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* BattleCouple: Deconstructed. In fact, quite possibly an UnbuiltTrope in this film: Colin is entirely opposed to Maggie serving in uniform at all, as he'd rather she stay at home where it's safe. Maggie meanwhile feels driven by duty and tries to get her husband to understand why she insists. The war is a source of constant stress and fuel for conflict in their marriage.
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* HomeGuard: Of the TorchesAndPitchforks variety, showing how desparate Britain's situation is during this campaign.
to:
* HomeGuard: Of the TorchesAndPitchforks variety, showing how desparate Britain's situation is during this campaign. Also, after their radar stations are hit, the RAF is left to rely on the Observer Corps to spot the bombers visually and report in.
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* TheCavalry: Inverted and Averted early in the film. Air Chief Marshal Dowding's introduction is a monologue explaining why the RAF cannot afford to help the French any further.
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* NotSoDifferent: British and German forces alike are shown to partake in good-natured joking around and sharing of advice between missions.
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* WeUsedToBeFriends: The British and German ambassadors in Switzerland. Judging by how the British ambassador's wife greets the German ambassador, it's clear that they used to be on much better terms before the war.
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-->-- '''Prime Minister WinstonChurchill'''
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-->-- '''Prime Minister WinstonChurchill'''
UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill'''
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* MusicToInvadePolandTo: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] intentionally with the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0&t=0m31s Luftwaffe-Marsch]], composed by Ron Goodwin. Done so well that many people today believe it to be an ''actual'' German WorldWarTwo march.
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* MusicToInvadePolandTo: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] intentionally with the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0&t=0m31s Luftwaffe-Marsch]], composed by Ron Goodwin. Done so well that many people today believe it to be an ''actual'' German WorldWarTwo UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo march.
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* TitleDrop: The BBC radio announcer quoting WinstonChurchill, saying "What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over; the Battle of Britain is about to begin". Cue the CrowningMusicOfAwesome.
* TranslationConvention: One of the first WorldWarTwo films to avert this. The British, French, Germans and even the Poles speak their own language. The latter is actually a PlotPoint, as problems created by the language barrier between Polish volunteers and their RAF commanders were fully TruthInTelevision. Non-English dialogue is not subtitled whenever the context makes it unnecessary.
* TranslationConvention: One of the first WorldWarTwo films to avert this. The British, French, Germans and even the Poles speak their own language. The latter is actually a PlotPoint, as problems created by the language barrier between Polish volunteers and their RAF commanders were fully TruthInTelevision. Non-English dialogue is not subtitled whenever the context makes it unnecessary.
to:
* TitleDrop: The BBC radio announcer quoting WinstonChurchill, UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill, saying "What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over; the Battle of Britain is about to begin". Cue the CrowningMusicOfAwesome.
* TranslationConvention: One of the firstWorldWarTwo UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo films to avert this. The British, French, Germans and even the Poles speak their own language. The latter is actually a PlotPoint, as problems created by the language barrier between Polish volunteers and their RAF commanders were fully TruthInTelevision. Non-English dialogue is not subtitled whenever the context makes it unnecessary.
* TranslationConvention: One of the first
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* WorldWarTwo
to:
* WorldWarTwoUsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo
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* HistoryMarchesOn: The film was made a few years before it was revealed that British intelligence had broken the Enigma code; hence there was no mention of the crucial role that Ultra decrypts played in turning back the German air offensive.
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* CrowdPanic: When the lights go out in Berlin and the [[RedAlert air raid sirens]] begin to sound, the civilians immediately start fleeing to find shelter.
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* MassOhCrap: When the lights go out in Berlin and the [[RedAlert air raid sirens]] begin to sound, the civilians immediately start fleeing to find shelter.
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* MassOhCrap: When the lights go out in Berlin and the [[RedAlert air raid sirens]] begin to sound, the civilians immediately start fleeing to find shelter.
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** In the scene where they parachute into the church, one of the women asks (in French) if they are Angels, which is not subtitled at all, but is very emotional if you understood what she said.
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* NewMeat: Several. Most get killed off fairly quickly (one on his first sortie) One lives long enough to become a ShellShockedSenior, he and one of two newbies who arrived just before the last big battle sequence survives the whole film.
