A Yank in the R.A.F. is a 1941 American war drama film directed by Henry King and starring Tyrone Power, Betty Grable and John Sutton. Released three months before the attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into World War II, it is considered a typical early-World War II production. Originally titled The Eagle Squadron, it is based on a story by "Melville Crossman", the pen name for then-20th Century-Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck. It follows an American pilot who joins the Royal Air Force (RAF), during a period when the United States was still neutral.

Plot

In 1940, American-built North American Harvard training aircraft are flown to the border with Canada, where they are towed across the frontier for use by Britain. (The procedure is necessary to avoid violating the Neutrality Acts, as the United States is still neutral.) Cocky American pilot Tim Baker decides to fly across the border to Trenton, Ontario, and winds up in trouble with the military authorities, unconvincingly claiming he was looking for Trenton, New Jersey. The officer in charge suggests he ferry Lockheed Hudson bombers to Britain instead, pocketing $1,000 per trip.

In London, he runs into his on-again off-again girlfriend Carol Brown, who works in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force by day and stars in a nightclub by night. She is none too pleased to see him, calling him a "worm" for his womanizing ways, lying, and long absence, but he is confident she still harbors strong feelings for him.

He decides to enlist in the Royal Air Force (RAF). Meanwhile, Brown attracts the appreciative attention of two RAF officers, Wing Commander John Morley and Flying Officer Roger Pillby. Morley persists in seeing Brown, despite being told at the outset that there is another man. Pillby is unable to persuade either Baker or Morley to introduce him.

After completing training, Baker is disappointed to be assigned to Morley's bomber squadron, rather than one equipped with fighters. He becomes further disgruntled when his first mission is to "bomb" Berlin with propaganda leaflets as Morley's co-pilot during the Phoney War. Pillby pilots another bomber in the raid.

When Baker is late for their date (sidetracked by meeting an old buddy from America), Brown accepts Morley's invitation to spend a weekend at his country estate. There, Morley asks her to marry him. When she tells Baker about it (without revealing who her suitor is), he offers to marry her himself, but in an insultingly casual way. She tells him that they are through. Back at the base, the two rivals learn of each other's involvement with the same woman. Before they can do anything about it, however, the Germans invade the Netherlands and Belgium, and they are given an urgent mission to bomb Dortmund, Germany, this time with real ordnance.

During the nighttime raid, their bomber is hit, disabling one of their two engines. Pillby descends to their aid, knocking out searchlights, but is shot down in flames and perishes. Morley orders his crew to bail out, but Baker disobeys and lands the aircraft on a Dutch beach. Spotting a line of advancing German soldiers, they hide in a nearby building, only to be taken prisoner by a German officer there. A crewman sacrifices himself, enabling the other two to dispatch the German and escape by motorboat.

Baker wakes up in a British hospital, the victim of exposure. Once discharged, he goes to see Brown, pretending to have a broken arm, but shows himself to be a liar once more. Nonetheless, he produces an engagement ring and forces it onto her finger. After receiving a telephone call from Morley breaking their date, Brown informs Baker that all leaves have been canceled.

Reserves are called up to make up fighter pilot losses, and Baker is reassigned to a Spitfire for the Battle of Dunkirk. He downs two Luftwaffe fighters before being shot down. Carol cannot hide her distress when she cannot find out whether he is alive or not. Morley takes her to the docks, where ships returning from the Dunkirk beaches are bringing back survivors. When Baker debarks, Carol rushes to him and shows him she is still wearing his ring.

Cast

As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):

  • Tyrone Power as Tim Baker
  • Betty Grable as Carol Brown
  • John Sutton as Wing Commander John Morley
  • Reginald Gardiner as Flying Officer Roger Pillby
  • Donald Stuart as Corporal Harry Baker
  • Ralph Byrd as Al
  • Richard Fraser as Thorndyke
  • Denis Green as Flight Lieutenant Redmond
  • Bruce Lester as Flight Lieutenant Richardson
  • Gilchrist Stuart as Wales
  • Lester Matthews as Group Captain
  • Frederick Worlock as Canadian Major
  • Ethel Griffies as Lady Fitzhugh
  • Morton Lowry as Squadron Leader Macbeth
  • Fortunio Bonanova as Headwaiter
  • James Craven as Instructor
  • Dennis Hoey as Intelligence Officer
  • Claud Allister as Officer-Motorist (uncredited)
  • Charles Irwin as Uniformed Man (uncredited)

Production

thumb|The opening scene depicts a true incident where U.S. aircraft were towed across the Canada–US border.

With principal photography shot from April to July 1941, A Yank in the R.A.F. leaned heavily on the headline news of the Battle of Britain. The film begins with U.S. North American Harvard trainers arriving very near the U.S./Canada border at the Emerson, Manitoba crossing, as a means of complying with provisions of the Neutrality Acts prohibiting aid to combatants. The depiction of R.C.M.P. and R.C.A.F. officials meeting the aircraft as they were towed across the border is a bit of Hollywood license, but the incident is mainly accurate, although aircraft were usually towed by a team of horses rather than motor vehicles.

The sequence showing the Dunkirk evacuation was filmed at Point Mugu, California, and involved more than 1,000 extras.