Overview: Follows the experiences of American Air Force officers leading the 100th Bomb Group in England for an offensive against Germany. Created by John Orloff, the 2024 World War II series “Masters of the Air” is based on a book by Don Miller and has been executive produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Gary Goetzman.
Best friends Major Gale Cleven and Major John Egan, known as Buck and Bucky, reunite under unfortunate circumstances as prisoners of war (PoWs) in the Luftwaffe-run camp. Episode 7 of “Masters of the Air” opens with a snowy scene of PoWs going about their day at the camp, while Harry Crosby (Anthony Boyle) narrates the situation. “Stalag Luft III was run by the German Air Force, and because we had their downed pilots in our camps, they treated our boys humanely enough,” he says.
Half the episode focuses on the fates of American PoWs at Stalag Luft III, where the men listen to radio broadcasts on the sly to catch war updates and covertly work on finding a way to escape the Nazis. This episode covers “The Great Escape” event, where 76 PoWs attempted to escape the camp after a year of building tunnels in the so-called ‘escape proof’ prison. It’s considered one of the greatest escape attempts in World War II history and has films and books dedicated to it. I didn’t know much about the Stalag Luft III camp and was compelled to look up its real-life history mid-episode because of the surprisingly civilized way it is shown to be run—with PoWs receiving letters and even care packages from the Red Cross and their families. Over two hours of reading established one thing pretty clearly—Stalag Luft III was known to be the most humane camp run by the German forces.
The rest of this “Masters of the Air” episode, of course, flits between the Allies’ bombing campaign against Axis forces. Fresh American recruits keep arriving in England to join the 100th bomb group, with air missions now targeting Berlin and the Allies losing more men than they can keep count of. However, with P-51 fighters on their side, the flying fortresses have a stronger chance of fighting the Luftwaffe.
Unlike some of the earlier episodes, this edition doesn’t pack in a lot of dogfights or mid-air action, but it still reinforces the brutality and senselessness of war. Lt. Robert ‘Rosie’ Rosenthal (Nate Mann), who was introduced in episode 5 of “Masters of the Air,” emerges as one of the leading inspirational forces for the men—he is close to flying 25 successful bombing missions. Back then, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) had a policy known as the “25 Mission Rule,” according to which once a bomber crew completed 25 combat missions, they would be eligible for rotation back to the United States. Completing 25 missions was a tremendous accomplishment, considering the high casualty rates and the physical and mental strain experienced by aircrews.
I really liked this edition, it had an interesting mix of tension, drama and emotions. No single character stands out in particular in the episode, however, the story continues to be a gripping theater of war.
You can stream “Masters of the Air” on Apple TV+.
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