It was originally suppose to air in 2016. Its been a long hard journey .
Masters of the Air finally
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I finished the Pacific a few months ago . Had watched Band of Brothers awhile back .
I think my Son has Apple TV for the MLS season . If I ask him he'll re up . I won't miss this .
Appreciate the updates .
I think my Son has Apple TV for the MLS season . If I ask him he'll re up . I won't miss this .
Appreciate the updates .
The Pacific was partly based on two books, " Helmet for my Pillow " by Robert Lecke and " With The Old Breed " by E.B. Sledge known in " The Pacific " as Sledgehammer.
Both books are excellent but " With The Old Breed " is one of the best WW II books I've read, maybe the best. He was a thoughtful Marine, not what one would think. After the war, he got his PHD in biology and taught at a small college in Alabama. I highly recommend this book, especially after watching " The Pacific " .
And if ya really want to take on the Pacific war from 30,000 feet, Ian Tolls trilogy covers it all. " The Pacific Crucible " , " The Conquering Tide " , and " Twilight of the Gods " are about 1500 pages total, its a project, but a great read. He starts with Japan's Meiji Restoration in the late 1800's and finishes with the atomic bomb. He provides a really good understanding of how Japan got to the point of war in the 1930's and their warrior mentality that included never surrendering.
Yeah , I knew the series was based on the 2 books . Saw some info on Sledge and Lecke .
Interesting stuff that gets forgotten all to often .
My dad used to always tell me when I was young " Be respectful . you never know what someone's been through " .
Had an Uncle that was on the Yorktown in WWII . Had a bunch of old books from him . Carrier at dawn is one I remember . I'll look into the ones you mention .
Interesting stuff that gets forgotten all to often .
My dad used to always tell me when I was young " Be respectful . you never know what someone's been through " .
Had an Uncle that was on the Yorktown in WWII . Had a bunch of old books from him . Carrier at dawn is one I remember . I'll look into the ones you mention .
Apple TV has been rolling out good originals much faster than their competitors lately. My buddy said he had an extra 3 month trial code. Gonna have to get on it.
This project has been in the works since 2013. Started as an HBO production, since they produced Band of Brothers and The Pacific. But after several years of delays, they got out and handed it over to Apple TV.
I've been watching this project for years. Very excited to see it finally airing.
I just hope they remain historically correct and don't inject political views.
My wife's father was a left waist gunner on a B24 flying out of Dunkeswell England.
He said flack was horrible, fighters not so much, but cold was beyond belief, even wearing heated and heavily insulated gear, it was mind numbing.
I found it interesting that when asked how many German fighters he shot down, he said he thought he might have hit a few, it was that hard to do.
He was the only survivor of his aircrew after getting shot up over Germany and limping home only to crash on landing, which killed all the survivors of the battle except him.
He was badly injured and spent almost a year in hospital.
He was of native American heritage, those are some tough SOB's.
And yes we are going to watch too.
On a side note, as a child in Dallas in the 60's, my dad used to take us to Love Field and let my brother and I play on the parked B17's that were gathering dust in the sun.
Those planes were later used in the show 12 O'clock high.
He said flack was horrible, fighters not so much, but cold was beyond belief, even wearing heated and heavily insulated gear, it was mind numbing.
I found it interesting that when asked how many German fighters he shot down, he said he thought he might have hit a few, it was that hard to do.
He was the only survivor of his aircrew after getting shot up over Germany and limping home only to crash on landing, which killed all the survivors of the battle except him.
He was badly injured and spent almost a year in hospital.
He was of native American heritage, those are some tough SOB's.
And yes we are going to watch too.
On a side note, as a child in Dallas in the 60's, my dad used to take us to Love Field and let my brother and I play on the parked B17's that were gathering dust in the sun.
Those planes were later used in the show 12 O'clock high.
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My Dad was a Ball Turret Gunner on a B-17. He was shot down on his 20th mission and spent a year in Stalag 17.
His experience was entirely different from Sledge's Pacific experience with the Marines. He was spared a lot of the gruesome sights, smells, and sounds of war. Yet what he did was more deadly. There were 28,000 died with the 8th AF bombing Germany. That's more than the Marines in the Pacific.
