Much of the sequence was achieved with real aircraft, and as such, is woven with stories of real crashes and injuries. But therein lies the need for model work, which was accomplished with more control and less danger to life, albeit at the price of visual authenticity.

Models were built by special effects coordinator John Stears and his team to capture each of the four enemy aircraft either exploding in mid-flight or crashing to the ground. One of the model Bell helicopters is “flambéed” by Little Nellie’s flame throwers and explodes mid-air, another crashes in flames having been “mined” from above. The third is taken out by Bond’s rockets. The final helicopter explodes after being hit by 007’s air-to-air missiles. This model was likely a spare in case the filming of an explosion went wrong.