The brand-new Masters of the Air is the third popular WWII series that takes real-life events of those who fought in the war to the world of film. The first two series took viewers on the ground through Europe (Band of Brothers – Easy Company) and Japan (The Pacific – U.S. Marine Corps).
Masters of the Air takes us into the skies following the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force bomber squadrons of WWII.
We are already two episodes out of nine into the series, and Masters of the Sky is a major talking point among movie fans. We’ve met the characters and seen epic battle scenes, action, emotions, and drama on the ground on the bases.
Thanks to its already thrilling screenplay in Part 1 and Part 2, Masters of the Sky is now trending across streaming and social media platforms globally, leaving us itching for more as we await the release of Part 3, due on February 2, 2024.
When is each Masters of the Air Series Being Aired Live?
What are the Dates of the Masters of the Air episode releases?
- Part 1 – January 26, 2024
- Part 2 – January 26, 2024
- Part 3 – February 2, 2024
- Part 4 – February 9, 2024
- Part 5 – February 16, 2024
- Part 6 – February 23, 2024
- Part 7 – March 1, 2024
- Part 8 – March 8, 2024
- Part 9 – March 15, 2024
What was the Inspiration Behind the Production of Masters of the Air
It all began with the amazing movie production of Saving Private Ryan, which then inspired Tom Hanks to create a series to follow one of the bravest companies of WWII – Easy Company – in Band of Brothers. 9 years later, the Pacific war effort was next on the agenda in a series aptly named – The Pacific.
Third in line is Masters of the Air, depicting yet another vital piece of the jig saw in the Allied war effort. With the road to VE Day following Easy Company and the battle to defeat the Japanese army following the U.S. Marine Corps, it made sense the next in line for another WWII series would be based on the United States Army Air Forces’ bomber squadrons.
Band of Brothers (2001)
You may have heard of or watched HBO’s Band of Brothers, produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. This was the first WWII series to use special effects, thanks to modern CGI and movie-making tech, to bring a realistic depiction of WWII. Over 10-episode, it follows a sequence of events with the US Army’s Easy Company, who viewers get to know through training, D-Day, Operation Market Garden, Bastone, the Eagle’s Nest and VE Day.
Each episode is based on true events and begins with the actual surviving paratroopers emotionally talking about their experience of each event they experienced before the episode takes through each operation or stepping stone Easy Company took to reach their objective.
The series came after the movie Saving Private Ryan (1998) showed that the movie industry’s technology could bring the realism of war action to the big screen in a way that the viewers felt the emotions of that era. Both Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers were immense successes.
The Pacific (2010)
HBO followed up on Band of Brothers with another 10-episode series, ‘The Pacific’. They took the viewers from Pearl Harbour to the final Battle of Okinawa by following the experiences of 3 U.S. Marine Corps divisions – 1st, 2nd and 3rd Marine Divisions. Like Band of Brothers, the series uses true events described by the soldiers themselves who were there. It also focuses on war hero Sergeant John Basilone, who won the Medel of Honour for his courage and bravery during the Battle of Guadalcanal. Once again, this series took the viewer through a realistic and emotional journey of the brutality of the war efforts in the Far East.
Master of the Air (2024)
The latest series takes you up into the skies following the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) bomber pilots and crews of World War II, who often used different strategies to the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Bomber Command, such as strategic day time bombing raids.
Although the RAF was also key to weakening veteran World War I pilot Göring’s Luftwaffe, the Master of the Air series follows on from Band of Brothers and The Pacific to give viewers the USAAF’s American Eighth Air Force perspective of the war. There are also small insights into the contributions of the RAF, which was a mix of Brits, Polish, Indian, French, Belgium, Dutch, Norwegian, Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand pilots and crews who had been fighting in the air before the USAAF officially joining the war allied war effort in 1942.
What was the American Eighth Air Force?
The American Eighth Air Force was created right after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1942. The goal was to have the first long-range American bombing unit that could attack German industry and try to win the war faster without having to invade Germany with ground troops.
The Bombers and Their Crews
The bomber planes were very cold and unsafe. There was no heat, and frostbite was common. Oxygen masks would freeze and there were no medics on board. Crew members had to care for each other when injured. Over 26,000 men in the Eighth Air Force were killed in action during World War II.
The bomber pilots were a nervous group of guys with huge responsibility. The two main characters, John Egan and Gale Cleven, were especially skilled pilots who became lifelong friends. Their courage is highlighted in the new Apple TV+ show.
Following the Eighth Air Force’s three major accomplishments:
- They helped sink Hitler’s U-boats that were threatening supply ships coming from America
- They followed the RAF to help defeat the Luftwaffe before D-Day. This allowed the Normandy invasion to take place.
- After D-Day, they bombed Nazi industry and transport. This severely damaged the Nazi Party’s economic ability to fund its war effort.
By the end, the bombers and crews were ‘Masters of the Air over Europe and played a crucial role in ending World War II. Hence the title of the new series.
Will there be more Series Following Masters of the Air?
We’ve seen Easy Company battle through Europe and the U.S. Marine Corps fight through the Pacific. Now, Masters of the Air takes us through another critical part of WWII’s success. Yet, so many other areas of the war were also crucial to the eventual end, which ended with the Japanese army’s surrender. There is room for more series in the future. The Battle of the Atlantic and the North African Campaign all involved the US military, so we could see Masters of the Air followed by a series based on one of these campaigns.
There is also the Grey Hound movie, which covers one of the merchant navy’s journies across the Atlantic being chased by the famous ‘Wolf Pack’ U-boat submarines. This is well worth a match.