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* NewMeat: Several. Several replacement pilots. Most get killed off fairly quickly (one on his first sortie) One Only one lives long enough to become a ShellShockedSenior, he and one of two newbies who arrived just before the last big battle sequence survives are the only ones who survive the whole film.
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* NewMeat: Several. Most get killed off fairly quickly (one on his first sortie) One lives long enough to become a ShellShockedSenior, he and one of two newbies who arrived just before the last big battle sequence survives the whole film.
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** Crash scenes and unavailable aircraft (such as the Ju-87 ''Stuka'' were done using large scale radio-controlled models.
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** Crash scenes and unavailable aircraft (such as the Ju-87 ''Stuka'' of which no flying examples exist) were done using large scale large-scale radio-controlled models.
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* TranslationConvention: One of the first WorldWarTwo films to avert this. The British, French, Germans and even the Poles speak their own language. The latter is actually a PlotPoint, as problems created by the language barrier between Polish volunteers and their RAF commanders were fully TruthInTelevision.
to:
* TranslationConvention: One of the first WorldWarTwo films to avert this. The British, French, Germans and even the Poles speak their own language. The latter is actually a PlotPoint, as problems created by the language barrier between Polish volunteers and their RAF commanders were fully TruthInTelevision. Non-English dialogue is not subtitled whenever the context makes it unnecessary.
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** There is another little fun bit of this, although very slight - The Spanish Bf 109s and He 111s used for the film were powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines. This when added to the use of Spitfires and Hurricanes made it that the vast majority of planes in the movie - on both sides - used the same engine.
** The Spanish HA-1112s and CASA 2.111s license-built versions of the Bf-109 and He-111 respectively are easily distinguishable from their German counterparts by the bulky air-intake under the engine.
** The Spanish HA-1112s and CASA 2.111s license-built versions of the Bf-109 and He-111 respectively are easily distinguishable from their German counterparts by the bulky air-intake under the engine.
to:
** There is another little fun bit of this, although very slight - The Spanish Bf 109s HA-1112s and He CASA 2.111s (license-built versions of the Bf-109 and He-111 respectively) used for the film were powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines. This when added to the use of Spitfires engines and Hurricanes made it that the vast majority of planes in the movie - on both sides - used the same engine.
** The Spanish HA-1112s and CASA 2.111s license-built versions of the Bf-109 and He-111 respectively areeasily distinguishable from their German counterparts by the bulky air-intake under the engine.engine. So the vast majority of planes in the movie - on both sides - used the same engine.
** Crash scenes and unavailable aircraft (such as the Ju-87 ''Stuka'' were done using large scale radio-controlled models.
** The Spanish HA-1112s and CASA 2.111s license-built versions of the Bf-109 and He-111 respectively are
** Crash scenes and unavailable aircraft (such as the Ju-87 ''Stuka'' were done using large scale radio-controlled models.
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----
to:
----
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* FairForItsDay: The movie makes a point of showing that the first German bombing of London was an accident and the retaliatory British bombing of Berlin was not.
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** As a point of trivia, the TropeNamer, the three Eagle Squadrons of American volunteers serving in the RAF, do not appear in this film. To be fair, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters there were more than enough pilots to keep track of already.]]
to:
** As a point of trivia, the TropeNamer, the three Eagle Squadrons of American volunteers serving that served in the RAF, do not appear in this film. To be fair, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters there were more than enough pilots to keep track of already.]]film because those squadrons did not become operational until after the battle.
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* FairForItsDay: The movie makes a point of showing that the first German bombing of London was an accident and the retaliatory British bombing of Berlin was not.
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* {{Leitmotif}}: The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0 Luftwaffe]] and the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFEXitPn1ko RAF]] both get an awesome theme. The former is notoriously [[LargeHam hammy]] - see MusicToInvadePolandTo.
to:
* {{Leitmotif}}: The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0 com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0&t=0m31s Luftwaffe]] and the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFEXitPn1ko RAF]] both get an awesome theme. The former is notoriously [[LargeHam hammy]] - see MusicToInvadePolandTo.
