*** Masters of the Air ***

101,250 Views | 786 Replies | Last: 5 mo ago by double aught
JABQ04
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If you wanna shoot me an email at username@gmail I'd love to take a crack at it tomorrow if works slow enough.
annie88
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I just finished it the other night. Enjoyed it.

Wow, the respect I have for our guys in WWII.

I'm a huge Band of Brothers fan, rewatch it about every year, in fact taking a two-week trip in September to follow their path from London to Germany. Will definitely re-watch this one at some point.

I didn't hate The Pacific, is was phenomenal in it's own right, but I didn't enjoy it as much as these two.

I just felt the cohesion was better with these two as I felt, and only my opinion, The Pacific jumped around to more individualistic stories a bit more, while these really showed the camaraderie within the groups on a little level, but that is in NO WAY makes it bad. Weird to compare such devastating and amazing experiences in tv shows and to "rate" them, but I appreciate all the sacrifices made by all the men and women who sacrificed in all our wars.
Gunny456
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Cool trip. Should be great.
Zombie Jon Snow
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Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

Quote:

I would love a naval battle show at some point - the major Pacific battles like Pearl, Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, Phillipines and Leyte for example, but also maybe encompassing the Atlantic convoy crossings and sub hunting or battles of the North Sea maybe. Lots of ground.


That would likely result in a disjointed narrative, which seems to be the biggest criticism of The Pacific. Go with one or the other theaters. I also would steer away from both Pearl Harbor and Midway as both have been done more than once theatrically.

I don't have anything specific in mind, but I'd start at Guadalcanal to follow a group of Navy vessels through the big battles in the South Pacific, with a focus both on ship-to-ship battles and air group dominance of the Japs (thinking Marianas Turkey Shoot here), and end that show (after more than 10 episodes) on 2 September 1945 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

Agreed on all counts. I would start it after Pearl or just using that as an intro but focus on actual naval battles at sea. Midway has been covered a lot but you have to include it as the turning point in some way.

Just focusing on actual US carrier vs Japanese carrier naval battles you have really just 5 occurrences:

Coral Sea - fleet carrier Lexington is lost while Japan lost a light carrier

Midway - fleet carrier Yorktown is lost while Japan lost 4 fleet carriers

pre Guadalcanal - fleet carrier Wasp is scuttled after being hit by a sub
Guadalcanal/Eastern Solomons - US lost a light carrier and Japan had a badly damaged fleet carrier
Guadalcanal/Santa Cruz - fleet carrier Hornet is lost and Enterprise badly damaged, 2 Japanese carriers badly damaged and lost too many aircraft and withdrew instead of finishing off Enterprise

Philippine Sea/Leyte Gulf - US lost a light carrier and escort carrier while Japan lost a fleet carrier and 3 light carriers

That was the last carrier vs carrier battle. Ending it on the Missouri would be great of course.

I'd seriously focus on the onboard carrier and/or battleships perspectives as opposed to the fighter/bomber perspectives. Masters of the Air gave me that feeling of the airfield crew not knowing the outcome and waiting for those bombers to return. On the carriers in these battles you had that plus fending off the Japanese attacks in the interim. A real naval fleet carrier perspective. Sending out your planes and waiting, fending off attacks, relief at surviving those or defeat in losing some carriers, and then jubilation upon hearing the news when the fighters and bombers return. Could be interesting. I'm not saying I would not show the sinking of opposing carriers but it would not be the focus.
AgLA06
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I think I'd rather see an actual Navy movie, not the Navy Air Corp.

You could follow a PT crew, submarine, and destroyer, etc. There were plenty of naval battles in which the navies battled each other. Of course the last episode or 2 could be about the carriers and naval air support changing naval warfare.

Then again, we're seeing destroyers and frigates coming back to importance today in shooting down missiles and drones.
MAROON
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I could see this being made into a limited edition series, with maybe another carrier battle also part of the series.
LMCane
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annie88 said:

I just finished it the other night. Enjoyed it.

Wow, the respect I have for our guys in WWII.

I'm a huge Band of Brothers fan, rewatch it about every year, in fact taking a two-week trip in September to follow their path from London to Germany. Will definitely re-watch this one at some point.

I didn't hate The Pacific, is was phenomenal in it's own right, but I didn't enjoy it as much as these two.

