History Professor Breaks Down "Masters of the Air" - Part Five 

I also found this episode to hit me the hardest of all so far. I think Nate Mann's performance was incredible. The look on his face as he sits in the cockpit while taxiing after landing was the perfect mix of fear, sadness, bewilderment, and joy at what they had just experienced and survived. They really did a stellar job here.

I got to see a screening of this episode last night at the Museum of the Mighty Eighth, followed by a panel discussion featuring the author of Masters of the Air, Don Miller; actor Nate Mann (Rosie Rosenthal), and producer Kirk Saduski. We also had three 8th Air Force B-17 vets in attendance, the youngest of whom was 98 and the other two were 101. Colonel Ken Beckman, who flew 48 missions with 305 BG, gave a short presentation. For someone who is about to turn 102, he's in remarkably great shape. It was a great evening, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to chat with Nate Mann. He mentioned that one of the great things about being part of this project is taking part in events like these and seeing the impact Masters of the Air is having around the country and the world. I thanked him for the time and effort he put in to portray Rosenthal so accurately. He said it was an honor. I also asked Kirk Saduski when they're going to do the Navy, to which he said they did with Greyhound, and he said they're planning a sequel. I was hoping they'd do something with James Hornfischer's books, especially Neptune's Inferno and Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. Last week's episode was the appetizer for this powerful feature.

I was until recently a small town newspaper reporter and in that capacity I've had the privilege of interviewing and writing about two WWII bomber crewmen. One a co-pilot and the other a top turret gunner. The incident with Crosby's crew having to land at the wrong base due to damage reminded me of a story the gunner told me about having to do that, and the person who drove out to meet them was none other than Jimmy Stewart, who happened to be a ranking officer at that base. Thanks for these videos Jared! I don't feel like my viewing of each week's episode is truly complete until I get to see this later in the evening.

My Dad, Ray H Robinson was BTG on Rosie. He was credited with shooting down a FW-190. As he told me, they would roll and show belly as it was armor plated. The pilot failed to go all the way over and Dad ran two bursts of .50 cal up the fuselage-- blowing up the oxygen tank. This scene appears to have the Ball shooting at an ME-109 and running bullet up the fuselage. Hmmm. I imagine there is some additional records from interrogation notes. Mike R, Warrrensburg MO

Great episode, I had to wipe away tears at the end when Crosby found that letter. Beyond brutal situation for anyone to find themselves in.

Best commentary on RU-vid. This was such a hard episode to watch, but it leaves the viewer with a real sense of the horrors these brave men had to deal with.

My grandfather was not actively involved in the fighting in WW2, but I remember him as being very reticent and often aloof. Then later after he died I learned he had spent the war teaching navigation to bomber navigators as he was a high school math teacher by trade. He was intelligent enough to appreciate and understand the fact that a large percentage of the young faces in his class would never return home from the war and I believe the experience deeply affected him in later life. Crosby's journey in this episode really brought that home to me.

We were discussing MotA on a forum I frequent and one guy explained it best.... For these bomber crews, every time they went up, it was D-Day.

Jered. I watch this episodes with so much sadness. How lucky I feel that my family before me fought these battles so I don’t have to. Being born in 1956 I just missed the Vietnam War. My father never spoke of his experiences but I never asked. Later my mother told me stories. After watching these episodes I now know why he never said anything.

The teaser for part six is pretty chilling as we see the mechanism of the Holocaust in action. I think our reprieve, as the audience, from the horrors of war were all placed within part three. When the lone bomber is fighting out of German occupied airspace, amongst the German fighters, I was thinking "Is he dogfighting in a bomber? Amazing." It must have been a feat of fancy flying to bring the aircraft back to England given the impossible odds.

I genuinely wish i had you as a history teacher in High School I would have absorbed so much more knowledge.

The scen were Crosby reads the letter bubbles has written to Crosby's wife and you hear bubbles voice "reading" the letter is such an amazing scen. Just imagine to to read your own "death letter" from your friend that just had died in the same situation that you yourself had believed to been in but you survived. And now you are reading the last thing your friend had ritten. Wow just wow...

