2:13pm UK, Monday April 12, 2004

A film to be made about an American who took part in the Battle of Britain has led to new claims that Hollywood is rewriting the history of World War II.

The story of Billy Fiske, a real-life US sporting hero, is to be immortalised in the movie called The Few, in which he is due to be played by Tom Cruise, according to the Daily Mail.

Hurricane hero

Fiske was one of only 12 Americans among 2,945 airmen in the battle in the summer of 1940, and had no confirmed 'kills'.

But the paper says he will be portrayed as the hero of Britain's 'finest hour'.

At 16, Fiske was the youngest Winter Olympics contestant to win a gold medal, in the bobsleigh.

When he heard Britain needed fighter pilots he enrolled in the RAF's 601 Squadron.

He took part in 42 operational flights but after only one month his Hurricane was hit by enemy fire and he died of burns - the first American in uniform to be killed in the war.

Battle of Britain historian Bill Bond said: "He was a fantastic man but as regards the Battle of Britain his input was negligible. It would be a shame if the Americans twist what happened, which they nearly always do."

Other films the paper accuses of re-inventing America's role include:

Private Ryan, which hardly mentioned the 72,000 British and Canadian troops involved in the D-Day landings.

U-571, about US sailors who capture the Germans' Enigma codebook, when it was really the Royal Navy.

The Great Escape, in which Americans dominate the prison camp breakout. In fact, they had all been moved to another camp before the escape took place.