TORA! TORA! TORA!
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Too cosily! At any rate, the dies and stampings were destroyed. Out of the question.
So the next best thing had to be done; rebuild American types to resemble the Japanese airplanes. This was, of course, the most practical and expedient idea.
But what airplanes would Elmo and his crew use?
Hollywood has always used AT-6s as Zeros, but the rescmblence is slight at best. Authenticity was the key word in this picture and the backbone of the strike force, the Zeke, had to be an AT-6 aircraft refitted to resemble a Mitsubishi A6M2 type 21 as closely as it was possible to do without rebuilding the entire air-frame. To approximate the Zero, the T-6 type airplane would do fine. (See A/C cover Vol. 4, No. 3.) But two other Japanese airplanes were also utilized by Admiral Nagumo for the airbrone strike force on December 7th. These were the Aichi Type 99 "Val" dive bomber and the Nafca/ima Type 97 "Kate" torpedo bomber. Both of these aircraft were seen in great numbers during the raid. They formed the backbone of Japan's tactical strike force in the Pacific, and all three types will be seen again in the film version of the attack.
For the Americans during the one-sided Battle of Pearl Harbor, there were plenty of bombers, fighters and other types that were caught on the ground and only a few that rose to fight. These will have to be shown in order to authenticate what took place that morning at Ford Island and other fields.
Wheeler Field bulged with P-40s lined up in neat, tidy rows on the tarmac, when the Zekes hit their first trip-hammer blow as they came in through Kolekole pass. Two P-40s got off, but most were destroyed where they sat in their chocks. These scenes will be faithful reproduced.
But, again, where do you get a couple of dozen P-40Bs to set around, run-up and fly, (Sixty-two P-40Bs and eleven P-40Cs were based in Hawaii on December 7th).
To insure authenticity it would be necessary to have a very busy ramp at Wheeler, so Elmo had the late Jack Can-nary secure a flyable P-40 and make plaster molds, from which many fiberglass P-40s could be made around welded steel frames. C-45 Beechcraft outer panels were just about right for the wings, and the T-6 main gear gave it all a most authentic look. In addition a large supply of Curtiss Electric Props and P-40 tail gears and wheels were found, brand new, and were installed on the mock-up Warhawks. Some of the P-40s will be powered with their original Allison engines fitted into the full size steel tubular frames and will be able to taxi, but they will basically become large, scratch-built plastic models.