Masters of the Air

plastickjunkie

Active Member
Joined
May 27, 2010
Messages
83
Just finished watching the mini series. It was very well done and had outstanding special effects. Makes one appreciate even more what those brave men went thru watching the carnage and death aboard the Fortresses often not detailed in documentaries. Watch this and get a first hand account how it was like to bail out of a tumbling and burning B17 then become a POW (if lucky not to get killed by civilians). A must see.
 
Great series, good book. If you like to read I found this to be a better read:
Three Engines, Half a Wing and a Prayer
 
Currently reading Masters of the Air. Will get the DVD series IF….Disney releases it.

Three Engines, Half a Wing and a Prayer is on my book wish list.
 
Masters of the Air.
Forgotten it already.
Unlike Band of Brothers and The Pacific which I still remember and can't wait to watch again for the third time.

Either Masters of the Air wasn't very memorable or just not that good.
While I agree, the little details about B17 interiors and what the pilots endured, it just didn't have any life or staying power for me.
I was disappointed.
 
Masters of the Air.
Forgotten it already.
Unlike Band of Brothers and The Pacific which I still remember and can't wait to watch again for the third time.

Either Masters of the Air wasn't very memorable or just not that good.
While I agree, the little details about B17 interiors and what the pilots endured, it just didn't have any life or staying power for me.
I was disappointed.
I agree 100%. I was bored by episode 7 and didn't even bother to watch episode 8. It was disappointing for sure.
 
To be honest, haven't B17 films been done to death?
How about a Band of Brothers style series about B-24s.
For me, they were the work force of USAF.
Faster than B17, longer range, and more bomb capacity.
Less guns.
More B24s produced. More lost.
B24 crews were the true Masters of the Air.
 
To be honest, haven't B17 films been done to death?
How about a Band of Brothers style series about B-24s.
For me, they were the work force of USAF.
Faster than B17, longer range, and more bomb capacity.
Less guns.
More B24s produced. More lost.
B24 crews were the true Masters of the Air.
The late General Jimmy Stewart piloted B-24's in the war.
 
Either way, either plane, bomber crews fought a unique war, on the ground life was as good as it got. In the air, uncertainty and terror.
The series, I believe did its best to capture the drama in the air as well as on the ground. So many different aspects to the air war that it would take another twenty episodes to truly capture it all.
We should read the books, learn what we can, imagine as best we can to put ourselves into those sheepskin suits. They were great men, many of thier spirits will forever dance across the sky.
 
Either way, either plane, bomber crews fought a unique war, on the ground life was as good as it got. In the air, uncertainty and terror.
The series, I believe did its best to capture the drama in the air as well as on the ground. So many different aspects to the air war that it would take another twenty episodes to truly capture it all.
We should read the books, learn what we can, imagine as best we can to put ourselves into those sheepskin suits. They were great men, many of thier spirits will forever dance across the sky.
My dad was a B-29 pilot based out of Guam. He said he flew his B-29 to Hawaii and from there to Guam. He said when we landed in Guam the runways were still smoking. Everything was a rush to get there and begin the campaign against Japan. He eventually was chosen to fly and something that was brand new. Night missions. He said they stripped the b-29s of anything that weighed a lot and was useless. Including all the guns. Who in the hell in their right mind would be flying Fighters at night? They then went around and painted the underside black on the B-29. And the stories? Here's one. The B-29 was plagued with engine problems. He said they eventually fell back until they were the last ones of like 350 planes. He said the Flames from the oil refineries burning had burned a hole through the clouds and he hit that updraft and it flipped his plane before he could drop his load. He said b-29s were not made to fly like that and it dropped Like a Stone upside down with a full load of bombs. So here I am a little kid with my eyes bugged out of my head going what happened then? He said I feathered all four engines and pulled the wheel into my gut and prayed. Now I don't know if the following is Gospel truth or not cuz you know how stories get embellished? He said when he got back to base his crew chief came running up to him and said Jesus George? How low do you fly this thing? Come here and look at this. In the tail was a broken off tree limb... if this picture comes out, that's my dad and his b29 the 20th Century Fox. After the war he became a sign painter.

20240516_082200.jpg
 
Excellent story!!!!!
Here's another one before I get back building my model. You've all heard stories on the Norden bomb site? You know, The Pickle Barrel and stuff like that. My dad said the scariest time was on the bomb run when the Bombardier had complete control of the plane and the pilot couldn't do anything. So he's sitting there not able to do anything and he looks out the cockpit and happens to glance up because he saw a couple of weird glows above him. A split second later it Dawns on him that that's a B-29 above him and holy shit here comes the Stick of bombs right in front of his nose. And you can't do a damn thing about it.
 
