History Professor Breaks Down "Masters of the Air" - Part Three
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ต.ค. 2024
- Join Reel History for part three of our nine-part historical breakdown of Apple TV's WWII epic "Masters of the Air." Be aware of spoilers as we proceed through the series.
Purchase Jared Frederick's Eighth Air Force book "Into the Cold Blue" here: shorturl.at/egjQY.
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Reel History delves into historical films to separate fact from fiction. These engaging episodes explore, contextualize, and clarify stories related to the most famous historical movies. In contrast to the more prevalent "reaction" videos, these installments seek not only to entertain but to educate and inform. For host Jared Frederick and producer Andrew Collins, these episodes are a labor of love and a means of expressing passion for the past as well as cinema. Courteous viewer feedback is always welcome. The views expressed are our own and do not necessarily represent our employers or organizations with which we are involved.
The intro music is "Salute to a New Beginning" by the United States Army Herald Trumpets.
*Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. All rights belong to their respective owners. All original commentary and materials produced by this channel are the intellectual property of Reel History, LLC. To reach the Reel History team, email reelhistory1944@gmail.com.
I am glad someone with your deep knowledge recognizes the care for details that went into our work.
For all ground reconstruction, we used the aerial photos of the bombings and historical images, to adjust modern satellite images, removing modern buildings and roads and adding landmarks, such as what i used to call the Regensburg Circo Massimo.
This for the entire flight path of all mission in all 9 episode...thousands of kilometers.
Another detail that probably most people will never notice, is that In ep102, the smoke screen is blowing in the correct direction for the wind at that precise time of day that was logged in the mission documents.
Countless of details like these were added.
I am the vfx supervisor that supervised almost all aerial sequences and the content that you mentioned was used in the LED Virtual Production stage, With my team we did our best to bring honor to the heroic actions of these men recreating to the smallest detail those events.
You guys did an awesome job! As someone who is a WWII buff (and specifically the 8th Air Force) and someone who uses 3D visualization in a different industry, I can really appreciate the amount of work and expertise it took to pull this off. Again, congratulations it looks amazing.
Thank you! 🤩
as the son of a man who flew the mission, I thank you. It helps me to understand what he went through. Thank You!
Good sir, I am watching the series from Warsaw, Poland and I cant even to begin to express my admiration of all the details of details of details you and yours managed to capture. Superb work. You really managed to portray all the chaos and terror in the skies
Wow, thank you for such respect and attention to detail. I appreciate this series all the more knowing that.
Congratulations on the doctorate! The ball turret stuck scene in this episode was probably one of the hardest thing to watch in this series so far to me. And we have been shown quite gruesome fates so far, but this was much worse even without any gore or anything - hats off to Babyface's actor, the man sold me that scene.
If you ever saw the movie "The Impossible", he played the youngest son in that movie. William Hinton was the name of the ball turret gunner.
@@hawkeyegeorge you are correct that William Hinton was the BTG who went down on Alice from Dallas but he didn't die stuck in the ball. His real death is just as tragic as he was believed to have stayed too long in helping the tail gunner to jump who was afraid to jump. Sadly the tail gunner's chute wrapped around the tail of the plane and Hinton didn't make it out of the plane before it blew up.
Agreed. Cant imagine the survivor's guilt of anyone in the other guy's situation.
@@JDRamsey-cp1uv knowing what they went through is horrifying.
In the book "Wild Blue" By Stephen e Ambrose a ball gunner was trapped as he couldn't align the ball in the exit position due to damage. Worst still was that the landing gear also would not deploy, so he spent most of the return journey to England knowing that when the plane landed he would be crushed to death.
Hinton was a local kid from where I live in Youngstown, Ohio. Newspapers here reported him MIA until late October when his family finally received word he had been killed. I read the same reports you apparently did, which imply he may have died trying to help the guy whose parachute was caught. Congrats on the doctorate, Dr. Frederick!
