Veterans...Get the hell in here now!

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
Speaking of Mr. Forester, I just now finished watching a good movie, "Greyhound", based on one of his well researched books "The Good Shepherd" that he wrote in 1955 about WW2 Naval action in the North Atlantic ("The Battle of The Atlantic") as coined by Winston Churchill.

US Navy and Merchant vessels transported vital troops and supplies to England through the extremely dangerous section of the North Atlantic while battling wolf packs of Nazi U-boats. Over the course of the six-year battle, as many as 80,000 Allied sailors, merchant mariners and airmen were killed. An estimated 28,000 to 30,000 U-boat crewmen died. Between 1939 and 1945, the Allies lost more than 2,700 merchant ships; in that same time, around 800 of Germany’s 1,100 U-boats sank.

While most filming took place on a soundstage set, shots onboard the deck of the USS Keeling were actually filmed on the WWII Fletcher-class Destroyer USS KIDD (DD 661), which is located on the Mississipi River and runs through Baton Rouge.

The USS Kidd has been docked in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for years, where it has served as a tourist attraction. One of the main reasons the filmmakers chose to shoot on the historic battleship is because the KIDD is the only surviving WWII destroyer still in her wartime configuration. The ship's dominant, inoperable, Oerlikon 20 mm cannons were restored to pristine condition with added pneumatics so that the gun barrels recoiled back and forth, at over 100 times a minute, to precisely simulate firing.

The original USS KIDD (DD 661) was commissioned April 23, 1943, and named for Rear Adm. Isaac C. Kidd, killed in action aboard USS Arizona (BB 39) during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Kidd was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the attack.

Great action scenes, kept me on the edge of my seat. Another plus for Hanks.

 
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cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
ASARS electronic imaging nose with a satellite data link pod on top. We called it the Polish drop tank, but we weren't PC at the time... My son thought it was a true drop tank for a long time.
The evolution-necessary aileron roll ... with those wings ... blows my mind
 

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus

raratt

Well-Known Member
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