Patton 360°
Encyclopedia
Patton 360° was a weekly television series that originally ran from April 10 to June 26, 2009, on the History channel. It was produced by Flight 33 Productions
Flight 33 Productions
Flight 33 Productions is a documentary production company that was started in 2006 and has produced numerous programs for History channel. The company's credits include the Emmy Award winning documentary A Distant Shore: African Americans of D-Day, the Emmy Nominated special Life After People, and...

 in Los Angeles (the same company that produced Battle 360°
Battle 360°
Battle 360°, also written as Battle 360, was an American documentary television series that originally aired from February 29 to May 2, 2008 on History. The program focused on the World War II-era aircraft carrier . The show was produced by Flight 33 Productions.Battle 360° made extensive use of...

), and featured a mixture of CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...

, archival footage, recreations, and interviews with World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 veterans and historians. The series followed General George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...

 and the units he commanded, from the Operation Torch
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....

 landings in Morocco in 1942, through the campaigns in North Africa and Sicily, and in the battles across Northwest Europe.

The episodes were written by Samuel K. Dolan and Jim Hense, and produced by Rob Beemer, Brian Thompson, Samuel K. Dolan, associate producer Ryan Hurst, and executive producers Louis Tarantino and Douglas Cohen for Flight 33 Productions and Carl Lindahl for the History channel.

Veterans

The producers of Patton 360 interviewed dozens of veterans for the series. Among the veteran contributors were Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

 recipients Walter Ehlers, John D. Hawk and Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...

 recipients Lt. General Kelley Lemmon, Colonel James Herbert (Jimmie) Leach and Major Abraham Baum. Retired Brigadier General Albin Irzyk and retired Lieutenant General Orwin C. Talbot were also interviewed. The series included interviews from dozens of other veterans, both enlisted soldiers and retired commissioned officers, who served in the many Infantry and Armored Divisions that Patton fought with in North Africa, Sicily and with Third Army in Europe.

Among the divisions covered in the series were the 1st Infantry Division, the 4th Armored Division
U.S. 4th Armored Division
The 4th Armored Division of the United States Army was an armored division that compiled a distinguished career in the European theater of World War II. Unlike many other World War II U.S. armored divisions, the 4th never adopted an official divisional nickname or slogan...

, the 2nd Armored Division
U.S. 2nd Armored Division
The 2nd Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army. The division played an important role during World War II in the invasions of North Africa and Sicily and the liberation of France, Belgium, and Holland and the invasion of Germany...

, 5th Infantry Division, 90th Infantry Division, and 95th Infantry Division. Veterans from numerous independent tank battalions, artillery units, and anti-tank battalions were also covered in the program. Two naval veterans, Captain Franklyn Dailey, Jr. (USS Philadelphia
USS Philadelphia
Six ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Philadelphia, after the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.* The first was a gunboat built in 1776 on Lake Champlain by Benedict Arnold and sunk in the Battle of Valcour Island....

) and Arthur Beaumont (USS Dallas
USS Dallas
Two commissioned ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Dallas. The first ship was named after Alexander J. Dallas and the second after Dallas, Texas...

) were also interviewed. William McBurney appeared in several of the later episodes and recounted his stories as a member of the 761st Tank Battalion.

The final episode of the series was dedicated to veteran Fred Cottriel of the 737th Tank Battalion, who died in 2008 only days after conducting an interview with the show's producers.

Episodes

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Episode # Episode Title Original U.S. Airdate
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