Honoured to be invited to speak with Ross and Ryan from the @historyonfilm.bsky.social podcast about Victory Through Air Power (1943), Strategic Air Command (1955), The Starfighters (1963?), and Top Gun (1986) and what those movies tell us about the evolution of air power during the Cold War! - ThreadSky

coldwarhost.bsky.social • 7 days ago

Honoured to be invited to speak with Ross and Ryan from the @historyonfilm.bsky.social podcast about Victory Through Air Power (1943), Strategic Air Command (1955), The Starfighters (1963?), and Top Gun (1986) and what those movies tell us about the evolution of air power during the Cold War!

Reposted from The History on Film Podcast

NEW EPISODE ALERT! We talk to @coldwarhost.bsky.social all about Cold War air power. It's military history on film as we watch 4 movies of... varying quality... and look at what they tell us about air strategy and the role of the armed forces in Hollywood. #HoFCast shows.acast.com/the-history-...

Comments

wildblueponder.bsky.social•7 days ago

Obsessed with the links here: Starfighters written by Will Zens & starring Bob Dornan; Zens directed & maybe Dornan wrote as well as starred in Vietnam movie To the Shores of Hell; latter also starred Richard Arlen of Wings (& dubious WWI record); all 3 actual trained military pilots.

wildblueponder.bsky.social•7 days ago

Not sure if I'm closing in on: These guys were probably funded by the CIA because no production company would, or...don't let pilots make movies about pilots?

wildblueponder.bsky.social•7 days ago

1. Thank goodness there was discussion of the ugliness of the B-36, the really annoying spouse, & the unhinged nature of LeMay; 2. I was briefly worried I hadn't seen The Starfighters, but now feel that omission is okay; 3. Fun podcast collab/episode :)

coldwarhost.bsky.social•7 days ago

I love the B-36 but it is NOT an attractive aircraft.

And LeMay is fascinating specifically BECAUSE of his dedication to the mission, despite the mission involving potential global destruction

chriscardsfan.bsky.social•7 days ago

My grandfather loved him because of the improvements to family life, living conditions, time off, etc. From his perspective it made the AF a more attractive profession than any other branch. They worked hard, and when it was mission critical, hours were long, but they lived well.

coldwarhost.bsky.social•7 days ago

💯 And the reason he put those improvements in place was to increase retention to have a better trained force really to drop bombs and kill the world. The man had a focus.

chriscardsfan.bsky.social•7 days ago

He did, and career officers like my grandfather, totally understood the point. He had EM living better than they would have as civilians. They were living the dream, almost like white collar civs. As a maintenance officer, keeping people was a must.

coldwarhost.bsky.social•7 days ago

LeMay at SAC is fascinating as a business case in change management. Took an underperforming business unit and changed it into an overperforming one within the space of about 3-5 years.

Gotta spend and invest in people in order to get a return

dr-robonator.bsky.social•7 days ago

If they need this but for tanks tell ‘em to give me a shout. I’m gonna listen to this episode on my commute to ease the pain of I-85 traffic. 🥲

dr-robonator.bsky.social•7 days ago

Just finished listening. Fantastic insights on the selections. Favorite bit was discussing “presentism” and how audiences in the 50s would have received “Strategic Air Command”.

coldwarhost.bsky.social•7 days ago

Did i sound coherent? I always feel a little disjointed...

dr-robonator.bsky.social•7 days ago

You were wonderful. I actually thought even when you admitted you weren’t very knowledgeable you sounded like a subject matter expert.

coldwarhost.bsky.social•7 days ago

thank you! I really enjoy doing these podcasts but II always get nervous that my ignorance is going to be exposed 😂

coldwarhost.bsky.social•6 days ago

He @historyonfilm.bsky.social, reach out to @dr-robonator.bsky.social when you are ready to look at tank movies!