History Series / MastersOfTheAir

** The show depicts Capt. Joseph "Bubbles" Payne as having died during the Munster raid, but he was actually not recorded as participating in this mission, and instead died on a later mission the following April.
** There was an incident where a group of German civilians lynched and killed a group of American [=POWs=] being marched through town by German soldiers, but [[spoiler: John "Bucky" Egan]] was not present for it, and indeed the real life incident happened about a year later than depicted in the show.

* AttackItsWeakPoint: A favorite tactics of Luftwaffe fighter pilots is to target the most vulnerable section of the B-17: the cockpit and nose section, which has the least number of defensive machine guns, on top of the glass nose, the pilots, and the aircraft's controls being there. These head-on attacks end up decimating several bombers, resulting in the total losses of both the planes and their crews over enemy territory.

** During the Schweinfurt–Regensburg raid, the 100th is part of one of three bomber formations and are tasked with attacking Regensburg. We see that part of the mission but the Schweinfurt part of the raid is only mentioned in passing. The other two bomber formations took off late and faced even more German opposition than the 100th.

* AbandonShip: Whenever a bomber is too heavily damaged to continue flying or at risk from crashing or exploding, the crew of said bomber are often forced to bail out half the time. During Episode 3, in fact, this trope is said word-for-word by several crews as they frantically exit their stricken planes.
* 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 discuss the difference strategies their respective Air Forces are taking when it comes to the bombing campaign. There are 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.]]

This series follows the exploits of the men serving as part of the 100th Bombardment Group, AKA "The Bloody Hundredth", 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]].

* AmericaWonWorldWarII: Averted. The British war effort is shown as well in the form of RAF bomber crewmen and Subaltern Sandra Westbrook, Soviet soldiers are shown aiding [[spoiler:Rosenthal]] during the opening and Episode 9, and Belgian and French Resistance fighters are shown aiding [[spoiler:Quinn and Bailey]] late in Episode 3 and throughout Episode 4.

It tells the story of the men of the 100th Bombardment Group, AKA "The Bloody Hundredth" and the African American 332nd Fighter Group, AKA the "Red Tails" of the United States Army Air Forces, who were deployed in [[WorldWarII/WarInEuropeAndAfrica Europe]].

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The series does not shy away from the fact that at the time the US Armed Forces were segregated, with black servicemen being placed in their own units separate from whites, such as the famous all black fighter pilots of the Tuskegee Airmen. It also does not shy away from the treatment of these segregated units, showing that many of them were given old obsolete equipment and many of the men were often denied promotion simply due to their race.

* ValuesResonance: Civilian attitudes towards bombing of civilian targets is explored as the show progresses, and it is made very clear that being subjected to such campaigns was seen as downright horrific by the civilians subjected to it.
** The Nazi subjugation (and worse) of ethnic and religious minorities serves as a major motivation for several of the characters, and as the true extent of their actions is revealed, is treated as horrific.

** The morality of bombing civilian targets is discussed throughout the series, both from the perspective of bomber crews and from civilians who have had their countries bombed. [[spoiler: Later in the series, several downed airmen face the threat of angry Germans looking for an opportunity to get revenge on the "Terror Fliers."]]

* AmericaWonWorldWarII: Averted. The British war effort is shown as well in the form of RAF bomber crewmen and Subaltern Sandra Westbrook, and Soviet soldiers are shown aiding [[spoiler:Rosenthal]] during the opening and Episode 9.

* MidSeasonUpgrade: Not for the 100th, who fly B-17 Flying Fortresses throughout the war, but the fighter squadrons.
** The 8th Air Force's fighter squadrons are shown switching from the P-47 Thunderbolt (used in Part 5 during the raid on Munster), to the much longer-range P-51 Mustang (shown escorting the 100th in Part 7 over Berlin). While the former is a match for the German Luftwaffe's single and twin-engine fighters, it lacks the range to fly deep in to Germany, something the Germans know and exploit by simply waiting in ambush near the bombing targets. The P-51, by contrast, has more than enough range to escort the B-17 formations all the way into Germany and back, while also having similarly good performance as the Thunderbolt.
** The 332nd Fighter Group are first shown in Episode 8 flying the capable, but increasingly obsolete P-40 Warhawk, which lacks the high-altitude capabilities and range of later generation American fighters. Fortunately for them, they receive P-51 Mustangs not long afterward, and just in time for them to perform both fighter escort duty over Europe and perform fighter-bomber missions over Southern France.

* AmericaWonWorldWarII: Averted. The British war effort is shown as well, and Soviet soldiers are shown aiding [[spoiler:Rosenthal]] during the opening.

* 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 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]]

* 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 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 Five. 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.]]

* 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 [[spoiler:in Stalag Luft III]] are shown to be no different.

* WarComesHome: Invoked. The 100th Bomb Group, and by extension the rest of the Eighth Air Force's bomber wings, are tasked with taking the European War to Germany itself, by relentlessly bombing their cities by day.

* TokenMinority: A couple of black pilots are seen in the teaser trailer, one of them sitting in the seat of a fighter aircraft and a group of them celebrating together, in front of a banner celebrating the 99th Fighter Squadron's 500 combat missions.

** There was an incident where a group of German civilians lynched and killed a group of American POWs being marched through town by German soldiers, but [[spoiler: John "Bucky" Egan]] was not present for it, and indeed the real life incident happened about a year later than depicted in the show.

** When the lead bomber is shot down or has to fall out of formation, the next plane in line taxes over as formation leader and leads the bombaers to its target.