Aviation Realities of Masters of the Air with a Veteran | TWH94 

Thank you. I’m the proud son of a 8th Veteran He flew 29 missions and forced down into Ukraine. He was a Flt/Eng, his friend and pilot Lt. Paul Hibbard was killed, and 2 fellow crew members wounded. Crew#17 390th BG, 568th BS Mission #191 18/09/1944 T/Sgt Ray Foppiano the story of their fight to stay alive was front page Nov 1944 European edition Stars and Stripes, written by Andy Rooney. I spoke to him years later, I was stunned as he remembered so many details of the story. This over 50 years later. Anyway, though I’d share.

My father flew in the Mighty 8th, 94th BG in 1943. He’s still with us, a centenarian and still sharp as a tack. I will have him over to see Masters of the Air soon and post his thoughts.

My dad was a pilot with the 305BG 366 BS. He was part of a replacement crew for the losses suffered on the second Schweinfurt raid known as Black Thursday. The 305th had a squadron that lost 15 out of 18 planes. He said the morale on the base was as low as it could get. He flew 29 missions the last being on D Day. About half his missions did not have fighter escorts much past the German coast. The seven missions to Berlin and six to Frankfort were among the scariest he ever flew. He sometimes told me it is amazing you even exist. He continued flying for 35 years after the war as a commercial airline pilot. He was in command both in the air and on the ground at home

This was good.Thank you! My Dad was in the 100th BG , 351st SQ, Piccadilly Lily . He completed 25 missions with the 100th. He kept a diary of his time in WW2 and all his missions he flew . So far his diary entries support what you see in EP 1-3. EP 3 was a brutal battle and his AUG17 , '43 entry reflects that. He was a waist gunner and 18 years old.

The last 15 minutes of the series (right after the POW's were freed) was the most touching part of the whole series for me. The re-uniting of Buck and Bucky, the dropping of food packages in Belgium, Winston Churchill's speech, saying good-bye to the British, packing up and flying home after a job well done. With Rosenthal's line, "left a lot of brave men behind." the parting of good friends. I would've loved to have seen Buck and Crosby re-unite with their wives, even if it was in the credits section - a final glimce of what we were fighting for.

Hey guys, I agree with you that minor things dont matter. This series is awsome! My Uncle Bill served in the 15th AF as a B-17 tail gunner. He flew 51 missions, mostly over eastern Europe, and Big Week. He shot down 2 confirmed and 1 unconfirmed, and was awarded the Air Medal 4 times. He loved my visits and enjoyed my interest.

Love the series. My dad was an RAF pilot & he never spoke about the war. This series gave me a reason to understand why, & what my dad may have been through. I am grateful I found your show.

I was very fortunate as a teenager in the 80s, i was a cadet in a Civil Air Patrol squadron in West Memphis.Arkansas. the b17 Memphis belle had been moved to mud island on the Mississippi River, they had a special air show commerating the memphis belle in her new home. We had 12 or 13 flying b17s that flew over the memphis belle and dropped rose petals over her. It was the largest concentration of B17s since WW2. It was really something special to be a part of and talk to the veterans .

I also am a pilot (have I mentioned that before?)... I am 'ahead' of this video, meaning I've already seen Episode 4 or 5 (I can't remember which one is the latest) and I want to comment about something that is coming up that I find really sticks with me and is almost overwhelming. In the real world, me, doing normal things during the day I am really bothered about what happened. I can't say (here) what it is, but it was so gut wrenching that I'm not getting over it. I mean I've watched all kinds of war movies, I've read hundreds of books with first-hand accounts of every aspect of WW II, and yet one major thing in the last episode has me shook up. Really shook up. It's been a couple of days and I haven't been able to figure out what I should do to shake this feeling (like I actually lost my best friend in this war two days ago)... and... Here's what I'm trying so far. I keep reminding myself that it isn't real, that it is a Hollywood movie (series) but then I realize it *did* happen and what I experienced is exactly what these guys did experience, and then I start thinking "this is probably what Tom Hanks had in mind." They *wanted* me to have this shock. That's the reality they are portraying. No one would prefer to be bored while watching a great series, we all want the experience to feel close to real, but this time it was like 100 times too real for me. I still feel like I'm in mourning over the loss of my favorite buddy. I didn't expect them to go this way with the series, but then this is the story about the Bloody 100th, so it's the story about tremendous loss. Ouch! Hurts.