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* MusicToInvadePolandTo: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] intentionally with the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0 Luftwaffe-Marsch]], composed by Ron Goodwin. Done so well that many people today believe it to be an ''actual'' German WorldWarTwo march.
to:
* MusicToInvadePolandTo: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] intentionally with the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0 com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0&t=0m31s Luftwaffe-Marsch]], composed by Ron Goodwin. Done so well that many people today believe it to be an ''actual'' German WorldWarTwo march.
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* MusicToInvadePolandTo: {{Invoked}} intentionally with the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0 Luftwaffe-Marsch]], composed by Ron Goodwin. Done so well that many people today believe it to be an ''actual'' German WorldWarTwo march.
to:
* MusicToInvadePolandTo: {{Invoked}} [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] intentionally with the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0 Luftwaffe-Marsch]], composed by Ron Goodwin. Done so well that many people today believe it to be an ''actual'' German WorldWarTwo march.
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* DogFightingFurballs: The 1969 film contains a number of large-scale dogfights, including a climatic one near the end.
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* PresentDayPast: One map shows London with its post-1967 boundaries, much bigger than it was during the war. Probably an oversight by the props department.
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* PresentDayPast: One map shows London with its post-1967 boundaries, much bigger than it was during {{Leitmotif}}: The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0 Luftwaffe]] and the war. Probably [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFEXitPn1ko RAF]] both get an oversight by the props department.awesome theme. The former is notoriously [[LargeHam hammy]] - see MusicToInvadePolandTo.
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* PresentDayPast: One map shows London with its post-1967 boundaries, much bigger than it was during the war. Probably an oversight by the props department.
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* JustPlaneWrong: There are a number of inaccuracies in that department, although they made quite an effort to avoid this as far as possible. One particularly notable instance is in sequences with groups of Hurricanes on approach Bf 109s stand in for more Hurricanes in the background, leading to the entertaining fact that they're basically heading into battle with enemies on their tail.
** There is another little fun bit of this, although very slight - The Spanish Bf 109s and He 111s used for the film were powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines. This when added to the use of Spitfires and Hurricanes made it that the vast majority of planes in the movie - on both sides - used the same engine.
** The Spanish HA-1112s and CASA 2.111s license-built versions of the Bf-109 and He-111 respectively are easily distinguishable from their German counterparts by the bulky air-intake under the engine.
* PresentDayPast: One map shows London with its post-1967 boundaries, much bigger than it was during the war. Probably an oversight by the props department.
** There is another little fun bit of this, although very slight - The Spanish Bf 109s and He 111s used for the film were powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines. This when added to the use of Spitfires and Hurricanes made it that the vast majority of planes in the movie - on both sides - used the same engine.
** The Spanish HA-1112s and CASA 2.111s license-built versions of the Bf-109 and He-111 respectively are easily distinguishable from their German counterparts by the bulky air-intake under the engine.
* PresentDayPast: One map shows London with its post-1967 boundaries, much bigger than it was during the war. Probably an oversight by the props department.
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-->''Don't you yell at me, MR Warrick!''
to:
-->''Don't you yell at me, MR Warrick!''Mr. Warrick!''
* JustPlaneWrong: There are a number of inaccuracies in that department, although they made quite an effort to avoid this as far as possible. One particularly notable instance is in sequences with groups of Hurricanes on approach Bf 109s stand in for more Hurricanes in the background, leading to the entertaining fact that they're basically heading into battle with enemies on their tail.
** There is another little fun bit of this, although very slight - The Spanish Bf 109s and He 111s used for the film were powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines. This when added to the use of Spitfires and Hurricanes made it that the vast majority of planes in the movie - on both sides - used the same engine.
** The Spanish HA-1112s and CASA 2.111s license-built versions of the Bf-109 and He-111 respectively are easily distinguishable from their German counterparts by the bulky air-intake under the engine.
* PresentDayPast: One map shows London with its post-1967 boundaries, much bigger than it was during the war. Probably an oversight by the props department.
* JustPlaneWrong: There are a number of inaccuracies in that department, although they made quite an effort to avoid this as far as possible. One particularly notable instance is in sequences with groups of Hurricanes on approach Bf 109s stand in for more Hurricanes in the background, leading to the entertaining fact that they're basically heading into battle with enemies on their tail.
