Masters of the Air

Summary

As a warfare drama , it is no surprisal that Apple TV+‘sMasters of the Airprovides sneak peeks of various real - spirit details from World War II , include a lesser - known arm called the Norden Bombsight . master of the Airis a state of war drama created by Gary Goetzman , Tom Hanks , and Steven Spielberg , who previously shape on 2000’sBand of Brothersand 2010’sThe Pacific . The series , based on the ledger " Masters of the Air : America ’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany " by Donald L. Miller , state thetrue story of the hundredth Bombardment Group .

When watchingMasters of the Air , it is soft to get soak up into the story andMasters of the Air’scharacters , but the warfare setting is just as enthralling . This is because the series successfully adds important backstory and circumstance throughMajor Harry Crosby’snarration so that audience not only infer the stakes of the story , but also the literal - life consequences of the war . For example , Masters of the Airoffers specific insight into the 100th ’s war scheme , their B-17 bombers , and the technology the show refers to as"one ofthe greatest clandestine weapons in the state of war " : the Norden Bombsight .

master of the Air follows the effort of the tangible 100th Bomb Group , so the serial must take to the atmosphere , and to do that , CGI was definitely involved .

Masters of the Air TV Show Poster showing Austin Butler and Several Air Pilots in World War II Uniforms

What The Norden Bombsight Actually Is

Though it makes an appearance inMasters of the Air , the Norden Bombsight is a actual man of equipment used by the United States Air Force during World War II , the Korean War , and the Vietnam War . First and foremost , a bombsight is a gadget thatallows the military to drop down bombs with accuracy . This eccentric of technology has been around as far back as World War I. However , the Norden Bombsight was a unexampled exemplar thatprovided much more precisionthan any other bombsight had ever given before , which explicate why it was so important during World War II .

Unlike bombsights of the past , the Norden Bombsight had the ability to almost directly measure a bomb ’s land speed and counselling . Previously , a bombsight user would need to go through various manual steps to get this case of information , wasting precious sentence . Therefore , using the Norden Bombsight meant that the U.S. Army Air Forces were able tomake straightaway and more direct attacks on targets . Because of the weapon ’s accuracy , the Norden Bombsight was partially keep a secret well into the war , and though it often performed less well than intended , its legacy hold out on .

How The U.S. Used The Norden Bombsight In World War 2

What made the Norden Bombsight so important for the United States was that the technology was especially practiced for daytime bombardment , and that was one of America ’s main strategies during the war . While the United Kingdom completed about all of their atmosphere assaults in the dark of the night , theUnited States participated in the much hazardous sidereal day bombing . mean solar day bombardment allowed the airmen to have better visibility of their mark , yet made them vulnerable to counterattacks . With the lighting of day and the Norden Bombsight on their side , the U.S. was better equipped to transport out successful missions .

InMasters of the Airepisode 2 , penis of the 100th are teased by British RAF soldier for their function of daylight bombing .

However , as antecedently mentioned , theNorden Bombsight did not always operate as wellas hope . Although the engineering science was hypothesise to be bonk for its accuracy , the twist seldom succeeded at being exact due to high ALT during missions . Therefore , the U.S. Army Air Forces implemented various changes to help the Norden Bombsight be more helpful , such as vanish in young positions such as the " fighting boxwood " organisation . to boot , attempts at preciseness bombing were halted in post of area bombing , which ended up being more precise .

Austin Butler as Major Gale

The Norden Bombsight After Masters Of The Air

In the end , the Norden Bombsight had a fantastic reputation , as noted byMasters of the Air , but was not nearly so successful in real lifespan . Though the engineering science was designed for precision and accuracy , elevation and swarm cover were factors that made it difficult for the Norden Bombsight to meet expectations . Despite this , the Norden Bombsight is still a vital part of technology from World War II , and its bequest appearing inMasters of the Airmakes double-dyed sense .

Cast

Austin Butler sitting inside a plane and looking sideways in Masters of the Air

Norden Bombsight

Character flying a plane in Masters of the Air

Headshot Of Austin Butler In The Premiere Of The Bikeriders

Headshot Of Callum Turner

Headshot Of Barry Keoghan In The 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party

Cast Placeholder Image

Masters of the Air