I just felt the cohesion was better with these two as I felt, and only my opinion, The Pacific jumped around to more individualistic stories a bit more, while these really showed the camaraderie within the groups on a little level, but that is in NO WAY makes it bad. Weird to compare such devastating and amazing experiences in tv shows and to "rate" them, but I appreciate all the sacrifices made by all the men and women who sacrificed in all our wars.

check out "Twelve O'Clock High"

you can find the entire movie on Youtube and streaming

every potential Air Force officer at AMS or OTS watches this movie before being commissioned as a butterbar

MAROON
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Had to watch it and wrote a paper on it in a Leadership class as part of the Rice MBA curriculum
wangus12
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MAROON said:



I could see this being made into a limited edition series, with maybe another carrier battle also part of the series.
This is the story I want done. The Battle off Samar was an extraordinary act of heroism by the destroyers and destroyer escorts.

I'm just not sure the best way to put it on screen.
AgGrad99
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Just started the first couple episodes of this show, and I really really like it. I've already caught myself holding my breath during a couple scenes.

Some of the original complaints about character development, etc...it doesn't need to mirror BoB in that way. In fact, it shouldn't. Their function/relationship/experience was different, and it should feel different. And they're doing a great job of easing you into the absolute chaos of war up in the air, in these aircraft. Seeing each character learn the reality themselves, after a mission, was a really smart way to put us in their shoes.

One of my wife's grandfathers told me some awesome stories of his time as a ball turret gunner. He showed me some unbelievable pictures from his time in the UK...like one, where they're standing on a building roof, with portions of the city behind him on fire/smoking. He told me about a crash landing they had, away from home, and their fortuitous escape. But seeing visuals about his role, through this show is pretty sobering.
G Martin 87
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wangus12 said:

MAROON said:



I could see this being made into a limited edition series, with maybe another carrier battle also part of the series.
This is the story I want done. The Battle off Samar was an extraordinary act of heroism by the destroyers and destroyer escorts.

I'm just not sure the best way to put it on screen.
Greyhound (Apple TV+) is a good watch. Once the action ramps up, the suspense doesn't let up until the end.
87Flyfisher
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I thought about Dwight every episode. You and I are fortunate to have known a man who lived through what that show tried to convey.
AgGrad99
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87Flyfisher said:

I thought about Dwight every episode. You and I are fortunate to have known a man who lived through what that show tried to convey.


Amen to that. The stuff he showed me and told me makes me swell with admiration and pride today. The man was so mild mannered and humble, but lived through unbelievable circumstances.

I wish his records were still around, but they were lost when he passed. He had some really incredible stuff in that shoe box. I have the US Flag he was given when he was discharged, hanging in my office.
87Flyfisher
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when i was in Jr. High I was really into WW2 aviation. He spent a lot of time telling me about what he saw and experienced. Now I see that it probably was hard for him to talk about it and I appreciate it even more.

It is hard to imagine that sweet gentleman spinning around in a plexiglass bubble high over Nazi Germany pulling the trigger on two ,50 calibers trying to shoot down ME 109s and FW190s so he and his buddies could live long enough to do it again a few days later.
AgGrad99
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87Flyfisher said:

when i was in Jr. High I was really into WW2 aviation. He spent a lot of time telling me about what he saw and experienced. Now I see that it probably was hard for him to talk about it and I appreciate it even more.


Very very cool.

Not sure if you knew them very well, but I tried once to talk to Mr Clayton about it, but he couldn't. It was too hard for him to recall what they went through.

Those men were real men.
Aggies76
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Bumping this to read through it. Started the series recently.
double aught
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Finally watched this and really enjoyed it! Yeah, some episodes were better than others. But overall, it was a very well told story about amazing heroism. It captured the terror of the missions, and the airdrop over Holland was a great, emotional ending. So compelling. Those in this thread who bailed after the first two episodes should give it another go. They're missing out.

On a personal note, I loved the scene at Oxford where Crosby plays around with his hat and takes the support out. It reminded me of a couple of photos of my grandfather. In one, his hat is crisp and straight and in the other it's bent down on the sides. He was a pilot, but flew gliders as opposed to the B17. He's been gone since the 90s, but I still miss him in moments like this. Like so many, he came back from the war and made a great life for his family. A good, kind man who loved his wife, kids, and grandkids.


 
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