Mosquito Squadron
Encyclopedia
Mosquito Squadron is a 1969
British war film
made by Oakmont Productions, directed by Boris Sagal
and starring David McCallum
, with a memorable music score (starting with 29 pounding bass drum beats to background the V-1 flying-bomb theme of the film), which was composed and conducted by Frank Cordell.
Royal Air Force
attack against German
V-1 rocket installations during the early summer of 1944 (the first V-1 fell on London
on June 13, 1944), the de Havilland Mosquito
fighter-bomber
aircraft of Squadron Leader
David "Scotty" Scott (David Buck
) is shot down during a low-level bombing raid on a V-1 launching site, and Scott and his navigator/bomb-aimer are reportedly killed. His wingman and friend, then-Flight Lieutenant
(later Squadron Leader) Quint Munroe (David McCallum
) comforts Scott's wife Beth (Suzanne Neve) and a romance soon develops, rekindling one that they had had years earlier.
After nearly losing his own life on a photographic reconnaissance mission over the Chateau de Charlon in northern France
, Munroe, under orders from a somewhat exuberant Air Commodore
Hufford (Charles Gray
, leads a Barnes Wallis
-type land-use "bouncing bomb" (referred to as a "highball") attack against the chateau, where, following the reported capture by the Gestapo
of a French resistance
fighter who supposedly talked under torture, Allied prisoners, including a very-much-alive Scott and men from their group, are also being held as "human shields", as seen in a disturbing film dropped by a Luftwaffe
Messerschmitt Bf 109
fighter that had, in tandem with one other, raided the base several days earlier, strafing the airfield and killing many personnel.
The target is an underground tunnel in the grounds of the chateau where new weapons based on the V-1
are being constructed. In a co-ordinated raid, the prisoners are held in the chapel during Sunday morning mass
in order to concentrate them in one place, thus allowing French
Maquis
(resistance) fighters to get them out once a Mosquito
has used one of the "highballs" to blow a hole in the outer wall close to the chapel, only not before Father Belaguere (Michael Anthony), a Catholic
priest and Maquis
agent, is killed by an enraged German army
officer, Lieutenant
Schack (Vladek Sheybal
), for refusing to order the RAF
men to go back to their cells. The senior RAF officer amongst the captives, Squadron Leader Neale (Bryan Marshall
), is killed by German
machine-pistol fire during the breakout as fellow comrades make their way with the help of the resistance fighters out of the chateau grounds while the bombing raid continues with a second wave of Mosquitoes
dropping conventional bombs with the intention of completely destroying the building.
Munroe and Scott are briefly reunited after the former's aircraft is brought down by flak, though Scott, still suffering from amnesia
and unable to remember even his own name (hence, he sports a chalked "X" on his uniform), rebuffs Munroe's attempt to get him to remember who he is, ignoring mention of even his wife's name. Scott then sacrifices himself while stopping a German tank
, saving Munroe and others, but too late to save Munroe's navigator, Flight Sergeant
Wiley Bunce (Nicky Henson
). The next day, after rescue by a submarine
, Munroe, along with survivors from the raid, is repatriated and comes back to the base in one of two Avro Anson
transport aircraft, where, after being congratulated by his commanding officer, Wing Commander
Penrose (Dinsdale Landen
), as well as Air Commodore
Hufford, he is reunited, albeit separately, with Beth and her brother Flight Lieutenant
Douglas Shelton (David Dundas
), an ex-pilot who had lost his right hand on operations (hence, he sports a hook in its place) but now serving with the same squadron and in charge of training. However, he deliberately still conceals the secret from her that her now-dead husband had survived the crash that he had witnessed, although, thanks to the German
film, both he and Shelton had, in fact, known for some time that he had not been killed as first generally believed.
and is influenced by it, even using footage from the earlier film. The pre-title sequence of the film (including the aforementioned opening music by Frank Cordell) was also taken from an earlier film called Operation Crossbow
. Bovingdon Airfield
in Hertfordshire
was a location for many scenes in the film; four "flightworthy" Mosquitoes
, including RR298, which eventually crashed beyond repair sometime in the 2000s, were based at the airfield. The "chateau
" used in the film is actually Minley Manor
, the officers' mess of Gibraltar Barracks, near Farnborough
in Hampshire
, southern England
. The raid is based on Operation Jericho
, a co-ordinated RAF/Maquis
raid which freed RAF prisoners from Amiens
jail in which the Mosquito
took part.
