Masters of the Air Episode 3 recap: England to Africa

Masters of the Air Episode 3 chronicles a momentous mission for the 100th Bomb Group: the assembling of the “largest air armada in the history of mankind” – here’s a recap.

The “Bloody Hundredth” got off to a rough start in Episode 1. Fresh-faced, Kraut-hungry soldiers arrived in Thorpe Abbotts ready to fly into the clouds and bombard Nazi Germany with bombs, unmoved by the terrors that awaited them – but the just like the penny, the planes started to drop.

Episode 2 offered some much-needed room to grieve, breathe, and process the doom etched onto the calendar for the “long road” ahead. And, after the Bremen mission was scrubbed, they successfully dropped bobs on their target in Norway, all before Buck and Bucky ordered their squadrons to slow down and protect Curt’s plane after its engines died out. We last saw him in Scotland, while the boys at the barracks watched the night sky lit by warfare.

The third episode forces the men back into the fight, with the 8th Air Force launching its biggest maximum effort: 376 heavy bombers and 240 fighters, with the 100th at the forefront of the mission.

Masters of the Air Episode 3 builds an enormous armada

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Colonel Chick Harding explains to the 100th that they’ll be part of the first task force, targetting a Messerschmidt engine assembly plant in Regensburg, Germany, while the other teams would hit the ball bearing factories in Schweinfurt. “No war machine moves without ball bearings… if we succeed, we knock German production offline for months. There’s no telling how many lives we could save,” Harding explains – unlike the attrition of the first war, this would be a huge move against the enemy.

The cheers turn to murmurs, and the murmurs fall silent; these stakes that once invigorated them are now a source of fear. It only gets worse when the colonel unveils the flight paths: not only is there a “lot of flying time over Kraut territory”, but a route has been charted to Africa.

“It’s a three-punch combo, and the Krauts should only be able to defend one of them. So, execution and timing will be essential,” Major Red Bowman says, before Curt interrupts to inquire about the Africa path. “That is a characteristically astute question,” the major jokes in response, before explaining the plan: the three task forces assemble in the English channel, before splitting at Schweinfurt.

“The Luftwaffe will only be able to mount a sizeable defence against our first task force, before having to head back to base to re-arm and refuel,” he says, believing that by the time they get in the air, the other task forces will already have hit their marks and only have to contend with flak en route home.

So, what about Africa? Red says the “brass” came up with an “ingenious” idea to confuse the enemy: instead of re-routing the 100th home and back through a swarm of German fighters, they will fly onward to Africa, where the 12th Air Force will welcome them with “open arms, ice cold beer, and lobster tails… it’ll be like a holiday.” Everyone seems pleased – but Buck and Bucky are more skeptical. “If we get lucky,” Bucky mutters.

Bucky’s also been given a rare position as “reserve command pilot”, which raises a few eyebrows (Harding respects his hutzpah, and knows he’s useless as an air exec when he’s such a strong leader to the men in combat).

Soup spills all over the sky

There’s just one pressing problem: fog has carpeted the base, and the entire wing is put on a temporary hold until it clears – with no indication any time soon that it will. On the tarmac, men sit and listen to Father Teska has he recites the lyrics of a resonant hymn: “Lord, guard and guide the men who fly through the great spaces of the sky; be with them traversing the air, in dark’ning storms or sunshine fair.”

While Buck stands alone, restless and anxious, other men kill time; Crosby and his pilots discuss what question they’d ask a “tricky little f**ker” of a goblin and a truthful one if confronted with two paths, one leading to valhalla and the other to hell.

Elsewhere, William Quinn listens to his crewmates lamenting the delay. “Why can’t we just take off? Haven’t the pilots been trained for [fog]? one asks, while another snips: “Isn’t that what they’ve been paid for?” These are clearly men on their first mission, deluded by the idea of their plane being a “fortress” – when in reality, it’s a “tin can.”

While the crews continue to bicker and attempt to solve the goblin question, Buck finds Meatball on the airfield. He throws him a ball, before talking to Curt. “Some soup, huh,” he says. “We had fog like this back home, it always spooked me as a kid.”

Curt says his men are antsy, but he’s feeling “good… I think we could do some real damage. Well, better get back to the ant farm.” Both men part ways again, agreeing to see each other again in Algeria.

