This film is used by the US Navy as an example of leadership styles in its Leadership and Management Training School. The Air Force's College for Enlisted Professional Military Education also uses it as an education aid in its NCO academies and Officer Training School. It is also used as a teaching tool for leadership at the Army Command and General Staff College and for leadership training in civilian seminars. It is used at the Harvard Business School as a case study in how to effect change in organizations.
This film is frequently cited by surviving bomber crew members as the only accurate depiction from Hollywood of their life during the war.
The B-17 bomber crash landing at the airstrip near the beginning of the movie was not a special effect. Stunt pilot Paul Mantz was paid $4,500 to crash-land the bomber (that would amount to $53,600 in 2022). Mantz, of course, walked away from the wreck. Until the 1970s, that was the largest amount paid to a stuntman for a single stunt.
The B-17 used in the movie and television series is being restored at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, CA.
Originally planned to be shot in color, the decision was made to shoot in black and white instead to accommodate the use of stock footage.