Dive Bomber

Errol Flynn was criticized for playing heroes in WWII movies. Tony Thomas in his book 'Errol Flynn: The Spy Who Never Was' states that Flynn had tried to enlist in every branch of any armed services he could but was rejected as unfit for service on the grounds of his health. Flynn had a heart condition, tuberculosis, malaria and a back problem. Flynn felt he could contribute to America's war effort by appearing in such films as this one, Edge of Darkness (1943), Northern Pursuit (1943), Aventures en Birmanie (1945), and Uncertain Glory (1944). Reportedly, Flynn was at his most professional and cooperative he ever was while working on WWII-themed movies. The studios apparently did not diffuse the criticism of Flynn's state of health as they wished to keep it quiet for fear of his box-office draw waning. Flynn's real-life medical condition adds more bite to the line MacMurray's character says to him after the death of a squadron mate: "Are you an example of sound medical basis?".

It has already been noted by another contributor that the RAF fighter flown by Tim Griffin (Regis Toomey) is a disguised Ryan training plane. The fact that an open-cockpit, fixed gear, obsolete monoplane would represent a modern British fighter nearly two years into World War II, is an insult to movie-goers' intelligence. It would have been better to paint up a Brewster F2A Buffalo (which was in the movie, but not featured) as an RAF fighter, which would have been more accurate since the US had already given/sold many Buffalos to the British by that time under President Roosevelt's Lend-Lease program.

The following appears in the opening credits: "The picture itself we dedicate to the pioneer flight surgeons of our armed forces, in recognition of their heroic efforts to solve the immensely difficult problems of aviation medicine. To the 'Flight Surgeons,' then, whose job it is to keep our fighting pilots in the air."

Featured in Dive Bomber: Keep 'Em in the Air (2005)