Goofs

Stachel's aircraft changes from a Pfalz to a Tiger Moth after he makes his first kill.

The squadron was issued two triplanes. Willie crashes one. Then in the following attack, a second triplane can be seen behind Stachel's triplane.

Stachel's final air battle was flown in the Fokker Tri-Plane. However in the very final shot of him firing his machine guns - he is suddenly shown seated in his (since destroyed) Pfalz scout-fighter - which has a narrower, more rounded fuselage.

In the final scene, General stamps on the paper approving Lt. Stachel a medal. It was stamped a bit off-center to the bottom. A moment later, Stachel's aircraft crashes. When General signs, it was stamped off to the left.

When Stachel goes after the balloon, the scene bounces back and forth repeatedly between areal shots and ground shots. But the ground shots show the balloon being only a couple of hundred feet high, while the areal shots show the balloon being well over a thousand feet, if not a couple of thousand feet. This is particularly jarring when the ground crew, using a windlass to bring the balloon down, the scene shows the balloon quite low. Next the observer jumps out, but the scene from his vantage point shows this happening from a much greater altitude. So even though the ground crew was in the process of lowering the balloon, the balloon was suddenly much higher.

The German award called the "Pour le Mérite" (a.k.a. the Blue Max) was awarded at the beginning of the war to pilots who shot down 8 enemy aircraft; that was later raised to 16. The requirement was never 20 as depicted here.

The German soldiers were using the British SMLE (Short Magazine Lee Enfield) throughout the movie. The correct German rifle should be the Mauser. Mauser rifles do not have a visible magazine, whereas the Enfield does.

Carl Schell looked a little old to play Manfred Von Richthofen. The real "Red Baron" was only 25 when he was killed on 21 April 1918.

German single-seat fighter aircraft in WW1 did not carry bombs.

George Peppard joins the German Flying Service from the ranks of the Infantry. He is shown wearing an Uhlan's (lancer's) double breasted tunic, whereas he should have a single-breasted infantry tunic.

When Stachel first sees the squadron's aircraft and later when he is about to fly his first mission, the underside of his aircraft's wing shows the lozenge camouflage pattern. Although many German planes did use this pattern, the underside of the wings never did; the underside was always a uniform sky blue.

The German artillery pieces being towed by horses bounce and vibrate too lightly, indicating that they are probably wooden mockups.

In several scenes of burning aircraft, smoke can be clearly seen coming from charges mounted under the wings, rather than from the engine.

During the German offensive, a British soldier is seen manning a machine gun just before an artillery shell hits right next to him. That soldier wears his helmet highly angled to the left as though to protect his face and neck from the special effects explosion.

Just before Stachel and Willi fly under the bridge, the facial shots of George Peppard show the aircraft's elevator raised. This would result in a nose high attitude, continuing round in a loop. The external shots show him flying straight and level.

While flying the Triplanes, when ever there is a close up of Bruno and Willi, the cabane struts and top wing are clearly visible. However, when there is a close up from about 45 degrees to the pilot's right, the cabane struts and top wing are missing. The lower mounting lug for the rear cabane strut is visible. Obviously the strut and the wing got in the way of the shot of the actor and had to be removed.

In several scenes, the character of Squadron Commander Otto Heidemann is addressed as "Herr Hauptmann" [captain] but he is listed as a colonel ["Herr Oberst"] in the cast of characters.

At approximately 1.35.33 Stachel and Heidemann are discussing the forthcoming flight. In the background a mechanic's hat flies off due to backwash from a propellor. He makes to grab it, looks at the camera, realises it is rolling, and stays in character.

When Stachel crashes at the end of the film the audience never sees the plane hit the ground from afar, only an explosion on the ground. It's probable there was no way to stage an actual crash without it looking fake.

The film portrays German fighter pilots during World War I. The cast is made up of mostly British and European actors, all of whom speak in German accents appropriate to their characters. That is everyone, but star George Peppard, who speaks in his normal American accent.

Perhaps this was a directorial or even an acting choice that Peppard made to accentuate the character's lower class status among his fellow pilots, most of whom come from aristocratic backgrounds. Either way, it's a choice that is quite glaring.

When the pilots are riding the truck to their lodgings when Stachel has arrived to the squadron, TV antennas can be seen of the roofs of the houses in the town.

This story is set in WWI; the makeup and hairdos of Ursula Andress, however, are very much of the 1960s.

Immediately following Stachel's Blue Max award ceremony the band strikes up the Deutschlandlied (Deutschland Deutschland Uber Alles). This song was not the national anthem of Imperial Germany. In fact, the German Empire never had an official national anthem, although "Watch On The Rhine" (ironically heard a few moments later in the film) was sometimes used as an unofficial anthem. Deutschlandlied did not become the national anthem until 1922, during the Weimar Republic.

The Iron Cross national insignia on the German aircraft were incorrect for that period of World War One.

Quite a few of the German troops are carrying not Mausers (the standard arm of German troops) but SMLEs. SMLEs (Short Magazine Lee Enfield) were the standard arm of British troops. But most of these SMLE are not even of the World War I era. Most are Number 4s, which were the standard weapon of the British armed forces of World War II, having been adopted in 1941.

In the opening scene, soldiers watch an air battle overhead, with one plane being shot down and crashing on a distant hillside. Unfortunately, the crash explosion and the sound of the crash are simultaneous, whereas in real life the sound would have arrived several seconds after the visual.

In two scenes of airplanes crashing (Stachel's first victory, and Willi) the wires suspending the aircraft mock-ups are clearly visible.

When Stachel is brought to Berlin, establishing shots of his entrance into the city are instead unmistakably set in Dublin, Ireland. This includes clear unobstructed views of Christchurch Cathedral, The Four Courts, and the courtyard of Trinity College Dublin (with the campanile, The GMB, the Dining hall, with the cars occupants finally disembarking in front of and entering the chapel.)

At the end of the party sequence, the pilots are all shown standing outside drinking champaign as the preparatory bombardment of the German 1918 spring offensive, known to history as the Luderdorf offensive, begins. They should have all been in bed asleep getting a good night's rest before what would most certainly be a day of intense activity with as many missions being flown as could be mounted.

In the final dogfight scene, when Stachel disobeys Heidemann's direct orders and engages the British fighters, the British force is seen to be six SE 5As. However, when Stachel and the other survivors of the fight arrive back at base, Stachel claims that the squadron shot down seven enemy aircraft.

After Stachel shoots down the 2 seater he is bringing back in and the Germans are pulling the pilot from the plant, the observer can be seen with his arm draped over the the side of the plane and his head is visible as well. But, later, when Stachel removes the serial number of the plane, the observer is laying dead in the tail.

Throughout the film Heidemann is referred to as Hauptmann. which is the German term for Captain. However, since he and the other pilots wear cavalry (uhlan) uniforms, he should actually be referred to as Rittmeister, the same as von Richthofen is, which is the equivalent rank to Hauptmann for cavalry officers.

Stachel reports to the squadron as a Lieutenant, even though he reports his previous rank as corporal. The practice of the German Air Service in World War I, and most other nations, was to allow NCO pilots by promoting enlisted flyers to the rank of sergeant, unless they already were that rank. Ironically, given the theme of the movie, such pilot sergeants would only be commissioned as officers when they were close to qualifying for the Blue Max.

When Kaeti von Klugerman first appears, General von Klugerman, Hauptman Hiedeman, and Holbach are walking past her car. Heideman snaps to attention, clicks his heels, and salutes Kaeti. Soldiers generally aren't supposed to salute civilians. A slight bow from the waist would have been more appropriate.