77% of the men in the 8th, were either shot down and POW's or killed during WW2 per Hanks and Spielberg. I was stunned by that, and this series shows the terror these men faced in the sky. Sadly, Curt died in a more horrifying way than what was shown in this episode per Crosby, who wrote a book called "A Wing and a Prayer" which I have read, and it's fantastic. Crosby mentioned that Curt plane was on fire and that he could not escape and one of his men was trying to climb out a broken window on the co- pilot side but the plane hit the ground but Curt could not escape with the plane engulfed in flames. Just heartbreaking. The courage and bravery of these men, also known as the "greatest generation" is why I feel a sense of pride to pay respect to their legacy by learning their stories. This show has been fantastic so far! Thanks for the content, and I look forward to your next one! Much love and respect from the U.S! 🇺🇸

Retired AF vet here and I can tell you that the names Regensburg and Schweinfurts still resonates with the USAF to this day.

Babyface’s scream when he’s left behind is so haunting.

Love you guys and this reaction. This one was a rough one for me. My grandfather was on the Alice from Dallas (Bombardier). He went down not far from Quinn. Hid as a deaf mute in a butcher shop until the Nazis found him and executed the family and went to prison camp.

For the bomber that ditched at sea: Rescue was certainly possible, especially as the other bombers can report the position. For the escape vs surrender question: It was considered a duty to attempt escape and evade, even if it was more dangerous it was a drain on enemy resources to catch them. Thus POWs could still contribute to the war effort by always looking to escape

The 100th hit a Messerschmidt factory in Regensburg. They hit a Bf109 production plant, and unknowingly also hit a testing facility for the Me262 jet fighter. The other 2 groups hit the ball bearing plant in Schweinfurt, doing moderate damage but left a storage facility untouched, meaning the Germans had plenty of ball bearings to spare while the factory was repaired.

They made Curt´s death actually less grim than what it was, accourding to the records he and several of the crewmembers were consumed by a oxygen fire before the plane hit the ground.

Notice how in first part, the crews dismissed the "padre's" offer for preflight prayer, and now that they know what they're in for, there are those willing to take prayer before mission.

This was such an intense episode! The contrast between the mundane and the terror in this series is heart stopping. Another great reaction, guys. Looking forward to the next one.

Great episode! They were hoping that the two missions would happen around the same time and then the Luftwaffe would have to split up to hit the Schweinfurt bombers as well. Because the Schweinfurt mission was so delayed, the full Luftwaffe could hit our guys, go back, land, refuel and then hit the Schweinfurt bombers. "You son of a bitch, we're gonna sit here and take it," is almost word for word what the real Cleven actually said. He received a medal for his leadership during that mission. Van Noy (who had to ditch in the water) and his crew were picked up by the Germans and ended up as POWs.

The early models of the B-17 had a weak spot. The nose only had a couple of machine guns at angles so the Germans learned to attack head on into the bombers. In later B-17 models they equipped a double barreled chin turret to help solve the problem but early on in the war the direct head on attack which only lasted 1 or 2 seconds was devastating and could destroy a B-17 in one pass. The German fighters had 20mm cannons, so not just bullets but small shells that exploded on impact and caused huge amounts of damage. For as much "flak" that Boeing is taking today with its planes they sure knew how to build them back then.

For this mission over Regensburg, the 100th was trained to take off in the harsh fog because of the squadron CO taking the time to train them. The others did not train for that so the General, LeMay, sends the 100th and the plan was in shambles with massive casualties.

The other task forces did lunch but later than planned. The 100th's task force hit Regensburg and the other two hit Schweinfurt.

It wasnt the largest air armada even at the time. By that point the British RAF had already done multiple 1000 bomber raids / 800 bomber raids

At least a couple of those bombers which flew on to Africa overshot, and got lost in the desert. They were discovered decades later and have featured in historic mystery-type TV shows. Apparently due to cloud and a following wind, they mistook the coast of Africa for the northern coast of Sicily, and so flew on too much further south, ending up in the Sahara. Navigation errors could doom planes like that then, without global radar monitoring and GPS and all the aids we have now.

The guys in the plane that ditched in the water as I understand did survive but they were taken prisoner. The B17 had two life rafts for the crew in such an event. The real Curt Biddick died on this mission. He was trapped on the flight deck due to fire but apparently managed to get out a window. It was too late though and I heard his body was found three months later hanging in a tree by his parachute lines. He was 28.

I feel like Gale got angry for the reasons you said, but also he was determined to see the mission through since so many of their buddies just bought it, he didn’t want their deaths to be in vain.

I look forward to your reviews of this series. You guys do a great job 👏. This was a hard one 😢 As you said, since we are following real people, we could lose anyone at any time. I am invested in all their stories. Austin was fantastic.

Regarding sea landing, the British had a system already in place to pick up downed airmen in the water. Hopefully those men were picked up by the Royal Navy.

The battle of Berlin shows how bad losses could get , over 3 months of bombing raf bomber command lost over 7000 aircrew. 1000 pows 1047 aircraft shot down 1682 aircraft damaged . The last raid consisted of 795 aircraft with 94 shot down and 71 damaged. Add to this losses suffered by the us forces gives you a idea of how bad it was.

imagine having to fly 25 of these missions... before you can go home.

The bomber that ditched at sea ran out of fuel and the crew did survive but captured

This was the first of the Shuttle missions run by the 8th air force and the 100. Shuttle meaning took off from and landed at different airports. It was at the max range of the B17

It's a serviceman's duty to escape..

They had to leave because they wouldn't make it to Africa before dark if they waited for the other wings.

So Curts end scene in the series vs real life is slightly changed but sadly, yes he does perish on this mission. In real life, the notes we have from other bomber crews who were witnesses to what happened report Curts plane being badly damaged during a German strafe which forced him to start bailout procedures. 6 chutes would be noted from his plane however damage to the frontal cabin and their oxygen system caused by German autocannon fire ended up igniting and causing a fireball to engulf the the frontal cabin trapping 4 men (curt being one) inside. The last reports we have or curt is him attempting to climb out the front of his aircraft windows to jump free. - I do note that I have read somewhere that a parachute with a dead pilot with his tags was discovered in a tree by Germans, however I do not know if this is true or not.

70,000 US airmen of the 8th Air Force were casualties over Europe.

Yes, the RAF bombed at night & the Americans during daylight. One.of my best friend's father was a B-17 pilot in the Eight Air Force.

One of the great episodes of television.

The real air battle lasted something like 80 minutes. That's a long time to be facing waves of fighters.

22:49 I can’t speak for the Americans, but the Germans’ standing order was that it was their duty to try and escape

Colonel le may knew they wouldnt reach africa in daylight if they didnt go. Also he was flying with them so he took a risk with his own life as well.

I was just talking to my son about how after 25 missions American bomber crews could go home, but in contrast when you look at some of the Lancaster bomber squadron aircraft and you see sometimes over 40 missions you kind of have to think how fortunate the American crews were to be able to go home after 25.

The lady makes every tragic scene funny. 😅😅😅

You should react to Twelve O Clock High

O...M....g...

i love your reactions would you please react to how to train your dragon 3? ❤❤