Masters of the Air – Part One

On the eve of his deployment, Major John “Bucky” Egan (Callum Turner) spends his time in the company of his friend Major Gale “Buck” Cleven (Austin Butler). Accompanied by Cleven’s lady Marge (Isabel May) and another young woman Peggy (Ella Rubin), Buck and Bucky regale the women with the story of their friendship and oddly similar nicknames. As Bucky was the one to give Buck his nickname during their time in basic training, the men regale the women with their story take their mind off Bucky’s deployment the next day to England…Buck joining him shortly after.

Bucky’s new position as Air Executive for the 100th leaves him grounded, but Bucky is determined to go on an observation flight to gain some experience and have fight in the game. On May 31, 1943, Bucky is flying with the 389th Bomb Group in Wilhelmshaven, Germany for his observation flight. However, the mission begins to go awry and as the flight encounters action in the air….Bucky now becomes aware that their fight will be more gruesome and dangerous than he initially realized. Rather than write to Buck and explain the situation, Bucky is advised to let the men figure out what they’re walking into first-hand.

By the Spring of 1943, Buck arrives in Greenland before heading onto the second leg of his journey to Thorpe Abbotts. While in Greenland, Buck learns that Bucky has made quite an impression on the bartender when he presents him with a unicorn statue as an apology from Bucky. However, it does not make up for Bucky breaking a narwhal tusk in one of his many drunken escapades. It is also here that we are introduced to the narrator: Lieutenant Harry Crosby (Anthony Boyle), who is great at storytelling but has the misfortune of terrible airsickness. On his way to Thorpes Abbott, his sickness gets the best of him and he misguides the pilots towards Norway before he is able to help the pilots navigate safely to join the 100th.

When Buck finally arrives at Thorpe Abbotts, Bucky is eager to bring him back to base while Buck wants to know the backstory behind the unicorn. Before they can head over, Lieutenant Brady (Ben Radcliffe) has to make a crash landing due to malfunctioning landing gear. On board, a rattled Crosby has also arrived to Thorpe Abbotts.

Back at base, Bucky heads to the Colonel Harold Huglin’s (Nikolai Kinski) office. Even though being Air Executive is an honor, Bucky wants to be a squadron commander and get some time in the air. Since he is aware of the risks involved, he feels he could be of help to the men. Huglin rejects the request and advises Bucky to do his job as Air Executive. As Bucky leaves, Huglin throws up and shows signs of a more serious condition.

On June 25, 1943, the men are faced with their first mission. The target? Bombing the U-Boat pens on the Veser River in Bremen, Germany. Buck will be leading the 350th as lead pilot while Major Bill Veal (James Frecheville) will lead the 349th. However, the mission begins to go awry as Major Veal’s plane experiences technical issues and must turn back. He assigns someone else to lead and join the rest of the group on the way to Bremen….only for the men to encounter heavy gunfire from artillery on the ground. With minimal visibility, the men get word that the mission has been scrubbed and they should return to base.

But as the Germans now have the airmen in their sights, it is a fight to return to base as quickly as they can. Unfortunately for three out of the five planes in the 349th, they are shot down and only two planes remain of their unit. Veal takes note of this when he sees the planes return to base. Bucky corrals the men as they exit their planes and advises them that they will discuss the aftermath of the mission at interrogation. When Buck departs from the plane and joins Bucky on the ride back to interrogation, he questions his friend why he didn’t tell him about the reality of their mission. With thirty men dead from this mission, the road to victory is going to be a long one.