History Series / MastersOfTheAir

* AbortedArc:
** We follow [[spoiler:Sergeants Quinn and Bailey from ''Alice from Dallas'']] who parachuted into occupied Belgium and connect with the Resistance. After a few scenes of them preparing to make their journey to Allied territory, we don't see them again until an episode or two later, when they're shown arriving back at base safely before getting tickets home.

This series follows the exploits of the men serving as part of the 100th Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Force of the US Army Air Forces as they participate in the Allied Bombing campaign to cripple German military and civilian industries [[WorldWarII/WarInEuropeAndAfrica in the European theater of the war]].

* DeathFromAbove: The miniseries is about heavy bomber pilots, the kind that brought much destruction upon Germany.

** We see the missions flown from the perspective of the 100th Bombardment Group. However, the raids would usually consist of multiple bomb groups going after the same target.

** When Col Harding is indisposed, Lt Col Bennett takes over as acting commander of the 100th.

* AbortedArc: We follow two airmen who parachute into occupied Belgium and connect with the Resistance. After a few scenes of them preparing to make their journey to Allied territory, we don't see them again until an episode or two later, when they're shown arriving back at base safely before getting tickets home.

** The 100th initially flew the B-17F but as the war went on, it transitioned to the newer B-17G model. Adding a second plane model would have stretched the special effects budget too far so it was omitted.

* MidSeasonUpgrade: Not for the 100th, who fly B-17 Flying Fortresses throughout the war, but the fighter squadrons certainly receive better aircraft as the war drags on.

* MovingTheGoalposts: The Eighth Air Force has a rule that any bomber crew that successfully completes 25 combat missions will be allowed to return home, something that is difficult but still possible. [[spoiler: The first example was the bomber crew in Part Four, followed by Rosenthal and his crew, who finished their 25th mission in Part Seven. However, things soon changed with the announcement immediately following Rosenthal's success that the goal has now been altered to 30 combat missions instead of 25. As you can imagine, this greatly upsets everyone, especially considering the high casualty rate of the 100th bomb group in particular, with many now saying that the goal is completely impossible and that the brass wants them to die.]] [[note]] [[spoiler:It's heavily implied that the reason why this change was made is due to the upcoming Normandy invasion and the need for bomber and fighter crews to not only help in preparation for the invasion, but also to help afterwards as the ground forces move further inland.]][[/note]]

** Subverted with [[spoiler: Robert Rosenthal]]. His 25th mission goes relatively well but instead of going home, he decides to sign up for another tour of duty.

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: The USAAF and Britain's RAF Bomber Command are on the same side of the war and share the same overall objective, but both have different doctrinal philosophies and are highly critical of each other's methods. This combined with some good old-fashioned CultureClash leads to members of both services trading jabs whenever they meet, [[BarBrawl sometimes literally]].

** Sandra Wesgate is last seen on an espionage mission in occupied France. Crosby eventually manages to arrange a date with her, but she's not there, and only a note claiming that she was called away remains for him. We don't find out whether she survived the war or what became of her.

This series follows the exploits of the men serving as part of the 100th Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Force of the US Army Air Force as they participate in the Allied Bombing campaign to cripple German military and civilian industries [[WorldWarII/WarInEuropeAndAfrica in the European theater of the war]].

This series follows the exploits of the men serving as part of the 100th Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Force of the US Army Air Forces as they participate in the Allied Bombing campaign to cripple German military and civilian industries [[WorldWarII/WarInEuropeAndAfrica in the European theater of the war]].

* TookALevelInJerkass: Bucky's attitude massively shifts in episode 5 with [[spoiler:the loss of Buck]], when his cavalier dismissal of hitting inadvertently hitting Münster's civilian population if their accuracy is off appalls some of his fellow airmen. One perceptively notes that it wasn't the people of Münster that [[spoiler:shot down Buck]].

* POWCamp: This series features the infamous Stalag Luft III Prisoner of War camp under the initial control of the Luftwaffe that housed Pows from the Allied Air Forces. [[spoiler: After getting shot down in Part Five and going through hell in Part Six, Egan is transported here, where he is reunited with other survivors from the 100th, including Cleven who was shot down in Part Four. Part Eight also features three black Pows from the Tuskegee Airmen who are shot down, interrogated, and then transported to the camp. Unsurprisingly for the time period, most of the white prisoners don't take kindly to their arrival, although some of them show approval and respect having fought alongside the "Red Tails" beforehand.]]

* TokenMinority: The famous all-black Tuskegee Airmen feature in this series but play a minor role overall, as they don't appear until Part Eight. [[spoiler:During that part, three of them get shot down while attacking German targets in Southern France as part of Operation: Dragoon and are made Prisoners of War. After being interrogated, they are then sent to the Stalag Luft III Pow camp, where they are the only black airmen in the entire facility. Many of the white prisoners show clear disdain and disapproval towards the arrival of the black Pows, while others are more appreciative and respectful having fought alongside the "Red Tails" beforehand.]]

* UnfriendlyFire: An Allied fighter plane strafes a line of Allied POWs because the pilot is unable to distinguish them from enemy soldiers at night.

* DueToTheDead: Crosby makes sure to keep track of the time and location every time a bomber is shot down. He gets really upset because in the heat of battle he missed one. [[spoiler:(More specifically, Lt. Biddick's bomber).]]

