Did You Know?

27 Spitfires in various degrees of repair were found for the film, 12 of which could be made airworthy. Only six Hurricanes where found, three of which were made flyable. The Messerschmitt 109 where all retired from the Spanish Air Force. The production company bought them all, about 50 of them, and put 17 of them back in flying condition. They are in the movie flown by Spanish Air Force pilots, and members of the Confederate Air Force. The 32 Heinkels, with crews, were on loan for free from the Spanish Air Force, where they still were used for transport and target towing. Two of them were eventually bought by the production company and flown together with the 17 Messerschmitts to England for further shooting. The two Junkers 52 were also on loan from the Spanish Air Force.

Adolf Galland, the Luftwaffe pilot who fought during Battle of Britain, who later became the youngest German general at the age of 29, was hired as a technical advisor.

There were to have been scenes featuring Lord Beaverbrook. Alec Guinness was hired to play Lord Beaverbrook, but these scenes were cut from the script shortly before filming.

Over 60% of RAF Fighter Command aircraft during the Battle of Britain were Hawker Hurricanes. Due to the lack of Hurricanes in flying condition when the movie was filmed, the bulk of the air-to-air combat scenes use the more famous (and better fighter) Supermarine Spitfire. During the actual battle, whenever possible squadrons flying the Spitfire would engage the German fighters escorting bomber formations while the lower-performance (but better gun platform) Hurricanes engaged the bombers. Shooting down German bombers was the critical key since the bombers were attacking RAF airfields in the first phase of the battle and cities after the Luftwaffe changed target priorities. The film accurately depicts the British need (and desire) to destroy bombers to protect their air defense infrastructure and later protect civilian targets. For similar reasons (the lack of working aircraft of the right type) Spitfires and Hurricanes are shown flying together in tactical formations whereas in reality RAF squadrons flew one or the other type of fighter exclusively. Due to different performance characteristics, the two aircraft would not fly and fight together.

The Heinkel 111 bombers were in fact Spanish built CASA 2111 bombers, Heinkel 111 H constructed under license, but with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and many other modifications. The Rolls engines were more powerful than the original Junkers Jumo and so the planes had more performance. In fact, all the real airplanes used on the film, except the Junkers Ju 52 (also Spanish built CASA 352) had British-built Rolls Royce Merlin engines.

When Air Vice Marshal Park first visits Squadron Leader Harvey, a double was used in place of Trevor Howard for the shot of him jumping out of the Hurricane because, as Guy Hamilton said, "You don't have elderly actors jumping out of elderly planes".

Most of the extras in the scenes filmed in East London and Aldwich underground station were survivors of the Blitz. Some of the extras pulled out because the scenes were "too real" and brought back painful memories.

Many mock-ups of Spitfires and Hurricanes were made in the months prior to filming. Some had lawn mower engines fitted and could be taxied around the airfield, but if they braked too hard they would flip up onto their nose. This happened several times in front of the cameras and some of the footage was eventually used in the film.

The Spitfires, Hurricanes, Messerschmitts and Heinkels were repainted into authentic 1940 colors, but were so perfectly camouflaged that they could not be seen against the ground or sky. Most of the aerial scenes were filmed with cloud in the background so the aircraft could be seen.

The scene of Göring accusing Kesselring of betrayal as his train departed was based on a real event. In the actual event Göring had left in such a hurry that electrical and telephone wires between train and the station building were left connected. These were broken and left trailing from the carriage when the train departed. Director Guy Hamilton had wanted to include this in the scene but thought it would look too comic.

The character that Harry Andrews plays is called Senior Civil Servant in PR and cast lists. He is called Sir Austin Stokes in paperwork regarding the film production.

The Heinkel 111 as shown in the movie had only three 7.92 machine-guns total. To the rear, front and belly. A common criticism of the HE111 during the actual battle of Britain was that it was inadequately armed to deal with the enemy fighters. Later models added left and right machine-guns.

Trevor Howard replaced Rex Harrison at the 11th hour.

Timothy Dalton auditioned for a minor part as an RAF pilot.

The movie lost $10 million worldwide.

Isla Blair has said in interviews a huge chunk of her part was cut from the final print.

Houses in Peckham Rye, South London, were used as some of the blitz scenes. These houses at the time were being cleared to make way for the North Peckham and Camden Estate housing projects that were completed during the 1970s. Many of the scenes were filmed in houses while they were being demolished.

In the beginning of the movie there is a scene with a beach filled with abandoned equipment and weapons. This scene is meant to show the aftermath of the Allied retreat from Dunkirk and the French mainland.

This film's dedication is in "In tribute to the Allied pilots who took part in the Battle of Britain."

The number of German losses (i.e. killed in action (KIA)) during the Battle of Britain are tabled during this movie's closing credits. Bomber Crews KIA: 1176; Stuka Crews KIA: 85; Fighter Bomber Crews KIA: 212; Fighter Pilots KIA: 171; Missing Crews, believed to be KIA: 1445. Therefore, according to this movie, German losses from the Battle of Britain amounted to 3089.

Actor W.G. Foxley, who plays Squadron Leader Evans, was an RAF navigator whose face and hands were badly burned attempting to rescue a fellow crew member after a bomber crash in 1944. Due to his injuries he lost and eye and several fingers, as well as his other facial injuries.

During filming, the by then closed but largely intact RAF Hawkinge was refurbished to a degree, grass was tidied up, brickwork was cleaned and re-pointed. Most of the site is now a housing estate, but a few buildings and gun emplacements, some now housing a museum are still intact.

When the Germans are marching into Dunkirk they are accompanied by several vehicles. These are actually American: M2 Half Track Car fitted with a German MG34 machine gun, and a M37 105mm Howitzer Motor Carriage fitted with a heavy anti-tank gun instead of the regular howitzer.