Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have done public service again.
Like “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific” before it, the new series “Masters of the Air” is a deep tribute to the memory of the men who won World War II, this time in Europe. focuses on air warfare. .
Telling a country’s history has always relied more on popularizers than academic historians (especially when the latter don’t like their country’s history very much), and Spielberg and Hanks were better at popularizing than anyone expected. I am a person.
“The Masters” tells the story of the Eighth Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group, known as the Bloody 100. Not for the destruction this group wrought, but for the punishment they received on some of the most dangerous missions of the war.
No one has ever recreated with such precision and care the stories, machines, situations and missions of this side of the war, and it is unlikely that anyone will ever do so again.
It was a project that took 10 years to create, with a budget of $250 million, and the highest level of technical expertise.
The B-17, known as the Flying Fortress, or Fort for short, is a long-range bomber that is attracting attention.
They have been lovingly recreated and often look like they have stepped out of a painting.
That doesn’t obscure their deadly purpose or their deadly mission of flying over hostile territory.
Best of all, the “Masters” fly through primitive air masks in sub-zero temperatures, riding in tin cans while being shot at by German anti-aircraft guns and trying to avoid ferocious fire from much faster German fighters. It reminds me of the experience of breathing.
It’s as scary as it sounds.
Program producers obsessively recreated each plane’s exact location and exact fate during the mission, based on Air Force records.
As screenwriter John Orloff explained, they felt a factual rendering was essential. This was not “Star Wars,” a made-up conflict involving fictional characters, but a real battle in which Americans gave their last full effort.
Orlov points out that 34 of the 36 crew members of the 100 were shot down about three months after arriving in Britain.
Although the mission spanned 25 missions, the astronauts completed an average of only 11 missions successfully.
In contrast to the British, who bombed at night, the Americans conducted daytime bombing, which was inherently more precise.
Initially, without protection from fighter jets, the B-17 became a mere duck.
Sometimes their missions included attacks on industrial areas, sometimes they targeted cities themselves or German morale, and sometimes they were aimed at luring the Luftwaffe into battle and weakening the Luftwaffe’s standing.
The balance of air warfare changed decisively in 1944 with the advent of the P-51, a long-range fighter that could adequately protect the B-17.
The morality and effectiveness of the Allied bombing campaign has been debated for many years.
There is no doubt that this campaign and its senseless destruction had a real psychological cost.
Unfortunately, however, there was no easy way to defeat the totalitarian states that had come to dominate the European continent, and for a long time strategic bombing was the only serious means of directly attacking the Nazis.
In terms of effectiveness, this operation diverted vast Nazi resources to air defense.
But we achieved more than that.
Military historian Cathal Nolan writes, “By 1945 bombers would have destroyed Germany’s transportation system, destroyed its most important military industries, especially oil supplies and refining, and virtually halted production of fighter aircraft.” ” he wrote.
He continued: “Both Germany and Japan have the ability to move armaments, complete production, and deploy weapons and divisions at will, even within their homelands, by the end of their respective wars.” I couldn’t do it,” he said.
America’s young people did their best under harsh conditions and contributed to victory.
“The Masters” is their story to be told.
Twitter: @RichLowry
