True or no?

Not true- sorta...

A flight of 12 B-17's did indeed fly into Pearl on Dec. 7th 1941- the 38th and the 88th Recon Squadrons. Ten of the twelve ships made a safe landing.

That is about where the truth ends.

The Mary Ann was a real ship, but simply one that was loaned to the studio to make the movie.

It's stated that the real Mary Ann was lost in combat shortly after the film opened, but that point is debatable: no B-17B (the model of the Mary Ann) ever saw combat- only the B-17C model and up were involved in combat operations.

..Joe

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I just want to know if it is based on a true story... other than the obvious WWII thing.

The events portrayed in "Air Force" after the Mary Ann departs Pearl Harbor for the Philippines are based on actual events in WWII. However, not all of these events were experienced by the same B-17!

1. The flight to Wake Island after DEC 7.
This event did happen. However, it is not clear if these were the same B-17s as the ones that flew from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-Wake.html

2. The bombing mission to sink Japanese invasion force in the Philippines.
This event did happen. As portrayed in Air Force, this appears to be based on two real events. This event is based on the December 14, 1941 bombing mission of Capt. Hewitt T. Wheless against Japanese troop transports. http://usswashington.com/worldwar2plus55/dl13de41.htm The movie also used the heroic mission of B-17 pilot, Colin Kelly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Kelly However, the Japanese cruiser was NOT sunk as portrayed in the movie.

3. non-Pilots landing battle-damaged B-17s.
This did happen during WW II. Non-pilot, flying crew members were often "washed-out" pilot cadets (as was the character portrayed by John Garfield). This same type of event is portrayed in the WW II movie about B-17s in Europe, "Command Decision" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040242/

4. Rebuilding the B-17 from scavenged parts.
This event did happen in the Philippines as portrayed. Aircraft in the 1940s were much simpler and an experienced crew chief, e.g. one with 20+ years of experience as portrayed by actor Harry Carey, could certainly lead this effort.

5. Flying from the Philippines to Australia.
This did happen as it became apparent that the Philippine would probably be lost. Both plane and ships did go to Australia to escape the Japanese and so they could continue to fight.http://usswashington.com/worldwar2plus55/dl13de41.htm

6. The air battle south of the Philippines.
This event appears to be based on The Battle of the Coral Sea. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea However, The Battle of the Coral Sea took place early in May 1942. As portrayed in Air Force, this battle seems to take place much earlier, late in December 1941. Also land based bombers, e.g. B-17s, did NOT have a good record of success when attacking naval ships in WW II. This was also true at the Battle of Midway. The air/sea battle portrayed in the last 10 minutes of the film is the least historically accurate event portrayed in Air Force.

The movie "Air Force" was made to be popular entertainment in 1943, not a historical documentary. As you can see, it is based on true historical events and facts from WWII.

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To Cindy,
I was only 18 yrs old at the time, but here is some information.
The "Mary Ann" B17 was used for training at Amarillo, Texas.
In Nov of 1943, as part of my training,I worked as Crew Chief on the "Mary Ann" for 1 week.
We changed engines and repaired the fabric on the rudder.
I remember the writing on the nose. Under the name "Mary Ann" it said "Star of Air Force".
I don't know where the "Mary Ann" went from there. I went on to become a flight Engineer on B17s after that.

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