Twelve O'Clock High - Historical Counterparts of Characters

Historical Counterparts of Characters

Brigadier General Frank Savage (played by Gregory Peck) was created as a composite of several group commanders but the primary inspiration was Col. Frank A. Armstrong, who commanded the 306th Bomb Group on which the 918th was modeled. The name "Savage" was inspired by Armstrong's Cherokee heritage. In addition to his work with the 306th, which lasted only six weeks and consisted primarily of rebuilding the chain of command within the group, Armstrong had earlier performed a similar task with the 97th Bomb Group, and many of the training and disciplinary scenes in Twelve O'Clock High derive from that experience. Towards the end of the film, the near-catatonic battle fatigue that General Savage suffered and the harrowing missions that led up to it, were inspired by the experiences of Brigadier General Newton Longfellow, although the symptoms of the breakdown were not based on any real-life event, but were intended to portray the effects of intense stress experienced by many airmen.

Major General Pritchard (played by Millard Mitchell) was modeled on that of the VIII Bomber Command's first commander, Maj. Gen. Ira C. Eaker.

Colonel Keith Davenport (played by Gary Merrill) was based on the first commander of the 306th Bomb Group, Colonel Charles B. Overacker, nicknamed "Chip." Of all the personalities portrayed in Twelve O'Clock High, that of Colonel Davenport most closely parallels his true-life counterpart. The early scene in which Davenport confronts Savage about a mission order was a close recreation of an actual event, as was his relief.

2nd Lieutenant Jesse Bishop (played by Robert Patten) who belly lands in the B-17 next to the runway at the beginning of the film and was nominated for the Medal of Honor, had his true life counterpart in Second Lieutenant John C. Morgan. The description of Bishop's fight to control the bomber after his pilot was hit in the head by fragments of a 20 mm cannon shell is taken almost verbatim from Morgan's Medal of Honor citation. Details may be found in The 12 O'Clock High Logbook. Robert Patten had been an USAAF Navigator in World War II, the only member of the cast with aircrew experience.

Sergeant McIllhenny (played by Robert Arthur) was drawn from a member of the 306th Bomb Group, Sgt Donald Bevan, a qualified gunner who was assigned ground jobs including part-time driver for the commander of his squadron. Bevan had received publicity as a "stowaway gunner" (similar to McIllhenny in the film), even though in reality he had been invited to fly missions. Like McIllhenny, he proved to be a "born gunner."

The “tough guy" character Major Joe Cobb (played by John Kellogg) was inspired by Colonel Paul Tibbets who had flown B-17s with Colonel Armstrong. Tibbetts was initially approved as the film’s technical advisor but the job was eventually given to Colonel John Derussy.