"Dauntless Squadron", released 1973

[K5054NZ]

Hi all!

Had this one floating around in my mind for a while now, keen to get my mitts on a T-6* to make it happen.

Dauntless Squadron
original article sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntless_Squadron(1973_film)


Edward Miller's 1954 memoir, entitled Dauntless Squadron: A Dive-Bomber's Diary was a success when first published, and it was barely a year later that film rights were first discussed. After much interest from several studios and individuals, Fox Brothers Studio was successful in its 1968 bid to bring the classic to the screen.

However, studio heads and director Peter O. Salzburg found the original script (by Miller) to be unsatisfactory, overlong and impractical to bring to the screen, and so embarked on a massive rewrite. Originally based almost page-for-page on Miller's novel, the new screenplay combined elements from both that and other sources, resulting in very much a composite of crews and missions, based around a fictitious squadron ("VB-336"). Now officially credited to "Walter Greenamyer and Frederick Thompson, based on the Edward Miller book", production was set for a July, 1971 start date. (The lacklustre box-office performance of more documentary-styled war films such as Battle Of Britain and Tora! Tora! Tora! was reportedly the key reason behind the massive delay between acquisition of rights, and shooting. This was never confirmed by Salzburg.)

Before the shooting began, there was another setback. The aircraft flown by the squadron, the Douglas SBD Dauntless, was nearly extinct by 1971. None were known to be flying, with only a handful in museums or as little more than wreckage on former battlefields. Not wanting to resort to the use of models for flying shots, FBS and Salzburg began researching a war around the situation. There were two options. The first was to build, from scratch, a small amount of replica Dauntlesses to a flying condition. This, however, was judged to be too time consuming and expensive.

The second was to find a suitable aircraft type that could be modified to become a look-alike Dauntless. This was the course of action pursued, with the purchase in September 1971 of eight T-6 airplanes. An advanced training plane from WW2, the T-6 was readily available and already bore a passing resemblance to the famous dive-bomber. With the addition of tail and wing extensions, imitation guns and bombs, and a new propeller, the result was remarkably convincing. The earlier film Tora! Tora! Tora! had used similarly modified T-6s to represent the infamous Japanese Zero fighter plane, and three of these were acquired to act as "the enemy" for Dauntless Squadron.

With the mechanical stars of the film now "cast", all that remained before shooting was to bring in the human actors. Popular headliner and real-life pilot Charles Hoover was cast as the squadron's commander, Jack Ridley (based largely on Miller), with Robert Jaeger as his second-in-command, Tom Moore. Love interest was provided by the addition of now-legendary former pin-up Jessica Burton in her first film role. A "who's-who" of character actors made up the remainder of the talented ensemble.

Shooting began on schedule at Pensacola, for establishing scenes at USN HQ. The aircraft carrier USS Mosquito was used for take-off and landing scenes, the T-6s successfully operating off the deck for a two-week period.

Near the end of the shooting schedule, a complicated stunt was planned where Hoover's character would duel with a Japanese ace, outsmarting him by a clever aerobatic manoeuvre. Despite the original plan for a professional stunt pilot to fly the sequence, Hoover convinced Salzburg he was up to the task. With the B-25 camera-ship flying alongside, Hoover performed the stunt without incident, but Salzburg requested he do another take "for luck". Hoover agreed, but partway through the move, his T-6 collided with the other airplane, and both aircraft plunged to the ground. Hoover, his backup pilot and the pilot of the "Japanese" airplane all lost their lives. The entire incident was filmed by the crew (including Salzburg) aboard the B-25, helpless to assist the stricken pilots.

After the untimely loss of Hoover, the script was reworked so that his character perished in the climactic attack of the film, heroically sacrificing himself to save his squadron. The shoot concluded in May 1972, right on schedule.

Release was postponed due to the accident, Salzburg wanting to can the project out of respect for Hoover and the other two pilots. However, Fox Brothers was adamant that they had a winner, and it would be a bigger tribute to the lost men if the film were released. Salzburg grudgingly agreed, and the film finally premiered in Hollywood on February 12, 1973. Critics praised the action sequences and stirring title theme, but felt the romantic angle was forced and unnecessary, and Hoover's final performance was widely considered the finest of his career - so much so that he was posthumously nominated (but unsuccessful in winning) for an Academy Award.

Over the years Dauntless Squadron became a cult favorite among airplane fans, most commonly shown late at night. The surviving T-6 airplanes from the movie were sold off to private owners, with only three remaining as make-believe "Dauntlesses". Of those airplanes, one crashed at a Wisconsin airshow in 1983, another currently resides in a museum in Florida, and the last flies in Texas, recently repainted in its original "VB-336" marks from the movie. It is a popular performer at local airshows.

Talk has abounded about a possible remake since the mid 1990s, with the existence now of two actual flying Douglas Dauntless airplanes. This, combined with the latest computer graphic technology, means that a new Dauntless Squadron may not be too far away.


Have any of you got similar ideas?








*of course I mean a model one...........yes.........model............

[Lawman]

I was lucky enough to see the Texas-based one! 

[KiwiZac]

So.....anyone keen to see a Dauntless Squadron T-6 in the near future? I've a feeling there's some star-and-bars lying around here somewhere....