Highlight of my Friday night baby! These episodes have me BALLING my eyes out every single Thursday night and yes I am a 29 yr old man.

The perfect youtube watch to wake up to after watching the episode the night before

I was based in Münster and I always wondered why the part of town around the cathedral was so new looking. Now I know.

I was always wondering about Rosie humming and this is such a small but AMAZING attention to detail! Added a new song to my big band playlist! Thank you so much for your analysis as always!

Getting the actors ready for filming by playing the soundtrack from The Shining must’ve been unsettling

Hey Jared, Great breakdown of this heart-wrenching episode. I struggled to watch it, knowing what was coming. I feel a kind of connection to the 100th. I wasn't in combat, but I was in VF-213, a Navy fighter squadron that after a series of aircraft mishaps, some with fatalities, we came to be dubbed the "jinxed" squadron. Whenever any of us were out and about on base at NAS Miramar, other sailors would see our Black Lion ball caps and make some insensitive remark to us. They meant no harm, but it hurt. After that, many of us, myself included, just wore our dixie cups. We weren't ashamed. We just didn't want that stuff in our head any more than it already was.

I loved that slo-mo shot. And speaking to the 'horror' editing, when the 109s approached and we see the eyes of one of our pilots, I swear the sound sounded like a dragon.

This channel is just brilliant, I was drawn here after watching Gettysburg, that movie blew me away, developed a passion for the American civil war , Ireland here, so I eventually ended up here, and have loved everything I've watched. The breakdown of these episodes is top class, to the extent that I'm looking forward to these explainer episodes as much as the actual Masters Of the Air

Glad to hear you reference John "Lucky" Luckadoo! Loved getting to chat with him last year! He showed me the British pound on which he tracked the list of his missions.

Your conversation about shrapnel made me think of my father who was on a PT Boat in the Solomon Islands got a a piece of a shrapnel from an exploding Japanese Zero in his upper shoulder which they had just shredded with their 50 calibers. When my dad passed away he still had the shrapnel in his body.

Another great video! Loved this episode. Only one chronological note. Bubbles Payne didn't die on the Munster raid in October 43. He died on a mission in April of 44 to Sottevast. I think they switched it because he was Harry Crosby's best friend so they couldn't ignore it, he's a big part of Harry's book. Remaining episodes will likely focus on POW camp, Rosie, and Red Tails, so they moved his death to match the flow of the episodes. Correct move in my opinion.

In my opinion this episode definitely had improved aerial sequences and cinematography over the previous episodes. The movements and speeds of the enemy fighters is more natural, and the cadence and rythm that one feels when watching historical footage and real aircraft in flight is more present. The change in director for this episode was certainly felt.

Professor Frederick - Thank you so much for your thoughtful analysis and observations of this series Master of the Air. I want to specifically thank you for your reading from Crosby's book about his reactions to first hearing of the losses of the 100th on the Munster mission. My FIL was the navigator who took Crosby's place on John Brady's crew, and was the "Davy" he mentions as one of friends he lost that day. We are so proud that all of Brady's crew were depicted in this episode - we all now know what these young men went through to help win the air war in Europe. My FIL (Lt. David Solomon) was wounded by flak during that mission, and like many others that day, was awarded the Purple Heart Medal.

Great review of another powerful episode. Maybe a little off your radar but the new AppleTV+ series The New Look is a fascinating series about the fashion industry in occupied Paris during WW2.

Thank you for your great reviews

I always look forward to your explanations and background information after I have watched an episode twice, then watch it a third time, enhanced by the details you have shared. Thank you so much.

The slow motion never bothered me. In a much lesser degree you see it in baseball. I played through college and I can vividly remember times where a guy threw a 90+ mph fastball and you get into this zone where you can see the individual seams as they spin and it's almost slow motion. You can even think complete thoughts before you make contact, and that's only occuring within half a second. It obviously isn't every time or all the time, but through adrenaline, focus or whatever else you almost feel like everything slows down.

