Editing Twelve O'Clock High (section)

==Historical counterparts of characters==
The character Brigadier General Frank Savage was a composite of several group commanders, but the primary inspiration was [[Frank A. Armstrong|Colonel Frank A. Armstrong]], who commanded the [[306th Flying Training Group|306th Bomb Group]] on which the 918th was modeled.<ref name=Osprey>Bowman, Martin. [http://www.ospreypublishing.com/articles/world_war_2/12_oclock_high/ '12 O'Clock High.'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715020647/http://www.ospreypublishing.com/articles/world_war_2/12_oclock_high/|date=15 July 2011}} ''Osprey Publishing,'' 1999.</ref> The name "Savage" was inspired by Armstrong's [[Cherokee]] heritage.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}} While his work with the 306th, which lasted only six weeks, consisted primarily of rebuilding the chain of command within the group, Armstrong had earlier performed a similar task with the [[97th Air Mobility Wing#World War II|97th Bomb Group]]. 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 [[Combat stress reaction|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. The symptoms of the breakdown were not based on any real-life event, but instead were intended to portray the effects of intense stress experienced by many airmen.<ref name=Osprey/>

Major General Pritchard was modeled on the VIII Bomber Command's first commander, [[Ira C. Eaker|Major General Ira C. Eaker]].<ref name=AFMag/>

Colonel Keith Davenport was based on the first commander of the 306th Bomb Group, Colonel Charles B. Overacker, nicknamed "Chip".<ref name=AFMag/> 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.

Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Harvey Stovall, who is a former [[World War I]] [[U.S. Army Air Service]] pilot who has returned to active duty as a nonflying adjutant, was modeled on [[William Howard Stovall]], a World War I [[flying ace]] who returned to active duty as a major in the USAAF the week following Pearl Harbor, and served as the nonflying deputy chief of staff for personnel for the 8th Air Force in England for his World War I comrades, Brigadier General [[Frank O'Driscoll Hunter]] and General [[Carl Spaatz]].

Second 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]].<ref name=AFMag/> The description of Bishop's fight to control the bomber after his pilot was hit in the head by fragments of a 20&nbsp;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''. Patten had been a USAAF navigator in World War II, the only member of the cast with aircrew experience.

Sergeant McIllhenny was drawn from a member of the 306th Bomb Group, Sgt [[Donald Bevan]],<ref name=AFMag>Correll, John T. [http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2011/January%202011/0111high.aspx 'The Real Twelve O’Clock High.'] ''The Air Force Association'' via ''airforcemag.com,'' Volume 94, Issue 1, January 2011.</ref> 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), 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 was inspired by Colonel [[Paul Tibbets]], who had flown B-17s with Colonel Armstrong.<ref name=AFMag/>{{#tag:ref|Tibbetts was also the pilot of the B-29 ''[[Enola Gay]]'', which dropped the [[atomic bomb]] on [[Hiroshima]] at the end of the war.|group=Note}} Tibbets was initially approved as the film's technical advisor in February 1949, but was replaced shortly after by Colonel John H. de Russy, a former operations officer for the [[305th Operations Group|305th Bomb Group]].<ref>Duffin, Allan T. and Paul Matheis. The 12 O'Clock High Logbook. Albany, Georgia: Bearmanor Media, 2005. ISBN 1-59393-033-X., p. 61.</ref>