Twelve O'Clock High S03E09 The Fighter Pilot

Twelve O'Clock High is an American drama series set in World War II. This TV series originally broadcast on ABC-TV for two-and-one-half TV seasons from September 18, 1964, through January 13, 1967; was based on the motion picture Twelve O'Clock High (1949).

[@therealniksongs]

After half a century of not seeing this series I am thrilled at how well it holds up. I had forgotten that Paul Burke's character was in the very first episode--and was a lot less mature--Savage taught him a lot--and it made sense that when Savage was killed Gallagher had grown and developed enough to be a mature, serious commander--which he was anything but when he started.

[@markfields1692]

Gen Savage gave him a few hard dress downs to snap him back into shape. While Gallagher would never be a carbon copy of Savage, he did develop into a better leader from Savage's character build. In the prolog of S1E1 Savage never even returns Gallagher's salute. He had sized up Gallagher and wanted him to develop leadership, instead of the followership Gallagher was comfortable with. In one dialog in that episode Savage tells Gallagher it makes him sick to be wearing the same uniform as Gallagher knowing Gallagher's behavior and attitude. You can see in Burke's acting expressions how much those statements hurt Gallagher.

[@paulshaffer9674]

I used to stay up late night to watch 12 oclock high.

[@Johnnycdrums]

@@markfields1692 ; Slightly different context, but borrowed from the movie. The TV episode is good, but if you love the TV show, you will love the movie even more.

[@watchgoose]

all the result of the show sponsor wanting a "younger looking" lead character - funny, as Paul Burke was older than Robert Lansing. Grrrrrr.

[@nickmariotti4241]

@@watchgooseYes, I was very surprised when I learned that. It's doubly ironic, because Savage was SUPPOSED to be older--he was already a Brigadier General and (as the movie shows) was "sent down" to "straighten out" the 918th. I liked that aspect of the story--a general forced to do a colonel's job--ironically because his superiors thought he was so good at it, which was no doubt one of the reasons he had been promoted to general in the first place. It created an extra dimension to the character. There seem to be the Lansing partisans and the Burke partisans. I liked both of them--both very good, playing very different characters quite well. That being said, I always felt Lansing brought something special to the role--I really enjoyed his work in everything I saw him in, including playing the "Gary Seven" character in a couple of Star Trek episodes. He had an uncommon level of intensity. I was very disappointed that they decided to let him go. But given that they made that mistake, at least they made a good choice for continuity by elevating Gallagher to the role of Group commander. Fans of the first season would remember that Gallagher had featured prominently in two episodes, so he was already part of the "universe." I continued to enjoy the show and Paul Burke's work as Joe Gallagher. I just wish they had kept Lansing as Savage. Perhaps they could have had written Burke into more of a regular role as a squadron commander (if Burke would have been willing to do that--he had already had a series-leading role in "Naked City.") and having also added Chris Robinson as Komansky, that might have been enough to accomplish the producers' goal of attracting the demographic they were after. I only wish Lansing hadn't smoked so much--I know it was a different era being depicted, but there is barely a single scene in which he doesn't light up and I think that was Robert Lansing wanting a smoke and not part of the script. No doubt it shortened his life.

[@scoobycarr5558]

I have not heard of 12 O'Clock High since was a little boy! Definitely takes me back to that bygone era!

[@altoncrane9714]

Great episode, Paul Burke did an aswesome job. I think that he was at his best form, reminded me of Robert Lansing.

[@nathandoolittle1511]

Great show this was............wish they would bring back shows like this again..

[@jasguy2715]

If they did, they would make a mess of it!

[@thomasdonlin5456]

Shows like this took intelligence and talent. Hollywood has none of that these days.

[@jasguy2715]

@@thomasdonlin5456 agreed! With the sissy people in Hollywood it would be impossible to do shows like this again

[@bgdavenport]

All the pilots would be bitchin about the horrors of war and how wrong it is to kill.

[@patrickhenigin4805]

Q M was great.

[@pixamite1]

This was one of my favorite series as I was growing up!

[@gordonhall9871]

watched this show all the time with my Dad - i was born in 1960

[@jamesford3648]

What a GREAT show this was. For the “Knit-pickers” Lets Remember there was no CGI or “Blue screen” it was a GREAT show and I ENJOY this show more then the “Unrealistically” Fast & Furious.

[@mangomimosa601]

Good view of the San Bernardino mountains in the opening segment!