1969 in film
The year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980...
British war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
made by Oakmont Productions, directed by Boris Sagal
Boris Sagal
Boris Sagal was a Ukrainian-born American television and film director.-Early life and career:Born in Yekaterinoslav, Soviet Union, Sagal emigrated to the United States where he attended the Yale School of Drama. Sagal's many TV credits include directing episodes of The Twilight Zone, "T.H.E...
and starring David McCallum
David McCallum
David Keith McCallum, Jr. is a Scottish actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Illya Kuryakin, a Russian-born secret agent, in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as interdimensional operative Steel in Sapphire & Steel, and Dr...
, with a memorable music score (starting with 29 pounding bass drum beats to background the V-1 flying-bomb theme of the film), which was composed and conducted by Frank Cordell.
Plot
During a Second World WarWorld 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...
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
attack against German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
V-1 rocket installations during the early summer of 1944 (the first V-1 fell on London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on June 13, 1944), the de Havilland Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
fighter-bomber
Fighter-bomber
A fighter-bomber is a fixed-wing aircraft with an intended primary role of light tactical bombing and also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. This term, although still used, has less significance since the introduction of rockets and guided missiles into aerial...
aircraft of Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
David "Scotty" Scott (David Buck
David Buck
David Buck was an English actor. His most famous role was in the animated film The Lord of the Rings , for which he provided the voice of Gimli...
) is shot down during a low-level bombing raid on a V-1 launching site, and Scott and his navigator/bomb-aimer are reportedly killed. His wingman and friend, then-Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
(later Squadron Leader) Quint Munroe (David McCallum
David McCallum
David Keith McCallum, Jr. is a Scottish actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Illya Kuryakin, a Russian-born secret agent, in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as interdimensional operative Steel in Sapphire & Steel, and Dr...
) comforts Scott's wife Beth (Suzanne Neve) and a romance soon develops, rekindling one that they had had years earlier.
After nearly losing his own life on a photographic reconnaissance mission over the Chateau de Charlon in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Munroe, under orders from a somewhat exuberant Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Hufford (Charles Gray
Charles Gray (actor)
Charles Gray was an English actor who was well-known for roles including the arch-villain Blofeld in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, Sherlock Holmes' brother Mycroft Holmes in the Granada television series, and as The Criminologist in the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show in...
, leads a Barnes Wallis
Barnes Wallis
Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, CBE FRS, RDI, FRAeS , was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the RAF in Operation Chastise to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II...
-type land-use "bouncing bomb" (referred to as a "highball") attack against the chateau, where, following the reported capture by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
of a French resistance
Maquis (World War II)
The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...
fighter who supposedly talked under torture, Allied prisoners, including a very-much-alive Scott and men from their group, are also being held as "human shields", as seen in a disturbing film dropped by a Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
fighter that had, in tandem with one other, raided the base several days earlier, strafing the airfield and killing many personnel.
The target is an underground tunnel in the grounds of the chateau where new weapons based on the V-1
Flying bomb
A flying bomb is a manned or unmanned aerial vehicle or aircraft carrying a large explosive warhead, a precursor to contemporary cruise missiles...
are being constructed. In a co-ordinated raid, the prisoners are held in the chapel during Sunday morning mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
in order to concentrate them in one place, thus allowing French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Maquis
Maquis (World War II)
The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...