** There is another little fun bit of this, although very slight - The Spanish Bf 109s and He 111s used for the film were powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines. This when added to the use of Spitfires and Hurricanes made it that the vast majority of planes in the movie - on both sides - used the same engine.
** The Spanish HA-1112s and CASA 2.111s license-built versions of the Bf-109 and He-111 respectively are easily distinguishable from their German counterparts by the bulky air-intake under the engine.
* PresentDayPast: One map shows London with its post-1967 boundaries, much bigger than it was during the war. Probably an oversight by the props department.
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* MusicToInvadePolandTo: [[Invoked]] intentionally with the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0 Luftwaffe-Marsch]], composed by Ron Goodwin. Done so well that many people today believe it to be an ''actual'' German WorldWarTwo march.
to:
* MusicToInvadePolandTo: [[Invoked]] {{Invoked}} intentionally with the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0 Luftwaffe-Marsch]], composed by Ron Goodwin. Done so well that many people today believe it to be an ''actual'' German WorldWarTwo march.
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* TranslationConvention: One of the first WorldWarTwo films to avert this. The British, French, Germans and even the Poles speak their own language. The latter is actually a plot point, as problems created by the language barrier between Polish volunteers and their RAF commanders were fully TruthInTelevision.
to:
* TranslationConvention: One of the first WorldWarTwo films to avert this. The British, French, Germans and even the Poles speak their own language. The latter is actually a plot point, PlotPoint, as problems created by the language barrier between Polish volunteers and their RAF commanders were fully TruthInTelevision.
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* MusicToInvadePolandTo: [[Invoked]] intentionally with the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVVoH9-QH0 Luftwaffe-Marsch]], composed by Ron Goodwin. Done so well that many people today believe it to be an ''actual'' German WorldWarTwo march.
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* ZippingUpTheBodybag: Combined with AMillionIsAStatistic and an aversion of MenAreTheExpendableGender. After an air raid on a RAF base, we see that they didn't even use bodybags, instead a whole group of female auxiliary personnel who were killed are lined up together and covered with a tarp until they can be [[DueTheDead dealt with appropriately.]]
to:
* ZippingUpTheBodybag: Combined with AMillionIsAStatistic and an aversion of MenAreTheExpendableGender. After an air raid on a RAF base, we see that they didn't even use bodybags, instead a whole group of female auxiliary personnel who were killed are lined up together and covered with a tarp until they can be [[DueTheDead [[DueToTheDead dealt with appropriately.]]
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* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: When one of the women under her command is [[InelegantBlubbering Blubbering Inelegantly]] after a bombing raid, Maggie Harvey snaps, 'Bates! Pull yourself together!'
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** When one of the women under her command is [[InelegantBlubbering Blubbering Inelegantly]] after a bombing raid, Maggie Harvey snaps, 'Bates! Pull yourself together!'
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-->'''Skipper''': ''As their airfield is under German air attack'' Well don't just ''stand'' there! Get one ''up!''
to:
-->'''Skipper''': ''As ''(As their airfield is under German air attack'' attack)'' Well don't just ''stand'' there! Get one ''up!''
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* FighterLaunchingSequence: Obviously. Air Vice Marshal Park frequently complains that the fighters don't take off quickly enough to stop the German bombers before they reach their targets.
-->'''Skipper''': ''As their airfield is under German air attack'' Well don't just ''stand'' there! Get one ''up!''
-->'''Skipper''': ''As their airfield is under German air attack'' Well don't just ''stand'' there! Get one ''up!''
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* TakeOffEveryZig: Obviously. Air Vice Marshal Park frequently complains that his Zigs don't take off quickly enough.
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* UnreliableNarrator: The BBC broadcasts heard throughout the film, occasionally giving a somewhat... [[BlatantLies softer]] reporting of the events that we have just seen.
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** As a point of trivia, the TropeNamer, the three Eagle Squadrons of American volunteers serving in the RAF, do not appear in this film. To be fair, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters there were more than enough pilots to keep track of already.]]