[@rodfirefighter8341]

Yes, we know that NOW!

[@cactuswren9771]

And I thought I saw Santa Paula in there too. I keep chuckling at the Valley Oak and Eucalyptus trees.

[@mickcoomer9714]

Nowhere that I know in southern England.

[@rext8949]

In case you get homesick. ..

[@mickcoomer9714]

reverse thrust. I just thought it had come over with the bombers. Can’t be touched, visiting forces law.

[@DrewBlankMusic]

So cool to read that everyone is enjoying these rebroadcasts as much as I am. We are lucky to see these shows again.

[@kevinsmith3561]

Just to make sure it is a great show I grew up with it

[@bgdavenport]

Yeah, still holds up. A few too many women, but the producers had to add some spice.

[@tomnekuda3818]

In '75-76' I worked with both fighter jocks and bomber pukes at Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, SD. The damned jocks were just about like what you see here....maybe a little more disciplined. The bomber guys were a hell of a lot easier to get along with.....a lot more teamwork and less attitude.

[@theresadelicot5104]

Great episode....

[@gerrygrzywinskl6135]

Love watching this show you tube videos

[@paulsuprono7225]

Glad to see Burke at the controls, once again !

[@paulgerald7682]

It rips your heart , heart when you can not assist . Think you are ,fly air combat . Watch your friends blown out of the sky . How real strong are you . Talk tough , fly the bloody mission . Young punks . Thank you

[@stevedandy973]

That was some of the best flying I've ever seen - right up to the point where you got killed.

[@paulgerald7682]

Beautiful. Colour footage of hat was available at that time . Thank you .

[@flaviolago736]

What a great show!

[@tomservo5347]

Nice Hollyweird saluting. You'd get your ass in a sling saluting like that in the real world. Like one of my drill sergeants so eloquently told me on day one of basic, "Hollywood tries to be like us-we don't try being like Hollywood."

[@attaat]

Yep, one of the worst salutes in the history of saluting.

[@johnmatullo9262]

Everyone complains about the inaccuracies! It's only a TV show!

[@antonyandrerenaissanceart977]

Most appreciate some effort at accuracy...when none is made and the audience knows...faith in viewers is lost... Historical drama requires some effort at accuracy.

[@johncriswell3691]

I wasn't there Durning all that much to young but this is outstanding iv herd many stories from my great uncle who was a army pilot and recorded some on tape and film beleive it or not this was a lot like he described

[@tommytwotoes3880]

Great series. Although plane #N5441v is still flying today in the military they do not have N-numbers. Minor mistake but I loved this series as a kid and it brings back many memories.

[@mikearakelian6368]

Only a pilot would kno that...feds have there hands in everything....probably citing them as they speak...

[@johnrogan9420]

John...one crazy mustang pilot!

[@kevingrady5316]

FFS, all these negative comments and nit=picking. People, this series was made in the early 60's for television entertainment, not a fact finding documentary! Let's just enjoy it for what it is, viewing entertainment. If all you 'experts' have nothing better to do, go fly your pretend planes and wars!

[@mystuff1405]

kevin grady All the nit-picking about nit-picking.

[@Idahoguy10157]

kevin grady .... when this television was created in the 1960’s the 8th AF was only twenty years after the war. There were people involved in television who had fought with them. Let it go

[@malcolmcossar6447]

Exactly!👍👏

[@michaelnaisbitt1639]

Kevin Grady. It is not nit picking. Just a tribute to the wonderful work the B 17 did to German

[@alex56video]

Maverick: Permission for fly-by your Tower? CAG: Negative. The pattern is full. WHOOSH! CAG: (spills cup of coffee) Damn that guy!

[@rodfirefighter8341]

Yes, punishment for that should be a court marshall!

[@bf945]

"Now is the time to start behaving like a solider. Margo, you better fix up your makeup."

[@johnnyk3337]

hahaha

[@duster0066]

You don't know military dress and appearance regulations both written and unwritten. My wife was an Air Force officer. You bet that was required. It was bs for sure, but required if she wanted promoted.

[@karaDee2363]

Lol

[@wishmaster7438]

Another Quinn Martin Production. I have never heard of this series until now. But I have seen the movie with Gregory Peck.

[@richardpopielarz9207]

+Warp Prime 42 When this series played on TV, I was 5 years-old....

