Watch Fighter Squadron For Free

Wonderful Movie

Fantastic!

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Anyone who is an aviation enthusiast will love this movie purely for the footage of the aircraft. However, those same people will hate the movie for the interminable number of factual errors. To people who are not enthusiasts they will not be noticed and make no difference to their opinion of the film. The storyline is very basic and lacks any depth. It really is just good guys vs bad with the obvious outcome. Neither do any of the characters have any depth. They are all over the top "gung ho" types, incessant jokes and smart comments. A little bit of this is OK, but an hour and a half is too much. Despite a well known cast they do nothing to improve the situation. No character shows any signs of stress or trepidation that we know veterans suffer. It seems that this would be a sign of weakness. For the time this movie was made it is understandable as the allies were still celebrating their victory. If you enjoy WW2 propaganda movies or films to do with aviation you will enjoy this movie. However, if you are looking for a good story this is not the film.

This movie gets better with time. Some of the best flying shots of the P-47 Thunderbolt. Most of the action segments must have used available planes (P-47); it was only 3 years after the end of the war, and there were plenty of Thunderbolts in top flying condition. To the credit of the film's producers, some of the air combat scenes used actual footage shot with "gun cameras' on Thunderbolts. This is clearly seen where ground targets , such as trains, are being strafed.Although the German fighters are clearly P-51's (with Luftwaffe markings), and not ME 109's, there were probably very few flyable Nazi combat aircraft of any type in 1948. This was decades before CGI!

I first saw this movie on TV in the 60s. My brother and I being aviation nuts, criticized it a lot for little things. Over the years and many viewings on TV, I have come to appreciate it more. Although some of the dialog and characters are "corny", there is more than enough aviation footage to make up for it. When one critiques a movie of people and events, it is useful to consider the time period the movie was produced besides the time period it depicts. In 1948 there were no German aircraft left to fly in the movie and CGI was a long way off. I am much less forgiving of a movie like "Pearl Harbor" that could have used CGI to show correct models of aircraft than one made when "Fighter Squadron" was produced where there were no such resources.Besides being able to see P-47s flying, some of the scenes have a strong sense of history. When they get the orders to prepare for D-Day, I have little doubt those were accurate to history. Using real incidents and characters from the famous 4th Fighter Group of the ETO gives the 'ring of truth' to the movie. For those that think the characters were "formula", you should read "1000 Destroyed", a history of the 4th Fighter Group. The real group actually had its own 'press agent' who wrote the book. The 'Kid' character in the movie may have been a tribute to the real "Kid" Hofer who was KIA while flying with the 4th. Remember that the real pilots of WWII were VERY YOUNG men. Twenty-five was an 'old man' in that group.I think "Fighter Squadron" is a good movie with lots of great airplane scenes that is a fitting tribute to the people that fought WWII for us. It was a serious movie of its day made when the people who had 'fought the fight' were around to watch it. It took license with history as the producers apparently felt necessary to be 'entertaining' to the general audience. It was made at a time when we didn't criticize our veterans or question their actions. It was however more realistic than wartime movies. I too hope it comes out on DVD soon.

With all the comments about Teutonic Mustangs, there should probably be some clarification. Obviously, in postwar America, we didn't have a plethora of captured MEs and FWs to operate - there were sufficient times when Mustangs were mistaken for ME-109s by gunners in the bomber formations that Hollywood's use of P-51s is forgivable. For the record: The "Luftwaffe" P-51s were from the CA ANG unit at Van Nuys; the P-47Ds were from an east coast ANG squadron. The film was shot primarily at Oscoda Army Air Field, Michigan (eventually re-named Wurtsmith AFB), with the grand finale airfield strafing sequence shot at Van Nuys. The belly tanks for one pivotal scene (jettisoned in defiance of orders to "stay with the bombers") had to be scrounged from a variety of surplus locations - hard to believe, considering just 3 short years earlier there had been in mass production. The aircraft carry 9th AF unit markings to match the only extensive color P-47 footage shot during WWII.For all this effort, the plot line is still reminiscent of most prewar or WWII-era "gung ho" propaganda films - right down to the recycling of the musical score from Errol Flynn's "Dive Bomber" (if I'm lying, I'm dying). All the hokey subplots are best enjoyed either with a case of your favorite adult beverage, or with the "mute" button activated - or both. Enjoy the airplanes, because you'll never see that many Thunderbolts in the air again.In the DVD-VHS department, I get the feeling the film is owned by Turner/TCM, as that's the only channel where I've ever seen it aired. You might try schmoozing Ted Turner to get him to release it...