Lightning Little Character Analysis

Continuing with this topic of fictional characters brings us to the most charismatic character of the film, Joe “Lightning” Little. Again there is no real life “Lightning”, but his character is based on Wendell Pruitt . Pruitt was known for his incredible flying abilities, and his propensity to take risks other pilots would never make. “Pruitt seemingly was cut out for flying. He took chances that the boldest and most experienced pilot dared not to take. Even professional acrobatic pilots were cautious in performing stunts Pruitt did nonchalantly. ” Pruitt is said to have aborted missions and fly directly into enemy plane formations just how “Lightning” did during the movie. Reading up to this point, you may think that the movie is completely
In Red Tails, The Tuskegee Airmen are the first fighter group to put into effect the new policy of “Sticking with he Bombers”. This policy is designed in that the Airmen should closely escort the bombers while not chasing down enemy fighters with the result of leaving the bomber susceptible to other enemy planes. “In fact, the “Stick with the Bombers” policy was that of General Ira Eaker when he was commander of the Eighth Air Force in England, long before the Tuskegee Airmen began to escort bombers. ” In actuality, the Airmen in the 332nd Fighter Group were not executing a new policy, rather enforcing an old one. The scene in the film where the Airmen escorted the bomber to Berlin also differs from the truth. In Red Tails, the 332nd Fighter Group appears to escort the bombers all the way to Berlin after the 52nd Fighter Group fails to show up. “In actuality, all four P-51 fighter groups of the Fifteenth Air Force escorted the bomber to Berlin that day, and all four P-51 fighter groups showed up. ” These two additional differences are major historical inaccuracies that the movie adds in order to spice up the plot and add drama to the