I was an AF brat and grew up with the AF from 1947-1967. My father was in AAF in WW2 from 1942 to 1947. Our family friends, my dad’s officers were all in their teens and early twenties when they fought in war. While my Dad was a Supply Sgt. I had an Uncle who was a waist gunner on a B-24. One of our cousins was AAF in the Philippines and survived the Battan death March. I was always very impressed by these men. Most of them had no college when commissioned. I lived in Germany from 1953-1956. I saw the result of WW2 on the Germans by our bombing. Still a lot of destruction visible when we drove around the country. I found that this story is going to tell the story of the men I grew up with. I anticipate a great series. I was acquainted with vets of the 100th.

My Dad got in late and didn't see any action. But had the bomb not worked he would have been part of the assault on Tokyo Bay on a boat that was counted as expendable. He never spoke much about the war in my youth but as he aged his realization of his small role in that grand war gave him a greater meaning to his life.

I love your take on crew chiefs: My dad was the head Engineering Officer for a squadron of P-51's in India and Burma (1st Sqd., 2nd Air Commandos). As an officer he was over about 20 crew chiefs, each of whom "owned" a P-51 and let a pilot use it occasionally, but only after being admonished not to hurt it or to use 'war emergency power' for more than 5 minutes! He let these career enlisted men who were almost always older than he, do their jobs with minimum interference from HIS superior officers. The respect was mutual.

It is abundantly clear how much you love flying and serving your country, it only takes a minute watching and hearing you speak. Thank you for your service, and also for sharing. I had a grandfather in wwII, and from what i gathered, he was a gunner in the tail turret, but i really never got a clear story. 100% balls to even climb there in any capacity, let alone combat. Really appreciate this channel for shedding some light on the parts the history books never covered.

I forgot to say: Watch The Cold Blue - the best documentary on the 8th Air Force by far. Includes comments from the men that flew the missions.

My grandfather was a crew chief in the 490th, he was 30, and considered an old man. He was finally allowed to enlist as he was a Forman at Boeing and considered war effort necessary . They would post releases at the factory, and when his name came up he went into the USAAF immediately sent him to basic, then mechanics school as he was an airframe metal specialist . They offered him an instructors spot but he turned it down to go overseas. He managed structural repair and said the damage to both men and machine was unbelievably devastating. S/Sgt Gilbert Casey

C-141 and C-130 USAF flight engineer with 5200 flight hours checking in . Flying as enlisted aircrew on heavy airlifters was the best job I've ever had. I experienced nothing like these men went through, but I can relate to the O2 usage, crew coordination, inflight troubleshooting of system malfunctions, normal and emergency checklist usage, preflight, managing fuel, and computing performance data using charts and calculating takeoff/climb/cruise/landing data. I really appreciate how this series has tried to represent relatively accurate aircraft operations. Really appreciated the scene when Biddick with checklist in hand performing before takeoff checklist and the scene on takeoff roll when pilot not flying the aircraft (Biddick) with hand on back of throttles backing up pilot flying the aircraft (Cleven) pushing up the throttles. Flight Engineer on the two aircraft I flew on read practically all checklist during normal and emergency procedures. It was always a good feeling when we ran checklist among all crew members involved without 'stepping' on each other over interphone or ATC calls and completing checklist in an expeditious thorough manner in accordance with the flight manual (-1).

First of all, props to Jen for your service and aviation accomplishments. As a pilot myself I am amazed at people like you who have the ability to apparently balance a mixmaster with all it's whirling bits on the pointy end of a needle. I haven't watched it yet, but I'm already more than a bit pessimistic. While I loved Band of Brothers for it's authenticity and great storyline, I hated Pacific for it's almost complete lack of a coherent storyline. Apparently I'm not alone since it's abject failure caused Netflix to decline Masters of the Air. Given the appalling CGI flying in Midway and Pearl Harbor, along with the extraneous fictional subplots they had, they were poor remakes of the original Midway and Tora Tora Tora. For those who have not seen them, I suggest Memphis Belle (both the original AAF documentary and the movie), Target for Today and 12 O'Clock High. Finally: The Tuskegee Airmen? Seriously, they have no place in a movie about the 8th. They were in the 15th AF in Italy. I hate the current trend of mixing things up to put checkmarks in various political correctness boxes. If you would like to watch a movie about them, I suggest The Tuskegee Airmen. It's much better than Red Tails. I have watched both.

