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 after one of their engines was damaged during a nighttime raid on Stuttgart. A reversal of the plot of Powell and Pressburger's previous film, 49th Parallel (1941), it is the British trying to escape with the help of various local people. In the 49th Parallel, the Germans stranded in Canada argued and fought amongst themselves, while the British fliers in this film work well together as a team.
Five of the six airmen find each other; the sixth goes missing. The first Dutch citizens they encounter, led by English-speaking schoolteacher Else Meertens (Pamela Brown), are suspicious at first as no aeroplane is reported to have crashed in the Netherlands (the bomber actually reaches England before hitting a tower). After much debate and some questioning, the Dutch agree to help, despite their fear of German reprisals.
Five of the six airmen find each other; the sixth goes missing. The first Dutch citizens they encounter, led by English-speaking schoolteacher Else Meertens (Pamela Brown), are suspicious at first as no aeroplane is reported to have crashed in the Netherlands (the bomber actually reaches England before hitting a tower). After much debate and some questioning, the Dutch agree to help, despite their fear of German reprisals.
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