* BluffTheImposter: When interrogating American POWs to confirm their identities, the Belgian Resistance attempt this with their opening question: "What team did Babe Ruth play for before the Dodgers?" A real American would point out that Ruth never played for the Dodgers.

* FragileSpeedster: Both the German Bf 109 and the American P-51 Mustang are seen instantly start plummeting to the earth the moment they're hit by enemy fire, in contrast to the Flying Fortresses, which often get chunks blown off of them and remain flying. JustifiedTrope, due to both fighters being lightly armored on top of using inline engines, which causes them to be vulnerable to even the smallest amount of shrapnel.

* FragileSpeedster: All of the fighter planes we see instantly start plummeting to the earth the moment they're hit by enemy fire, in contrast to the Flying Fortresses, which often get chunks blown off of them and remain flying.

* FailedASpotCheck: Crosby mistakes the French coast for the English one and directs his plane straight into enemy flak fire.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Sandra Wesgate is last seen on an espionage mission in occupied France. Crosby eventually manages to arrange a date with her, but she's not there, and only a note claiming that she was called away remains for him. We don't find out whether she survived the war or what became of her.

* BadassDecay: The first time we follow bombers into flak, they're terrified by the volume. We see flak carve through planes and rip airmen apart. After the first few episodes, however, the menace of flak is greatly diminished. By the last episode, airmen are flying through heavy flak without incurring any damage, feeling completely at ease because there are no enemy fighters to worry about.

* FragileSpeedster: While the P-51 Mustang is an excellent escort fighter that can outperform most Luftwaffe fighters in the air, it is also incapable of taking damage and goes down rather easily. As shown in Episode 8, [[spoiler:the Mustang is incredibly vulnerable to German AntiAir fire, going down in just a handful of flak bursts.]]

* DwindlingParty: The 100th started with 35 aircrews. Roughly 3.5 months later only 12 of the original aircrews are still flying and most of those will be lost before they reach their 25th mission.

* ICallItVera: The bombers are all christened by their crews. One crew we meet early on argue over whether to name their plane "Alice from Dallas" or "Alice, Our Palace," after [[MyGirlBackHome one of the crewman's girl back home.]]

* InUniverseFactoidFailure: Invoked by the Belgian Resistance. One of the questions they ask the downed American airmen is "What team did Babe Ruth play for before the Dodgers?", knowing that a real American would point out Ruth never played for the Dodgers.

* NoseArt: Each bomber is [[ICallItVera christened with a name]], with (in)appropriate artwork to match.
** ''Rosie's Riveters'' has a message stenciled on one of the hatches, notionally for the benefit of any German pilot unlucky enough to find itself in a fight with the crew:
-->"[[BadassBoast Jerry, if you're close enough to read this, start prayin'.]]"

* SecretTestOfCharacter: To make sure none of the downed airmen are actually German spies, the Belgians have them answer several questions and write down their answers and the date on a piece of paper. [[spoiler:One of them is exposed as a spy because he wrote down the date in the European DD/MM/YYYY style rather than the American MM/DD/YYYY style.]]

* TokenMinority: The famous all black Tuskegee Airmen feature in this series but play a minor role overall as they don't appear until Part Eight. [[spoiler:During that part, three of them get shot down while attacking German targets in Southern France as part of Operation: Dragoon and are made Prisoners of War. After being interrogated, they are then sent to the Stalag Luft III Pow camp, where they are the only black airmen in the entire facility. Many of the white prisoners show clear disdain and disapproval towards the arrival of the black Pows, while others are more appreciative and respectful having fought alongside the "Red Tails" beforehand.]]

* ImposterForgotOneDetail: Belgian Resistance members interrogate downed airmen to determine if they are really Americans or German agents trying to infiltrate the resistance network. They ask trivia questions that an American should know and look for any discrepancies in the stories. [[spoiler: One of the men fails the test and is executed. It is implied that he wrote the date in the European style rather than like an American would.]]

* AmericaWonWorldWarII: Averted. While the main focus is on the American airmen flying their bombing missions, the British war effort is at least mentioned when the American pilots meet up with their British counterparts from RAF bomber command and the two sides discuss the different strategies their respective Air Forces are taking when it comes to the bombing campaign. There are also later scenes involving the French and Belgian Resistances, one scene involving an uncover British spy, Subaltern Sandra Westbrook, and finally in the last episode we see Soviet soldiers fighting on the Eastern Front. [[spoiler:Those same soldiers help Rosenthal get back to the western Allies when he is shot down in their vicinity in Part Nine.]]

* BritainIsOnlyLondon: Averted as the main base of the 100th Bombardment Group is located in East Anglia. Also lampshaded when the Belgian resistance members [[ImposterExposingTest interrogate downed American airman to root out any spies]]. One of them is asked about a famous statue in London and he responds that despite being in England for months, he has never been to London.

* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: Averted. The US Armed Forces are shown to be segregated, with African-American servicemen serving in all-black units such as the 99th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group. They still fly aging, obsolete aircraft for 1944, and many of their officers are denied promotion to higher ranks. What's more, the Germans look down on them openly, calling them "black ones" without second thought, and many White American servicemen are shown to be no different. [[spoiler: Such as the white Prisoners of War in Stalag Luft III who openly voice their disapproval when three black Pows arrive in the camp.]]