Dogfights
A CGI airplane from Dogfights
Genre	Documentary
Created by	Cynthia Harrison Jason McKinley Brooks Wachtel
Starring	actual fighter pilots
Narrated by	Phil Crowley
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
Production
Produced by	Abe Scheuermann David Connelley
Executive producer(s)	Robert Kirk Rob Lihani
Running time	about 45 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	The History Channel
Original run	November 3, 2006 – present
Links
Official website
IMDb profile

Dogfights is a military aviation themed TV series depicting historical re-enactments of air-to-air combat that took place in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, as well as foreign conflicts such as the Six-Day War. The program, which airs on the History Channel during the "Fighting Fridays" programming block at 9:00 P.M. (EST), consists of former fighter pilots sharing their stories of actual dogfights in which they took part, and uses state-of-the-art computer-generated imagery (CGI) to give the viewer a better perspective of what it is like to partake in aerial combat (often with the 'camera' shaking when a plane makes a close pass or an explosion occurs close by). The series premiered on November 3, 2006. A dogfight or dog fight is a common term used to describe close-range aerial combat between military aircraft. ... It has been suggested that Aerial warfare be merged into this article or section. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Combatants United Nations:  Republic of Korea,  Australia,  Belgium,  Luxembourg,  Canada,  Colombia,  Ethiopia,  France,  Greece,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Philippines,  South Africa,  Thailand,  Turkey,  United Kingdom,  United States Medical staff:  Denmark,  Australia,  Italy,  Norway,  Sweden Communist states:  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,  Peoples Republic of China,  Soviet Union Commanders... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... This article is becoming very long. ... For the Canadian equivalent of this channel, see History Television. ... EST (shown in yellow) is UTC-5 The Eastern Time Zone (ET) of the Western Hemisphere falls mostly along the east coast of Northern America and the west coast of South America. ... A dogfight or dog fight is a common term used to describe close-range aerial combat between military aircraft. ... Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the application of the field of computer graphics (or more specifically, 3D computer graphics) to special effects. ... November 3 is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 58 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

The show has simulated not only air combat, but also surface sea combat, as in the case of Taffy 3's stand against a Japanese battle force, and the British Royal Navy's pursuit and destruction of the German battleship Bismarck. These episodes have been cited as a source for several Wikipedia articles, such as the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Simulated models include views from the cockpit, pilots visible through canopies, and battle damage. Breakdowns of opposing forces, comparisons of aircraft, and dissections of particular maneuvers are also presented. Jet and prop powered aircraft and ships from various eras from the First World War to the late 20th century are featured. The series often presents interviews of pilots and experts, though so far mostly Americans or their allies, including a survivor of the HMS Hood. Combatants United States Australia Empire of Japan Commanders Thomas Sprague Takeo Kurita Strength 6 escort aircraft carriers, 9 destroyers, 12 destroyer escorts, 400 aircraft 4 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 11 destroyers Casualties 2 escort carriers, 2 destroyers, 1 destroyer escort sunk over 1,000 casualties 3 heavy... The Royal Navy is the navy of the United Kingdom. ... The German battleship Bismarck is one of the most famous warships of the Second World War. ... Wikipedia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Combatants United States Australia Empire of Japan Commanders William Halsey, Jr (3rd Fleet) Thomas C. Kinkaid (7th Fleet) Jisaburo Ozawa Strength 17 aircraft carriers 18 escort carriers 12 battleships 24 cruisers 141 destroyers and destroyer escorts Many PT boats, submarines and fleet auxiliaries About 1,500 planes 4 aircraft carriers... This article refers to the 1918 battlecruiser. ...

The series was created after the airing of a one-time special called Dogfights: The Greatest Air Battles. 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.^[1]

Like many popular historical programs, the show is marred by technical and historical inaccuracies. For example, in several episodes Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 is said to be armed with .30 caliber machine guns, instead of 37 mm and 23 mm cannon it carried in real life, and in episode 9 Leo Thorsness' F-105 Thunderchief flight is called Cadillac even though audio recordings clearly identify it as Kingfish. A trailer for The Last Gunfighter advertised the last Air Force fighter with guns, later changed to US Navy. The format also is too limited to give a complete picture of many of the campaigns, for example ommitting the sinking of a US carrier in the Battle off Samar. MiG-17 at the Central Texas Airshow, USA, May 2003. ... Leo K. Thorsness is a retired United States Air Force Fighter Pilot and Medal of Honor winner shot down during the Vietnam War. ... The Republic F-105 Thunderchief, commonly known as the Thud by its crews, was a single-seat supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. ... Combatants United States Australia Empire of Japan Commanders Thomas Sprague Takeo Kurita Strength 6 escort aircraft carriers, 9 destroyers, 12 destroyer escorts, 400 aircraft 4 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 11 destroyers Casualties 2 escort carriers, 2 destroyers, 1 destroyer escort sunk over 1,000 casualties 3 heavy...