Great insights and excerpts. They added so much to an already great video.

I really loved this episode, it felt like jaws with how they didn’t show the fighters until very late and out of no where

I love your wwii museum sweater, i would love to go there!

I look forward to these ... Thank you 😊

That scene where they realize they're all alone, the last ones left. Hits so hard.

Most detailed and informative breakdowns on RU-vid, hands down! Subscribed.

Just finished reading HH Crosby's excellent book this week. And then read "Twelve O'clock High" in the same week! After the somewhat low action episode 4 we are straight back into it with the horrific Münster raid. I had (but have lost) Ian L Hawkins excellent book "The Munster Raid : Bloody skies over Germany" that gave a very detailed summary of this raid, and the misfortunes of the 100th particularly. It is also available as "The Munster Raid: Before and After" but I believe it is the exact same book, just a renaming. The action in this episode correctly records what I know of the mission from that book. The 100th were decimated. The only incident I don't know of as happening in real life was the two B-17s colliding, although two bombers were collided into by enemy fighters and brought down in two seperate incidents; the Luftwaffe was pushing their attacks so close. Again a good episode, high levels of details and authenticity. PS: trying to find a copy of your book here, in Australia but its not released until May 1st? Ok, I'll wait!

Still catching up. So far, this might be the best episode of the series.

What makes me mad from a historical perspective is the irrational, political reasoning that denied the Thunderbolts from using drop tanks to extend their escort range, thus needlessly costing all these men their lives. On the bit about slow motion, time compression is definitely a thing that current fighter pilots still talk about today.

Totally enjoy your review of the episode

These breakdowns are absolutely fantastic. My go to after i watch each episode. Thanks for the content

Great video man!

Great stuff, Jared. Thank you!

Thanks for the insight about the song.

I like this episode because it shows the crewman of the bombers instead just the officers.

Thanks great job

You didn't comment on it, but in the slowmo scene I thought it was a nice historical touch that the BF109 has an "S" on yellow emblem- the logo of JG 26, which was an infamous fighter wing that defended northwestern Europe. Aces like Galland had cut their teeth in JG 26 all the way back in 1940 in the Battles of France and Britain. By 1943 they were one of the most-feared German fighter units that shot down a lot of 8th AF planes.

This was Rosenthal's second mission in Royal Flush. Their original plane was still broken from Bremen.

If I've got the timing right here in my grandfather's journal, he said he was scrubbed form the mission when his tech crew was unable to trace a failure in the control of the new vertical stabilizer they had installed. The next mission was there worst and one he was surprised they survived.

"A grim and tangible artifact." Indeed. Rosie may have been whistling past the cemetery for his entire crew. Well done Jared.

Watching the episode just when I see your video come up, After the credits roll I am always here to listen to the breakdown. And damn this episode was a hard hitting one.

Re the slow motion, in moments of acute peril, time really does stand still. I don’t know why, but it does. I was once rear ended in a van by a prime mover while waiting to turn, and speared across the opposing line of rush hour traffic into a ditch on the other side. Even 40 years later, I can still remember every moment of sliding between two oncoming cars with a sense that time had nearly stopped. It’s a real thing, and I don’t criticise the film makers at all for showing it.

Your commentary is always spot on. Thank you. I do find Crosby's book a great primer for the Apple TV series.

Just a few days ago I was visiting a friend whose father was a navigator on a B-24 in the ETO. He has his father's leather flight jacket, wings, and patches in a shadow box in his home. Also in that shadow box is a piece of a flak shell about 1.5" long and a half inch wide that struck the heel of his flight boot. He pulled it out of his boot after the mission and kept the piece of metal as a souvenir that could have killed him if it came at a slightly different angle. His father rarely spoke of his experience in the war and I remember asking him about it when I was a teenager...his answer was "It was a heck of a thing." And that was it.

I've enjoyed the series so far, but this episode really sunk in and mastered the effectiveness in story telling.