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* ZippingUpTheBodybag: Combined with AMillionIsAStatistic and an aversion of MenAreTheExpendableGender. After an air raid on a RAF base, we see that they didn't even use bodybags, instead a whole group of female auxiliary personnel who were killed are lined up together and covered with a tarp until they can be [[DueTheDead dealt with appropriately.]]
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-> ''What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. The [[TheNamesake Battle of Britain]] is about to begin.''
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1969 British movie, retelling the story of the [[TheHomeFront Battle of Britain]] in 1940.
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A 1969 British movie, retelling the story of the [[TheHomeFront Battle of Britain]] in 1940.
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[[quoteright:320:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battle_of_britain_320X240_51.jpg]]
-> ''What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. The [[TheNamesake Battle of Britain]] is about to begin.''
-->-- '''Prime Minister WinstonChurchill'''
1969 British movie, retelling the story of the [[TheHomeFront Battle of Britain]] in 1940.
[[ShownTheirWork Major attempt at accuracy]], sourcing a massive number of real planes (100) and cost a lot of money to make. Has some inaccuracies, using {{Composite Character}}s and over-emphasising the Spitfire's role due to lack of available Hurricanes. A number of names are fictionalised.
Has an AllStarCast.
----
!!Contains examples of:
* AbandonShip: Numerous men are shown bailing out of their crippled fighters and bombers through the film. Just as many are shown desperately ''trying'' to do so and failing, including one very long drawn out wide shot of a British fighter diving out of the sky trailing smoke, the pilot struggling to open his canopy, before we see the distant explosion as it hits the ground.
* AcePilot: To be expected in a film about aerial warfare; both sides have some of these. Colin Harvey and "Skipper" fit the stereotype best (in terms of looks and manner), but any named character with pilot's wings who isn't dead by the end of the film is at least an honourary example.
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: 'Leave the flaming fighters! It's the bloody bombers we want!'
* TheBBC: The BBC's radio service provides news updates throughout the film, often serving as MrExposition, as well as being an UnreliableNarrator.
* BlatantLies: A radio announcement stating that 'several RAF Aerodromes were also attacked, and some casualties were sustained, but they were light'... playing over a shot of the ''smouldering ruins'' of one of said aerodromes.
* CoolPlane: Quite a few, actually, both British and German.
* CompositeCharacter
* TheClimax: The massive aerial fight at the end.
* DogFightingFurballs: The 1969 film contains a number of large-scale dogfights, including a climatic one near the end.
* EagleSquadron: Most notably, the Polish, Czech and Canadian pilots fighting for the Royal Air Force, but the credits include a list of different nations whose pilots fought for Britain during the titular battle.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Robert Shaw's character is known to the audience only as "Skipper" (his men's nickname for him) and "Rabbit Leader" (his callsign).
* FatBastard: Göring becomes this as the film progresses - he grows Fat ([[ShownTheirWork which actually happened in]] RealLife), and becomes more and more of a Bastard towards his own subordinates as the battle's tables turn.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Harvey meets an RAF officer who had [[BodyHorror been burned badly]] and is visibly put off by it. [[spoiler: Her husband ends up caught in a burning Spitfire in the next battle sequence. He escapes, but is badly burned.]]
* JustPlaneWrong: There are a number of inaccuracies in that department, although they made quite an effort to avoid this as far as possible. One particularly notable instance is in sequences with groups of Hurricanes on approach Bf 109s stand in for more Hurricanes in the background, leading to the entertaining fact that they're basically heading into battle with enemies on their tail.
** There is another little fun bit of this, although very slight - The Spanish Bf 109s and He 111s used for the film were powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines. This when added to the use of Spitfires and Hurricanes made it that the vast majority of planes in the movie - on both sides - used the same engine.
** The Spanish HA-1112s and CASA 2.111s license-built versions of the Bf-109 and He-111 respectively are easily distinguishable from their German counterparts by the bulky air-intake under the engine.
* PresentDayPast: One map shows London with its post-1967 boundaries, much bigger than it was during the war. Probably an oversight by the props department.
* HistoryMarchesOn: The film was made a few years before it was revealed that British intelligence had broken the Enigma code; hence there was no mention of the crucial role that Ultra decrypts played in turning back the German air offensive.
