Band of Brothers and The Pacific were much loved when they came out, and the new series Masters of the Air is made with the same fabric and is promising to be another riveting show revolving around the hardships of war. This time, the focus is on the American bomber planes that went to Europe to fight against Nazi Germany. The series picks some templates right up from Band of Brothers, where the bond between Maj. Nixon and Maj. Winters was the bedrock of the series. The two seemed to have been replaced by Maj. Gale ‘Buck’ Cleven and Maj. John ‘Bucky’ Egan. Masters of the Air gives us a harrowing look at what the bomber planes had to do and what challenges lay ahead of the officers, who put their lives on the line every time the bomber planes took flight.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Buck And Bucky Team Up Together?
Gale Cleven was unlucky to have met John Egan in the sense that it was only after he met him that the nickname Buck became so popular that nobody even remembered Gale anymore. Egan thought Gale reminded him of a guy named Buck, and that’s when he gave him the new name. Their friendship was forged in the Air Force, and they had been mates right from the beginning of their training. But the bond was going to be tested as the destruction in World War II was continuously on the rise, and America had entered the war, fighting against Nazi Germany. The 100th Bomber Squad was headed by Bucky, and he got a taste of what they were up against. He almost perished under heavy fire from the German planes, but he managed to help his wounded fellow soldier in the plane. Bucky was advised not to inform the incoming troops about the harrowing experience, as that would frighten them and lead them to have preconceived notions about their task. On May 21, 1943, Buck joined Bucky as the leader of the 389th Bomber Group. They were stationed at a base in England, and their job was to fly sorties over the German areas of interest in daylight and drop the bombs at specific areas.
Why Did The Mission Not Go As Planned?
The 100th and 389th Bomber Squads were part of the US Army’s Eighth Air Force, and it was decided that the bomber planes would not attack Germany during the nighttime. The bombs were to be deployed over specific areas, avoiding civilian casualties. There was one problem with this plan, though. If the Americans could see the target clearly, the Germans could see them too. German planes were ready to counterattack, and it made life hell for the American soldiers up there. The soldiers were not ready for the kind of showdown that happened. There were a lot of unexpected problems emerging. The soldiers responsible for firing at the German planes had immense trouble operating the tools at such high altitudes. One even touched the gun with his bare hands and had to pay the price. At such high altitudes, the metal was freezing, and direct contact meant an immediate charring of the skin. There was the special case of Lt. Harry Crosby, who had air sickness, something he hadn’t told anyone about. He thought it would be manageable, but it wasn’t.
Why Did The American And British Soldiers Start A Fight?
Gale was a little mad at Bucky for not warning him about what it was like to be in the air fighting the German planes. The 100th Bomb Squad had lost a few men in their attempt to destroy a German artillery base, and they were expected to lose some more. The mission was a total failure, as they didn’t manage to shoot down a single rival plane, nor could the bomb site be accurately located. The Americans and the British were fighting the same enemy, yet there was a little bit of an issue going on regarding the strategies of both of these nations’ air forces. The Americans were not looking like they would change their stance on the daylight bombing. The British, known for their humor, had a rather callous approach toward the tragedy that the 100th Bomber Squad had to face. Lt. Curtis Biddick could not take the yapping of the British soldiers any longer and called one of the most callous ones out for a fight. Bucky was given a rest, as he was too drunk to be fighting someone. Biddick didn’t want the seniors to get into a mess, and he handled the situation quite neatly before it escalated into a total brawl. In the one-on-one fight, he managed to knock the British officer out, but nobody had forgotten that he had a point. The daylight missions might have been the more noble approach to warfare, but they were not much different from suicide missions.
How Did They Succeed In The Second Attack?
When some of the soldiers were sleeping, an entire crew of soldiers was working to set up the planes for the next attack. The mistakes were not to be repeated, and the hope was that the German base would be annihilated this time around. Crosby was under immense pressure to get his airsickness under control, but it just wasn’t possible. He had to guide the pilots to the bombing site and then get out of the airspace using the safest route.
Meanwhile, Biddick’s plane was hit, and it looked like he would have to take a new route and land in Scotland if he was to make it alive. The German counterattack was strong, but Bucky’s planning was solid. The bombs were dropped at the site, and the mission was a success. All they had to do was arrive back at base safely. Crosby continued to guide the pilots despite the airsickness, and Biddick landed the plane in Scotland. They had done it. They had turned a suicide mission into a success, but Buck knew that the worst wasn’t over yet. This was the first one in a long line of missions, and after seeing Germany attack during the night, Buck was unsure how much longer they were going to survive.
