WWII pilot gets shown footage of his 1944 Spitfire crash that he's never seen until now. [video]

wimp.com ^ | 6-12-2013 | William Lorton

[servo1969]

For aviation fans, get ready for a ton of wonderful archival footage coming your way in William Lorton's Spitfire 944. A true-life story, Lorton has discovered rare 16mm footage of a 1944 spitfire crash and tracks down the pilot, now an 83-year-old World War II veteran to show him the footage. The early parts of this film consists of wartime remembrances and nostalgia for days gone by. The elderly pilot recalls his time spent with his comrades and explains the basic information involved with his aircraft. What he doesn't know is that he is about to see, for the first time in his life, footage of his own crash. When the camera captures the man's honest reaction to what he's viewing, the greater theme at work is suddenly revealed in a flash. The result is an affirming, honest portrait of a man confronted with his past.

[outpostinmass2]

I think the pilot is a little older than 83.

[Tenacious 1]

Save for later!

[wideawake]

The documentary in question was released in 2006.

So the pilot is now 90, or was 21 in 1944.

[Boris99]

That was awesome. Thanks for posting.

[zeebee]

15 minutes. Well worth watching.

[moose07]

Bookmark for later...83??? :)

[optiguy]

I really enjoyed watching that! Thank you for posting.

[Moby Grape]

bump

[BillyBonebrake]

Thanks for sharing!

[rochester_veteran]

That was great! Thanks for posting!

[Yardstick]

bfl

[JimRed]

Saving for later.

[expat2]

Nice post.

[onedoug]

Fascinating. Thanks so much for posting.

w, s, ping....

[Timocrat]

Amazing. Never even heard a Spitfire could fly to Berlin ---- and then spend half an hour over the target.

There's one man who really earned his D.F.C.

" Every pilot should fly a Spitfire once" - chance would be a fine thing.

[painter]

Bump for later

[Jane Long]

For later.

[sappy]

I love this story!

[DCBryan1]

I loved how he pulled out a piece of the spitfire. Reminds me of the Russian interview of a veteran of Stalingrad talking about hand to hand combat........interviewer said “BS” to his story, and the Russian gets up, goes into closet and pulls out MP40 with Russian E-tool imbedded in it.