Part Three
- Episode aired Feb 2, 2024
- TV-MA
- 48m
IMDb RATING
8.6/10
2.9K
YOUR RATING
The group participates in its largest mission to date - the bombing of vital aircraft manufacturing plants deep within Germany.The group participates in its largest mission to date - the bombing of vital aircraft manufacturing plants deep within Germany.The group participates in its largest mission to date - the bombing of vital aircraft manufacturing plants deep within Germany.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Regensburg-Schweinfurt mission was carried out on August 17, 1943, and was - as described by author Donald Miller - "the biggest, most disastrous American air operation up to that time." Major Gale Cleven's cool-headed actions under intense fire during the raid were of particular significance, and would be documented in a Saturday Evening Post article (written by Lt. Col. Beirne Lay) published later that year. Austin Butler, who plays Major Cleven, was born 48 years to the day after the Regensburg-Schweinfurt mission, on August 17, 1991.
- GoofsThe B-17s were shown dropping a full bomb load. In reality, for a long range mission like this one, a B-17 could only carry a ludicrously small bomb load of between two (2 x 2000lb) and eight (8 x 500lb) bombs.
- Quotes
Maj. John 'Bucky' Egan: I don't know how you flew that thing all the way to Africa, but you couldn't make the runway. It's right there. Huh?
Featured review
Outstanding history in the episode
This series is sweating the details and getting them right. Want to know how real it is portrayed? Ask pilots and they will tell you. It's real enough to be visceral. You feel the situation as it's played out.
The entire episode is devoted to the most historic mission the 100th Bomb Group flew during the war, as they launched from England, flew over all of Germany, and then continued on to North Africa.
The only way the mission was deemed to have any chance of success was if it was part of three air wings coordinated to carry out three attacks simultaneously. As so often happened in the ETO air war, events conspired to ruin the plan.
This is the mission that earned the 100th their name, "The Bloody 100th." Their part of the mission is the only one that flew as planned, and they bore the brunt of the German response in a most brutal manner.
What is being done here is history played out on screen for all of us to see. Moreover, since it is more than a documentary, it opens up a look into the psyches of the men who flew it.
Exact dialog in the episode is verbatim of what the actual aviators in the war said, and how they said it. It's raw and unnerving, and this series deserves high marks for turning outstanding production values into far more than a simple mini-series.
What is being done is for the first time, our modern era is being taken back to a time where even the men who participated are challenged to try to put into words the scope of what took place, even as their inner selves would like to bury it deep so they don't have to think about it.
It takes all aspects to combine to reach the true sense of what these men experienced. This series is achieving that combination, and we would do well to carefully consider its stark reality.
The entire episode is devoted to the most historic mission the 100th Bomb Group flew during the war, as they launched from England, flew over all of Germany, and then continued on to North Africa.
The only way the mission was deemed to have any chance of success was if it was part of three air wings coordinated to carry out three attacks simultaneously. As so often happened in the ETO air war, events conspired to ruin the plan.
This is the mission that earned the 100th their name, "The Bloody 100th." Their part of the mission is the only one that flew as planned, and they bore the brunt of the German response in a most brutal manner.
What is being done here is history played out on screen for all of us to see. Moreover, since it is more than a documentary, it opens up a look into the psyches of the men who flew it.
Exact dialog in the episode is verbatim of what the actual aviators in the war said, and how they said it. It's raw and unnerving, and this series deserves high marks for turning outstanding production values into far more than a simple mini-series.
What is being done is for the first time, our modern era is being taken back to a time where even the men who participated are challenged to try to put into words the scope of what took place, even as their inner selves would like to bury it deep so they don't have to think about it.
It takes all aspects to combine to reach the true sense of what these men experienced. This series is achieving that combination, and we would do well to carefully consider its stark reality.
helpful•166
- kenstallings-65346
- Feb 3, 2024
Details
- Runtime48 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
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