My Dad flew P47s over Germany. I was an Army Ranger. Ranger Class 5-70. My Grandfather was a Marine at Belleau Wood. Dad's brothers served in WWII except for one. He was a Marine at Chosin Reservoir in Korea. My favorite brother of his was one of the Rangers that scaled the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc.

Showing tell-tale clips of future unseen episodes is a real kick in the teeth, THANKS A LOT.

My dad in the 95th BG confirmed the landing gear story of the Luftwaffe's personal vendetta against the 100th BG.

Awesome video! My grandfather was a ball-turret gunner with the 100th. 33 Missions from June-Nov 1944. Rosie Rosenthal was the lead pilot on 5 of those. I have his A2 jacket and medals.

Flak is an artillery shell, just like on the ground. It explodes and turns into shrapnel - pieces of metal which are razor sharp.

While watching and listening to this entire video, I realized that there is a parallel in almost everything mentioned with sailors and ships in the US Navy. Sailors had the same kind of comradery as fliers. You're on a contained vessel flying at high altitude on a bomber. You're sailing on a contained vessel (ship) dealing with high seas and the enemy which were planes, other ships and submarines. In each case if your vessel dies you bail out into enemy territory or the ocean which was almost certain death unless you were rescued. Each vessel had crew that did a specific job, working as a team. The team was only as good as its weakest link or the leadership of the Captain or pilot. When a destroyer or B-17 got into harm's way, both vessels had to deal with artillery (or equivalent), shrapnel and fires. If you served on a carrier or battleship, you were the main target of the Japanese kamikaze. The movie Sink the Bismarck will show how the HMS Hood was blown up by the Bismarck with a couple of 15 inch rounds. The movie Das Boot (the Boat in English) was so well done and the whole film except for the ending was true. The author of the book was the "war correspondent" in the movie. Casualty rates in both the German (75%) and US Navy were high due to depth charges. If you watch the movie Greyhound, starring Tom Hanks, you'll get a good idea of the percentage of merchant and passenger ships that were sunk at sea. Tom Hanks made it look easy by sinking 4 U-boats. But that's a movie and not reality. US and British Destroyers were not that lucky until 1944/5. Every branch of the service proved lethal in some respect. Just watch the first 30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan. Omaha Beach was a meat grinder. Some duty was more dangerous than others. and there was always this rivalry between branches during WW2 as to which branch had it the easiest. The ones that had it the easiest were the rear echelon in all branches and those who served on land in the US. Everyone else was in a meat grinder. I'm a proud veteran having served in the US Navy.

The original Control Tower still stands at Thorpe Abbotts as a restored museum, there is some perimeter track and runway too and in the nearby forests some of the living quarters and various buildings, however these are on private land. The museum is brilliant and well worth a visit!

I love the female pilots!! Thanks for your service in the Navy!! My brother was a Navy pilot. My friend, Trish Beckman, was a Navy pilot. I have worked for 30 years to tell the story of the women pilots of WWII. I knew many WASP and women who flew in the ATA! I met Nicole Malachowski when my brother ran an air show in my home town and two women were on the Thunderbirds team. I would love to talk to talk to you about my miniseries. I am headed to WASP Homecoming in April with women from TWU WASP archives. Please help champion my project as a female pilot!

I am a sincere history buff. More of an autodidact really, but serious about it. And like so many I was a big fan of ‘Band of Brothers’ and also of ‘The Pacific’ even though many weren’t. For years I’ve been waiting and hoping to see the air war depicted on screen. The men of the USAAC definitely earned our respect & appreciation, and also to have their stories told. The price they paid throughout the WWII was almost unimaginable. That said… My hopes for ‘Masters of the Air’ were sky high, and throughout the first four episodes I’ve been hoping for the best and trying to become connected to the story that’s being told. Honestly though, I just haven’t felt it in the way I hoped I would. The issue (I think) has primarily been the visual effects. Almost to the point of being distracting. It’s been almost 25 years since ‘Band of Brothers’ was filmed, and almost 15 since ‘The Pacific’. Yet somehow the effects in those two series seems more realistic than that in ‘Masters of the Air’. The task is more difficult certainly in that you can’t get a B-17 in the air, much less dozens of them. They couldn’t even get a static B-17 to use and resorted to building one essentially from the ground up. And I think they did an excellent job with great attention to detail. The interior scenes are very realistic. Which helps to make the scenes during the missions ‘feel’ as if you’re there. The exterior effects are what I think is letting the show down. Having seen a lot of war correspondent footage I have an ‘idea’ of what it might look like. The end product is good… but it looks too much like DCS or other video games. So much so that it’s distracting. As a history buff, as an American, and as a veteran… I love the show for what it is. As these men truly deserve to have their story told. And wanting to love it as I have the previous two series, not loving it leaves me with a lot of guilt. A lot of it.

