[Milsurplus] Radios in movies

mstangelo at comcast.net mstangelo at comcast.net
Fri Dec 5 13:10:24 EST 2025


I enjoyed the Russian tank movies T-34 and Tanks for Stalin. Very patriotic and with stereotypical Soviet "Comrades" and Nazi "Fritzs".  Nice slow motion scenes. 

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fil-fnW3kQI>

I believe I saw them on Netflix. Probably not as available since Russia invaded Ukraine.

I can't remember names but don't forget faces. I was watching the movie Anora with my wife and recognized one of the actors. Yuri Borislov was in T-34.

Mike N2MS

 
> On 12/05/2025 12:06 PM EST Ray Fantini via Milsurplus <milsurplus at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> Its Friday so not a lot going on at work today so I can waste time with this subject! Best and worst movies, think maybe the best and worst movies regarding technology may be the same subject! The Michael Bay 2001 Pearl Harbor has to be maybe one of the worst films ever in terms of realism, equipment and any attempt at historical accuracy. Least they got the date right. Where the 1970 “Tora Tora Tora” may be one of the most historically accurate and is worth the watch just for the scenes of the SCR-270 installation and operation. The SCR-270 is a key technology that is mostly forgotten today with maybe two or three still in existence. In Tora Tora Tora you see the 270 equipment shelter and the antenna structure clearly, learn of the difficulties of getting it to the right location and problems integrating new technology into existing C&C structures. The later Pearl Harbor flick has some stupid composite shot allegedly at the Navy base showing a PPI display that did not exist in 1941.
> Another favorite is the 1981 Wolfgang Paterson “Das Boot” that has a great recreation of a type 7 U-boat, not much in the way of radios but several scenes with the four rotor Naval Enigma machine. If you want the full experience watch the original German language version with the subtitles.
> As far as “Fury” thing goes, come on man, it’s a Brad Pitt movie! By its very nature its got to have a lot of “Chick Flick” comopnets. I watch this stuff to see the hardware, the story is always so-so. The running Sherman M4A2 tanks and what may be the only running Tiger (131) in the world deserve some credit. Many of the modern movies today have much better props then the stuff in the old days, Tora Tora Tora used a lot of AT-6 that were repainted to look like Japanese aircraft.
> Last thing on the subject before I stop wasting everyone’s time on this. The 2019 “ Midway “ was ok I guess, but for some weird reason every time the showed a radio close enough to recognize it was a British R-1155
> Anyone else notice that?
> 
> Ray F/KA3EKH


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