This is the dramatization of a true story, suspenseful action pact and often tragic. The french pilots called their squadron "Normandy Njemen". The french pilots who volunteered, where from different walks of life, and had different motives. Most commonly, they where anti-fascist.They also felt betrayed by the Vichy Government for brokering a treaty with the Nazis. They wanted to fight the Nazis. First they had to get out of the fascist controlled countries, and enter Russia via neutral states. Used to french fighter planes, they had to learn on Russian ones. If they overcame the first two daunting task's, they where pitted against the German fighter aces, like Galland and Hartmann. Made in the sixties, the battles scenes look kind of dated: Black & White, not as sophisticated as the BATTLE OF Britain, but as good "DER STERN VON AFRIKA". This statement concerns the technical aspect only, the story actually is much more moving than the other two movies I just mentioned.