* HomeGuard: Of the TorchesAndPitchforks variety, showing how desparate Britain's situation is during this campaign.
* HypocriticalHumor: Group Captain Baker is in the middle of lecturing Maggie Harvey about how the practice of male and female personnel sharing the same trenches during air raid drills has ''got'' to stop. He is interrupted by the onset of a German raid on their base, and he and Maggie both dive into the nearest trench.
* HystericalWoman: A female auxiliary is reduced to InelegantBlubbering after her base is the target of Luftwaffe Air Raid, earning her a QuitYourWhining from Maggie Harvey.
** Maggie Harvey herself has a bit of this after a raid herself. She shakily [[MustHaveNicotine pulls out a cigarette]] and is shouted at by a male officer because she could easily ignite a fuel leak with a lit cigarette. In response, she briefly loses her StiffUpperLip.
-->''Don't you yell at me, MR Warrick!''
* MenAreTheExpendableGender: Averted. Bombers do not distinguish between gender, and a number of WRAF ground personnel are killed in raids on British bases. Not to mention the civilians, including women and children, when London is bombed.
* MoodWhiplash: Two German pilots are visiting Berlin to give a report, and we see the German civilians going on with their lives, enjoying a pleasant night in Berlin as a peaceful rendition of the Luftwaffe-Marsch... [[OhCrap Then all of the lights cut out across the city, and air raid sirens begin wailing...]]
** There's also a cruel one where Sergeant-Pilot Andy is joking with a young boy when he sees [[spoiler: that the church hall has taken a direct hit, killing all inside, including his wife and sons.]]
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Averted. The one time [[AdolfHitler Hitler's]] voice is heard in the film, he speaks with a heavy Southern accent - the real Hitler came from Austria. That's right: [[ShownTheirWork they actually made an effort]] to portray someone who speaks ''a different language from the film's creators and expected audience'' with the correct accent.
** Seemingly played straight by Colin Harvey, who doesn't sound British at all... but [[GeniusBonus if you look at his uniform carefully]], it is revealed that he's actually Canadian. This is never brought up in dialogue.
** Canadian Christopher Plummer insisted on having the "Canada" flash on his uniform.
* RuleSixtyThree: Believe it or not, exists. Can be found [[http://danbooru.donmai.us/pool/show/3987 here.]]
* SittingDuck: Throughout the early part of the movie, many British planes fail to get off the ground before being shot up by the Luftwaffe.
** Indeed, an early scene has an airfield in France in the midst of being abandoned. The planes that aren't able to fly out on their own are doused in gasoline so the Brits can destroy them and keep them out of German hands. The Germans just happen to show up on cue to shoot up the now highly-flammable planes.
* StiffUpperLip: The British (obviously).
** When one of the women under her command is [[InelegantBlubbering Blubbering Inelegantly]] after a bombing raid, Maggie Harvey snaps, 'Bates! Pull yourself together!'
* StuffBlowingUp: Both sides' aeroplanes tend to explode spectacularly when hit.
* TakeOffEveryZig: Obviously. Air Vice Marshal Park frequently complains that his Zigs don't take off quickly enough.
* TemptingFate "You know what our friend Goering said: "If ever a bomb falls on Berlin, you may call me 'Meier.'"
** IronicEcho: [[DeadpanSnarker "You may call me 'Meier.'"]]
* TitleDrop: The BBC radio announcer quoting WinstonChurchill, saying "What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over; the Battle of Britain is about to begin". Cue the CrowningMusicOfAwesome.
* TranslationConvention: One of the first WorldWarTwo films to avert this. The British, French, Germans and even the Poles speak their own language. The latter is actually a plot point, as problems created by the language barrier between Polish volunteers and their RAF commanders were fully TruthInTelevision.
** It also comes up when a Polish pilot is shot down, bails out and lands in a field - where the farmers mistake him for a German pilot because of his accent.