[@dive2663225]

yeah greg did good there good movie

[@drjimjam1112]

WarpTV Section42 The movie was a masterpiece the series not so much.

[@deanouellette1868]

"The World's Most Interesting Man," Jonathan Lippe (Goldsmith) in a very early role.

[@Dave72760]

A full bird, followed around by a sargent like he was the exec.

[@larrysnair7428]

I remember when my dad was in nam and my brothers and I watched this show and we would tuck army blankets in the bottom of the top bunk bed springs to make compartments like a b17 and play 12 o'clock high. Daytime we played Combat like Vic Morrow.

[@chardtomp]

Those guys are all ludicrously old for WW2 fighter pilots!

[@paulgerald5808]

Twelve O,clock High and Combat ,same time frame made a strong point about discipline and courage in the most threatening situations a living soul could face ....War...

[@JFF35753]

Well said Paul.

[@geodes4762]

Both shows feature a lot of the same actors. Don Gordon played a similar character on Combat. Saunders met him on Omaha Beach and had to really rattle him to get him going. Later Saunders ran into him and he had turned into a mindless killing machine. His character died in that episode as-well

[@paulgerald5808]

B-17f had a quote over the rear crew door We go where Angels and generals fear to tread .B-17f G K -? opening scene Twelve O,clock High the movie. ...

[@jackpontiac52]

@5:50 That is a Zenith Transoceanic in the background . Got one just like it.

[@mystuff1405]

He wanted more speed. He got a lot of speed before he hit the ground.

[@AnthonyTolhurst-dw1nc]

The game is when one stacks an aircraft, to create the greatest number of bits. Hence velocity’s importance.

[@MudDuck]

A technical advisor should have taught gallager how to salute. But a great series in any case!

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Uh ... if he had saluted properly - it wouldn't have been realistic ... he was in the Army Air Force and they saluted however they wanted. .

[@theresadelicot5104]

Don Gordon played on an episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the sea.

[@williamdean4101]

He also played Det. Frank del Geddes with Steve McQueen in "Bullitt" 1968.

[@steveprestegard5151]

Kowalski’s brother and a diver.

[@johnmoore8016]

Not a bad dog fight even if it was a holloywood one

[@paulgerald7682]

Aircraft used belong to the C. A. F . The Commemorative Air Force ,based in Texas . A flying museum . Thank you .

[@paulgerald7682]

As far as I know this P - 51 Mustang is still flying today . The B - 17 is now Texas Raiders . I believe . Thank you .

[@MORE1500]

The Mustang's performance was superior overall to the ME-109 and FW-190. It was a whole new ball game when the ME-262 showed up.

[@billhinkle1653]

Strange that the Mustang gets all the credit for winning the war. The P38 lightning was a better all around plane. Longer range, more firepower, could fly short missions with 5,200 pounds of bombs. Also much better than the mustang for ground strafing. With only 1 liquid cooled engine, 1 pinhole in the cooling system and the mustang isn't coming home. The P38 with 2 engines was much better for ground strafing, also air cooled planes like the P47 could take small arms fire with impunity. The early teething problems with compressibility, were solved, and it was THE plane for the long range flights in the pacific.

[@billhinkle1653]

@Bobby Banana Try the American Packard Merlin.

[@Tom-us9yb]

Yeah ,but the 262 was a jet. Funny how the 51 could still put up a good fight. Goes to show how good the 51's were. 🇺🇸

[@paulshaffer9674]

And the 47 could take more abuse.

[@carolecarr5210]

Just think, they had that jet prototype in 1939 & Hitler wouldn't let them be manufactured until 1944 I believe., Or late 43. One of his 3 big mistakes, thank goodness.

[@davidhulkower4728]

with the clothes the bomber crews were wearing they would have froze after take off.and whats with the stukas ?

[@Blassieboy]

originally aired November 11th,1966

[@thomasdonlin5456]

Much like when Frank Converse appeared on Black Sheep Squadron.

[@thomasdonlin5456]

I remember that episode. He was flying a P-38.

[@LLarjo]

At last we saw Lt. Dijon Mustard Out :^O

[@terryrussel523]

oooooooOOOOOO ! tisk, tisk . . .heheheheh ....

[@tomnekuda3818]

Where was his buddy, Grey Poupon?

[@robertpayne2717]

High speed passes over air field, strictly Forbidden.. courtmartial offense!!!!

