633 Squadron

[Wyld45]

          Watching this one tonight and have never seen it before. Seems to be about
      a Mosquito squadron thats rescued from near-extinction. Would like to hear any
      pros or cons from you history buffs that have seen this. 

[Greebo]

633 was a fictional squadron invented for the film. The film company rescued a some of the last glass nosed Mossies from the breakers yard and dressed them up as cannon nosed Mk VIs. Some of these were destroyed making the film but the survivors were preserved in museums.

The mission to bomb the heavy water factory in a fjord was also fictional, as was the bomb they used in the film. However the low level precision bombing nature of the raid is true to the type of operation Mosquitos performed. Mosquitos often bombed targets like Gestapo HQs in the middle of towns. On one occasion they took out the walls and guard barracks of the Amiens Gaol allowing many of the 700 French prisoners there to escape.

[Jing0]

However the low level precision bombing nature of the raid is true to the type of operation Mosquitos performed. Mosquitos often bombed targets like Gestapo HQs in the middle of towns. On one occasion they took out the walls and guard barracks of the Amiens Gaol allowing many of the 700 French prisoners there to escape.

 

which sounds very like the "sequel" Mosquito squandron....both in fact use the same footage.

it was also the inspiration for the trench run against the deathstar in Star Wars

[Greebo]

I think the Star Wars scene was nicked from another British war film, The Dambusters. Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't the inspiration for 633 Squadron as well.

[Jing0]

 fairly sure its 633 sqdn but it could have been inspired by the directors own experience, as he flew b25s or something....but anyway

Seeing as how the footage for the xwings was pasted over battle of britain spitfires (and the tie-bombers scene in ep.5 looks and sounds earily like the he111s over london)  you could probably argue that starwars was actually a ww2 trilogy in disguise   

[Nefarious]

  it was also the inspiration for the trench run against the deathstar in Star Wars

I saw that George Lucas's inspiration for the Trench Run against the Death Star was the attack scene in the Bridges at Toko Ri.

[Karnak]

I saw that George Lucas's inspiration for the Trench Run against the Death Star was the attack scene in the Bridges at Toko Ri.

He definately took some dialog directly from Dambusters though.

Pilot: "How many guns you think?"
Nose Gunner: "Say about twenty guns, some on the towers and some in the fields."

That is a rough paraphrase from memory, but lines very like those are in both Dambusters and Star Wars.

[Wyld45]

         Terrrific insight guys,and its really not difficult to visualize "Star Wars" in a
     WWII aspect. The X-wings as fighters,the bigger ships as CV fleet,and the
     Death Star as perhaps a "V" rocket launch or "Big-Bertha" gun site.

          I watched the movie and it was really great untill the end.
      I really hate sad endings. 

[Spikes]

Well it was an OK movie when I saw it. I've seen better, but hey, maybe it'll suit you better than me.

[Scherf]

It was a better book, no surprises there. Also, the fellow who plays the Resistance leader looks distinctly non-Nordic. I think he was in West Side Story, leader of the rival gang (was it the Sharks or the Jets? Kewl names, either way...)

Bit of a technical stretch - armed Mossies with 4,000 lb-ers, but, hey, it's the movies. "Lies, twenty-four times a second."

Some great one-liners too: "You can't kill a squadron."

[633DH98]

This movie you speak of, I've never heard of it.   


George Chakiris, actor, will play any ethnic role.