And a little less than 1/2 of those deaths came in training accidents in the States and in operations in England. It was dangerous just flying the plane. Dad's Bomb Group lost one plane in the States when training at Harvard, Nebraska. They lost two more crossing the Atlantic from Goose Bay, Labrador to Scotland.
Flak got Dad's plane. Fighters were not as much a problem. He also said it was extremely difficult to draw a bead on the enemy in the ball turret. Aerial combat at those speeds is way too challenging. When the B-17 is flying 200 mph plus and the fighter exceeding that speed, it happens fast. And Dad is in this turret that he has to operate with his feet and hands.
The part of Dad's training he enjoyed the most was when they put him in the back of a truck with a shotgun, and they drove through a trap range, throwing clay pigeons up while the truck was moving. To get an idea what aerial combat is like.
His experience was entirely different from Sledge's Pacific experience with the Marines. He was spared a lot of the gruesome sights, smells, and sounds of war. Yet what he did was more deadly. There were 28,000 died with the 8th AF bombing Germany. That's more than the Marines in the Pacific.
And a little less than 1/2 of those deaths came in training accidents in the States and in operations in England. It was dangerous just flying the plane. Dad's Bomb Group lost one plane in the States when training at Harvard, Nebraska. They lost two more crossing the Atlantic from Goose Bay, Labrador to Scotland.
Flak got Dad's plane. Fighters were not as much a problem. He also said it was extremely difficult to draw a bead on the enemy in the ball turret. Aerial combat at those speeds is way too challenging. When the B-17 is flying 200 mph plus and the fighter exceeding that speed, it happens fast. And Dad is in this turret that he has to operate with his feet and hands.
The part of Dad's training he enjoyed the most was when they put him in the back of a truck with a shotgun, and they drove through a trap range, throwing clay pigeons up while the truck was moving. To get an idea what aerial combat is like.
Indeed, the wife's dad talked about 24's so loaded with bombs that if one of the engines was down on power, they would crash at the end of the runway.
He also trained with a 12 gauge..but he was a crack shot having been raised in a dirt floor cabin and having hunted for food for most of his life.
Also, I saw a WWII film on Youtube with basic instruction for waist gunners dealing with angle of attack, leading and how much to lead. To say it was very diffcult is an understatement.
I can't imagine farm boys trying to wrap their heads around the complicated solutions to aim points.
They had to judge speed of the bomber, speed of the attack, angle of the bomber and angle of the attack and allow for wind direction at the same time.
It's worth a watch, but then again I'm in love with those black and white WWII military instructional films on all subjects.
I watched how to cold start B17 engines, how to taxi same and how to take off and land.
(Remember to stay OFF the brakes when on the taxi way!).
I think I could almost fly one.
He also trained with a 12 gauge..but he was a crack shot having been raised in a dirt floor cabin and having hunted for food for most of his life.
Also, I saw a WWII film on Youtube with basic instruction for waist gunners dealing with angle of attack, leading and how much to lead. To say it was very diffcult is an understatement.
I can't imagine farm boys trying to wrap their heads around the complicated solutions to aim points.
They had to judge speed of the bomber, speed of the attack, angle of the bomber and angle of the attack and allow for wind direction at the same time.
It's worth a watch, but then again I'm in love with those black and white WWII military instructional films on all subjects.
I watched how to cold start B17 engines, how to taxi same and how to take off and land.
(Remember to stay OFF the brakes when on the taxi way!).
I think I could almost fly one.
BTW, I saw an offer of a 3 month free trial of Apple TV. I hope its still there in a couple of weeks cause that would get me through this 9 part series.
EDIT ............ 3 months free when purchase an eligible Apple device, knew there had to be a catch in there somewhere.
EDIT ............ 3 months free when purchase an eligible Apple device, knew there had to be a catch in there somewhere.
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I read the book in 2016. Reading parts of it again. With my memory in the shape its in, I can keep re-reading it and its fresh.
I just subscribed to Apple TV through Amazon and got 3 months free and then $9.95 after that. Three months will be plenty of time for this 9 part series.
I used the Amazon Appstore on the Fire TV stick.
Starts Friday night. I'm all set.
I also noticed that Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and Greyhound are all on the Apple TV app.
I used the Amazon Appstore on the Fire TV stick.
Starts Friday night. I'm all set.
I also noticed that Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and Greyhound are all on the Apple TV app.
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