(resistance) fighters to get them out once a Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
has used one of the "highballs" to blow a hole in the outer wall close to the chapel, only not before Father Belaguere (Michael Anthony), a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
priest and Maquis
Maquis (World War II)
The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...
agent, is killed by an enraged German army
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
officer, Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Schack (Vladek Sheybal
Vladek Sheybal
Vladek Sheybal , born Władysław Sheybal, was a Polish character actor, whose career lasted from the 1950s into the 1980s. He was probably best known for his portrayal of the chess grandmaster Kronsteen in the 1963 James Bond film From Russia with Love, a role for which he had been personally...
), for refusing to order the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
men to go back to their cells. The senior RAF officer amongst the captives, Squadron Leader Neale (Bryan Marshall
Bryan Marshall
Bryan Marshall is an English actor, with a number of major credits in film and television to his name.Marshall was born in Clapham, London...
), is killed by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
machine-pistol fire during the breakout as fellow comrades make their way with the help of the resistance fighters out of the chateau grounds while the bombing raid continues with a second wave of Mosquitoes
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
dropping conventional bombs with the intention of completely destroying the building.
Munroe and Scott are briefly reunited after the former's aircraft is brought down by flak, though Scott, still suffering from amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
and unable to remember even his own name (hence, he sports a chalked "X" on his uniform), rebuffs Munroe's attempt to get him to remember who he is, ignoring mention of even his wife's name. Scott then sacrifices himself while stopping a German tank
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
, saving Munroe and others, but too late to save Munroe's navigator, Flight Sergeant
Flight Sergeant
Flight sergeant is a senior non-commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and several other air forces which have adopted all or part of the RAF rank structure...
Wiley Bunce (Nicky Henson
Nicky Henson
Nicholas Victor Leslie "Nicky" Henson is an English actor who has portrayed many roles since 1963. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1977. He was born in London.-Early life:...
). The next day, after rescue by a submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, Munroe, along with survivors from the raid, is repatriated and comes back to the base in one of two Avro Anson
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...
transport aircraft, where, after being congratulated by his commanding officer, Wing Commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
Penrose (Dinsdale Landen
Dinsdale Landen
Dinsdale James Landen was a British actor known mainly for his television appearances.Landen was born at Margate. He made his television debut in 1959 as Pip in an adaptation of Great Expectations and made his film debut in 1960, with a walk-on part in The League of Gentlemen...
), as well as Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Hufford, he is reunited, albeit separately, with Beth and her brother Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
Douglas Shelton (David Dundas
David Dundas
David Dundas is the name of:*Lord David Dundas, pop singer of the 1970s*Sir David Dundas, 1st Baronet, military officer of the 18th and 19th centuries in England...
), an ex-pilot who had lost his right hand on operations (hence, he sports a hook in its place) but now serving with the same squadron and in charge of training. However, he deliberately still conceals the secret from her that her now-dead husband had survived the crash that he had witnessed, although, thanks to the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
film, both he and Shelton had, in fact, known for some time that he had not been killed as first generally believed.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| David McCallum David McCallum David Keith McCallum, Jr. is a Scottish actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Illya Kuryakin, a Russian-born secret agent, in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as interdimensional operative Steel in Sapphire & Steel, and Dr... |
Squadron Leader Quint Monroe, RAF |
| Suzanne Neve | Beth Scott |
| Charles Gray Charles Gray (actor) Charles Gray was an English actor who was well-known for roles including the arch-villain Blofeld in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, Sherlock Holmes' brother Mycroft Holmes in the Granada television series, and as The Criminologist in the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show in... |