I’m surprised Masters didn’t point out that on the Münster raid the aiming point was the cathedral itself rather than just being ‘too close’ to it

These videos are really amazing. Lending historical context to this awesome show. I also love that a lot of the material you present in these videos are primary sources, like Crosby's book. It really is a great palette cleanser for after each episode!

Loving these wrap ups. I'm downloading and saving each one with the show as supplementary material. Glad to hear you acknowledge how the speed of the planes was not exaggerated, how you had previously mentioned, as that was the only thing in that wrap-up that got an eyebrow raise from me, as these planes were VERY fast. They were some of the deadliest and most efficient killing machines in human history up to that point, and I felt the show was doing a fantastic job of portraying just how HORRIFYING it would be on the receiving end of any of them. Not claiming it's perfect, but DCS, (Digital Combat Simulator) has many WWII era planes modeled, and not only were they just as deadly as this show portrays to the other planes of their time, but depending on the pilot, they put up VERY real and dangerous "guns only" dog fights with modern jets, and actually win in a good number of them. You can find many such examples here on RU-vid. The "Slow Mo" cut in this episode didn't come off as cheesy, trying to be 300'ish, at all for me. As someone who's been in a car wrecks, fist fights, and served in the military, I can tell you that in HIGHLY chaotic situations, there are moments that while of course time didn't slow down, in your mind it felt that way, because for whatever reason that's what your brain pulled out of it, and that moment will stick with you for the rest of your life, weather you mention it to anyone else or not. It's just there, and to me the show perfectly portrayed one of those moments there. Anyhow, this feels like I'm complaining, and I'm not. Just sharing my perspective. Keep up the great work! I look forward to each one of these. I went into this show very guarded and hesitant based on the state of current media, but it's earned my respect more with each episode, and has left "The Pacific" in the dust. Hasn't reached "Band Of Brothers" status yet, but that's a SUPER high bar it doesn't even need to hit to be great.

would love to see a mini series that incorporates more of a time line of WW2 and how breaking the Enigma code played into the battles at sea and in the air and on the ground. That would be very cool and interesting.

I made the mistake of watching Part Five over dinner. I felt sick the whole rest of the evening. What a gut-punch.

Two comments: 1) seen some criticism that the purpose of the Munster bombing was depicted in a softened fashion-that in fact, the purpose was to hit a civilian center, not that civilian casualties would be just an expected collateral event 2) was hoping you would verify if Rosenthals plane really shot down that many fighters on the raid, which would seem incredible

I think that the slow-motion scene is a storytelling tool that was also used to educate the audience on what German fliers looked like. It's a brief moment where the viewer gets to see not only the pilot and the plane but also the viewer gets to see the violence and power of the German fighter's guns. 🤓

If you've ever been in a high adrenaline situation then you know the scene where it seemed like time slowed down is very real.

Really fantastic breakdowns with interesting quotes from the literature on point. Keep ‘em coming!

22:15 Sometimes also in martial arts tournaments.

Great review

You seem like a real cool guy! Love your videos. Keep it up.

I honestly wanted to like this more than I do. Band of brothers and the Pacific made me hungry to watch the next episode in each series. This just seems to drag. It's definitely slower for me personally.

Just pre-ordered Into The Cold Blue while watching this review.

i've read several times in books i have about bombers that the crew members would when they jumped from a stricken bomber that they would fall a few thousand feet to avoid getting shot by the German fighters

Professor Frederick! Thanks for being here after every episode to educate us and not spoil anything for future episodes! We all deserved a teacher like you growing up, thanks for sharing your knowledge! 👏 I’d love to see one of these for the Pacific someday, just read Sledges book can’t wait to dive into this one

A brutal history lesson!

22:15 As I have been in serious ground combat, I can attest that your sense of time gets warped in duch situations. Many people have described it as time slowing down, BUT time also warps in other ways as some parts feel like time is being compressed when it really isn't.

