Red Tails

Red Tails is the 2012 war movie directed by Anthony Hemingway (The Wire, Battlestar Galactica) starring Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr, with Bryan Cranston and Gerald McRaney. Executive Producer George Lucas had long been an aviation buff (as demonstrated in Star Wars) and had wanted to make a film about the Tuskegee Airmen for years, but was unable to secure funding due to difficulty of marketing films with predominantly black casts to white and international audiences. Lucas selected director Hemingway after seeing his work on The Wire, and along with casting director Alexa L. Fogel, also of The Wire, selected many veterans from that show to fill out the cast. For Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr, this was their second turns as Tuskegee Airmen, having starred in Hart's War and HBO's The Tuskegee Airmen, respectively.
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=Aircraft Armament=
==.50 AN/M2 (Flexible)==
The .50 AN/M2 heavy machine gun appears in the film as the primary armament of US Army Air Force bombers.
==.50 AN/M2 (Fixed)==
American P-40 and P-51 fighters are armed with fixed .50 AN/M2 machine guns.
==MG131 Machine Gun==
MG131 machine guns appear as the primary armament of German Messerschmitt Bf-109G fighters. Because it was much larger than the MG17, the MG131 required bulges in the engine cowling, which can be seen below.
==MG 151/20 cannon==
The Bf-109Gs in the film are also armed with MG151/20 cannons, seen in the underwing gondolas. 
==MK 108 cannon==
The German Me-262 jets are armed with four MK 108 cannons in the nose. Bf-109s were also armed with a single MK 108 Motorkanone firing through the propeller hub. Tests verified that only four hits from an MK 108 were necessary to take down a bomber. With an Me-262, that's a single salvo.
thumb|none|450px|MK 108 cannon - 30mm
=Small Arms=
== Colt M1911A1 ==
The pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group carry M1911A1 pistols as part of their flight gear.
==Luger P08==
The German officer (Richard Conti) at the prison camp draws what may be a Luger P08 when he discovers the escape.
== M1 Garand ==
The M1 Garand is also one of the weapons carried by American troops storming a beach. German troops are also seen armed with them.
== Karabiner 98k ==
German forces are seen using the Karabiner 98k to fire at the American planes.
== MP40 ==
German troops are armed with MP40s
== Browning M1919A4 ==
A Browning M1919A4 is seen when the American troops land on the beach. A German Ju-87 dive bomber also appears to have one in lieu of an MG15 machine gun.
==Browning Automatic Rifle==
The Browning Automatic Rifle is one of the weapons carried by American troops storming a beach.
thumb|450px|none|Browning Automatic Rifle - .30-06
==MG 34==
MG 34 machine guns are seen in twin mounts at the German airbase.
==Leuchtpistole ==
An American airman signals from a control tower with a Leuchtpistole. 
=Other=
==2 cm Flak 38 ==
Germans troops are seen firing 2 cm Flak 38 anti-aircraft guns.
==8.8cm FlaK 36==
An 8.8cm heavy anti-aircraft/anti tank gun can be seen as American P-40s attack an air base. This appears to have a two-piece FlaK 36 barrel, though it is unclear which model of gun cradle it is using.
==PLDvK vzor 53==
The German cruiser, which is referred to as a destroyer in the film, defends itself with PLDvK vzor 53 AA guns. The PLDvK vzor 53 is a land-based Czechoslovakian 30mm AA gun. 
=Trivia=
==CZ-75B==
Ne-Yo, who plays "Smokey," fires a CZ-75B during a boot camp featurette.
==Prop AA guns==
Prop AA guns are part of the German airfield defenses.
==Faux B-17F==
Most of the CGI B-17s in the film were of the G-model, including some with the Bendix chin turret removed and plated over to portray F-models.
Category:Movie
Category:Action Movie
Category:Drama
Category:War
Category: Czech Produced/Filmed