[@odisdenney690]

My father was in on one, after their 25th mission they buzzed the tower and the whole plane was busted in rank. 450th Bomb Group {H} Mandurah Italy

[@IncogNito-gg6uh]

2:20 to 3:35: "It's amazing how England looks nothing like southern California" - Mike Myers as Austin Powers.

[@scoobycarr5558]

Love those German Messerschmitt's! Those were among the nicest looking fighter planes around!

[@kal.50bmg32]

Maybee, but this version - Me109E - never fought during 1943 - 45. It already was outdated since 1941 and replaced by Me109F, G and K.

[@lewiseberhart2871]

No way... the Spitfire is the ultimate beautiful lady of the Air, with the P-51 a close second.

[@jeffnorbert1871]

​@@lewiseberhart2871my vote goes to the Corsair

[@gordonhall9871]

lots of firepower

[@brianwilcox3478]

@@lewiseberhart2871 with respect to you both. they are 2 and 3 imho the P-38 is best of all

[@johnrogan9420]

John dijon was Bullets partner named delgetti...in the 1969 movie 'bullet".....drinks steve McQueen's orange juice and reads the San Francisco Chronicle out loud as bullet tries to wake up...mcqueen:..."drink your orange juice and shut up"...dijon...let's go steve!

[@TralfazConstruction]

The late, great Don Gordon. If you watched any TV or movies in the '60s you couldn't avoid seeing this fellow; I'm grateful for that. Mr. Gordon's first movie appearance (or one of 'em) was uncredited in Twelve O'clock High (1949) as a wounded airman in the hospital scene when Gregory Peck visits Hugh Marlowe (probably _his_ best, heroic role) in the hospital. Don Gordon and Steve McQueen were longtime buddies as I've come to read about over the decades.

[@accmagazine5050]

Those opening bombers are really the 305th and 91st BG, early 1943.

[@paulgerald7682]

4th Fighter Group . Radio V F . Thank you .

[@russbrown3159]

I watched with my Dad. He was RWG in the 401st 13th sq. He'd watch over his newspaper without realizing it. Occasionally, the real footage of flak would make him nervous. He'd say thats how it really was. He made 30 missions with many close calls. And, one big swim in the English Channel on the St Lo breakout.

[@paulpisano8538]

all i knew about were the wasp's who ferried planes. women were not allowed to fly combat missions.

[@ksal2299]

The old love gimmick. And got betrayed.

[@lonestone55]

That'll be all. Now let's go by the PX and get a carton of smokes.

[@anthonyspanos6161]

What were the Stukas doing among the ME-109?

[@bgdavenport]

Bait?

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Yeah. I've seen that a few times. They're "German Airplanes" ... .

[@pjzdreamz]

To bad Hollyweard didn't have the were-with-all to show a lot of the aerial combat manuvers, ect. discussed in this series.

[@therealniksongs]

Shows had a budget....and there was no CGI. Also colorized B&W film was decades in the future. (The first two seasons were in black and white) They couldn't simply go to the stock film library and order up some clips showing the maneuvers described in the script. I thought they did a great job with what they had to work with. Unlike a lot of today's movies that rely so much on the look of everything, 12 O'Clock High primarily relied on the STORY...

[@BrianR.]

Get a life loser, it's a TV show.

[@Neal_Schier]

Maybe it is just me, but that looks an awful lot like the Chino airport east of Los Angeles circa 1967. Interesting also that the P-51 had an N number.

[@LLuE88]

@ 43:10 the angle of attack flight of plane appears negative ?? regards,

[@cat-lw6kq]

Bombers stayed in formation. If a plane got hit and fell behind it was tough luck for them.

[@richardmiller8350]

And the film footage is moving from both sides ,both had there Aces.

[@bryanst.martin7134]

Only peeve I have is that pitiful salute! Who points to the center of the forehead? It came from armored knights raising the visor for the King to see who you are. Kinda stuck from there.

[@bryanst.martin7134]

I had a Marine Major comment on my salute in passing one day: "That's quite a snappy salute there, Sailor!" Yes Sir! (Like a spring.)

[@lynnkramer1211]

I had forgotten how much smoking they did on TV back then. It is not family suitable any longer with kids around. Sad really.

[@Gwaithmir]

A lot of shows were sponsored by cigarette companies back then.

[@zerosparky9510]

Bring back memories. Makes me wonder how many of theze actors were really in WW2? Was around 10 at the time watching this.

was 13 at the time….

