKE THIS ANYMORE!?
I know the B-47 was a Widowmaker, but that doesn't change the fact that it is a Gorgeous aircraft!
4:32 What a shot!
So few people really understand how important the B-47 is in aviation history. Every modern jet airliner descends from it.
I vaguely remember this movie and a B-36 crash. Need to watch it again.
Looking back, I am amazed at how we were able to get this stuff to fly at all, quite an accomplishment.
As a kid growing up on a air force base i could tell you what type of aircraft that was taking off just by engine sound. Couldn't tie my shoes or tell time but i knew military air craft.
Great clip of General James Stewart!
Some years ago, Air Classics Magazine published an article describing the production of this film, and also showed the cut-away aircraft portions that were used for sound stage filming of aircraft interior shots. Interesting article.
My dad flew this plane. He left me his "Best of the Best 8th Air Force Outstanding Crew" trophy. Presented to him by Curtis LeMay. He was a triple rated pilot, a product of the cadet program IIR.
What a beautiful airplane it was!
This movie really tells it like it is with SAC.
Don't remember much about the performance of this aircraft (some have said it was outstanding!), but I do remember thinking it was one of the most beautiful aircraft I have ever seen. Last seen at an open house at Brookley AFB, Mobile, Alabama many years ago. Before Johnson closed it in retaliation for Alabama not voting his way. For all you history buffs: Brookley was the only AFB in the world with road, railroad, air, and sea facilities.
I think that a good comment. I’ve always thought the most beautiful and technologically challenging aircraft were all from the 1950’s and 60’s. And by that I mean aircraft from the USA, Britain and the USSR. They had the balls and confidence to push the limits of possibilities back then, epic stuff!
Jimmy Stewart.....What a guy ....not just another actor !
A nifty looking plane...efficient looking. Beautiful.
I believe the motto of the Strategic Air Command was, "Peace is our Profession."
In the movie Dr. Strangelove that phrase was seen in all the base battle scenes.
Andrew Page, also it was PRIDE..professional results in daily effort..except when I was stationed at SAC HQ after I was commissioned, then my boss claimed it became SHAME..sustained half-assed minimum effort. (He was kidding, I hope.)
In the 80's at the Fresno ANG, they had a poster in the dental clinic that had a group of kids holding up toothbrushes like a Hitler salute.
Detonating nuclear bombs on an enemy tends to make them very peaceful.
While I was station at Minot AFB, ND, late '70's and very early '80's the very unofficial ending of the motto was, "War is just a hobby."
What a great movie! I saw it as a kid and joined the Air Force once I graduated High School.
Been involved in aviation ever since.
and WITHOUT ANY CGI . REAL PLANES; REAL FLIGHTS, YOU WILL NEVER SEE THAT AGAIN IN A MOVIE OF TODAY AND IN FUTURE:. i like it so much , greetings from germany to you.
You can see the design elements from the B47 still in use in modern passenger aircraft. Very revolutionary aircraft for its time.
Jimmy Stewart served two tours in B-24's in the ETO. Balls of steel!
I worked with GCA in Germany. Pilot has no NAVAIDS, just the controllers voice to trust.
Must have been pretty stressful for the C54 crews doing Operation Vittles.
uh no - B17 , england
In this movie I didn't realize Jimmy Stewart was landing a Kadena AFB on Okinawa. I was stationed at Camp Foster USMC just south of Kadena.
Kadena USAF 18th ftr wing F-15 crew chief 91-93 was an excellent tour
Good movie with great shots of B-36 and B-47 aircraft. And of course, Jimmy Stewart was the real deal. During WWII, fearful the army was going to assign him to bond selling and publicity duties, Stewart volunteered for a combat assignment and became commander of the 445th Bomb Group flying the B-24 Liberator.
what a great movie, and I'm just a knuckle-dragging civilian! Just beautiful airplanes
I was stationed at Barksdale AFB 1973-75 and we had a B-47 as a gate guard at the North Gate. A beautiful aircraft that I always admired for it's fighter like lines.
I spent time at MACDILL AFB - it was nice to see in the full film
Jimmy Stewart was actually an Officer in the Air Force.
One of my all-time favorite films, but I must say that when I saw the movie for the 1st time on a late night local movie TV show during the scene as Jimmy & crew are approaching the Tokyo area, and a full-bull colonel inside Yokota Tower is issuing Jimmy the current WX, I busted out laughing! In my 2 years of working traffic at Yokota AB, never once did I see anyone above the rank of captain make the 98-step climb to the top of the control tower, let alone operate a radio there. Officers did not work traffic. They acted as administrators.
I wonder if any of the older folk who lived in Carterton (home to USAF Brize Norton) filmed the B-47 modifying their climb angle after farmers beyond the runway complained of livestock production suffering? I remember tests were announced in the local newspapers, so us kids used to run along to take-off point. The aircraft with RATO was so loud you couldn't breathe for a while. The only aircraft I saw take off at that angle was a later visiting Vulcan just before transfer of command back into RAF hands.
I watched a Vulcan demo during an airshow at Randolph AFB back in the late 70s. It was surprisingly agile.
When it came to flying, Stewart was the Real McCoy.
Everybody seems to forget that James Stewart was a Brigadier General in the Air Force. A command pilot flying B17 in the European Theatre and became a Squadron Commander. Well respected and loved as a leader.
I don’t think anybody really forgets that about Stewart, it’s frequently mentioned.
Instructor in B-17s stateside. He flew B-24s in combat.
Yes Jimmy Stewart fly b-17s in World War II my Uncle Albert was in the same Squadron he was in in England I can't remember what Squadron it was
Being a Marine on Okinawa (Camp Foster) Aug 74-Sep75, watched jets and the SR-71 land & take off at "Kadena" AFB daily. Semper Fi.
Check out the B-36 scenes from Strategic Air Command also.
That music made my blood pressure go up!
miss these movies
Stewart knew his way around all the aircraft in the film
I got to see a b-47 Take-off at Clark AFB in 1969. Spectacular.
We have a few in museums and are on static display today.
A beautiful and streamlined bomber. Not your traditional "shoot-em-up" military and/or war movie. While there was a good emphasis on the hardware, the study of human emotions and the mindset of that era was abso-bloody-lutely brilliant.
Stewart, Allyson, Lovejoy, and Flippen brought the added dimension to pull of a movie such as this. I personally know of two families who were torn apart by decisions to stay or retire from the U.S.A.F. One stayed in SAC while the other retired. The one who stayed in service also remained married. The other ended up getting divorced and regretted every day for retiring.