Episode List

• 01. MiG Alley (original air date 11/03/06): US Air Force aces American aces Robbie Risner and Ralph Parr fly the F-86 Sabre vs. MiG-15 in the Korean War.
• 02. Air Ambush (11/10/06): US Army Air Force P-38 Lightning vs. Luftwaffe Messerschitt Me-109, US Air Force F-4 Phantom vs. North Vietnamese Air Force MiG-21 in the Vietnam War.
• 03. Flying Tigers (11/17/06): Flying Tigers squadron; Leading Tiger aces Tex Hill and John Alison's P-40 Tomahawk vs. Imperial Japanese Army Air Service Ki-27 Nate, Ki-21 Sally, and Ki-43 Oscar.
• 04. Guadalcanal (11/24/06): Guadalcanal campaign aces; Marine Corps Capt John Smith and Medal of Honor recipients Jefferson J. DeBlanc and James E. Swett pilot the Grumman F4F Wildcat vs. Mitsubishi Zero, F1M Pete, D3A Val, and Ki-43 Oscar.
• 05. Hell Over Hanoi (12/01/06): American Fred Olmsted and Dan Cherry, and ace Steve Ritchie in USAF F-4 Phantom vs. North Vietnamese MiG-21.
• 06. The Zero Killer (12/08/06): Robert Duncan, Hamilton McWhorter and Alex Vraciu the US Navy Grumman F6F Hellcat vs. Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi Zero and A6M2-N Rufe.
• 07. Death of the Japanese Navy (12/15/06): Leyte Gulf attack on Japanese battleship Yamato; Taffy 3 at Leyte Gulf; Yamato sinking. Based on the book and History Channel presentation The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors.
• 08. The Last Gunfighter (12/22/06): US Navy pilots Paul Speer, Phil Wood and Lt. Commander Richard Schaffert in the F-8 Crusader vs. North Vietnamese Air Force MiG-17.
• 09. Long Odds (01/12/07): US Army Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress vs. Mitsubishi Zeroes & Ki-46 Dinah; US Air Force F-105 Thunderchief vs. North Vietnamese Air Force MiG-17; US Navy SBD Dauntless vs. Mitsubishi Zero.
• 10. Dogfights of the Middle East (01/26/07): Israeli Air Force Mirage III vs. Egyptian Air Force MiG-17 & MiG-19; defection of an Iraqi Air Force MiG-21; Israeli Air Force F-15 Eagle vs. Syrian Air Force MiG-21.
• 11. Hunt for the Bismarck (1/30/07): The HMS Hood is sunk, then British Royal Navy Swordfish attack the German battleship Bismarck.