[@rext8949]

It's a Quinn Martin production ; tonight's episode is ...if you're looking for authenticity this is the last place you'll find it .TV war movies are notoriously hard to reproduce faithfully what with the budget and location . Enjoy it like a sitcom.

[@marine-pilot4511]

Just have to ruin it, don't you.

[@SusanKelly-ox2kk]

The landscape is a bit off. Airfields in the UK we’re always positioned on flat ground - no mountains

[@dennismckown4951]

Joe's salute is a little off unless that's that's how he lifts the visor on his helmut.

[@richardleonhardt8440]

I wish they were all in color and I love them all

[@organicpaul]

....looks good!

[@rodfirefighter8341]

What a good con man? Of course it can go both ways! Most con's won't work unless the other person is thinking about coning you!

[@michaelnaisbitt1639]

That poor old Japanese VAL bomber gets shot down in every war movie.

[@duster0066]

I saw that. I must of seen that crew splashed a thousand time.

[@jbrhel]

Somebody please help me out. There are at least three different P-51 types in this episode.

[@JosheyG34]

I should be doing work but I am doing this

Until the end of 1943, the Germans wiped out B17s.....

[@bgdavenport]

You are right. 8th AF was sustaining a 30% loss rate. The Germans packed it in with only a 10% loss rate during the Battle of Britain.

[@michaelquinnan-rz5ph]

Those P-51were pretty nice to. And they were American made. And the P-51s were faster.❤❤❤❤

[@MrSlitskirts]

They like reusing actors, one of the fighter pilots was a bomber pilot in a previous B&W episode, he's also the one who manipulates the WAC SGT, telling her he loves her, when he's just saying it so she'll redo some papers for him, I'm glad he gets killed in the end, he got his "just deserts".

[@jazzcatt]

That happens a lot in TV series, even today. But a here are JUST a few Star Trek actors who were used many times on the series: Vaughn Dale Armstrong, Jr. Is a veteran Star Trek actor who is noted for portraying twelve separate characters in twenty-eight episodes over four separate series. Armstrong is one of only five actors to play seven or more different characters in the Star Trek franchise. Janos Prohaska Played at least five roles of five different species on the original Star Trek series, Many of which were uncredited. In the episode called "The Devil In the Dark" Prohaska designed and created the "suit" for the Horta, aside from playing the creature. The Mugato costume was also created and performed by Prohaska. Prohaska had designed and built the Mugato from an ape suit he had previously built for another project. Gregory Itzen Played five different characters in Star Trek! He appeared twice in Deep Space Nine (playing Hain and Ilon Tandro), once on Voyager (as Dr. Dysek) and twice on Enterprise (as Admiral Black and Captain Sopek). Kurtwood Smith Appeared in multiple roles across various Treks. He was the Federation President in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, he played Thrax in the Deep Space Nine episode Things Past, and Annorax in the two-part Voyager episode Year Of Hell. Michelle Forbes She starred in eight episodes on The Next Generation as Ro Laren, She'd already guest starred on the same series previously - in the 1991 episode Half a Life. She played Dara. Susie Plakson Appeared in four different roles in three Star Trek spinoff series, namely Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. She played a female Q's and Worf's mate K'Ehleyr and a Vulcan Doctor named Selar on The Next Generation. She was an Andorian named Tarah on Enterprise, and some other characters that I can't remember. J.G. Hertzler Martok (and several variations thereof) - DS9 Vulcan Captain & Prophet - DS9 Roy Ritterhouse - DS9 Laas - DS9 Holosuite Guest - DS9 Hirogen Fighter - VOY Kolos - ENT Klingon Commander - ENT Jeffrey Combs Brunt (Ferengi - and mirror version) - DS9 Weyoun (all incarnations and variations) - DS9 Tiron - DS9 Kevin Mulkahey - DS9 Holosuite Guest - DS9 Penk - VOY Krem - ENT Thy'lek Shran (Andorian -and holographic version) - ENT Thomas Kopache Mirok - TNG Train Engineer - TNG Enterprise-B Communications Officer - Generations Viorsa - VOY Kira Taban - DS9 Tos - ENT Sphere Builder test subject - ENT

[@jazzcatt]

@@tractionownersclub4827 Nope. I wish I had a memory like that! I used to really like Star Trek, at least up through the Voyager series. (as you can tell from the photo of me in a Klingon costume)I knew of a couple actors that had played different characters on S.T. but it was other Star Trek fans that pointed out some of the less obvious stars that played multiple parts in the different series. So, I decided to look it up. BTW, I'm not a "Mr." I'm a "Ms."

