Old aviation films – which planes?

The Way to the Stars featured an Avro Anson (which delivered John Mills to Halfpenny Field). At the time they were home to Blenheim Mk1 light bomber, which were later replaced by Bostons. The aerodrome was also home to three Hurricanes – a detached flight from Marsden another aerodrome.

When the Americans took over the site they flew the B17. If you watch closely you can see one or two B17s in reverse – the film-makers wanting a B17 to fly the other way simply reverse the film (check out the reversed lettering).

The film was filmed at Catterick, which is equipped with a 3000ft runway (or slightly longer), which until recently was home to a volunteer Gliding School.

The RAF left Catterick (which was home to the RAF Fire Fighting School) in the early 1990s and the site is now Maine Barracks. The Army have done there best at buggering up this airfield, with the hangars being heavily altered while the control tower might be demolished. It appears that they might start building on the airfield.

602 Squadron was “32 Squadron” in A Yank in the RAF

Cheers Moggy. I have just read that Group Captain J.A. Pownell, DSO, OBE was also in the Target For Tonight film. He later was the group commander in charge of No. 75 (NZ) Squadron from Oct 1941.

Thanks Daz. So, are they worth buying on DVD?

The Way to the Stars had Blenheim Mk1s and B-17s in it, and I think some Hurricanes, too.

A Yank in the RAF had Harvards, Hudsons and Spitfires in it (and some really pish mock-ups of Spits and ‘109s for the ‘Dunkirk’ sequences)

Target For Tonight (was this Wellingtons?)

Definitely.

And the pilot was W/C Pickard, later to be killed in his Mosquito leading the Amiens raid.

Moggy