* This Masters of the Air episode 5 recap contains spoilers * This episode sees the 100th set off on a bombing raid to Münster, from which only one Flying Fortress will return. It's a sobering episode, with mid-air battle scenes to match any blockbuster movie, which hammers home the true cost of the squadron's daytime bombing campaign.
Captain Crosby is heartbroken by the loss of his best pal, yet Rosie is the hero of the hour and hearing him hum jazz tunes while staring into the jaws of death is a stand-out moment of the series...
Major David "Bucky" Egan is back at Thorpe Abbotts, although it’s clear he’s desperately missing his pal, Major Gale ‘Buck’ Cleven, whose plane went down during an ill-fated raid on Bremen.
Captain Harry Crosby’s Fort barely made it back to England after the mission and when they return to the barracks they find another crew making themselves at home on their bunks. Someone thought Cros and his pals were among those who'd been shot down and when they get to the bar, everyone’s ecstatic to see they made it.
Bubbles is especially relieved to see his old pal and reveals he'd gone as far as writing Crosby's wife a letter informing her of his death. Luckily he didn’t send it. However it seems he could lose his role as Group Navigator and when Crosby is called into a meeting with Colonel Harding, it’s implied he’ll be taking his friend’s place. "Welcome to the monkey house captain," says the duty officer as he arrives.
The next day’s target is a railroad marshalling yard in the city of Münster. It’s a short flight, but the formation will be made up of just 17 aircraft, which makes them pretty vulnerable. A few of the planes have been borrowed as well.
Some men have issues with how close the target is to a cathedral, which will be full of people as the raid is taking place on a Sunday. "It’s a war!" says Bucky, who’s still smarting from the loss of his pal. "We’re here to drop bombs." Elsewhere, after swapping places with Bubbles, Crosby bids farewell to his pal as he sets off on the raid and Bucky ditches his famous sheepskin fly coat. "Buck always hated that jacket," he reflects.
'Where is everyone?'
As they approach Germany, they lose four Forts due to mechanical failure, leaving what remains of the squadron even more open to attack. On Bucky’s Fort, a man is killed after being hit by flak and the engines are starting to fail. The 100th is then attacked by countless German fighters in a dogfight that’s as spectacular as it is terrifying.
As bullets fly and planes fall from the sky, Bucky’s Fort is hit by a rocket. Several of his men are injured and his final engine begins to splutter, so he triggers the bail out alarm and orders the destruction of the Norden bombsight. The doom-laden scenes showing airmen scrambling to escape-stricken bombers are both unbearable and masterful, with the rising whine of failing engines only adding to the tension.
One pilot who won’t be bailing out is Major Robert "Rosie" Rosenthal, who manages to deliver his payload to the target. Yet when he turns to head home the flak stops and it’s clear another wave of German fighters are on their way. In a bid to defuse the tension, Rosie begins humming a well-known jazz tune, in one of the most memorable moments of the entire series.
As their comrade’s Forts fall around them, Rosie and his crew continue on. There are some parachutes visible, but plenty of ships from the 100 burst into flame in a manner that would make escape unlikely. It’s soon clear that Rosie’s ship is the only one from their squadron left in the sky and he embarks upon some desperate maneuvers while attempting to fend off the Luftwaffe’s onslaught. "I'm going to put these two on your back doorstep," he says at one point, during a move that serves up two enemy fighters to his rear gunner. It’s inspired flying and against all odds they make it home.
'Your husband was the best friend I ever had...'
After they land, some of Rosie’s crews are adamant they won’t be going back up again. "They can’t make me go up again, they can’t make me!" says one airman. Things don’t get much better at the interrogation when Major Bowman lists in the 100th Bomb Group's planes in an empty room where the silence of departed men is louder than ever.
Cpt. Crosby is heartbroken when he hears the fate of Bubbles’ Fort. "They were on fire and they just blew up," says one of Rosie’s crew, as his patience with the whole process wears thin. He’s very short with his superior officer, but we think he’s past caring.
Later on, Crosby begins packing up Bubbles’ things and he finds the letter he wrote to his wife Jean when he thought Cros was lost. "Your husband was the best friend I ever had… I wish more than anything it was him sitting here and not me," he writes, as Cros breaks down in tears. It’s a heartbreaking moment.
