master of air, A new World War II drama about a bomber pilot is coming to Apple TV+ on January 26th. This limited series will be produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. This duo was responsible for some of the most popular TV shows and films of World War II. private ryan and band of brothersThe film is primarily based on the story of the real-life U.S. Eighth Air Force, a unit of American bomber pilots that served during the war from 1942 to 1945. masters of air This work was inspired by the book of the same name. Masters of the Air: American bomber boys who fought the air war against Nazi Germany Written by biographer Don Miller.
After the premiere of the first two episodes on Friday, over the course of nine weekly episodes, the series follows several members of the unit, particularly Major Gail Creven (Austin Butler) and Major John Egan (Callum Turner). focused. They bond over the harsh flight conditions and eventually become lifelong friends.
Here, Miller, who spoke to some of the soldiers who survived to write his book, details everything you need to know about the U.S. Eighth Air Force and what shaped the drama of the hardships they faced. Masu. masters of the air.
of The U.S. Eighth Air Force was created immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The idea behind the group, founded in 1942, was to create America's first long-range bombing force in hopes of hastening victory, Miller said. “The aim was to destroy the German economy, precisely destroy Germany's huge industry without killing many civilians, and win the war much faster than on the ground,” he says.
The bombers flew in unheated planes, making frostbite “as big an enemy as the Germans,” Miller said.
“There was no doctor on the plane. The oxygen masks froze. The men carried morphine with them, but they didn't use it very well,” he says. “All you can do is leave your wounded comrade on the freezing floor of the plane and hope he comes back.”
The Eighth Air Force accounted for about half of the U.S. Army Air Forces' casualties, and its 26,000 deaths exceeded the total number of Marines killed (24,511).
how masters of the air depicting a bomber pilot
As the series and Miller's work show, bomber pilots are “a group of pretty nervous, nervous guys” who not only have significant responsibilities, but are also tasked with looking after their planes and each other. ing. For example, Robert Rosenthal, played by Nate Mann in the Apple TV+ series, would hum classical music to calm his fellow soldiers.
The show's two main characters are John Egan and Gail Craven, whose flying skills are revered by their fellow crew members. masters of the air He joins a group of men and chases them, risking his life.
Egan was a lady's man on the ground, but in the air he was known as a down-to-earth and dependable man. She says Egan and Kleven become her lifelong friends. She Egan attends Kleven's wedding, and her bride wears a dress made of parachutes as a tribute to their service.
How the U.S. Eighth Air Force contributed to the end of World War II
According to Miller, there were three major accomplishments for the Eighth Air Force. First, they destroyed the German U-boat fleet in the mid-Atlantic, threatening to cut off the economic lifeline in which cargo ships from the United States brought food and munitions to Britain, which was starving for resources and heavily bombing Britain. He threatened the Wolfpack.
Then, in the three months leading up to D-Day in early 1944, they decimated the Luftwaffe in brutal air combat. “If the Luftwaffe had controlled the airspace over the invasion beaches, the D-Day landings would not have been possible,” says Miller. “We lost more than 18,000 airmen in this epic battle in the skies.”
The third achievement was achieved after D-Day, when Allied air power destroyed much of Germany's war economy, including its refineries, canals, and railroads. Attacks on enemy railroad networks transporting coal also caused a coal famine, pushed Germany closer to economic collapse, and helped British and American ground forces bring the war directly to German soil. By this time, the Allied Air Forces, led by the Eighth Air Force, had become the “masters of the skies” over all of Europe.
“That's what a lot of people don't realize, which is the role the Air Force played in shortening the war,” Miller said.