Dogfights (TV series)
Dogfights | |
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P-40 Tomahawk from Dogfights | |
Created by |
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Starring | Pilots involved |
Narrated by | Phil Crowley |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 29+1 Pilot Episode |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Running time | about 45 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | The History Channel |
Release | November 3, 2006 May 10, 2008 | –
Dogfights is a
Historical documentary format
The show has simulated not only air combat, but also surface sea combat, as in the case of
Creation of the series
The series was created after the airing of a one-time special called Dogfights: The Greatest Air Battles in September 2005. That program's combination of realistic-looking CGI dogfights, interviews, period documentary footage, and voice-over narration proved so successful, that the History Channel requested the production of an entire TV series, which became Dogfights.[2] The original special continues to air occasionally and has been recently updated to reflect the current series logo.
Overview
"Now, you're in the cockpit... Experience the battle. Dissect the tactics. Re-live the dogfights."
- Opening narration by Phil Crowley.
In each episode, true historical dogfights of a certain battle or war are played out. Pilots from the actual fights are brought in to re-tell their accounts of the battles. Along with the battle, there are occasional scenes that describe the pilot's living conditions or events that have happened outside the battle. Each battle is told by the pilot and a special narrator. CGI effects are used, providing a realistic simulation. The show also describes the aircraft, showing diagrams on screen and taking some time to describe the advantages and disadvantages of each plane. It also describes and illustrates the air maneuvers and tactics used by the pilots. Usually, the battles are told by pilots of the winning side of each war or battle. Occasionally, there are other variants brought into a battle besides the planes. For example, a pilot may recount their experience destroying ship fleets, bombing enemy air fields, or dealing with Anti Aircraft fire from the ground, but the process is interrupted by enemy planes. After each battle, the show usually features a short biography about the pilots and the conflicts they were involved in, and then the credits roll.
Episode list
Pilot episode
No. | Title | Original airdate |
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Pilot episode | "The Greatest Air Battles" | 09/16/05 |
MiG-21s on May 10, 1972 .
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Season one
No. | Title | Original airdate |
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01 | "MiG Alley" | 11/03/06 |
US Air Force . | ||
02 | "Air Ambush" | 11/10/06 |
US Army Air Force F-105 Thunderchiefs, natural prey of the North Vietnamese MiG-21s, in Operation Bolo on January 2, 1967.
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03 | "Flying Tigers" | 11/17/06 |
Ki-43 Oscar .
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04 | "Guadalcanal" | 11/24/06 |
Mitsubishi Zeros, Mitsubishi F1M Petes, Aichi D3A Vals , and Nakajima Ki-43 Oscars.
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05 | "Hell Over Hanoi" | 12/01/06 |
American pilots Fred Olmsted and Dan Cherry, and ace Steve Ritchie in USAF F-4 Phantoms fight North Vietnamese MiG-21s. | ||
06 | "The Zero Killer" | 12/08/06 |
Nakajima A6M2-N Rufes .
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07 | "The Last Gunfighter" | 12/15/06 |
F-8 Crusader vs. North Vietnamese Air Force MiG-17s and MiG-21s.
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08 | "Death of the Japanese Navy" | 12/29/06 |
The Leyte Gulf attack on Taffy 3, and the counterattack of destroyers, destroyer escorts, and escort carriers - namely the USS Johnston and USS Samuel B. Roberts - against an armored main battle force predominantly consisting of heavy cruisers and fast battleships in the Battle off Samar on October 25, 1944. Despite lacking suitable armament except for torpedoes, destroyers with carrier air support inflicted enough damage and confusion to send the Japanese force back without it accomplishing its primary goal. The episode also covers Operation Ten-Go, the last major Japanese naval operation in the Pacific campaign of World War II, and the sinking of the Japanese battleship Yamato on April 7, 1945.
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09 | "Hunt for the Bismarck" | 01/05/07 |
May 27 .
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10 | " Long Odds" | 01/12/07 |
This episode showcases survival stories of bomber pilots battling fighter aircraft. US Navy pilot F-105 Thunderchief vs. the North Vietnamese Air Force MiG-17 in the Vietnam War.
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11 | "Dogfights of the Middle East" | 01/19/07 |
Syrian Air Force MiG-21 over Lebanon in 1979.
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Season two
No. | Title | Original airdate |
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01 | "Kamikaze" | 07/13/07 |
Towards the end of USS Stanly .
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02 | "Luftwaffe's Deadliest Mission" | 07/13/07 |
On April 7, 1945, pilots of the Sonderkommando Elbe ram their stripped-down Bf 109s into incoming American B-24 Liberator and B-17 Flying Fortress bombers while facing down deadly P-51 Mustang escort fighters. Note: This episode was first released as "Kamikaze Part II", and is sometimes combined with the previous one and shown as a single, two-hour episode also called "Kamikaze". | ||
03 | "Jet vs. Jet" | 07/20/07 |
In the skies over North Korea, F-86 Sabres battle MiG-15s. American pilots such as James Jabara, Ralph "Hoot" Gibson, and Ralph Parr are in pursuit of a previously unknown achievement — the title of jet ace .
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04 | "Thunderbolt" | 07/27/07 |
The rugged P-47 Thunderbolt, or "Jug" as it was known, was the largest single-seat fighter plane of World War II. The episode portrays aerial battles fought by Robert S. Johnson, George Sutcliffe, and Ken Dalhberg against Focke-Wulf Fw 190s and Messerschmitt Bf 109s.
