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Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I must tell you up front that I have a prejudice towards this film, as I love airplane movies--particularly WWII air films. So, when I saw this on the queue for Netflix, I thought I had to see it--especially since I am familiar with the famed fighter-bomber, the Mosquito. It was an amazingly able and agile plane--one of the best of the war, though it's seldom talked about today.David McCallum stars in this film. If the name isn't familiar, he was one of the stars of the 1960s show "The Man From UNCLE". Unfortunately, he really wasn't given a personality in the film--he was there, but not much more.The story is about a Mosquito squadron. Their job will now be to bomb a rocket production facility. However, it will take absolute precision bombing using very odd bouncing bombs--much like smaller versions of the ones used to blow up the dams in the Ruhr Valley (for more on that, see the excellent film "Dam Busters"). But there's a hitch---the Germans are anticipating it and have moved all the shot down Mosquito crews to this location--daring the Brits to carry out this raid and kill their own men.The action is generally good, but due to a lack of availability, the German fighters are actually slow-moving transport/observation planes. At times, some of these planes are models and move in impossible ways.And, considering how much better the flying sequences were in "The Battle of Britain" (also 1969), I could see how this film might have been overshadowed. There also is a bit of predictability towards the end--with a few clichés among the escaped prisoners. Overall, a decent movie that's worth watching but also one that is far from a must-see.

Squadron Leader Quint Munroe is struggling to come to terms with the probable death of his friend and comrade, Sq. Leader David Scott. After choosing to leave the squadron, Quint is approached to take part in a crucial mission to bomb a château in occupied France that houses a deadly German flying bomb factory. The top secret mission will involve using a new land bouncing bomb that needs to be delivered with the ultimate precision, which is why they want the respected Quint to lead the assault. To further complicate matters, Quint starts to fall in love with David's widow Beth, will Quint take up the task?, can he succeed?, just why have the Germans dropped a parcel on base containing a roll of film?.It's not very good, that's really all there is to it, Mosquito Squadron is a collage of far better films put together to make one complete whole. David McCallum, bless him, 6 years after he was integral to The Great Escape's success, he is found sadly lacking as a lead actor asked to carry a film. Charles Gray proves that Blofeld really was a career high and the rest of the cast cover themselves in mud. Director Boris Sagal shows that he should have stayed at doing TV work, whilst the writers i hope were embarrassed to have been paid for their work on this one.So why after all my moaning do i give it a generous 3/10?, well the model work is half decent and Frank Cordell's score is deserving of far better, whilst editor John S. Smith should be applauded for his cheek. But really this is one to avoid, the sort of film that was shown prior to the main event in a double feature, rent The Dam Busters and 633 Squadron to see just why this film falls some way short of being entertaining. 3/10

I think the fighters attacking the British airfield (anyone know which one it was) towards the end are Me108s, which were often used in war films as stand-ins for Me109s. The Me108 was a twin seater (side by side) trainer with a similar rear body, wing and tail to the Me109. I think some were used in The Battle of Britain film. The film is also worth watching for the two Avro Ansons which appear at the end carrying the rescued PoWs. It is said that these were brought ashore at Southampton before being flown back to the airfield. Southampton was a civil port, and submarines operated out of HMS Dolphin at Gosport in Portsmouth Harbour. The nearest airfield was probably Lee-on-Solent.

I like this movie even though it is not the best air movie made.Contrary to what Sgt Slaughter has said the "Highball" bouncing bomb depicted in the movie did actually exist and was capable of being used against tunnels though its primary role was anti-shipping. The monochrome footage of the Mosquito test dropping a "Highball" on land ,which is used in the film ,is genuine footage from WW2.However the "Highball" could only be fitted to bomber versions of the Mosquito. The Mosquitoes used in the film were supposed to be FBVI fighter - bomber versions with nose guns and short bomb bays which could not be fitted with Highball. Also ,fitting of Highball necessitated removal of the bomb bay doors and the film Mosquitoes supposedly carry Highball inside their bomb bays.The worst feature of the film,as pointed out by other reviewers , was the excessive use of footage from "633 Squadron". Despite this,four genuine airworthy Mosquitoes were used in the production. A fifth Mosquito which was in a damaged,non-airworthy condition,was used in the crash scene at th end. This particular Mosquito can now be seen at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. Three of the four airworthy Mosquitoes used in the film still exist while the fourth Mosquito T3 RR299,which was the last airworthy Mosquito in the World,was destroyed in a flying accident in 1996.The credit sequences of the film feature four Mosquitoes flying in formation. This was the last time that four Mosquitoes flew together.I am always amused by the scene where David McCallum's character comments on the apparently large amount of flak defending a château when in fact it is one 20mm Oerlikon Twin mount and a single light machine gun.