Air Commodore Hufford, RAF |
| David Buck David Buck David Buck was an English actor. His most famous role was in the animated film The Lord of the Rings , for which he provided the voice of Gimli... |
Squadron Leader David ("Scotty") Scott, RAF |
| David Dundas David Dundas David Dundas is the name of:*Lord David Dundas, pop singer of the 1970s*Sir David Dundas, 1st Baronet, military officer of the 18th and 19th centuries in England... |
Flight Lieutenant Douglas Shelton, RAF |
| Dinsdale Landen Dinsdale Landen Dinsdale James Landen was a British actor known mainly for his television appearances.Landen was born at Margate. He made his television debut in 1959 as Pip in an adaptation of Great Expectations and made his film debut in 1960, with a walk-on part in The League of Gentlemen... |
Wing Commander Clyde Penrose, RAF |
| Nicky Henson Nicky Henson Nicholas Victor Leslie "Nicky" Henson is an English actor who has portrayed many roles since 1963. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1977. He was born in London.-Early life:... |
Flight Sergeant Wiley Bunce |
| Bryan Marshall Bryan Marshall Bryan Marshall is an English actor, with a number of major credits in film and television to his name.Marshall was born in Clapham, London... |
Squadron Leader Neale, RAF |
| Michael Anthony | Father Bellaguere |
| Peggy Thorpe-Bates Peggy Thorpe-Bates Peggy Thorpe-Bates was an English actress who appeared in the first three series of Rumpole of the Bailey as his fearsome wife. She also appeared in numerous other supporting roles on both stage and screen. She was married to fellow actor Brian Oulton.-Notes:... |
Mrs. Scott |
| Peter Copley Peter Copley Peter Copley was a British television, film and stage actor.-Biography:Copley was born in Bushey, Hertfordshire, son of the printmakers, John Copley and Ethel Gabain.... |
Mr. Scott |
| Vladek Sheybal Vladek Sheybal Vladek Sheybal , born Władysław Sheybal, was a Polish character actor, whose career lasted from the 1950s into the 1980s. He was probably best known for his portrayal of the chess grandmaster Kronsteen in the 1963 James Bond film From Russia with Love, a role for which he had been personally... |
Lieutenant Schack |
Production
Although not a sequel, the film is similar to the 1964 film 633 Squadron633 Squadron
633 Squadron is a 1964 British film which depicts the exploits of a fictional Second World War British fighter-bomber squadron. It was based on a novel of the same name by Frederick E. Smith, published in 1956, which itself drew on several real Royal Air Force missions. The film was directed by...
and is influenced by it, even using footage from the earlier film. The pre-title sequence of the film (including the aforementioned opening music by Frank Cordell) was also taken from an earlier film called Operation Crossbow
Operation Crossbow (film)
Operation Crossbow is a British 1965 spy thriller and World War II film, made from a story from Duilio Coletti and Vittoriano Petrilli and filmed at MGM-British Studios...
. Bovingdon Airfield
RAF Bovingdon
RAF Bovingdon was a Royal Air Force station, located to the west of Bovingdon, two and a half miles south of Hemel Hempstead and two and a half miles south east of Berkhamsted, in Hertfordshire, UK....
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
was a location for many scenes in the film; four "flightworthy" Mosquitoes
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
, including RR298, which eventually crashed beyond repair sometime in the 2000s, were based at the airfield. The "chateau
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
" used in the film is actually Minley Manor
Minley Manor
Minley Manor is a Grade 2 listed country manor house, built in the French style by Henry Clutton in the 1860s with further additions in the 1880s. The Manor is situated 2 miles north of junction 4A of the M3 between Farnborough and Yateley in Hampshire, England and is situated in 38 hectares of...
, the officers' mess of Gibraltar Barracks, near Farnborough
Farnborough, Hampshire
-History:Name changes: Ferneberga ; Farnburghe, Farenberg ; Farnborowe, Fremborough, Fameborough .Tower Hill, Cove: There is substantial evidence...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, southern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The raid is based on Operation Jericho
Operation Jericho
Operation Jericho was a low-level World War II bombing raid by Allied aircraft on Amiens Prison in German-occupied France on 18 February 1944. The stated object of the raid was to free French Resistance and political prisoners. The raid is remarkable for the precision and daring of the attack,...
, a co-ordinated RAF/Maquis
Maquis (World War II)
The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...
raid which freed RAF prisoners from Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
jail in which the Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
took part.