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05 | "Gun Kills of Vietnam" | 08/3/07 |
The era of missiles had arrived, and electronic warfare was coming of age. But when technology failed, pilots were forced to fight the old-fashioned way — with Guns. Clinton Johnson and Charles Hartman down a A-1 Skyraiders armed with 20-mm cannons in June 1965; Robert Titus and Milan Zimer's F-4 Phantom shoots it out with a 20-mm gun pod against MiG-21s in May 1967; Darrell Simmonds and George McKinney's Phantom fights MiG-17s in November 1967.
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06 | "Desert Aces" | 08/10/07 |
Pilots of the Jordanian Air Force Hawker Hunters in 1966. Epstein flew a Mirage V against Egyptian Sukhoi Su-7s in the Six-Day War, and piloted a Nesher against MiG-21s in the Yom Kippur War .
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07 | "The First Dogfighters" | 08/23/07 |
Arthur Rhys Davids, and Richard Maybery on September 24, 1917; and Arthur Raymond Brooks and his SPAD XIII dogfights with eight Fokker D.VIIs in 1918.
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08 | "No Room for Error" | 08/30/07 |
Low-altitude dogfights are portrayed. Art Fiedler and his P-51 Mustang go against Focke-Wulf Fw 190s and Messerschmitt Bf 109s in World War II; James H. Kasler and his F-86 Sabre go against MiG-15s in the Korean War; and Robin Olds and Steve Croker in their F-4 Phantom II fight against MiG-17s in the Vietnam War.
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09 | "Night Fighters" | 09/21/07 |
The history of Operation Allied Force .
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10 | "The Bloodiest Day" | 12/03/07 |
A-7 Corsairs fought against North Vietnamese MiG-21s, MiG-19s, and MiG-17s. The episode includes battles fought by Bob Lodge and Roger Locher and by Steve Ritchie and Charles B. DeBellevue .
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11 | "P-51 Mustang" | 12/04/07 |
In the European and Pacific theaters of World War II, the P-51 Mustang became one of the conflict's most successful and recognizable aircraft. The episode portrays aerial battles fought by Donald S. Bryan, Robert Scamara, and Richard Candelaria against German and Japanese aircraft, including the Messerschmitt Bf 109, Kawanishi N1K "Georges", Nakajima Ki-84 "Franks", Mitsubishi A6M Zero, and Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe. | ||
12 | "Dogfights of Desert Storm" | 12/05/07 |
An Cesar Rodriguez , Craig Underhill, and Tony "Kimo" Schiavi are interviewed.
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13 | "The Tuskegee Airmen " | 12/06/07 |
The Charles McGee .
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14 | "MiG Killers of Midway" | 12/07/07 |
Recalling Vietnam War battles involving F-4 Phantoms from the USS Midway against North Vietnamese MiG-17s. This episode portrays dogfights fought by J.C. Smith, Henry "Bart" Bartholomay, Pat Arwood, Mike "Taco" Bell, Ronald "Mugs" McKeown, and John C. "Jack" Ensch. Midway pilots scored the first and last MiG kills over Vietnam. | ||
15 | "Supersonic" | 02/29/08 |
Often in a dogfight, the faster plane is at an advantage. The episode includes aerial combat by James F. "Lou" Luma and his F4U Corsair against kamikaze Aichi D3A Vals off Okinawa in World War II; Bruce Hinton scoring the first F-86 Sabre kill against a MiG-15 in the Korean War; and Phil Handley scoring the only recorded supersonic gun kill in history in his F-4 Phantom against MiG-19s in the Vietnam War .
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16 | "Death of the Luftwaffe" | 03/7/08 |
The Luftwaffe's last great offensive, called 352d Fighter Group whose airbase, known as Y-29, was attacked by Fw 190 and Bf 109 fighters. After this day, the Luftwaffe was shattered as an effective fighting force.
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17 | "Secret Weapons" | 03/14/08 |
Secret weapons of World War II, including German Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet rocket-powered interceptors, Japanese kaiten suicide submarines, and the American remote controlled airplanes of Operation Aphrodite and the death of Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr .
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18 | "Dogfights of the Future" | 05/10/08 |
Experience five future combat scenarios featuring modern Su-47 Berkut and advanced SAMs. The show ends with a "dogfight" in low Earth orbit between two scramjets .
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DVDs
From 2007 to 2009,
Dogfights - The Complete Season One DVD set was released on April 24, 2007. Featuring all eleven episodes, it also includes the original pilot episode and a behind-the-scenes featurette called "Dogfights: The Planes." The picture format is 4:3 (1.33:1) even though the series was produced in
Dogfights - The Complete Season Two 5 DVD set was released on June 24, 2008.
Dogfights - The Complete Series All the episodes including Dogfights of the Future are included in a 10 DVD set, which was released on October 27, 2009.
Video game
Starting with season 2, the
'Dogfights: The Game' utilizes
See also
- The History Channel
- Greatest Tank Battles
- Shootout!
- The Lost Evidence
- Dogfight
- Flying ace
- Battle 360°
References
- ^ "Mavis, Paul. Dogfights — The Complete Season One review, DVD Talk, April 20, 2007". Archived from the original on April 30, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
- ^ "Interview with Radical 3D about Visual Effects for Dogfights", NewTek.com, June 1, 2006 Archived December 10, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gaudiosi, John (4 June 2007). "History's 'Dogfights' flies online with Kuma game". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ "Kuma Games And The History Channel Take Viewers To The Sky In Dogfights: The Game". GameZone. 13 July 2007. Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
External links
- Dogfights official website on the History Channel
- Dogfights video clips on the History Channel
- Episodes for Dogfights on the History Channel
- Episodes for Dogfights on IMDB[permanent dead link]
- Dogfights at IMDb
- Official Dogfights: The Game website (archived)
- Dogfights: The Game at History.com (archived)