I've just repeating other comments really but this episode really did have a bit of everything and at the end I had the feeling it was one of the best hour long portrayals of WW2 I've seen - probably some recency bias in that but it was fantastic

14:24- 14:35 is pure gold 😆

“He was running around the base in his knickers.” In his underwear or knickerbockers?😂

Still ignoring you until the series is complete!!!! I can't wait to circle back and hear Jared's take.

Just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate what you do. Your breakdown on this series and other are fantastic. Keep it up.

Wow I thought last week was bad 😢 this episode i just ball my eyes seeing everyone back waiting for planes and only one made it back.....

I love your insight, makes watching this great tribute show even better. Great job and appreciate it.

YES! Just in time to lay down and watch this in my Vision Pro 🎉

Lucky's interview on Ward Carroll's channel was amazing! I'd love to know what he thinks of this series. It has to feel so lonely reliving it...

Germany learnt a brutal lesson sending bombers in daylight to attack UK in 1940, The RAF learnt the same lesson, thats why they both transferred to night bombing. The American hierarchy thought they could bludgeon their way to a target in daylight using numbers and technology......they learnt nothing from the Luftwaffe and the RAF..They thought they knew better......consequently, their men courageous as they were, got slaughtered by an enemy defending its own country, its own mothers, sons and daughters...it was ferocious and brutal just as it was a three years earlier.

I'm curious as to why I haven't seen any artwork painted on the back of their A-2 flight jackets? Perhaps they weren't as yet too common at this point in the war?

Hi Jared, love your channel. When do you think we'll finally meet the Tuskegees? Been looking forward to them ever since the trailer, but with 4 episodes left I'm worried they'll only get a "special episode" or something.

Small wonder why the USAAF had to get the P-51B/C Mustang into the theatre of operations as fast as possible--the losses to the B-17 and B-24 forces on unescorted missions was way too high, especially after the horrible second Scheiwnfurt raid. But yet, were those losses really necessary? Imperfect as it was at the time, the P-38 Lightning could have been assigned to escort duties and at least reduced a lot the losses from Luftwaffe fighters by September 1943.

One thing: by focusing on a single bomb group, it kind of fails to show that there were a whole lot of other bomb groups in your formation/division/stream also taking in in the neck. I understand how making the scope 'too large' would probably confuse the viewer but....I checked my JG 26 War Diary and noticed the losses attributed to them were spread out among the 95th, 385th and 390th bomb groups

Thanks for your great explanation! Would you talk about the crew that bailed out and what happened to them?

Next show and tell Jared and Andy fire the 30 caliber and 50 caliber 😂

Would like to have had mention of the maneuvering of the lone 17 while being attacked

Was there any explanation as to why the other bomb groups (95th and 390th) in the wing were that far from each other?

What about the manuevering that Rosenthal did near the end of the battle? Could a B-17 really have done that?

I keep wondering about them saying only one aircraft in the bomb group surviving the raid on Muenster. We also hear that three B-17 turned back due to mechanical problems and of the 13 birds which continue, only Rosenthal‘s plane returns. But a bomber squadron has 3 or 4 squadrons, and each squadron is 9-12 bombers. So the bomb group has a minimum paper strength of 27 bombers. Was the 100 BG really that low of its nominal strength?

TIL Americans use the word "knickers" a bit differently to us Brits

Anyone have an idea of how much G force Lt Rosenthal's crew had got in the dogfight scene with 109's? Was a hell of roller coaster ride for a heavy bomber

One of the best parts about watching Masters of the Air is knowing that we will get a good review and additional insight from you. Thank you.

I have decorated Harold Eugene Clanton’s grave.

Knickers to us 🇬🇧 means female underwear mate. Didn’t get the reference, there (Excellent content as always)

I doubt that ground-crews let local children play in the cockpit of a highly classified strategic bomber while on base. Just imagine what damage those children could have done while playing with all the switches and levers.

14:10 I can relate. I was a Security Policeman (back when dinosaurs walked the Earth 🙂) In the winter you've got 2 inches of clothes on an you pecker has shriveled to 1 inch.

Great history of these brave men, sorry that the CGI and green screen makes this series painful to watch.