BRIEF BACKGROUND OF THE MOVIE 12 "O" CLOCK HIGH The term "twelve o'clock high" refers to the practice

of calling out the positions of attacking enemy aircraft by reference to an imaginary clock face, with the bomber at the center. The terms, "high" (above the bomber), "level" (at the same altitude as the bomber) and "low" (below the bomber) further refines the location of the enemy. Thus "twelve o'clock high" meant the attacker was approaching from directly ahead and above. This location was preferred by German fighter pilots, as until the introduction of the Bendix chin turret in the B-17G model, the nose of the B-17 was the most lightly armed and vulnerable part of the bomber. Enemy fighter aircraft diving from above were also more difficult targets for the B-17 gunners due to their high closing speed. Bartletts wife, actress Ellen Drew, named the story after hearing Bartlett and Lay discuss German fighter tactics, which usually involved head-on attacks from "twelve oclock high". The movie is a black and white motion picture, produced by 20th Century Fox after World War II, which tells the story of friendship and leadership. It depicts the story of two good friends with different personalities and leadership styles who had their own chances of leading the same unit, the 918th Bomb Group of the 8th US Air Force which was stationed at Archbury, England. The movie as it progress, reveals one mans struggle to change the attitude of the organization that was once known as the Hard Luck Group. In 1949, American attorney and former U.S. Army Air Forces officer Harvey Stovall is vacationing in Great Britain when he spies a familiar Toby Jug in an English antique shop.[N 1] He buys it and bicycles out to an abandoned airfield, the former USAAF station, RAF Archbury, where he served with the 918th Bomb Group during World War II. The scene then flashes back to RAF Archbury, c. 1942. Colonel Keith Davenport is the commander of the 918th Heavy Bombardment Group, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress unit based at (the fictional) RAF Archbury. Having recently arrived and being thrown into action, the 918th has suffered heavy losses, gaining the reputation as a "hard luck group" suffering from poor morale. One reason is the US strategy of daylight precision bombing and the corresponding high loss rate to enemy antiaircraft fire and enemy fighters it causes American bombers, the latter being aggravated by the fact

that there are not yet any US or Allied fighters with sufficient range to escort the bombers to and from their targets. Davenport has become too close to his men and is troubled by his losses. When he is ordered to fly one mission at low altitude to increase accuracy, Davenport rushes to headquarters and confronts his friend, Brigadier General Frank Savage, the A-3 (Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations) of VIII Bomber Command. His visit prompts Major General Patrick Pritchard, commanding general of VIII Bomber Command, Eighth Air Force, to visit the 918th. After interviewing Davenport and others, Pritchard recognizes that Davenport is the problem. He relieves Davenport of command and reassigns him. The 918th is given to Savage. Savage finds his new command in disarray and begins to address the discipline problems, dealing with everyone so harshly that the men begin to detest him. Savage is particularly hard on Lieutenant Colonel Ben Gately, the Group Air Executive Officer, placing him under arrest for being Absent Without Leave during the command change. Major Joe Cobb, one of Savage's squadron commanders, takes Gately's place as Air Exec. Gately, a graduate of West Point, grandson of a general officer and son of General Tom Gately, is assigned as the commander of a bomber named the "Leper Colony", to which Savage assigns those he considers substandard. Upset by Savage's stern leadership, all of the 918th's pilots apply for transfers. Savage asks the Group Adjutant, Major Stovall, to delay processing their applications to buy some time. Stovall knows how to use "red tape", telling Savage he is a veteran of World War I and in civilian life, an attorney. Stovall goes along, giving Savage more than a week. The 918th, after hasty refresher training, resumes combat flying. The 918th's increased skill and discipline become obvious to the enemy, who attack other groups and leave the 918th alone. The men begin to change their minds about Savage after he leads them on a mission in which the 918th is the only group to bomb the target and all of the aircraft return safely. The word gets around that Pritchard personally chewed Savage out for his claim of "radio malfunction" as an excuse to ignore the recall order. When the pilots continue to ask about their transfer applications, Savage tries to enlist a young pilot, Medal of Honor-nominee Lieutenant Jesse Bishop to
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help him change their attitudes. Bishop eventually comes to believe in the general, and when the Inspector General arrives to check out the unrest, Bishop convinces the others to withdraw their requests. Later, Savage learns that Gately has been hospitalized, having flown three missions with a chipped vertebra that caused him acute pain. This brings about a "rapprochement" between him and Savage. As the air war advances deeper into Germany, missions become longer and riskier, with enemy resistance intensifying. Many of Savage's best men, including Bishop, are shot down or killed. Pritchard tries to get Savage to return to a staff job at VIII Bomber Command. Savage refuses because he feels that the 918th is not quite ready to do without him yet. Reluctantly, Pritchard leaves Savage in command. The first of these missions, aimed at destroying Germany's ball bearing industry, has the Luftwaffe throwing everything available at the bomber force. Although the target is hit, the 918th takes a beating, losing six of 21 B-17s. Savage is shaken when he witnesses Cobb's bomber being blown up by a direct flak hit. Savage concludes that a second strike on the same target is necessary. With the death of Cobb, Savage reinstates Gately as Air Exec. The next day, Savage becomes disoriented and erratic and is unable to haul himself up into his B-17. Gately takes over. Savage becomes nearly catatonic. Only when the bombers return after destroying the target, does he regain his composure. He says a few words, and falls asleep. The story then returns to 1949 and Stovall. Stovall returns to his bicycle and pedals away with the Toby Jug.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_O'Clock_High