Thank you!
And apparently no one is bothered by the fact that Quinn left someone behind and that History wasn't respected. And a supposed well worked serie falling into the urban legend trap of the ball turret. Not sure everything was really well worked
@@BaronRougeCF, fair.
Im also from the Youngstown area, and I had no idea that "Babyface" was from our hometown. This scene was really difficult to watch, and made you feel the emotions that those airmen might have been feeling at that very moment. Called the Greatest Generation for a reason, these men were true heros.
Winters, Basilone, Clevan. Masters of battle. Frederick PhD of making sense of it all. Well done, my hat is off to you. Most impressive
I appreciate you visible emotions while watching this awesome series. I served 33 years on active duty (as a combat medic, field artillery officer and finally as Army physician. I commanded a forward surgical team in Iraq. I was privileged to take care of brave young men and women were the bravest of the brave. I
Thank you for your dedicated work!
Very good review of this episode. I am a retired History teacher who was able to interact with many veterans as I grew up and this whole series is doing a great job with the experiences many had. As I talked with the guys, I will never forget the "vacant" look they had as they tried to talk about the missions. This episode was very moving and I had many tears watching it and remembering stories. Thank you and I look forward to more shows.
Thanks for sharing your memories.
The scene with baby face broke me. The pleading of baby face was so heart wrenching, and the fact that William Quin just couldn’t save him tore my heart to shreds. I cant imagine living with myself needing to make that decision to leave without it haunting me for the rest of my life. This episode has been a very emotionally exhausting episode, but I can’t help but commend the film makers for showing the cacophony of death and violence that was the air war. This is a phenomenal show, and I cannot wait for more episodes
Well, f**k me dead verminsupreme6801, we all hope that one day you will recover. Please keep us posted.
It is very dramatic, but not true.
Firstly, his nickname was not baby face.
Secondly, he did not die in the ball turret - he apparently tried to jump but his parachute got stuck (another theory is that he spent too long trying to help the other crew member (Musante) who didn't make it out of the plane in time.
As a retired USAF officer and former B-52 pilot and amateur historian I’m really enjoying your analysis of each episode. What I’m finding amazing is the dialogue amongst the crew members on the ground and in the air. This series has got that correct.
Congratulaions"Doc". There's a reason that the names Regensburg and Schwienfurt still resonats with the USAF to this day. As a retired AF vet I'm not ashamed to admit to some tearing up in the episode. The Airmen of those day's left some serious big shoes for us future Airmen to fill.
Episode 3 was definitely a rough episode to get through especially the scene with the ball turret gunner trapped inside and when Curtis Biddick's plane went down. Great break down of the episode. Definitely enjoy watching your break downs of the episodes along with the series. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks!
I’m loving this series … probably because of my husband, his brother (aka Buck) , my father, 4 uncles ( one who was blown off a ship in Pearl Harbor and because of lost dog tags was MIA, presumed dead for 3 months until his memory came back) who all served in some capacity in WWII. I’m lost at how much negativity I’m reading from certain people criticizing the production, actors, CGI , etc. I try, but how to get through to them that these people are real, and what so many of them gave up, not even realizing what part they were playing in stopping the Hitler regime. It’s astounding to me that these naysayers don’t even care that what they say may deter our younger generation from wanting to honor these people. Your reviews are so right on point and gives me hope that the heroes from that period will continue to be remembered and honored. Great work, young man!
Your worries are exactly why we make these videos.
