IMDb RATING
6.5/10
839
YOUR RATING
War drama about the dangerous and stressful work of Lancaster bomber British crews during World War II.War drama about the dangerous and stressful work of Lancaster bomber British crews during World War II.War drama about the dangerous and stressful work of Lancaster bomber British crews during World War II.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis movie was filmed at R.A.F. Upwood. The Lancasters used were NX673, NX679, and NX782. These aircraft also took part in the filming of The Dam Busters (1955).
- GoofsIn the scene depicting the take off starring Bill Kerr as the Australian pilot, he starts the aircraft up with the phrase "contact port outer". This is incorrect - the Lancaster would have started with the port inner engine as this drove the hydraulics which controlled the turrets etc.
- Crazy creditsClosing credits epilogue: This story is humbly dedicated to all those airmen who were unable to keep an Appointment in London
- ConnectionsFeatured in Into the Wind (2011)
Featured review
Tight script, great performances, amazing flying sequences
This is an unusual film. As others have commented it is well made, tautly scripted and has very good central performances. But that isn't what singles it out.
It's commonly thought that night time area bombing by the RAF was a hit or miss affair, quite different from daylight precision bombing done by the USAAF. Whilst no one can argue that targets were easier to see during daylight hours, both the RAF and the Luftwaffe developed highly accurate methods of hitting their targets at night. In the fateful Dresden raid in February 1945, almost 95% of the RAF bombload fell within one mile of the markers placed with 50 metre accuracy by the Mosquito target illuminator aircraft. The following day, a quarter of the American daylight force sent to follow up bombed Prague, having mistaken one bend in the River Elbe for another.
This film depicts, at length, the method of target marking the flight path using coloured airburst flares, eliminating 'creepback' by approaching the target along different vectors, air and ground marking the target and using a 'Master Bomber' to control the incoming streams and give bomb aimers feedback on accuracy.
No medal was struck for Bomber Command and many of the crew themselves felt their contribution was best forgotten, so this film is one of the few accurate testaments to their courage.
It's commonly thought that night time area bombing by the RAF was a hit or miss affair, quite different from daylight precision bombing done by the USAAF. Whilst no one can argue that targets were easier to see during daylight hours, both the RAF and the Luftwaffe developed highly accurate methods of hitting their targets at night. In the fateful Dresden raid in February 1945, almost 95% of the RAF bombload fell within one mile of the markers placed with 50 metre accuracy by the Mosquito target illuminator aircraft. The following day, a quarter of the American daylight force sent to follow up bombed Prague, having mistaken one bend in the River Elbe for another.
This film depicts, at length, the method of target marking the flight path using coloured airburst flares, eliminating 'creepback' by approaching the target along different vectors, air and ground marking the target and using a 'Master Bomber' to control the incoming streams and give bomb aimers feedback on accuracy.
No medal was struck for Bomber Command and many of the crew themselves felt their contribution was best forgotten, so this film is one of the few accurate testaments to their courage.
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Details
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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