Gale Cleven was my dad’s first cousin. We are used to people mispronouncing our last name. I just wanted to clarify we pronounce it as Cl + even, not as Eleven. Thank you for this episode.

Brilliant pod\vidcast. I love when a historian which is also a pilot does review such a series. Greetings from a GAF Vet from Cologne.

Hello to you both, Scott and Jen. I listened and watched this posted video. This is to Jen, as you spoke in the intro., about the mindset and knowledge of these young men that were selected, trained and then assigned to the different "Bomber Squadrons" of the 100th. Bomb Group, 8th. USAAF to fly the B-17's in the European Campaign, to fight against Nazi Germany during W.W. II was basically planned by top Army Air Corp Generals, Colonels and Majors, who were young pilots themselves, that had flown earlier bombers and planes in the 1930's. In 1940 thru 1945, they were still learning what the B-17 Bomber could actually do with a younger generation of pilots and trained crew members, who were assigned to that B-17 Bomber. I had read from books and I had seen in a 1985 film of an interview with USAF General Curtis LeMay (Ret.), who was a Colonel (at that time), assigned to the 100th. Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force. He was a lead pilot flying in a squadron formation of B-17's that flew the bombing campaign mission to Regensburg, Germany. After the bombing mission, with the remaining squadrons, they flew over Austria, Italy, across the Mediterranean Sea and then landed in Algeria. He even stated in the interview, it was a huge learning curve (at that time) and challenges for those as the top AAF Generals, going down the chain of command at planning and managing the different bombing campaigns and logistics to be successful on each of the bombing mission(s) flying into Nazi Germany. I enjoyed your great insight and understanding of what you both knew and told from your knowledge, reading the book and then watching these current episodes in the series.

I think the interaction re RAF, was at start of WW2 the RAF undertook many daylight missions in inadequate bombers, and realised the pearl of the US crews, but they did it with gallows humour. in WW2 55,573 were killed out of a total of 125,000. 8403 were wounded and 9838 POWs, this programme shows the bravery of all who stepped on to one of these planes (RAF had 44.4% death rate, I assume the US was similar)

Crews all usually wore their goggles down to protect against the extreme cold and flying debris/wind if the plane was hit - plus there was very bright sun glare at altitude, esp off the bare metal B-17s. A friend (102 yrs old) who was a pilot with the 447 BG said he flew with ski sunglasses/goggles because of the blinding brightness. He also said he never wore his wheel had in the cockpit as there was no place to stash it after donning his leather or metal helmet. Never flew with the hat on in combat.

Excellent podcast and the fact that there is a Bavy Pilot/historian is a bonus. Keep up the good work! (I’m a brother of a former P-3 Orion pilot.)

I just discovered your channel today, 2 videos in and I’m very much enjoying nerding out with your content lol. My grandfather (who served in the army in WWII) had a cousin he grew up with who was a Navigator with Bomber Command. His squadron flew the Sterling Bomber. Sadly his Sterling was shot down over occupied Netherlands in Nov 1944 as my grandfather, on the ground a few dozen miles away, was taking part in the Battle of the Schelt. All crew were lost, no survivors. But the wonderful Dutch people gave them a wonderful place to lay in rest together for all eternity: a prominent central placement in their local community cemetery. Unfortunately, Hollywood likes to completely ignore my country’s 6 year long involvement in WWII and 4 years of the Great War before that, so we have to vicariously connect with the Greatest Generation via American and British content. This family history lead me to have an immediate bias towards connecting with the narrator, Crosby, but by episode 6 Rosie won me over. The actor who played Rosenthal was outstanding, nailed so many nuisances and layers to a combat leader… wow… give the guy an Oscar or something eh. The image of Rosie glaring off into the distance after the Munster mission, with his tore up Fort behind him as the only one to return, is permanently etched in my mind. I have seen that look on people in real life… it hits the soul to its core. Cheers 🍻

