one of our aircraft is missing

One of Our Aircraft is Missing (1942) is the fourth collaboration between the British writer-director-producer team of Powell and Pressburger and the first film they made under the banner of The Archers.

Although considered a wartime propaganda film, and made under the authority of the Ministry of Information as part of a series of film productions specifically aimed at morale in the United Kingdom, the story and production values elevated it from the usual jingoistic fare.

Today, One of Our Aircraft is Missing is considered one of the "best of British films of the era."

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing begins dramatically with the crash of "B for Bertie", an unmanned RAF Vickers Wellington bomber. Its crew was forced to bail out over the Netherlands near the Zuider Zee. The film tells the story of how the Dutch help the crew despite the dangers.

The Dutch citizens they encounter, although fearful of German retaliation, agree to help the downed airmen, who are passed to the Dutch resistance. They subsequently find a way through the German lines and reach the North Sea and ultimate rescue. Five of the Dutch resistance are summarily executed for the assistance that they gave to the British air crew.

The title "One of Our Aircraft Is Missing" is taken from a phrase that was often heard in contemporary news reports in the U.K. after a bombing raid, "one [or often more] of our aircraft failed to return", which originally served as the working title of the screenplay but was then altered to a less-downbeat form.