[@paulw.woodring7304]

@@jazzcatt Kurtwood Smith was best known for playing the father on "That '70's Show", Red Foreman, supposedly a veteran of both WWII and Korea, who always talked about putting his foot up someone's a$$. That and calling his son a dumba$$ all the time. So, he was at least a veteran of a WWII TV show.

[@jazzcatt]

@@paulw.woodring7304 I never watched that show so I had no clue. Sounds like it might have been funny.

[@hotelhappiness]

What's úp with the covering the right eye salute. It's a great series, but detail, detail, is important.

[@alanwilson6367]

Clearly Dijon mustard out.😅😅

[@82Echo411]

the civ reg # on Gordon's P-51 should have been wiped out by special effects. QM went cheap in the wrong spot.

[@scoobbbbbydo]

fuck i love the mustang

[@edwaggonersr.7446]

For every woman allowed in the military ten men should resign.

[@-oiiio-3993]

Nonsense.

[@vernwallen4246]

The B-17's and the mustangs kicked Hitler's butt and brought the war too a quicker end.🗽🗽🗽👍👍👍

[@dukecraig2402]

The P51's were great planes but their role in the war is greatly exaggerated, first off is the "they achieved air superiority" myth, by the time they showed up as far as American fighters go P47's and P38's had already achieved air superiority over Europe, at that point the Luftwaffe was only taking to the air to meet incoming bombers, they were no longer patrolling the skies. And the other myth is about them being the first fighters that could escort bombers over Berlin, by the time they came along P47's were already escorting bombers over Berlin, with the advent of the P47D-15 using the all metal pressurized drop tanks they had the range and had already been over Berlin with the bombers. As far as kills by the time the P51's came online P47's had already shot most of the hot shot German pilots out of the sky and the P51's were flying against severely undertrained German pilots who only had 10 to 15 hours in the planes they were flying, while at the same time the P47's were shifted to the much more dangerous role of ground attack, at that point they started losing pilots at 4 times the rate they had been before that but despite that fact the top 10 P47 aces survived the war, no other fighter on anyone's side can lay claim to that. The only real advantage that the P51 had was they were much cheaper to manufacture, for the price of one P47 about 2.3 P51's could be manufactured, and in wartime money=man hours, so that was really their only real advantage. After the war the USAAF decided to phase out the P47 in favor of the P51, this turned out to be a very big regret of their's in the early days of the Korean war when the only prop fighter they had was the P51 and they tried to use them for ground attack, the loss rates were so abysmal they quickly withdrew them from that role. The P51 was a great fighter but it wasn't the war changer it's often given credit to be, but it was the darling of the Press Corps so it got all the attention.

[@karaDee2363]

@@dukecraig2402 luftwaffe pilot Erich Hartmann in his BF 109 had more kills than all the top 50 American Aces combined... Also, the P-51 had downed more planes than the P-47,

[@dukecraig2402]

@@karaDee2363 What people like you don't get about looking at numbers like that is you can't look at totals and rate the pilots simply from that, Erich Hartmann got most of those victories flying against Russian biplanes, most of the time he wasn't going up against the RAF or the USAAF flying planes that were the equal of what he was flying. Same thing with the Japanese Zero, it's reputation was built early on when the Japanese pilots were flying against poorly trained Chinese pilots in biplanes, once the Zero went up against planes that were it's equal they got blasted from the sky, even the F4F Wildcat had a 5 to 1 kill ratio against it. Same thing goes for comparing the number of kills of the P47 vs the P51, by the time the P51 came along and started flying escort missions the P47 had shot most of the hotshot German pilots that had experience out of the sky, then add in the fact that at the same time the P47's were mostly given ground attack missions and the P51 generally took over escort duty they were flying against rookie German pilots who had as little as 10 hours time in the plane they were flying, and to complicate the math even more right when the P51's started flying escort is when Gen Doolittle cut the escort fighters lose to pursue German fighters, previous to that the escort fighters had to stay with the bombers and couldn't pursue German fighters, so the P51 was flying in completely different circumstances than the P47 had been prior to that. It's not as simple as just looking at "totals" numbers whether it's for a type of plane or the pilots and comparing them. Here's a statistic for you, the top ten P47 Aces survived the war, no other fighter in anyone's air force of WW2 can lay claim to that, so how exactly do you factor that into your formula when you're trying to determine things? It's not as simple as just looking at totals, there's many other things you have to factor in.