* WarIsHell: German and British pilots alike meet very unpleasant ends. One of the main characters is last seen trying ot bail out of a plane whlie his cockpit is engulfed in flames. [[GoryDiscretionShot We are told later that he bailed out and survived]], but suffered [[BodyHorror severe burns over most of his body]]. The aftermath of one air raid includes a row of dead Women's Auxiliary Air Force personnel covered by a tarp. Another scene shows that a church hall full of civilians (including the family of one of the main characters) shown in a previous scene has suffered a direct hit.
* WorldWarTwo
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-> ''What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. The [[TheNamesake Battle of Britain]] is about to begin.''
-->-- '''Prime Minister WinstonChurchill'''
1969 British movie, retelling the story of the [[TheHomeFront Battle of Britain]] in 1940.
[[ShownTheirWork Major attempt at accuracy]], sourcing a massive number of real planes (100) and cost a lot of money to make. Has some inaccuracies, using {{Composite Character}}s and over-emphasising the Spitfire's role due to lack of available Hurricanes. A number of names are fictionalised.
Has an AllStarCast.
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!!Contains examples of:
* AbandonShip: Numerous men are shown bailing out of their crippled fighters and bombers through the film. Just as many are shown desperately ''trying'' to do so and failing, including one very long drawn out wide shot of a British fighter diving out of the sky trailing smoke, the pilot struggling to open his canopy, before we see the distant explosion as it hits the ground.
* AcePilot: To be expected in a film about aerial warfare; both sides have some of these. Colin Harvey and "Skipper" fit the stereotype best (in terms of looks and manner), but any named character with pilot's wings who isn't dead by the end of the film is at least an honourary example.
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: 'Leave the flaming fighters! It's the bloody bombers we want!'
* TheBBC: The BBC's radio service provides news updates throughout the film, often serving as MrExposition, as well as being an UnreliableNarrator.
* BlatantLies: A radio announcement stating that 'several RAF Aerodromes were also attacked, and some casualties were sustained, but they were light'... playing over a shot of the ''smouldering ruins'' of one of said aerodromes.
* CoolPlane: Quite a few, actually, both British and German.
* CompositeCharacter
* TheClimax: The massive aerial fight at the end.
* DogFightingFurballs: The 1969 film contains a number of large-scale dogfights, including a climatic one near the end.
* EagleSquadron: Most notably, the Polish, Czech and Canadian pilots fighting for the Royal Air Force, but the credits include a list of different nations whose pilots fought for Britain during the titular battle.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Robert Shaw's character is known to the audience only as "Skipper" (his men's nickname for him) and "Rabbit Leader" (his callsign).
* FatBastard: Göring becomes this as the film progresses - he grows Fat ([[ShownTheirWork which actually happened in]] RealLife), and becomes more and more of a Bastard towards his own subordinates as the battle's tables turn.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Harvey meets an RAF officer who had [[BodyHorror been burned badly]] and is visibly put off by it. [[spoiler: Her husband ends up caught in a burning Spitfire in the next battle sequence. He escapes, but is badly burned.]]
* JustPlaneWrong: There are a number of inaccuracies in that department, although they made quite an effort to avoid this as far as possible. One particularly notable instance is in sequences with groups of Hurricanes on approach Bf 109s stand in for more Hurricanes in the background, leading to the entertaining fact that they're basically heading into battle with enemies on their tail.
** There is another little fun bit of this, although very slight - The Spanish Bf 109s and He 111s used for the film were powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines. This when added to the use of Spitfires and Hurricanes made it that the vast majority of planes in the movie - on both sides - used the same engine.
** The Spanish HA-1112s and CASA 2.111s license-built versions of the Bf-109 and He-111 respectively are easily distinguishable from their German counterparts by the bulky air-intake under the engine.
* PresentDayPast: One map shows London with its post-1967 boundaries, much bigger than it was during the war. Probably an oversight by the props department.
* HistoryMarchesOn: The film was made a few years before it was revealed that British intelligence had broken the Enigma code; hence there was no mention of the crucial role that Ultra decrypts played in turning back the German air offensive.
* HomeGuard: Of the TorchesAndPitchforks variety, showing how desparate Britain's situation is during this campaign.
* HypocriticalHumor: Group Captain Baker is in the middle of lecturing Maggie Harvey about how the practice of male and female personnel sharing the same trenches during air raid drills has ''got'' to stop. He is interrupted by the onset of a German raid on their base, and he and Maggie both dive into the nearest trench.
