Could have been better

It is such a pity that this movie was produced in this format, almost certainly under funded. It would have benefited from the same treatment as the TV series Band of Brothers received. The movie has a cheap and false feel about it, such a pity because this is a monumental story. The US Army Air Corps did something they had traditonally and long fought against, namely creating an elite, by segregating black flyers they produced an air force within an air force, staffed with men who had a burning desire to show what they could do and boy did they
ever "do it". Whether they lost a bomber or not isn't the issue, the fact that in spite of obstacle after obstacle after obstacle they performed so well that they were requested as the preferred fighter escort by the 15th Air Force bomber squadrons. Their tactic of hanging close to the bombers instead of "hot shotting it" flying off and going after German fighters (thereby leaving the bombers potentially undefended) endeared them to the bomber crews.

Some facts, the 99th FS arrived in N Africa with the Curtiss P-40L and converted along with the other 3 squadrons in the 332nd FG to the P-39Q Airacobras in 1944. They only used them for 2 months before converting to the Republic P-47D, this 8 machine gun carrying heavyweight gave them at last a fighter they could fight on equal terms with. They were ex 325nd FG aircraft painted with yellow and black chequerboard on their tails, the 332nd decided they were not
going to fly and be mistaken for someone else so they painted their aircraft tails red, that way everybody friend and foe alike would know who they were.

The moral of this story is, don't ever say to an American, not matter what his colour, creed, religion or favourite baseball team is "You couldn't possibley do that" a sure fire way of making it just happen.