Hanover Street
Movie (1979)
Italian title : Una strada, un amore
French title : Guerre et Passion
German title : Das tödliche Dreieck
Starring:
Harrison Ford (Lieutenant David Halloran)
Lesley-Anne Down (Margaret Sellinger)
Christopher Plummer (Paul Sellinger)
Alec McCowen (Major Trumbo Marty Lynch)
1943 : romance between Halloran (a USAAF pilot) and Margaret (a WAAF -Women's Auxiliary Air Force- British nurse) who is already married and mother of a young girl. Things get complicated when Halloran has to go on a mission with Margaret's husband.
North American B-25 Mitchell
Type never used by USAAF from British airbases. But flying Martin B-26 Marauders were even rarer...
The five B-25s used by the production:
Brenda's Boys (nose art based on the February 1944 issue of Esquire).
Built as North American B-25J s/n 44-29121 but seen here as 41-51424. After her military duty, was sent at Davis-Monthan AFB until 1959 when she was bought and registered as N86427. Now in a Spanish Museum. Same aircraft in other movies at Frequently Seen Aircraft (Military Fixed-Wing).
Georgeous George-Ann nose art is based on Patriotic Gal a popular Alberto Vargas' painting issued in Esquire magazine (April 1944). Several USAAF aircraft were adorn with this pinup with a different title (Sleepy Time Gal or Sack time ... but no B-25!).
North American B-25J s/n 44-30925 was sent to Davis-Monthan AFB (1958-1960). On the civil registry as N9494Z, she acted in 1968 as Laden Maiden s/n 43-0925 (code 6I in Catch-22). Seen here with the fictitious s/n 151632. Later without use but parked at different UK airports until 1994. Then, in a poor state due to several ferries made by road and lack of care during disassembly/reassembly, bought by World Wide Aircraft Ldt and registered as G-BWGR for three years before Imperial Aviation Group tried to restore her. Due to a required excessive workload, the project was discontinued and the airframe is sold again in 2004 to the Brussel Air Museum Foundation. Currently undergoing a long, slow restoration, but guaranteed to be displayed in the great hall of the Brussels museum, Belgium.
Take off :
In flight.
Basic flight formation for USAAF bombers was a box of six aircrafts. Only five could be rented by the production and they are seen in a flight formation as like as one was missing.
Amazing Andrea, reg. N7681C TB-25N is seen only in the background (nose art : "Flying Lady" by Varga for Esquire, December 1943 centerfold). Few is known about her, before and after the filming. Was built as B-25J-30NC s/n 44-86701 and seen as Annzas s/n 43-0925 (code 6J in Catch-22). She rose up again at the end of the 1980s in France, at Dinard, sized by the French customs. Without action/identification of the legal owner, Paris (Le Bourget) Air and Space Museum asserted his right of pre-emption.
Alas ! On May 1990, the aircraft was a total loss in a hangar fire.
The other two are seen behind Amazing Andrea :
- Marvelous Myriam built as B-25 J-20NC s/n 44-29366. Became N9115Z in 1958 and now on display at RAF Museum, Hendon (UK) with just a fictitious serial (34037). The nose art used for the movie is a Varga's prototype dated of January 1941. Was Abominable Snowman coded 6M in Catch-22;
- Big Bad Bonnie (hidden by the spotlight) North American B-25J s/n 44-30210 ended her military life as a TB-25N at Davis-Monthan AFB. Exited as N9455Z and modified into a water bomber (used as such, circa 1960-1975). Seems to be the only movie footage of her, being put on display in several museum and eventually stripped of armament and turret, left in natural metal and sold to an oil company in 2014. Ultimate fate ?
The Varga's pinup seems untitled from a 1942 postcard set; - the farest is Brenda's Boys.
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See also
- Hanover Street at IMDb
- Hanover Street at Wikipedia
- [(coming soon) Hanover Street at IMCDb]