Cohen, a Machal pilot from South Africa, was shot down by anti-aircraft fire, becoming the first casualty of the fledgling IAF.
Although the character played by Indra Bania was named "Machang Lalung" in the film, his real name was Machal.
A former Royal Air Force pilot and gentile named Gordon Levett, who served in World War II, volunteered for the Israel Machal (the overseas volunteer unit) early in 1948 along with a few Jewish pilots from Britain.