Shortly after the film was released and at the age of about 22, I was taken to see it at a Coventry cinema by my Uncle. At one point in the film some German crew are bombing some part of the NE of England and are shot down. The goggles of the aircrew of the Heinkel immediately fill with "Tomato Sauce" to signify what has happened. At this point, my Uncle leaned over to me and said: "You didn't really see gore like that you know."
He should have known: After completing a tour of duty as a Whitley captain before his 19th. birthday, Sqn. Ldr. J.C. (Peter) Cairns was shot down on his second tour as a Wellington Captain when leaving the Dutch coast as a propellor failed. Several of his crew were killed but he managed to get it down on a Dutch enemy airfield. He was then incarcerated for the rest of the War in Stalagluft 3 and - I eventually discovered - was supposed to be the last man into the tunnel during the Great Escape.
He was the only relative I have had who got a full obituary in the Times, but then he is probably the reason that I find myself posting about flying matters on this website!
P.P.