Masters of the Air: How factually correct is the series?

Following the excitement created by Tom Cruise's fast flying in Top Gun: Maverick, Apple TV+ offers a contrasting experience with Masters of the Air. This World War II mini-series depicts the harsh truth of piloting a B-17 "Flying Fortress" bomber, which is not only perilous but also tiring and bone-chillingly cold. Even the slightest oversight in communication or reaction could result in severe injury, fire or sickness.

Following in the footsteps of the highly acclaimed TV series Band of Brothers and The Pacific, Masters of the Air chronicles the harrowing fight of a single American military company against the Nazis. However, this time the narrative centers on the heroic feats of the 100th Bomb Group. Aptly known as the "Bloody Hundredth," their aerial prowess may have played a pivotal role in turning the tide of the war. Yet, we couldn't help but wonder if the show accurately depicts the challenges and brutalities of their missions. That's where GQ's air force professionals come in.

Firstly, it is important to acknowledge that one mission of a B-17 bomber plane would have taken more time than all nine episodes of the miniseries combined. According to Emily Charles, a historian and the lead historical advisor at the Imperial War Museum for "Masters of the Air," these missions would last for approximately 10 to 12 hours, which means being in the air for nearly an entire day. Charles adds that if you were in the ball turret, you would have had to be in the fetal position for most of that time.

Did you feel cramped just reading about it? It was definitely a tight squeeze. Surprisingly so. Dr. Hattie Hearn, a curator at the Imperial War Museum, explained that despite being an impressive aircraft for its time, actually crawling inside one proved to be uncomfortably narrow. "If you're wearing all of your flying gear, parachute, and life-saving equipment, it would be extremely challenging." Episode two demonstrates this firsthand as navigator Lt. Crosby (Anthony Boyle) struggles to make his way to the cockpit to assist Biddick (Barry Keoghan) in avoiding a disastrous water landing. The show accurately portrays the cramped conditions.

Going on these missions took a big toll on the mind and body. We can see how tough it was in the show when Crosby gets sick in his helmet from worrying about getting hit by a stray bullet. According to Brian Laslie, a historian at the US Air Force Academy, it's important for Masters of the Air to show how mentally hard the missions were. "You had to focus on the mission while flying to the target, and once you got there, you were terrified about the bombing run. If you survived that, you had to fly back for hours in a damaged plane while taking care of injured people on board."

Wow, there's a lot of injured people. One really memorable moment from the first episode is when a soldier without gloves had his hand skin ripped off by his super cold gun. This could have easily happened because the metal on the airplane was as thick as a soda can. In winter, when they were flying really high and it was freezing cold, the temperature could drop below negative 50 degrees Celsius. Because of this, more people were sent to the hospital due to frostbite than from fighting with the enemy.

In terms of the planes used in the show, they were made with great precision by BGI Supplies, a company that creates props for TV and film. Stuart Heath, the director at BGI Supplies, was responsible for overseeing the construction of these planes. According to Heath, the design team used original blueprints from Boeing and visited real B-17s in museums to ensure accuracy. They took photos and then built replicas that were an exact 1:1 scale. Attention to detail was crucial, as even the switches on the dashboard and the graphics throughout the whole plane were replicated accurately.

He mentions that the alterations we carried out were solely to accommodate the camera angles. Examples of these changes include making the windows and seats detachable, and including panels that could be removed for the camera to be concealed. There was no additional room allotted for the actors who had to face the same limitations and feelings of confinement as the actual airman. Our modifications are evident in the show and provided the actors with an insight into the harsh reality of the airman's circumstances.

How about those big air fights we see in the first two episodes? There's a lot of explosions, orange tracer bullets shooting through the sky, and planes covered in smoke. These crashes happened a lot, not just with the Nazi Luftwaffe but also with Allied planes. Charlies says that many of these pilots were new to flying, which meant they sometimes accidentally collided with each other when forming up. There are thousands of war photos and reports by surviving airmen that support this idea, as well as information from Donald Miller's Masters of the Air.

After a plane crash, it is evident that the aircraft will endure severe harm. Heath and his team took responsibility for resolving this issue. They fabricated parts that replicated the harm done to the plane, such as replacing a damaged wing flap with a wing flap affected by flak. Damaged nose cones, rear wings, ailerons, sperry balls, rotor blades were also replaced. Additionally, they created panels that corresponded with flak harm that could be fixed to the fuselage.

Some war historians have concerns about the missions being portrayed as top-notch entertainment. Charles pointed out that the show can give the impression that the bomber crews were the ones who won the war, even though she gives more credit to the faster and more agile fighting crews. Later on, the show will likely feature the Tuskegee Airmen showcasing their skills.

As we sit and watch American pilots engaging in a life-threatening battle with members of the Nazi party, it's important to reflect on Hearn's thoughts about the psychological effects of the conflict. She explains that there is a feeling of powerlessness, alongside an emotional component of being unable to dictate your own fate. The experience of enduring the atrocities of war and returning to do it all over again the following day is overwhelming.