The Bloody Hundredth: the true story behind ‘Masters of Air’
Casting one’s mind back over the past century of human history, the Second World War sticks out as a major touchstone, dramatically changing the shape of world politics while being, in itself, a stain on civilisation’s supposed integrity. Still, even in times of horror and depravity come stories of hope and courage, with WWII providing countless such tales that have been immortalised in TV shows, movies and novels.
The work of American movie master Steven Spielberg has been responsible for the creation of several of these tales. 1993’s Schindler’s List detailed the incredible work of Oskar Schindler, who saved the lives of 1,200 Jews from death during the holocaust. In addition, HBO’s TV series Band of Brothers was based on the remarkable heroics of Easy Company, a loyal group of soldiers who took part in some of WWII’s most iconic battles.
Therefore, it comes as little surprise to learn that Apple TV’s latest WWII story, Masters of the Air, produced by Spielberg, is also based on a true story. As the title suggests, this TV series focuses on the soldiers of the skies, telling the story of ten men inside the ‘Flying Fortress’ bomber who were forced to survive behind enemy lines despite facing endless German attacks and artillery.
The truth behind the serialised tale was a little different, being based on the experiences of the American 100th Bomb Group, otherwise known by their nickname, the Bloody Hundredth. A vast team of pilots and airmen, the group were given this label thanks to the heavy casualties they faced from 1943 to 1945, losing 732 people over the course of 8630 total missions.
One of the most dangerous positions in the military air force, each member of the Hundredth was required for 25 missions before they could be dismissed. However, most of these airmen failed to make even a significant dent into this stipulation. Based in Thorpe Abbotts in Norfolk, the main task of these Americans was to take part in bombing raids against the Nazis in occupied European territories
Just like Band of Brothers, Masters of the Air is based on its own respective novel, Donald L Miller’s Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany, with the real-life individuals being written into the TV show itself. While some side characters may be fictional, the majority of the cast, including Austin Butler’s Maj. Gale ‘Buck’ Cleven and Callum Turner’s Maj. John ‘Bucky’ Egan was very real. In fact, these two aforementioned Bloody Hundredth pilots were also best friends in reality.
These aren’t the only true-to-life characters either, with Nate Mann’s Major Robert ‘Rosie’ Rosenthal being one of the most influential members of the iconic group, flying a total of 52 missions. Despite being twice shot down, Rosenthal was never captured, going on to earn such awards as the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart before taking part as a prosecutor in the Nuremberg trials, personally interrogating the Nazi military leader Hermann Göring.
The life of Rosenthal, alone, would make for an incredible Spielberg tale of patriotism and human heroics, with this surely peaking the all-American filmmaker’s interests if such was pitched to him as a biopic. Yet, even if this movie never gets off the ground, you can find an excellent memorial to the lives of the Bloody Hundredth in the form of Apple’s classy, well-structured new series.