I flew heavy airlift in Desert Shield/Storm, and for years afterward. From bases in England, Spain, Germany and Italy, down to a location in the Middle East, then back. Aside from the absolute slaughter of the bombing missions in WWII, the day-to-day lives of the aircrew members was very similar to as depicted here.

Great episode! Jen, if you haven’t done so, you should read The Checklist Manifesto. It’s a quick read but really highlights both the efficacy and the history of the checklist and how it makes the modern age possible. The wildest thing I learned from that book is that we owe the existence of the checklist to the B-17. Not just kneepad flight checklists, but all checklists. Somehow throughout the ages humankind had not made checklists until Boeing realized in the thirties that their test pilots needed a standardized procedure to operate their new four-engine bomber safely. It’s nuts to think about life without checklists now, but they aren’t even 100 years old. One note, the German air force was the Luftwaffe, not the Lughaffe. I hope you’ll do another episode as the series progresses. This one was great!

Great job guys!

Such great information and insight!

Fantastic episode!

Love this show! Been waiting for it to be released for years. I'm one of the last Aerial Gunners in the USAF and this show is great (Hits Home). Would love to talk on your show from my Enlisted Perspective. I'm also a DFC (V) recipient.

Love this.

At about 46:00 you mentioned an incident about a "wheels down surrender" of a B17. I remember hearing this story when I was a lad in the early 1960's. My Dad was in the 100th Bomb Wing crewing in the B47. The 509th BW was also stationed there in Portsmouth NH. There was always a friendly rivalry if your dad was with one group or the other. The story to put us 100th lads down was... "You shoot after you surrendered" which was a considered no no. I imagine this story came from someone's dad. I've also read variations about this in other books. There must be some sliver of truth that something like this happened somewhere.

The 100th was in the Purple Heart Corner for the Regensburg raid. That is why they took such heavy losses on that mission.

Thanks!

Tuskegee pilots when shot down and captured would some times ended up in the same POW camps. I have found by listening to all the wonderful POD casts, done by Veterans that say this Series is mostly accurate. You are making assumptions without having seen the Part that shows this. I never cared for history growing up but since seeing this Series I most definitely am now. I have purchased Wing and a Prayer and Masters of the Air novel and I hope this draws more of our younger generations who did not know about our history now are looking more into it. You have to admit that this has seriously created tons of conversations about these heroes ‼️If you can recommend any other books that would help me understand more that would be awsome ‼️

Austin Butler makes easy work of being strong and talented, as well as damn easy on the eyes.

the building numbers... So true!!!

Why are the squadron numbers strange? Easy answer. Early on the Groups had 3 squadrons, T/O 12 aircraft each. At some point the T/O added a 4th squadron, in this case the 418th. Group total of course 48 aircraft. Late in the war a station might have 80 B-17s. I know, be still my heart. Two complete combat boxes might be dispatched on a given mission.

My grandfather was born in 1908 & worked for Eli Lilly & the government pre & during WWII & was in the CIA in the 50s & 60s (said he studied ground water run off…which is at least somewhat true bc when the government banned lawn chemicals he hoarded them) then went back to Eli Lilly. I was close to him & picked his brain about a lot of stuff he did. Interestingly one thing he told me was the numbering in the military was “purposely obtuse”, like building 2 being next to building 217, not just to throw off the enemy but everyone. While the obtuse numbering predates my grandfather’s generation they were a little too obsessed.

Thank you for your service. Do you have a video that goes over more of your experience as a pilot?

I loved your podcast...I have so enjoyed Masters of the AIR and I have been studying about the B-17 Bombers and have learned so much! I must say that after the last episode 5 where only one Bomber returned I was mad, upset, frustrated and I got emotional man! 😢😢

love your podcast shipmates

Good job!

