Ferry Pilot (I) (1942) User Reviews

Fascinating Documentary

[malcolmgsw · 7/10 · 1 September 2013]

This documentary,featured on one of the IWM DVDs is directed by Pat Jackson,who made the much acclaimed "Western Approaches".It features the airmen and women who formed Ferry Command during the war.These pilots were just as brave as those that were in action.They ferried planes from factories to the bases where they were needed.They had no armament,so if they were caught by an enemy plane they had only their flying skills and luck to rely on.Also they did not have radios so they had no way of knowing of potential problems ahead,as is highlighted by this film.Jackson does a fine job of photographing the pilots in a confined space,although one suspects that many of the shots were made in studio mock ups.This is a fine tribute to a little known part of the RAF in wartime.

His First Whitley

[boblipton · 8/10 · 12 August 2021]

During the Second World War -- and for long after, for all I know -- the Air Transport. Auxilliary was in charge of getting airplanes from where they were -- often factories -- to where the Royal Air Force needed them to be. Made up of hobby pilots from before the War, and weekend fliers, they allowed the RAF to concentrate on using their pilots for the business of war. This plotted documentary covers one of the ATA fliers getting plane where it was needed.

It's all handled in typically understated crown Unit documentary fashion: the paperwork, the tea, the pawky humor. Where Pat Jackson lifts this out of that high standard is in the sense of isolation of the pilot, the long, silent flights where, between watching the gauges, he gets to look down at the countryside, and up at the sky, and think his own thoughts. Watching, I thought to myself that I didn't want to intrude. It's very nicely done.