TORA! TORA! TORA!
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be there again for the filming. Five revamped water bombers will be flown to Hawaii to participate. PBYs will be on the ramp and water at Ford Island and many other aircraft will put in an appearance, too. Some will burn as the bombs and bullets rip their bellies at the hands of the special effects men, but all will be for real.
The control tower at Hickam will come under attack, glass will shatter and smoke will pour from the peaked hangar roofs as Zekes streak in low over the airdrome. Old timers will no doubt wince at the sight and sound of it all, it will be that convincing.
In all more than seventy airplanes of all types involved in that historic event will be included in the "Fox Air Force" led by Air Marshal Williams. In order to fill the bill, two main types of airplanes were modified for TORA! TORA! TORA! 70mm cameras: the Vultee BT-13 basic trainer and the AT-6 (and SNJ) North American Advance Trainer. From these two basic types, three types of Japanese airplanes could be built with some modification.
The Sfewart-Daw's Company in Long Beach, California was given the task of converting their facility into a Southern California division of the Aichi Aircraft Works in order to build the nine Val dive bombers. Scouts were sent out to all parts of the United States to buy BT-13s. Only flyable airplanes were needed, for they had to be ferried to Long Beach and be ready for conversion with little delay. The conversion of the BT-13 into a Val entailed lengthening the fuselage, changing the vertical fin silhouette, making new wing tips, designing wheel pants and gear fairings, making over the canopy, installing an R-1340 AN-1 engine and three bladed prop, reworking a T-6 cowl, re-ducting carburetor air, plus much steel metal and fiberglass prototype work. The end result was a very convincing Val.
The Vullee Val flys better than the Vultee BT-13. It climbs better, runs smoother (because of the Hamilton -constant speed three bladed prop), has a better forward speed and directional stability, has improved considerably (because of the new dorsal fin). The aircraft in the air is startl-ingly convincing to look at, especially when flying formation with it.
Each Val will have a rear facing gunner for the attack on Pearl Harbor. Guns will be gas fired so that flame will shoot from the barrels giving a realistic appearance. The sound effects editor will do the rest.
Also on Long Beach Airport, is the Cal-Volair Company, They are intrusted with the manufacture o't "lefce" fqjriten <mwm. AT-6 type airplanes. Twenty five AT-6 Zekes were built by Cal-Volair's Long Beach and Oxnard facilities. The cowls had