Here's another one before I get back building my model. You've all heard stories on the Norden bomb site? You know, The Pickle Barrel and stuff like that. My dad said the scariest time was on the bomb run when the Bombardier had complete control of the plane and the pilot couldn't do anything. So he's sitting there not able to do anything and he looks out the cockpit and happens to glance up because he saw a couple of weird glows above him. A split second later it Dawns on him that that's a B-29 above him and holy shit here comes the Stick of bombs right in front of his nose. And you can't do a damn thing about it.
By the way. My dad watched the movie on the Memphis Belle? When they were doing their bomb runs in the movie the whole plane was shaking and they were moving around in their seats like someone was shaking it? You know like there was a ferocious wind storm out. My dad laughed and said it's nothing like that he goes sometimes it's smooth as glass and you hear the Bombay doors open and suddenly the plane gets a whole lot lighter and control returns to you and all you want to do is reverse course and head back to Guam and hopefully you have enough fuel to make it to the runway. And believe me all the pilots talked about this. Sometimes you landed and the engine stopped. Out of fuel. Bone dry. If it happens on approach? They all decided the best thing to do was to push the stick forward and slam into the Cliff face cuz none of them wanted to mush in and become a rolling Fireball.
 
By the way. My dad watched the movie on the Memphis Belle? When they were doing their bomb runs in the movie the whole plane was shaking and they were moving around in their seats like someone was shaking it? You know like there was a ferocious wind storm out. My dad laughed and said it's nothing like that he goes sometimes it's smooth as glass and you hear the Bombay doors open and suddenly the plane gets a whole lot lighter and control returns to you and all you want to do is reverse course and head back to Guam and hopefully you have enough fuel to make it to the runway. And believe me all the pilots talked about this. Sometimes you landed and the engine stopped. Out of fuel. Bone dry. If it happens on approach? They all decided the best thing to do was to push the stick forward and slam into the Cliff face cuz none of them wanted to mush in and become a rolling Fireball.
Maybe someday I'll tell the story of my dad soloing a B-17 cuz his instructor had to take a dump
 
Okay I just ate lunch so story time. The gist of this story is the instructor was supposed to meet him but didn't show up so one of the other instructors told my dad to go warm up the B-17 and we'll figure something out. Well about that time a soldier asked one of the other guys how can I get to Texas and the guy said I think that plane right there is leaving go get on it. Which he did. And my dad says why you sitting way back there come sit right here. Okay the soldier said who all he wanted to do was go to Texas. Sits down and straps up and looks at my dad and says let's go. What are we waiting on? So my dad taxied out and took off with who he thought was his instructor that was going to teach him how to land the B-17. But eventually my dad was talked down and landed safely but there was a time when he didn't land safely. Flying around one day in a single engine two-seater learning stuff, his instructor said land the plane George I need to take a leak. And you're doing okay so you take it up and fly it around a little bit. Back then you know there was Cadets all over the place flying and they had several fields where they would teach them Landings and crosswind Landings and one Landing Strip had the windsock with the arrow that you could change according to the wind direction so that you were either doing an approach into the wind or you could change it for a crosswind landing. Well my dad took off the guy went to take a leak and I guess a plane landed and the instructor got out and changed the arrow to a crosswind landing. Which my dad didn't see so as he's following the direction of the Arrow coming into land he's wondering why the ground is going the other way. So he tries to land and of course flips the plane. I'm telling you that must have been some wild times back then cuz he would tell me about six or seven Pilots would get together and they would say let's meet up at that cloud up there. So it would take them just about forever to climb and circle and climb to get up to that cloud and when they all finally got up there one guy would go all right follow me. And they would Zoom around in those clouds until finally one guy would go follow me and he would dive down to the river and we would follow the course of the river, we would follow roads, we would buzz into the cities and towns to see how many clothes we could send flying off the clothesline. My dad said yeah eventually we got shut down but until that happened you have to catch me first.
 
I'd recommend putting "The Mighty Eighth" into your reading list.

https://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Eighth-Europe-Told-Fought/dp/0425281574

I've read dozens of books about fighter pilots, this one was more bomber focused, and really opened my eyes!!
There are a lot of different books on the Mighty Eighth - including one I'm currently reading - Masters of the Air; so what's the difference which one you read. I watched a documentary on National Geographic Channel, The Story of the Mighty Eighth, a very good documentary by the way. I highly recommend watching it.

I've read a wide range of WW2 books over the years and still have a collection I have yet read.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top