scenes with the Norwegian resistance. The aircraft Walter Grauman, the director, collected flying period aircraft, creating the "Mirisch Air Force" or M.A.F. as it was dubbed. Grauman's wartime experience as a North American B-25 Mitchell bomber pilot helped create an authentic aviation epic. The film features eight De Havilland Mosquitos. As the Royal Air Force had retired the type in 1963, civilian operators mostly leased former converted bomber examples (TT Mk 35) to the RAF for target-towing. Scouring RAF airfields at Exeter, South Devon, Henlow, Shawbury and the Central Flying School at Little Rissington provided not only ten authentic aircraft but also vehicles and equipment from the war. Eight Mosquitos were primarily used, five airworthy and others that could be taxied on runways or used as set dressing. The airworthy TT 35 Mosquitos were converted to resemble a fighter-bomber variant (FB Mk VI). The TT 35 models had their clear nosecones and side windows painted over and dummy machine gun barrels fitted. One airworthy Mosquito was a T3 with a solid nose, which only required the fitting of dummy gun barrels. It lacked the two-stage Merlin engines, V-shaped windscreen and bulged bomb bay of the TT 35s. At least one surplus Mosquito was destroyed in a simulated crash scene. The Mosquitos used in the film were: RS709 – flown in the film (now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio) RS712 – flown (now owned by Kermit Weeks, on display at the EAA AirVenture Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin) RS715 – cockpit section only RS718 – written off in simulated crash sequence. TA639 – flown (now on show at the RAF Museum Cosford, Shropshire) TA719 – flown (now on show at the Imperial War Museum Duxford) TJ118 – cockpit section only TV959 – at RAF Bovingdon Airfield, but not flown (now at the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum, Everett, Washington) TW117 – flown (now on show at the Norwegian Aviation Museum, Bodø, Norway) No German aircraft of the right type were available; consequently Nord Pingouin aircraft (French licence-built variants of the Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun) were used to represent the Messerschmitt Bf 109. At the beginning of the film, Lieutenant Eric Bergman's original escape from Norway is in a Miles Messenger. The primary camera aircraft, a North American B-25 Mitchell set up as a camera ship by Greg Board (also