I understand what you are saying and I have the same sentiments. When "Band of Brothers" had first aired the 9/11 terror attacks had just happens and the reeling nation need something to rally around and that show was one of them. If 9/11 hadn't happened, would "Band of Brothers". and "The Pacific" since it was green lit based on how well "Band of Brothers" did, have been the smash hit that it is now? I don't know. I think that a lot of the nay sayers for "Masters of the Air" don't realize is that the air war was a completely different monster than the ground war. The men of the 101st Airborne (and all the other ground units) and the Marines got their orders and were expected to slug it out for 30-45 days until they got pulled off the line, got refit and rearmed, and sent back to the front. And with ground combat there is a lot more heroic scenes and constant action to draw an audience in like John Basilone holding off a Japanese charge, Doc Rowe fixing up a wounded trooper, or Maj. Winters leading the charge on an enemy position. With the bomber boys, like Major Buck Clemons said, they just sat there and took it until they made it home, they had to bail, or their plane with them in it was no more. Once they made back to base, it was debriefing, then off to the pubs and clubs to settle down, then off for a few days combating boredom and the trauma until they're back in the air for their next mission, rinse and repeat.
Such a heavy episode. My dad and I both sat there in stunned silence after it finished. It has me both anticipating and dreading the depiction of the Munster raid.
The OCT8 Bremen raid is also an impactful one. My Dad's plane , Piccadilly Lily , went down on that raid and only 4 survived to be POWs. I won't give a spoiler, but that raid affects some of the characters you have seen so far. I think that will be in EP 4.
I've done my research so yes, I'm aware of the impact of the Bremen raid from a narrative and character standpoint.@@stevedavis9466
Congratulations from 🇨🇦 Dr. Frederick on achieving your PhD!
Brilliant accomplishment
Congratulations on the doctorate! Keep up the great content.
You’ve more than earned that doctorate. I remember listening as a bunch of history friends lamented news of the loss of a B-17 at an airshow, and how your added context at that moment became the most historically enlightening gut punch I’ve lived through yet. Clearly you’ve got plenty more of those deeply respectful and world-expanding insights to share. Bravo, Dr. Frederick!
A lot of bomber crews never saw the immediate results of their attack. They were very focused on getting the hell out of the target area. Sometimes later bombers in the formation or a separate formation would get to see the explosions, but they were often obscured by smoke, clouds, dust, etc. Follow up recon missions were used to help assess the damage done.
I liken the loss of Biddick in E3 of MOTA to the losses of Muck and Pincala in BOB, only we saw it far earlier in this series. It really sets the tone for the losses we’ll see in future episodes.
I’m also impressed by the excerpts you’re reading, and the narrative skill of these airmen.
My favorite channel and congratulations on the achievement, my friend! Brutal episode here, and it's crazy what these men faced in the sky. Thanks for the amazing content and breakdown as always!! Justin
Thanks for tuning in!
This episode tore me up. Have already had multiple viewings and its impact is right up there with any BoB episode or Saving Private Ryan..
I just wish runtimes were longer. I can't figure out why episodes are rather short 😢😢
45-1:05 minutes is pretty typical for a miniseries.
This episode was as heavy as "Breaking Point" in Band of Brothers, and this only the 3rd one!
Congratulations!! I enjoy watching your videos very much! As a retired teacher, I think you have a very valuable manner of delivering your videos that make the information very informative and enjoyable at the same time! Now THAT is an accomplishment for any educator!
Thank you!
Great series and great commentary to emphasize how real these are. I watched Band of Brothers and Pacific multiple times, I am sure I will watch Master of the Air many times.
Congratulations Dr. Frederick! This was a rough episode, no rainbows and sunshine. Great analysis as always.
Thank you.
Congratulations, Dr. Frederick! Love the channel!
Thank you!
Congrats! I knew how bad this mission was going to go....so...tough episode. Will be interesting to see how the crew gets out of Belgium.
Congratulations, Dr. Frederick! Thank you for the thoughtful breakdowns of these episodes and your other videos.
Congratulations on the doctorate! This is one of my favorite youtube channels and it brightens my day when i see a new video from your channel!
I agree.
Can you please make episode breakdowns of Band of Brothers and Pacific !
