Deliberate mistake: When the crew are piling into their jeep to ride out to their aircraft, the gunners ask the officers what their target is, and are disgusted to hear that it is Bremen, a tough one. The gunners should know their target already. Gunners were briefed on their target, and told what kind of fighter opposition to expect.
Memphis Belle (1990)
1 deliberate mistake
Directed by: Michael Caton-Jones
Starring: Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, D.B. Sweeney, Tate Donovan
Factual error: They hold a huge dance in the hangar at night, and Dennis leaves to walk to the Memphis Belle through the hangar doors, which are wide open. The whole flight line, tarmac and hangar are bathed with light - on a US Air Force base in East Anglia during the blackout. Blackout restrictions were rigidly enforced and were not eased until September 1944. The last mission of the Memphis Belle was in May 1943.
Richard Rascal Moore: Yeah Luke, why go back to the daily grind of being a lifeguard? Take it easy.
Trivia: Very few flyable examples of the B-17 existed at the time of the shooting of the movie. One airplane "stood in" for several by having its decals changed. The B-17G featured in the film has since undergone a meticulous restoration and now lives in Renton, Washington, USA. Though it is fully flyable, certain certification issues with the Federal Aviation Administration have kept it grounded.
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Answer: That would be a flare being fired from the aircraft. Yellow ones meant the aircraft had sustained serious damage, although that was often self-evident, and a red one meant that there was a seriously injured crewman on board - prompting first aid teams to be ready to meet the aircraft once it had landed. Their was also an unofficial green flare that meant someone had completed their tour of duty.
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