Masters of the Air: WW2's Bloody 100th Bombers
American History Hit
History Hit
4.3 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 25 January 2024
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How did the 100th bomber group get a reputation for being unlucky? Who were they? And what was their role in the Second World War?
In this episode, Don has the pleasure of speaking to John Orloff. John has written the TV adaptation of Donald L. Miller's 'Masters of the Air', following the men of the 'Bloody Hundredth' 25,000 feet in the air as they conduct bombing raids despite freezing temperatures, lack of oxygen and opposition fire.
John previously worked on 'Band of Brothers' and 'The Pacific' from the same executive producers.
Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Our knees stiffen in the confined space of this B-17 bomber. |
| 0:06.0 | The engines roar, the aircraft's vibrations resonate through our bones. |
| 0:11.0 | Adrenaline makes us jumpy. We've been airborne for an hour and were finally approaching the target. |
| 0:17.0 | Bombadir and gunners are poised at their posts awaiting instructions and the inevitable assault from anti-aircraft fire. |
| 0:27.1 | Tension grips the crew. |
| 0:28.3 | You can see it in our faces, focused on the tasks of hand while we keep our worst fears at bay. |
| 0:33.6 | Doesn't help that we have a reputation. |
| 0:36.2 | We are tough, we are resilient. |
| 0:38.8 | We are also according to legend, unlucky. |
| 0:42.0 | We are the bloody hundredth. Don Wildman here and welcome to another episode of American History hit. |
| 0:59.0 | On January 26th, a nine-part television series entitled Masters of the Air will premiere streaming on Apple TV |
| 1:06.7 | Plus. |
| 1:08.0 | It follows the men of the infamous 100th bombardment group in World War II, the bloody 100th, as they famously came to be known. |
| 1:15.6 | They were part of the massive U.S. Army Air Force's combined bomber offensive that flew so many |
| 1:20.8 | missions over Nazi Germany right up to D-Day. |
| 1:24.5 | Based in England in a place called Thorpe Abbots, |
| 1:27.0 | the bloody hundredth was established in January 1942 |
| 1:30.0 | and saw combat from June 43 to April 44. |
| 1:33.7 | And today we're lucky to talk with one of the series creators and writers |
| 1:37.7 | John Orlov, who has worked on the previous World War series |
| 1:40.8 | we all know and love, Band of Brothers and the Pacific. |
| 1:44.0 | Hello John Orlov, welcome to the pod. Thank you so much. |
... |
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