We did Band of Brothers years ago. And The Pacific will follow Masters of the Air
Yes! I was waiting for this episode. Congrats on your doctorate
I was Crush with that Crash. 😢 my heart went down with them. My man died. Cant believe hes gone. Was.my favorite so far. 😭😭😭😭
Congratulations on your great academic achievement! Hope to see many more videos to come!
Congratulations Doctor! Well deserved. Thank you for bringing history to the people.
Congratulations Doc! Thanks for all the time and effort you spend preserving history.
Belated congratulations on your doctorate, Dr Frederick Loving your analysis of each episode hence my timing as I'm savouring them.
Congratulations! That is a very cool milestone in your life and career!
Hooah! Congrats, Dr. Frederick!
Congratulations, Dr. Frederick 👨🏼🎓👏🏻
Congratulations!!!
Congratulations DR. Frederick!
Congrats- fascinating in depth series here loving it going through a lil behind
Cheers!
I‘m always excited for these Doctor!
So Far Im loving this series once again I can never imagine going through this in 1940s especially going to the Pacific or Europe So Im so appreciative towards all the guys that fought for us
Congratulations!
Congrats, Dr. Fredrick!
Congrats on the big achievement! The ball turret scene was rough! I’m enjoying the show so far overall.
Thanks!
Thank you so much!
Congrats Doc!
Congratulations Doctor! You had it from day one!!
Much appreciated!
Congrats Doc
Well done Dr!
Congratulations, Doctor!🎉
Congratulations Doc.
Congratulations man! I've been watching and following your channel for a while now, and as someone who grew up as a huge history buff, this is my favorite channel to watch. Keep doing what you're doing!!
Amazing episode it was unbelievably tense throughout
Congratulations on the Doctorate! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and passion with us!
Congrats Dr.!
Congratulations on getting your Doctorate!! As always you do a wonderful job on your videos!! Thank you!!
Excellent, 10/10 breakdown... thank you.
Congrats, Doctor!
Congrats on you Doctorate......always love to watch along as you are always full of information and facts. I remember reading years ago The Air War in Europe from Time and Life Books where I know I've read about these missions and the lives of the bomber crews.....but you bring the stories I once read to life. Fog seemed to always be an issue in England. I remember from A Bridge To Far that fog delayed the Polish Brigade's jump to assist the First British Airborne.
Congratulations Doctor Frederick!!
Thank you...I just finished reading Harry H. Crosby's book Wing and a Prayer by your suggestion. Excellent book and very informative! Thank you again, and great video! Congratulations again on the Doctorate!
Congratulations! Thanks for the awesome content.
Congrats, Jared!
Congratulations Dr. Fredrick! Way to go!
Congratulations on your achievement, I'm happy for you. I just love your channel.
Congratulations on getting your doctorate! Very inspiring for a fellow history buff like myself (I have a bachelor's in the field). I'm wondering - could you do a breakdown of the 1993 miniseries 'Alex Haley's QUEEN"? It's about Alex Haley's grandmother who was the daughter of a slave of African and Cherokee descent, and her Irish-American master. It's a great miniseries, but I'm curious to see what you, as a historian and professor, have to say about it. Love the videos!
Congratulations Dr Frederick!
Dr. Frederick: I've been spending my weekdays just anxiously waiting for Friday and the next episode of this series, and then the next couple of days anxiously waiting for your breakdown. What a fantastic job you do with these. I wanted to make an observation more directed at the filmmakers (please correct if I'm wrong): As I understand it, the Regensburg force did have some fighter escort, albeit short-lived. P-47s (353rd Fighter Group and 56th Fighter Group of Hub Zemke fame) did become engaged with FW-190s and Me-109s, and one German fighter was claimed. I believe they "enjoyed" the Thunderbolts' presence for scarcely 20 minutes or so over the Netherlands? I feel the episode could have used at least some some dialogue or cursory mention of this, as it would illustrate a little better for the viewer the Allies' dilemma of not having an aircraft capable of providing adequate fighter escort for these missions until the Mustang. By comparison, the film Memphis Belle underlined this with a scene in which presumably P-47s (played by Mustangs in those pre-CGI days) broke off and returned to base because of low fuel. I feel they could at least have added something like radio banter, stating the Thunderbolts were "bingo fuel" (or whatever the term was in those days). That aside, what a masterpiece of an episode this was, and what an informative episode of Reel History. If Playtone ever releases a Blu-Ray box set of this, your excellent breakdowns should be among its special features. Here's hoping you get that phone call!
