Saving Prvt. Ryan Blimps?
Bob Pfeiffer
awesome movie.
There is a scene after they secure the beach that shows a bunch of "blimps"
or balloons all over the beach area. What was the purpose of these
"blimps"?
Just wondering.
"But mamma, that's where the fun is....."
David Finn
to remember an ancient discussion about these in my history class in
high school. Basically, if my memory is correct, these blimps were
used as anti-strafing tools. However they seemed pretty low-anchored
in the movie for that use.
Jim Sanderson
planes to strafe the landing craft and other ships. If a plan were to
hit one of the blimps tether cables they would loose a wing.
Bob Pfeiffer wrote:
>
> I saw Saving Private Ryan this weekend and was totally blown away, it was an
> awesome movie.
>
HOLLAND
Bob Pfeiffer <bob.pf...@zadall.com> wrote:
>I saw Saving Private Ryan this weekend and was totally blown away, it was an
>awesome movie.
>
>There is a scene after they secure the beach that shows a bunch of "blimps"
>or balloons all over the beach area. What was the purpose of these
>"blimps"?
>
beneath them. You'll notice that they are tethered to the ground with a
cable and aircraft hitting these cables would be damaged.
Rolo
Henri H. Arsenault
(David Finn) wrote:
> When I saw the movie I wondered the same thing. For some reason I seem
> to remember an ancient discussion about these in my history class in
> high school. Basically, if my memory is correct, these blimps were
> used as anti-strafing tools. However they seemed pretty low-anchored
> in the movie for that use.
>
Yes, I also noticed that they seemed rather low. I guess Spielberg had a
low budget for blimp cables (or maybe the scene was filmed in a studio
with a low ceiling).
Henri
G. Mark Kelm
I think that scene was CG.
Chief
Henri H. Arsenault wrote in message ...
Hjalmar Gerber
>They are barrage balloons. They're used to prevent aircraft from passing
>beneath them. You'll notice that they are tethered to the ground with a
>cable and aircraft hitting these cables would be damaged.
Their other function was to act as the perfect ranging beacons for
the surviving German artillery further inland . . .
and I'm sure the German artillery arm had a far greater presence
at that stage of the war than the Luftwaffe did; so I'm not sure
they were of much help to the landing forces.
Hjalmar
________
BEltringha
> at that stage of the war than the Luftwaffe did; so I'm not sure
> they were of much help to the landing forces.
The Lutwaffe was nearly non-existant at the D-Day landings.
Greg Muir
> Their other function was to act as the perfect ranging beacons for
> the surviving German artillery further inland . . .
>
> at that stage of the war than the Luftwaffe did; so I'm not sure
> they were of much help to the landing forces.
IIRC there were only two Luftwaffe planes present at D-Day. They did one
pass and left. (I know I saw this in a movie but I also remember reading
it in a history book so for once a movie was right.:)
--
Greg Muir, GrimmWare Design Staff | Wisdom of Kings '98 |
-=- |http://www.grimmaware.com|
greg...@flinet.com or
gm...@grimmware.com
"The day Microsoft makes a product that doesn't suck is the day
they start making vacuum cleaners."
Daniel Evans
were also fairly low.
Daniel
The Uncarved Stone
for any degree of accuracy when strafing. They were just "eyeing it" after
all.
Daniel Evans wrote in message <35DAE5FF...@lilly.com>...
Andre Granger
picture: there is a picture
repeated in several of my WWII books that look exactly like that scene...
Andre.
G. Mark Kelm wrote:
> Henri,
>
> I think that scene was CG.
>
> Chief
>
> Henri H. Arsenault wrote in message ...