Off topic, but “SERE School came out of Vietnam because the crews weren’t prepared for getting shot down” (paraphrased) - - NOT Really… It was the Korean War that convinced the USN/MC/AF/Army that the threat of capture required specialized training. As a result, all of us that flew in VN had at least one, sometimes 2 or 3, experiences in SERE (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape) training before they were exposed to enemy fire.

Um, my instructor and I had a tiny problem bringing his dog with us on my first night flying lesson. We were in a tiny little two seater Cessna 152. It had a gross weight of 1670 pounds. My instructor's 70 pound black Lab decided he was sick of looking over our shoulders and started to walk back to the tail. This, while I was turning to final approach. My instructor grabbed him and held him in a choke hold until we landed the plane. In retrospect it was probably a dumb idea to bring the dog along for a joyride.

Of course, one would expect a Naval Aviator (even a Rotor Head) to do a close look at the most recent Midway.

I, as a new person wanting to know more about WWII became drawn to it by what I have seen in Masters of the Air. I am well aware that some of what is depicted may not be completely correct. BUT the important point is everything WWll has become a very big topic since Part 1 of Masters of the Air Series premiered.

Flak is not "metal" or "like a shotgun." Those were fragmentation shells with altitude fuses which were set by the gunners on the ground to reach the vicinity of planes flying at a level identified by radar or observers using triangulation. The "metal" was the shrapnel produced by the timed explosions of the HE shells in close proximity to the aircraft.

I rarely click on a video over 20 minutes long. Never over 30 minutes. However for the WWH family not a problem. 😊. TY Jenn and family. Cheers y’all.

Great discussion- question: last episode had silver painted planes that looked bigger but I never heard it mentioned if it was b-24 ?

Pilot surgeon and add Engineer …..tee hee… the B 17 is like being inside an aluminum fishing boat, I have been in modern small planes like Piper Cherokee, are so so so much more robust then the B17 and B 25 I have been in. Scare the shit out of me just riding in the back at 10k feet. The WW II bombers feel like being in a ruff lake in high winds in a 14 ft aluminum boat. Walking down center of the area around the bomb bay when it is open even on the ground is a little scary, it is just a metal beam just wide enough to walk side ways over. Thank you for your content and for your service

I’m a skydiver we typically jump from 14k. Even 15k we don’t need oxygen. Data is false. Oxygen is not required in non pressurized aircraft until 16/17 ft. I also got the opportunity to jump out of THATS ALL BROTHER which was amazing. If you don’t know that plane look it up. Incredible history.

in the beginning, if you made it thru 25 missions your tour was over. 14% made it to that point initially...incredible....Later in the war as Germany was being beat down and the Luftwaffe was being destroyed and fuel became scarce, the survivability of the American crews got much better....

A comment on the name "Flying Fortress:" The initial concept for the B-17 flowed from Billy Mitchell's demonstration (1921?) that bombers could sink ships at sea. The notion was that these bombers would be like 'flying fortresses' deterring navies from attacking the US mainland. Also, standardized modern checklist became de rigueur because the test pilots on a prototype had not ensured the gust lock on the control surfaces was removed. They stalled the plane and died from overlooking something that should have been checked off..

Great episode…… if you get a chance actually try climbing into a B17…gives a whole new perspective on not a lot of room. For the bailing out….Lots of sympathy for the guys in the ball turrett & tail gunner positions. Takes a lot to get out of there.