Congrats, Dr.
From what I’ve seen online, episode 3 seems to have converted some of the people who were skeptics over the first two episodes.
Congrats, Doc!
Dr. Frederick, (that has a good ring ti it!)
I really like your information and observations of each episode. It adds so much to the episodes.
This episode was hard to watch-gut wrenching is one adjective that I can use. The many acts of courage during the missions became commonplace.
My dad, who was an infantry veteran of the ETO, told me onetime that funerals weren’t for the dead but for the living. The suddenness of death and loss of friends was devastating. Since PTSD was not recognized or fully understood at this time, these men had to deal with it the best way they could. For some, it was too much to comprehend. When aircrews returned to base, there were many empty cots in the barracks. A stark reminder the suddenness of death.
The saying, “There are no atheists in a foxhole” could easily be changed to “No atheists in a B-17”, too.
Interesting to note, the Browning M-2 machine gun (Ma Deuce) that the B-17s and B-24s used in WWII is still in the inventory of the US military today.
congrats on passing! must be a cool feeling to go by Dr now
I so appreciate your informative posts, they inform and enhance my viewing experience. I watch each episode three times to take it all in. Thank you and I look forward to seeing you next week.
I look forward to watching your analyses every week. The ball turret scene was so painful to watch, as were Biddick's demise and the free-falling men with no parachutes. Such a different kind of war than BoB and Pacific.
Congratulations on finishing the Ph.D., Dr. Fredericks. I know that feeling of relief, Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible / Ancient Near East back in 2000. May you have a long, productive, and satisfying teaching career!
Thank you!
This was just an incredible episode. Really really well done.
Congratulations 🎉🎉
I've said several times that this has to be the first time we've ever really seen how fast the fighter planes were coming at them. It's a miracle that they were able to hit any of them to shoot them down. Horrifying.
Nice job Doctor!!
You’re killing it!
Thanks!
Congratulations Professor and Dr. Jared Frederick. I repeat myself when I wrote last time you reviewed the series, that Gale Clevin said, "I don't know what I saw." Of course, agreeing with you about the surreal sensation of combat from the point of view of the survivor. I am a veteran and all I can say is this, Wars are fought by young men who if or when they get older fight hard to make sure it never happens again and heap all praise on the friends they lost in battle. It is too bad we don't have enough veterans serving in positions of power.
I wasn't too sure about this episode when I first watched it. The whole series actually. A lot of characters to track but it must have been so much harder to make than BoB or Pacific because it involves planes that don't exist in those massive numbers anymore. Just a different feel but I'm enjoying it. That scene with all of the madness and long fight going on, and Klevin's stare was perfect. So surreal and "beyond fiction" like you said. I would completely agree with that statement when I think of my own combat experiences. Great job and congrats on the doctorate!! Can you throw in the list of books you've been citing?
Congratulations!!! Thanks for another great recap!
Jared, you have the wonderful ability of telling history so that it becomes such a compelling story that it stays with one for a long time. Congratulations on your PhD. I look forward to your book coming out and will get it as soon as it is available.
Is there any place that I could get one of those eighth Air Force pillows that you have?
Congratulations on the doctorate!
Thank you!
Congrats!!!🎉
The age appropriate actors I also enjoy,reminds me the tender age I were myself in the military and now my much younger brother wanna follow after me which I really dont know how to feel about really.
