Its original premise was based on the experiences of United States Marine Corps aviator Greg Boyington and his World War II "Black Sheep Squadron".

The opening credits read: "In World War II, Marine Corps Major Greg 'Pappy' Boyington commanded a squadron of fighter pilots.

The series premise was very loosely based on a portion of the real-life military career of Gregory Boyington, known as "Pappy" due to his "advanced" age compared to the younger pilots under his command.

The combat missions took place around the Japanese military base in Rabaul during Boyington's September 1943 to January 1944 tour of duty.

In the pilot episode, Boyington has six kills from his combat tour in China before World War II with the Flying Tigers.

Under Boyington's command, VMF-214 flew out of Barakoma Airfield on Vella Lavella during the Solomon Islands campaign.

The Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California provided an adequate substitute backdrop for flying scenes.

Filming of airfield scenes was primarily done at the now-closed Indian Dunes Airport in Valencia, California.

[5] Some air-battle scenes were actually short clips from the 1969 film Battle of Britain, and German markings on the planes can clearly be seen.

Other flying scenes pioneered the technique of mounting cameras on helmets worn by pilots, thus providing a pilot's-eye view never before seen in films featuring single-seat aircraft.

The Grumman J2F Duck float biplane belonged to stunt pilot Frank Tallman and his Tallmantz Aviation museum in Santa Ana, California.

Boyington himself referred to the series as "... inaccuracies, hogwash, and Hollywood hokum,"[8] although he did serve as technical advisor on the show, and had cameo appearances in three episodes.