Here is my Dad's Story from WW2: Since many of us here had parents who served in WW2, i will tell a little story...... My dad served on B-17s out of England early in WW2, before the 25 mission limit was imposed. He flew 52 missions. After return to the States, he spent his time training new crews. One day, he drew the worst Hanger Queen on the Base, He was the only one of the twelve aboard that day with combat experience. Everything went wrong, down to two engines plus bad control problems, he lead a mutiny... Six jumped with him, they all lived, Dad broke his ankle on landing. The Capitan, the command pilot, survived with bad burns ending his flight career.....the six who stayed all burned to death: he pushed hard to Court Martial dad. Thirty days later after dad led a breakout of the stockade with the other mutineers, the MP's arrested him in Baltimore, MD, at his uncle's house. He still had the cast on his left foot. When we tried to get Dad's service cover in the Eighties, DoD refused, period, total end of discussion, don't apply again . We had pictures of him in Army Air Force uniform in a Brit (London) South Seas club. Also insignias and other trinkets. His discharge Papers from Fort Meade Maryland. And another set of papers in a different name. We also had pictures of him in front of his 4th armored division tank with his ankle still in a cast. After the Battle of the Bulge. I was active in the GoP In Virginia, so on one election night, I asked my Congressman, M. Caldwell Butler, who was at the time on the Armed Services Committee to retrieve a copy of the Service Record. Several months later my representative who you may have seen on the Judicial Committee during the Nixon Administration Impeachment, -- Caldwell said he had been refused Access to the file, Quote" he did not have a high enough Security Clearance" to see the file, no doubt that tucked him off, rightly! About six months later, I got a phone call at work from Washington DC. A recently discharged veteran, a lawyer who had started on the Armed Services Committee Staff, said that he had copies of Two service records, his Clearance was high enough to see the file BUT he could not copy any of the files or send them to me; but he would talk and answer any questions about my dad's service. Two hours later, for the first time I had the full picture! When Pearl Harbor attack happened, my dad had gone to enlist but when he presented himself at the Courthouse, he was refused because they said that at sixteen he could not sign up and to go back and take care of the Farm for his widowed mother and three older sisters. After the new year dad and a friend created fake paperwork, Hitch-Hiked to Raleigh North Carolina, and signed up... very few at that point we're volunteering...easy get. He was picked out of Basic and sent to train as a Bomber Navigator, at this point the US Army did not think they would get enough College men to fill the crews so they were going to do the Brits way and raise up Warrent Officers, enlisted. Just before he was ready to graduate, they came through and gathered up crews to full fill the extra bombers going to Europe since they were not going to be sent to MacArthur. The files when combined made one complete record. After dad was picked up in Maryland he was sent to a tank course for Officers being transferred into armor from infrantry. He picked up a tank driver cert to add to his heavy equipment Papers picked up on return to the States. Next he was sent to France where he was a replacement tank driver in the 4th armored division, went on to the rescue of the 101st Airborne at Bastogne. Later he would be in one of the units that first over ran the westernmost Concentration Camp. That was the one that when Eisenhower first Saw it just two days after it was freed, he ordered all Allied Officers (field grade and above) to tour the camps; and afterwards the Germans in the surrounding areas were by his orders forced to march Through and see the Truth, in each camp freed. After the war, dad managed to be Posted to Paris for occupation duty but soon received new orders to return to the USA for the Planned of invasion of Japan. Oops. A week before he was to shipout to Norfolk the Emperor Surrendered. He stayed in France for Another year, as his service jacket under his real name did not have enough points to muster out. The Committee Lawyer said in his twenty plus year Army career he had never seen two files for the same person that joined so perfectly. How many and how high did this have to go to get him out of a Court-martial .... took many many stars on collars for that too happen, lol. Later that year at a campaign dinner, the Congressman came and set down, he wanted to know what was in the file, you see as a condition of getting the file open HE could not see any of it or ask the staff lawyer for a verbal briefing, I was very glad to tell him the WHOLE REST of the Story. In the late ninties after President Clinton declassified whole Plantations worth of World War Two records; I again tried the get a copy of both service files and was again refused; I still wonder under what Names and classification levels they are being held. My father past in 1963, he was very closed mouthed about his whole WW2.....? Adventures ? Thank s to ALL who have Served ........... EXCEPT for One Capitan!

imagine if Egan was the first to go MIA, how woud've Buck reacted to it

Not knocking any of this. But I don’t ten years in the Army as an Airborne Infantryman. Been to combat and made a lot of jumps during that time. We had to survive the flight to the objective and then jump and survive, then fight on the ground and survive.

Egan came home and married his sweetheart - who happened to be a WASP pilot. They are buried together at Arlington National Cemetery.

How long would it take crew to make repairs to get plane back up after flack damage? Or did they just grab another plane?

The 390th had a Bear cub that made the trip over. Also the 390th, 100th, and the 95th were in the same wing.

What song is being played in the intro?

My uncle was in the 8th and my mom was dating a b17 pilot who was shot down and a POW. I used to have his wings but somehow thy got lost over the years.

I believe the squadron numbering system lacked consistency to confuse the enemy.

Most of the flying B-17's are G models, and I think there is only one D/E without the chin turret flying like those in Masters of the Air.

