Both Kenneth Moore and Richard Todd did more to 'set' their respective characters than the persons themselves, consequently the vast majority of the public consider they were actually like their film counterparts.
Of course wartime reality requires places to be filled by those capable of seeing through difficult and unpleasant tasks, and not winning a popularity contest.
The question should be did Bader 'perform' in his wartime leadership role and the evidence is that he did.
He was certainly wrong about the big wing tactics, and the subsequent losses over France in the 'offensive' mood of LM and co do little to back up the tactics of that period. The vast majority of any wartime operations are not for public consumption, so the powers to be always look for what we would now call 'celebs' to portray a morale boosting screen. A legless fighter leader, and a bomber commander with a huge no of ops: that record stands, and that was their contribution.
Last edited by POBJOY; 16th Aug 2019 at 12:36.