* HystericalWoman: A female auxiliary is reduced to InelegantBlubbering after her base is the target of Luftwaffe Air Raid, earning her a QuitYourWhining from Maggie Harvey.
** Maggie Harvey herself has a bit of this after a raid herself. She shakily [[MustHaveNicotine pulls out a cigarette]] and is shouted at by a male officer because she could easily ignite a fuel leak with a lit cigarette. In response, she briefly loses her StiffUpperLip.
-->''Don't you yell at me, MR Warrick!''
* MenAreTheExpendableGender: Averted. Bombers do not distinguish between gender, and a number of WRAF ground personnel are killed in raids on British bases. Not to mention the civilians, including women and children, when London is bombed.
* MoodWhiplash: Two German pilots are visiting Berlin to give a report, and we see the German civilians going on with their lives, enjoying a pleasant night in Berlin as a peaceful rendition of the Luftwaffe-Marsch... [[OhCrap Then all of the lights cut out across the city, and air raid sirens begin wailing...]]
** There's also a cruel one where Sergeant-Pilot Andy is joking with a young boy when he sees [[spoiler: that the church hall has taken a direct hit, killing all inside, including his wife and sons.]]
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Averted. The one time [[AdolfHitler Hitler's]] voice is heard in the film, he speaks with a heavy Southern accent - the real Hitler came from Austria. That's right: [[ShownTheirWork they actually made an effort]] to portray someone who speaks ''a different language from the film's creators and expected audience'' with the correct accent.
** Seemingly played straight by Colin Harvey, who doesn't sound British at all... but [[GeniusBonus if you look at his uniform carefully]], it is revealed that he's actually Canadian. This is never brought up in dialogue.
** Canadian Christopher Plummer insisted on having the "Canada" flash on his uniform.
* RuleSixtyThree: Believe it or not, exists. Can be found [[http://danbooru.donmai.us/pool/show/3987 here.]]
* SittingDuck: Throughout the early part of the movie, many British planes fail to get off the ground before being shot up by the Luftwaffe.
** Indeed, an early scene has an airfield in France in the midst of being abandoned. The planes that aren't able to fly out on their own are doused in gasoline so the Brits can destroy them and keep them out of German hands. The Germans just happen to show up on cue to shoot up the now highly-flammable planes.
* StiffUpperLip: The British (obviously).
** When one of the women under her command is [[InelegantBlubbering Blubbering Inelegantly]] after a bombing raid, Maggie Harvey snaps, 'Bates! Pull yourself together!'
* StuffBlowingUp: Both sides' aeroplanes tend to explode spectacularly when hit.
* TakeOffEveryZig: Obviously. Air Vice Marshal Park frequently complains that his Zigs don't take off quickly enough.
* TemptingFate "You know what our friend Goering said: "If ever a bomb falls on Berlin, you may call me 'Meier.'"
** IronicEcho: [[DeadpanSnarker "You may call me 'Meier.'"]]
* TitleDrop: The BBC radio announcer quoting WinstonChurchill, saying "What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over; the Battle of Britain is about to begin". Cue the CrowningMusicOfAwesome.
* TranslationConvention: One of the first WorldWarTwo films to avert this. The British, French, Germans and even the Poles speak their own language. The latter is actually a plot point, as problems created by the language barrier between Polish volunteers and their RAF commanders were fully TruthInTelevision.
** It also comes up when a Polish pilot is shot down, bails out and lands in a field - where the farmers mistake him for a German pilot because of his accent.
* WarIsHell: German and British pilots alike meet very unpleasant ends. One of the main characters is last seen trying ot bail out of a plane whlie his cockpit is engulfed in flames. [[GoryDiscretionShot We are told later that he bailed out and survived]], but suffered [[BodyHorror severe burns over most of his body]]. The aftermath of one air raid includes a row of dead Women's Auxiliary Air Force personnel covered by a tarp. Another scene shows that a church hall full of civilians (including the family of one of the main characters) shown in a previous scene has suffered a direct hit.
* WorldWarTwo
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