Congrats Dr. Fredrick!! 👨🎓 I'm so greatful for these men. I can't help but think about what my uncle went through. God bless them.😢
Congrats, Dr. Jared, on the doctorate. What an accomplishment. I have had the following question for years....How prevalent was it that the bomber gunners shooting other US bombers in formation, All I could find that seemed reliable is it did happen, but it was attributed to enemy fire, not friendly. I get that, given the citizens back home and future crews might be hesitant to join if it was widely circulated, but it just seems awful. The ball turret scene was gut wrenching, but extremely well acted. Great coverage of MOTA.
It actually wasn't that frequent. Not only was there good training but also certain "safeties" that would diminish the chances of shoot at your own planes/engines.
Thanks for answer. I knew about the safety restraints to keep from blowing the tail, etc off. But seems my long time curiosity has been solved. Take care. Looking forward to the rest of your reviews.@@ReelHistory
Love your videos, very interesting, thank you for everything you do
Thank you Jared, well done. And congratulations on your PhD. Happy with your school?
Very much so. Penn State Harrisburg.
Congratulations on your doctorate. Well deserved!
It would’ve been cool if Rosie’s grandson could’ve played his grandfather … but it’s absolutely awesome either way he’s in this production, that must’ve been really special for him.
Crosby mentioned that the fact that both Egen and Cleven were on this mission was unusual because this was recognized as a more hazardous mission. Taking a big chance on not losing the commanding officers of these squadrons was quite a risk and not normal.
Definitely a powerful episode depicting one of the most tragic days for the 8th Air Force.
Colonel Curtis LeMay was on this mission so I don't know what you are talking about. In September 1943, he became the first commander of the newly formed 3rd Air Division. He personally led several dangerous missions, including the Regensburg section of the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission of August 17, 1943 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_LeMay
@@pvtjohntowle4081 and what is remarkable about that , is that the 100th was in the 'Purple Heart Corner' in the formation and they knew they would get hit hard. So they risked losing LeMay.
@@pvtjohntowle4081 while it was not unusual for 1 commanding officer to fly a mission, it WAS unusual for most of the senior leadership to be on the same mission. It was taking a big risk that all of them would not be killed or captured, thus removing the ranking officers. The 8th AF needed leadership to build the foundation and establish the standards of performance. Losing that leadership would significantly slow that development cycle.
23:33 Road to Regensburg would make quite the interesting film
Congrats, Doc. It's interesting to note that although the ball turret was viewed as the most dangerous position, the 8AF's post-war data indicated it was actually the safest place to be on the B-17, as that position had the fewest casualties of all the crew positions. The 8AF also had restrictions on the senior leadership of a group flying combat missions. They wanted somebody left to command the group, so the group commander didn't fly every mission. Likewise, all the squadron commanders weren't supposed to fly on the same mission, though the 100th frequently violated this regulation. Harry Crosby admitted that early in the war the 100th suffered such terrible casualties because they were lousy at formation flying. The Luftwaffe was quick to exploit this weakness. Great episode, as always.
Yes, Congratulations on the Doctorate! I have several relatives with doctorates, including my daughter who got hers in 2007 in chemistry, her husband also in computer science. Still waiting for the series to on free broadband.
Congrats!! Great review too!
We can tell these type of movies...stories matter to you emotionally and meaningfully.
Can agree with the comments on English weather! There are times from late Autumn to early Spring where there is no wind and the clouds are almost at ground level. Being born and raised in Norfolk uk, the county is surrounded at least two thirds of the way by the North Sea plus the land is very flat so that the mist and fog rolls in very fast.
This episode was mind blowing in the imagery and effects, heartbreakingly so. I guess that the BoB series and the Pacific were easier to make with the less developed CGI. These realistic images would not have been available a few years ago. Really enjoying this very much.
Congratulations Jared on the Doctorate. 🎉 🇬🇧
Great review. Keep em’ coming!