[@karaDee2363]

@@dukecraig2402 people like you need to take the blinders off and do a little more research , actually a lot more research into the luftwaffe. Approximately 2,500 German Pilots attained Ace status, 5 kills or more. Which is roughly twice as many than American Pilots, and most of those American Ace Pilots only attained that in the Pacific Theater not the Eastern. The top American Ace in the Eastern theater had a total of 28 kills, there was only about 50 American Aces total in the Eastern theater, many of those had less than 10 kills to their name. Compared to 103 German fighter pilots that shot down 100 or more enemy aircraft, for a total of approximately 15,400 victories. And approximately 360 German fighter pilots that shot down from 40 to 99 enemy aircraft for a total of approximately 21,000 victories. The top American Ace in World War II had 40 kills, which was in the Pacific Theater. As far as I'm concerned, how many aces came out of the war alive is meaningless to me, I don't understand what that proves. American Pilots were bound to have more survived because they were rotated back to the States after x amount of missions, compared to the German pilot which never got rotated and was expected to continue fighting no matter how many missions they flew. They were expected to fly until they were severely wounded or killed. I know that there were quite a few German Aces that did survive the war, including Hartmann which is the top Ace of all time. Many German Pilots were turned over to the Soviet's after the war and died in their prisons, Hartmann was one that was very lucky to survive prison in the Soviet Union 10 years. The German luftwaffe is not responsible for losing the war, that fault lies with Goring and Hitler for being arrogant and stupid. Which fortunately for us in the Free World, are happy the way things turned out

[@dukecraig2402]

@@karaDee2363 And you should try limiting your numbers to when your vaunted Luftwaffe was flying against grown men and not the aerial equivalent of the Boy Scouts, your list of German aces counts their victories all the way back to the Spanish Civil War where German pilots were flying ME-109's, the most advanced aircraft in the world in 1937 and 38 against Spanish pilots in biplanes, but of course like the rest of the German military machine in WW2 it's supposed greatness is based entirely on it fighting it's ill prepared neighbor's using sneak attacks, like Poland where once again the German pilots were racking up scores shooting down Polish pilots in biplanes. US pilots right out of the chute were flying against your German pilots that had all those hollow victories and they hammered them out of the skies, not to mention the ass kicking the Luftwaffe took when they went up against the RAF in the Battle of Britain, in both of those cases they weren't flying against the aerial equivalent of pre schoolers they were flying against men in aircraft that were more on par with their's, try taking a look at how that turned out. Robert Johnson of the 56th Fighter Group had his FOURTH victory against a German ace who had over 200, but once again that German pilot wasn't picking on little kids then was he? Down he went, the men of the 56th FG fought only against the best Germany had to offer and you won't like the way that turned out if you look it up, all of Robert Johnson's victories were against ME-109's and FW-190's except for four ME-110's which were fighters themselves but were so bad at it the men of the 56th considered them "meat on the table", none of Robert Johnson's or any other of the 56th FG's victories were biplanes while he was part of a sneak attack against a neighboring country they'd just signed a peace treaty with the day before. The 56th FG along with the other US FG's in Europe weren't shooting down bombers and biplanes during an "invasion" against an enemy that the day before they were drinking tea with and playing nice, they weren't racking up scores that way, they were shooting down German fighters that were manned by Germany's top pilots, the very same German pilots that got the bulk of their scores flying against biplanes, and the 56th FG pilots did it at an average of 4 to 1 flying against groups like the Luftwaffe's "Abbeyville Boy's", the Abbeyville Boy's didn't have many aces left by the time the men of the 56th FG got done with them, so if we look at the Luftwaffe's record against the USAAF it doesn't look so good does it? 4 to 1 means that the US pilots were 4 times better than the German pilots, how's that for statistics since you like throwing them out so much? Things worked out a little different when they were up against the grown up's didn't they? The fact is when the USAAF showed up they ripped a path through the Luftwaffe that they never recovered from, they shot down all those high scoring Luftwaffe aces by the bushel load, Luftwaffe aces who got the bulk of their victories picking on the aerial equivalent of little boys but when they came up against men it was a different story wasn't it?

