1944; the Nazis are sending V-2's ( flying bombs ) to London. These have an unnerving tendency to fall silent just before they hit, meaning that no-one in the capital can be sure exactly where they will next strike. This is an impressive opening indeed, and would have been even more so had it not been lifted wholesale from the middle section of 'Operation Crossbow', made by M.G.M. four years before.

Those gallant lads of the R.A.F. 'Mosquito Squadron' swing into action. Headed by the wonderfully-named Squadron Leader Quint Monroe ( David McCallum ) they bomb the launching pads. But a surprise Messerschmitt attack results in Monroe losing his best friend 'Scotty' ( David Buck ).

The Squadron Leader is given the duty of imparting the bad news to Scotty's widow Beth ( Suzanne Neve ). Not only is she beautiful but apparently telepathic - as soon as Quint approaches she bursts into tears and runs from the room, and he has not said a word! She recovers and then both are are going for long drives in the country in his sporty red M.G.

Though the V-2 launching pads are now gone, the crisis is not yet over as the Nazis are busy developing V-3 and V-4 rockets, using Chavron Château in France as a headquarters, and the Mosquitoes are given the job of bombing the place. Obviously those fellers at The War Office are huge 'Star Wars' fans because their favoured method involves dropping a bouncing bomb ( based on an idea by Barnes Wallis ) down a narrow tunnel.

With only nine days to go, Monroe and co. begin training. They are not very good though ( The Force is never around when you need it ). Just as they get the hang of things, disaster strikes. German planes attack an airfield, dropping a box that turns out to contain a roll of film ( someone says 'its a roll of film!' which is helpful to those of us who have no idea what a roll of film looks like ). On it is footage of British P.O.W.'s, some from the Squadron itself. The Nazis have placed the men in close proximity to Chavron, hoping to use them as human shields. Particularly worrying for Monroe is the fact that Scotty is among them...

'Mosquito Squadron' was originally conceived as a sequel to the popular '633 Squadron' ( 1964 ) starring Cliff Robertson. Presumably this was changed out of reluctance on the part of Oakmont Productions to pay Frederick E.Smith royalties. Like that movie, it has a paper-thin plot, one-dimensional characters, repetitive battle scenes, and good music. Some of the shots in the film ( those not from 'Operation Crossbow' ) came from that earlier picture.

McCallum was a hot property then thanks to 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.', but somehow his popularity never translated into bums on cinema seats. The director, the late Boris Sagal, directed several 'U.N.C.L.E.' episodes.

Not being an expert on W.W.2, I cannot say with absolute certainty that this is embarrassingly inaccurate, but we do not see David McCallum sending text messages to The War Office, and that's enough for me.

What it has going for it are a refreshing lack of forced jingoism, and the absence of an American star in the lead. I note that some of the sniffy reviews to be found here are by Americans. I presume they are unused to watching a war movie in which one of their countrymen does not save the day.

You can summarise the plot thus; Blighty is in peril, only the Mosquitoes can save us, and, after a long struggle, they do. That's about it. Characterisation is virtually non-existent, and the Nazis are treated basically as machine gun fodder. But it affords the same pleasure as an old 'Hotspur' Annual.

Some great British actors decorate this epic - Charles Gray, Robert Urquhart, Dinsdale Landen, McCallum himself, Nicky Henson, and there's a fleeting glimpse of future 'Doctor In The House' star George Layton!

If all you want from a war movie is entertainment, and aren't too bothered by whether it sticks to the facts, give this one a whirl. I would sooner watch it than sit through all three bum-numbing hours of 'Saving Private Spielberg' ( or whatever its called ) again.