Flying tigers 1942 John Wayne

John Wayne flying tigers is one of my favorite movies. Built a 48 scale model of the p40 with tiger markings when I was in middle school. I think it is amazing that the studio filmed no actual planes. All flight footage was newsreels and the ground were all mockups by the prop department. The only real plane was the transport a failed prototype purchased by the studio as a prop when it was certified unflyable and sold for scrap. Used in several pictures. Most of the scenes in the bombers look good but in one I swear it looked like corrugated steel. Found clips of a colorized version looks good but couldn't find the full movie on free streaming to. Oh forgot they used alot of models as well

 

The Capelis XC-12 was a failed 1933 aircraft design that most notably was used as a prop in the 1939 film Five Came Back with Chester Morris and Lucille Ball, the 1942 war film The Flying Tigers starring John Wayne, and the 1942–1943 war film Immortal Sergeant with Henry Fonda, Thomas Mitchell, and Maureen O'Hara. The aircraft featured unusual twin horizontal tail structures supported by three vertical tail surfaces. Construction and finishing methods involved using sheet metal screws which ultimately led to the abandoning of the project.

 

Not a very handsome craft and that windscreen must have caused a lot of drag. Wonder what was going on with the engineer. Wasn't operational very long before it was sold for scrap. I can remember going to universal studios when I was a kid. They had an area where I saw the fuselage of a p80 and other aircraft parts and McHale navy PT boat was there in terrible condition. The hull was on a rack and it bowed terribly. The Stern and bow shagged lower than the center of the hull. Made me feel bad to see it in such bad condition.

 

There’s some groping in the dark with this aircraft…suck it and see…but a little knowledge would have put them on the right track.