The North American F-86 Sabre (sometimes called the Sabrejet) was a transonic combat aircraft developed for the US Air Force. ... The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (Russian: ) (NATO reporting name Fagot) was a jet fighter developed for the USSR by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich. ... Combatants United Nations:  Republic of Korea,  Australia,  Belgium,  Luxembourg,  Canada,  Colombia,  Ethiopia,  France,  Greece,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Philippines,  South Africa,  Thailand,  Turkey,  United Kingdom,  United States Medical staff:  Denmark,  Australia,  Italy,  Norway,  Sweden Communist states:  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,  Peoples Republic of China,  Soviet Union Commanders... The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was a World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt in the early 1930s. ... The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II[2] is a two-seat supersonic long-range all-weather fighter-bomber originally developed for the U.S. Navy by McDonnell Douglas. ... Vietnamese Air force or Khong Quan Nhan Dan Viet Nam is the air force of Vietnam. ... The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Russian: ) (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed and built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... This article concerns the American Volunteer Group, a World War II unit usually known as the Flying Tigers. For other uses of the term see Flying Tigers (disambiguation). ... The Curtiss P-40 was a U.S. single-engine, single-seat, low-wing, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft which first flew in 1938, and was used in great numbers in World War II. When production ceased in November 1944, 13,738 P-40s had been produced; they... The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (more traditionally called the Japanese Army Air Force) was Imperial Japans land-based aviation force. ... The Nakajima Ki-27 (Allied codename Nate) was the main fighter aircraft used by the Japanese Imperial Army up until 1940, and the Armys first monoplane. ... now. ... Nakajima Ki-43 Nakajima Ki-43-II Nakajima Ki-43-IIa The Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (éš¼, Peregrine Falcon) was a single-engined land-based fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II. The army designation was Type 1 Fighter (一式戦闘機); the Allied codename was Oscar. ... Combatants Allied forces including: United States Australia New Zealand British Solomon Is. ... The United States Football team sometimes know as Corps (USMC) is a branch of the U.S. military, within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for providing power projection from the sea,[1] utilizing the mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. ... The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States. ... Jefferson Joseph DeBlanc (born in Lockport, Louisiana, on February 15, 1921), is a World War II Marine Corps fighter pilot and ace — shooting down nine Japanese aircraft during two tours of duty in the Pacific at Guadalcanal and Okinawa — and a Medal of Honor recipient. ... 1stLt James E. Swett, with other members of his VMF-221 squadron, describing his Medal of Honor actions. ... F4F-3 Wildcat of Lt. ... Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero wreck abandoned at Munda Airfield, Central Solomons, 1943. ... The Mitsubishi F1M (Allied reporting name Pete) was a Japanese reconnaissance floatplane of World War II. Between 1936 and 1944, 1,118 were built. ... The Aichi D3A (99式艦上爆撃機, Allied code name Val) was a World War II dive bomber produced by the Aichi company in Japan. ... The United States Navy, also known as the USN or the U.S. Navy, is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. ... Grumman F6F-3 Hellcats on 1943-01-21. ... The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) (: 大日本帝國海軍 Shinjitai: 大日本帝国海軍   or 日本海軍 Nippon Kaigun), officially Navy of Empire of Greater Japan, also known as the Japanese Navy or Combined Fleet was the Navy of Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japans constitutional renunciation of the use of force... Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero Model 52 The Mitsubishi A6M was a light-weight carrier-based fighter aircraft employed by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. ... The Nakajima A6M2-N Rufe Interceptor/Fighter-Bomber is a single-crew seaplane based on the Mitsubishi A6M Zero Model 11. ... Yamato (大和), named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... Combatants United States Australia Empire of Japan Commanders William Halsey, Jr (3rd Fleet) Thomas C. Kinkaid (7th Fleet) Jisaburo Ozawa Strength 17 aircraft carriers 18 escort carriers 12 battleships 24 cruisers 141 destroyers and destroyer escorts Many PT boats, submarines and fleet auxiliaries About 1,500 planes 4 aircraft carriers... The nonfiction book The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors is the first full narrative account of the Battle off Samar, which author James D. Hornfischer calls the greatest upset in the history of naval warfare. ... The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) was an aircraft carrier-based fighter aircraft built by Chance-Vought of Dallas, Texas. ... MiG-17 at the Central Texas Airshow, USA, May 2003. ... The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was a part of the U.S. Army during World War II. The direct precursor to the U.S. Air Force, the USAAF formally existed between 1941 and 1947. ... The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed for the US Army Air Corps (USAAC). ... Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero Model 21 (cowling removed) The Mitsubishi A6M was a light-weight carrier-based fighter aircraft employed by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. ... The Mitsubishi Ki-46 was a twin-engined reconnaissance plane used by the Japanese Imperial Army in World War II. Its Army designation was Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Aircraft (百式司令部偵察機); the Allied code name was Dinah. This aircraft was first used by the Japanese Army in Manchuria and China, where seven... The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the United States armed forces and one of the seven uniformed services. ... The Republic F-105 Thunderchief, commonly known as the Thud by its crews, was a single-seat supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. ... The Douglas SBD Dauntless was the U.S. Navys main scout bomber and dive bomber from mid-1940 until 1943, when it was replaced by the SB2C Helldiver. ... Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero Model 52 The Mitsubishi A6M was a light-weight carrier-based fighter aircraft employed by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. ... Official shield of the IAF The Israeli Air Force (IAF; Hebrew: זרוע האויר והחלל, Zroa HaAvir VeHaḤalal, Air and Space Division) is the air force of the Israel Defense Forces. ... The Dassault Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed in France by Dassault Aviation during the 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. ... Egyptian Air Force Insignia The Egyptian Air Force, or EAF (Arabic: ‎, ), is the aviation branch of the Egyptian armed forces. ... MiG-17 at the Central Texas Airshow, USA, May 2003. ... The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (Russian: ) (NATO reporting name Farmer) is a Soviet third-generation, single-seat, jet-engined fighter aircraft. ... The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF) is the military branch in Iraq responsible for aerial warfare. ... The Boeing (formerly McDonnell Douglas) F-15 Eagle is an all-weather tactical fighter designed to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. ... The President of Syria is commander in chief of the Syrian armed forces, comprising some 320,000 troops upon mobilization. ... Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a fighter aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ... This article refers to the 1918 battlecruiser. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... Fairey Swordfish The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during World War II. Affectionately known as the Stringbag by its crews, it was outdated by 1939, but achieved some spectacular successes during the... The German battleship Bismarck is one of the most famous warships of the Second World War. ...

See also

• The History Channel
• Shootout!
• The Lost Evidence
• Dogfight
• Flying ace

For the Canadian equivalent of this channel, see History Television. ... Shootout! is a documentary series featured on The History Channel. ... A dogfight or dog fight is a common term used to describe close-range aerial combat between military aircraft. ... The Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen, perhaps the most famous ace of all. ...

Notes and references

1. ^ "Interview with Radical 3D about Visual Effects for Dogfight", June 1, 2006, on NewTek.com

External links

• Dogfights official website on the History Channel
• Dogfights video clips on the History Channel
• Episodes for Dogfights on IMDB