[@lsmart]

This must be at least the 10th version of the same script since the beginning of Season Two: a wacko loner rebels and breaks away from group, putting planes and lives at risk, until he dies in either a blaze of destruction or in a vindicating and purifying conclusion. Could they really not come up with anything more original after only 2 1/2 seasons?

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

You left out the part where one of the guest stars knew Gallagher as a child ... .

[@genebatchelor5186]

joe should learn how to salute..

[@stinker43]

I wish that cigarettes weren't found to be so detrimental to health. They are so sexy in these '60s shows.

[@twinstu50]

Christ almighty!, at 17:53, that 'Mustang' sounds like a Cessna 150 at idle!.

[@richardpopielarz9207]

+twinstu50 They must've thought that, by 1966, the veterans had long ago forgotten what a Packard Merlin sounds like....

[@timorvet1]

Sounded like a radial engine turning over followed by the earlier mentioned Cessna 150.

[@enriquenino3352]

En español por favor, es una muy buena serie.

[@stevek8829]

At 41:51 the enemy plane in the dog fight has his gear down!

[@capnpete1154]

What were the Mustangs doing with D-Day paint schemes? That wasn't painted on till right before launching D-Day. Most were hurriedly done the day of, or the day before. Very hush, hush.

[@mattf49006]

Same reason they have modern N numbers and are shown at chino and whiteman airports in southern calif....lol

[@thomasterrell2323]

Those three P-51 flown by the so-called hot shots have D-Day invasion markings only used on June 6, 1944 and after.

[@jackieheaton1740]

First episode of the third season, Gauntlet of Fire, ended with D Day. I'm assuming this episode is set sometime after that.

[@Idahoguy10157]

Thomas Terrell .... available stock footage

[@paulw.woodring7304]

@@jackieheaton1740 Two episodes previous dealt with the attempted assassination of Hitler in July of 1944, so this takes place at least after that.

[@stevemartin6144]

Another absurd plot......impossible! How did the D-Day Invasion Stripes just appear and disappear?

[@adamcheong4742]

Ridiculous story of a crazy pilot during B17 attachment.

[@thomaspick4123]

Cornhole her. You tempted her to be disobedient. Someone will have to die for this insubordination.

[@weblightstudio8215]

The more I watch these shows from this period the more I wonder just what the writers were on. It was well-made but what an impossible and needy story

[@leemontgomery649]

What does "IP" mean?

[@TonyPartington]

Initial Point

[@johnsouto5221]

Lee Montgomery Inital Point, This is the start of the Bomb run.

[@Mikeabq1]

Certainly not England. Looks like Cali to me.

[@josephlambe2796]

At 35.00....a mustang with a n platte number instead of a fiscal military number for that time...hilarious fk up....

[@kevinsmith3561]

Love it but it is Americans we do not salute without hats

[@topcatandgang]

the rank is on the uniform, not on the hats. Americans salute 3 ways, with hats, without hats and when they are driving. with the new modern military while in combat, they only salute in buildings npt out in the field. but they still say Sir.

[@dkoz8321]

Way too many episodes of this show deal with personell problems. Bad attitide, mental issues, criminality, interpersonal drama. Very few deal with tactical and technical aspects of flying B-17G in combat and actual mission accomplishment.

[@IncogNito-gg6uh]

It is one of the few military shows or movies where someone made sure the actors knew how to wear their uniforms.

[@dkoz8321]

@@IncogNito-gg6uh True! In modern military shows and films I am sick of seeing Army, USAF, and Marine cpt. bars 90 or 45 degrees off. Sick of seeing Army generals with branch insignia on Class A instead of US for General Officer. Sick of seeing berets worn wrong or contrary to authorization. Sick of seeing 25 to 30 year old actors cast as O-5 O-6 colonels. Well in WWII , BG Gavin (CG of 82nd Abn) was in his 30's when he got his star. Col. Paul Tibbets , CO of 509th Bomb Group and PIC of Enola Gay, was 29. But that was WWII. Sick of seeing saluting indoors, which is not done , except during change of command ceremonies. Sick of seeing people in field, under arms, saluting officers. This is not done ! For obvious reasons. Sick of plots where court martial and severe discipline are thrown about for improper reasons. Sick of seeing jovial banter between battle buddies during combat. As if they don't have other priorities.

[@carlyleporter5388]

12 o'clock high jumped the shark on this one.