Mosquito Squadron

The claim by the movie makers to be using real Messerschmitts is valid, as they are ME 108's. ME 108'S were often seen in War movies: Darryl F Zanuck's D Day being one prime example. ME 108's were a two seater trainer version capable of carrying weapons.

The fighter version ME109's seen exploding in the movie Mosquito Squadron are models. Real ME 109's being far too valuable not to mention non existent as there were NO German ME 109's airworthy back then, only Spanish versions. The Spanish versions had a slightly different nose due to different engine plant. The Spanish Messerschmitts 109's were used in the making of the movie The Battle of Britain.

At a time when many a star-studded and big-budgeted WWII actioner emerged, this modest effort seemed definitely like second-tier material – offering customary but efficient thrills and decent spectacle, somewhat in the vein of 633 SQUADRON (1964)…with which it shares much of the plot and action footage!

In this respect, the film also owes its German secret weapon to OPERATION CROSSBOW (1965) and its bouncing bombs to THE DAM BUSTERS (1955); no wonder, then, that the end result feels awfully contrived (particularly at the climax, when successive to a couple of failed attempts, it has a wounded pilot wilfully crash smack into the warehouse where the rockets are manufactured!). Besides, the narrative tends too often towards romantic/sentimental complications: the relationship between the two leads being obstructed, for one thing, by the hero having been the best friend of the woman’s husband and, later, by the knowledge he shares with her maimed brother that the man had survived an air crash but is being kept prisoner in a château marked for obliteration during an Allied air raid led by the hero himself!

The credentials are strictly below-par (the score, typically an asset in this type of flick, attempts to be rousing but succeeds only in being bland) and the casting a mix of TV actors (THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.’s David McCallum – who delivers a brooding performance – and Suzanne Neve from U.F.O.) and colorful character performers (Charles Gray as the pompous yet stern Air Commodore and Vladek Sheybal as the erudite but fishy Nazi officer in charge of the prison/plant fortress). Mind you, while being no great shakes (and probably instantly forgettable), the film proves mildly engaging – to say nothing of eminently watchable – along the way; when all is said and done, there are certainly far worse titles to spend 90 minutes of your life on…

I watched this movie because of my personal interest in de Havilland Mosquito airplane. When this movie was made I guess there were enough operational Mosquitos to form a squadron for this movie. I've never seen this plane in color and up so close.

The movie holds together surprisingly well for a war time movie. The highlight of the movie is when the Mosquitoes appear on the screen. I'm glad that they made this movie that catches this plane in all its colorful glory. Until I saw this movie I didn't know that the Mosquito had a bomb bay.

If you're a war time movie or a de Haviland Mosquito fan, this movie is worth keeping in your collection.

As an enthusiast of this aircraft, I derive great joy from this film and have done since I was about 7 years old. It nurtured me enough to join the Mosquito Aircraft Assoc. of Australia. It might not be the best film ever made but as a young lad, I was inspired. That is a lot more than can be said for most films period.

This is the sort of film which belongs in the same category as old-fashioned boys war comics like Commando etc. Sure, its weak on characterisation, clichéd in its plot, with wooden acting and stereotype Germans but you don't watch a B-movie for characterisation, intricate plotting, great dialogue and so on. Rather, you just watch it for escapism and a bit of boys-own adventure fun. Viewed on those terms Mosquito Squadron holds its own. What lover of this comic style adventure genre can resist Charles Grey saying: "That's where they're hatching their new bird. What we want you to do is chuck a bomb in there, and addle their eggs for 'em." It is a little distracting sitting through the film and spotting all the shots lifted from 633 squadron, but nonetheless its a bit of fun for a quiet Sunday afternoon. Who can resist the sight of those glorious Mosquitos flying around.