Captains Sam P. Triffy and Hewett T. Wheless were technical advisors to the film, and that Triffy in particular made significant contributions to the storyline, dialogue, and sets.< "Shorty" Wheless had previously been a B-17 aircraft commander in the Philippines with the 19th Bomb Group and had been one of the survivors evacuated to Australia in December 1941. He was at Randolph Field, Texas, in the process of appearing as himself in the Academy Award-winning short film Beyond the Line of Duty when he assisted on Air Force. Aircraft The U.S. Army Air Forces provided the various aircraft that appear in the film: Ten Boeing B-17B/C/D Flying Fortresses were from Hendricks Army Airfield at Sebring, Florida. The majority were actually RB-17Bs upgraded to B-17C/D standards, as was the B-17 that portrayed Mary-Ann. The bomber's on-screen, "wartime security" serial number 05564 (actually "40-5564") is listed in the film credits. The bomber's actual serial number was 8584 ("38-584"), being so marked on the left side of the vertical tail. In the film's beginning stock footage flight ĺine sequence, an early model YB-17 can be seen in the background of the bomber lineup. North American AT-6 Texans and Republic P-43 Lancers were painted as Japanese fighters. Bell P-39 Airacobras and Curtiss P-40C Warhawks from Drew Army Airfield portrayed the AAF fighters. Six Martin B-26C Marauders from MacDill Field were painted as Japanese bombers. The "real" Mary-Ann was reported lost in the Pacific shortly after production wrapped, according to information attributed to the production's technical advisor; actually, no early Flying Fortresses served for long in Pacific combat after Pearl Harbor. Two early RB-17B aircraft, upgraded to the later series "D" standards, played the Mary-Ann; AAF serial numbers 38-584 and 39-10 (briefly seen in background projection as John Garfield boards the aircraft) were reclassified in late 1943 as instructional air frames; following the war, both were scrapped in January 1946. Another claim, attributed to a newspaper article, was that the real Mary-Ann went on tour to promote the film, then was assigned to Hobbs Army Air Field, New Mexico, then later to Amarillo Army Air Field, where it was assigned to a ground school. Historical inaccuracies The basic premise of Air Force, that a flight of B-17s flying to reinforce the defense of the Philippines flies into the attack on Pearl Harbor, reflects actual events. From that point on, however, all of the incidents are