If you can fly a helo, that thing that beats the air into submission and do it well. You aint bad as an aviator. :)

I’m a historian myself. And love this series…. And am new to your channel. But please. It’s not Luffhafa… it’s Luftwaffe… 🤣🤣🤣

My Great Uncle flew 36 missions with 427 BS from the 303rd BG. He would tell me that even at reunions, there would be disagreements as to what happened and when. So, even first hand accounts can be biased or inaccurate.

I’m a lifelong aviation enthusiast! Pilot. Wear a leather bomber jacket - etc. Reading master of the air left me really questioning the whole thing. In one example, (near end of book) 621 bombs were dropped on a factory - 2 hit. Really? Questioning leadership, not air crew!!!

Why at? 12:34 into the episode is there a shot of a B29 , these aircraft never fought in the European theatre nd were only used in Far East.

Are you the one in norfolk va? Saw your car lol

Bombs Away..... My Dad did 52 Missions in B-17s as one of the first Aircrews, said very little about it. . . . . . There is rare Footage of a B-17 being hit by bombs from Another B-17 . . .

I have story rights to Gen. Hap Arnold. It is sad his story isn't intertwined here. He is the one who decided on nighttime bombing by America's 8th. Can we please tell his story and the story of the women who flew in the ATA, the WASP and the black women rejected to the WASP due to color?

The worst thing about Masters of the air is the ridiculous physics engine doing the CGI flight seqencies. For example wwhen losing an entire wing a B17 wont spin around flat like a top but instantly roll onto its back whilst diving. Way too many fighters flying in tight mass formation.

i like your videos but are nt you kinda going over the line copyright wise?

Aviator! T-34 - Teenie Weenie.

Dad said it was “Coffins Corner”

Forgive me - Shes a naval aviator AND an historian? AND beautiful? 😂😂beyond Jackpot buddy!!

It is more certainly more easy to build aircraft and maintain aircraft factories. When both having the financial means and there not being bombs dropped on the factories from overhead. God Bless the USA. Or is it a fact. No one was dropping bombs on US factories and houses

The British and GERMANS tried the Norden bomb site and thought is was rubbish, so never used it. PR and hollywood hype. The B17 was rubbish as a bomber. After a 10 man crew. Fuel. Weapons etc. The bomb load was minute. Pinpoint bombing was a myth. The RAF and USAAF both did do pinpoint and area bombing. The senior US officers would not learn the lessons of the RAF. Criminal negligence. The British contract for the MUSTANG, with its British ROLLS ROYCE engine, and the British design and built DROP TANKS. Are the ONLY thing that saved daylight bombing. These unbelievably brave young boys were just bait and did not deserve to suffer like they did. God bless you all. So sorry today’s politicians are destroying the countries you died for. This program is just a vehicle for this woman’s bragging. Boring.

Lost interest in hearing about your flying experience.

I lasted 14 minutes. These two gave me a headache. I’ll take a stab at summarizing this film. (without ever seeing it) A train wreck of CGI aircraft defying the laws of physics and aerodynamics with overly dramatic music blaring. Real men being portrayed as sensitive overly emotional millennials in close-ups staring into space every few minutes or “bonding” with more overly dramatic music. I caught a glimpse of the now obligatory appearance of the “Red Tails” or Tuskegee Airmen. They undoubtedly will swoop in to win the war and prove themselves the true “masters of the air” while the bomber boys fawn over them. Looks like there’s a love story. Got to have that. My impression is this is “Pearl Harbor”, Memphis Belle”, and “Redtails” all rolled up into one. If you want a more realistic view of the Mighty Eighth watch 12 O’ Clock High from 1949. I was fortunate to have spent most of my life around the men who were there. The real Masters of the Air. I’ve worked with them, been part of their WWII veteran groups, sponsored historical aircraft with them, flown with them, drank with them, helped them when they reached that point of life we will all face, and sadly watched as they flew west. I assure you they were far from what is being sold here.

This is all bollocks I thought this would be an interview with a veteran B17 pilot or crew member telling us about the Masters of the air series But all it is two idiots telling us they really know nothing about I've watched 3 episodes so far There is a lot of CGI, understandable because they arent gfoing to find 100's of B17's or Me 109's They just waffle on about imagining being there, unless you have been in combat you really have no idea These two are too young to have seen anything apart from something in a PC, game consul