The 100th flies into the valley of death

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The order Harding was dreading comes in: wheels up, regardless of the other task forces not taking off yet. “We’re sending them straight into hell alone,” he says, as a flare lights up the sky. It’s go time.

The 100th fly through flak, their nerves shredding each passing minute they don’t see the other task forces. “Not what they f**king said,” James Douglass complains to Crosby. “Looks like we got stood up by the other divisions… we’re on our own,” Buck tells his men as his ‘fort’ falls slightly behind – and that’s only the start of his problems, as German fighters come in and make a beeline straight for his plane.

Intense firefighting ensues, and Buck’s plane is hit by a missile. Just like other pilots, he tries to regain full control of his aircraft and as much power as he can muster; Bucky, seeing his best friend in danger, immediately assumes control of a gun and starts peppering Germans with bullets.

Then comes the most intense set piece of the series so far: Quinn’s pilot orders his men to bail as flames start to engulf the plane. They drop the bombs and start hopping out, but somebody is trapped in the ball turret. Panic starts to get the better of him, screaming for Quinn help him out as the plane hurtles towards the ground – but it’s a lost cause. “Get me out of here, please,” he tearfully pleads, but Quinn abandons the plane. He falls through the air, and the aircraft explodes above him.

Back at Thorpe Abbotts, Red is informed that every Luftwaffe base in Belgium has been scrambled, while the 100th are still three hours away from the target. Planes continue to go down (we see a man’s leg get blown off by a rocket after it fires through the fuselage), while one of Buck’s men gets hit. Meanwhile, Curt is in a very sticky situation: his co-pilot is on the brink of death as his plane starts to nose-dive. He orders his men to bail, but he stays aboard with Dickie, believing he wouldn’t survive the parachute jump.

He keeps the plane level so everyone can escape, but his effort to land the B-17 is fatal: it crashes into a field, killing them both instantly.

“We’re gonna sit here and take it!”

Buck stares out at the carnage in the sky, seeing a man get cut in half as he collides with his wing. His co-pilot thinks the plane is a goner and starts instructing the men to bail – but Buck isn’t having it. “You son of a b*tch, we are gonna sit here and take it, you hear me? We’re gonna take it,” he shouts, pledging to keep the plane in the air as long as possible.

At that moment, the Germans seem to head home to refuel, giving Crosby a moment to figure out their location – and they’re fast approaching the target. They’re attacked by a couple of fighters, but they’re quickly dispatched by the 100th’s gunners. Soon, bombs start whistling into German territory; the men look on from above, watching them land like pebbles in a pond from a bridge.

Soon, the 100th are “scattered everywhere” and five hours away from Algeria in the Italian Alps; crucially, while planes are still ditching (and one forced to land in the sea, 315 miles from land, an almost certain death), Buck is still airborne. He instructs his men to get rid of any excess weight so they can preserve fuel, whether it’s spare ammunition or the entire turret. Everyone else is just biding their time, praying they’ll make it to another continent. Crosby focuses on the log (the record of warfare and when planes went down), which sparks James’ ire at first, but he gathers himself and realizes he spoke out of turn.

An unlikely ally in enemy territory

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Quinn survives the bail-out and lands on a small farm in Belgium. Later, after he’s given some food, a man armed with a double-barrel shotgun asks him if he wants to escape back to England. “Yes,” Quinn responds.

“I can help you, but know this. If you turn yourself into the Germans now, you will become a prisoner under the Geneva conventions and likely you will survive the war. But if you choose to attempt to escape, you will be treated as a spy if captured and likely executed,” the man tells him, as Quinn’s lungs tighten. “Surrender… or escape?”

The 100th make it to Africa (Telergma, to be exact), and despite some doubts about Crosby’s directions, they find the airstrip. “Valhalla, here we come fellas,” the crew say as Crosby kisses Bubbles’ lucky snow globe, while local children look on from the dusty ground beneath. More and more bombers land successfully… but Bucky nervously awaits Buck.

Buck approaches from the distance, gliding without any power and pulling the landing gear at the absolute last second. Miraculously, he lands it without any extra damage to the aircraft, never mind injuries to those on board. As other members of the 100th help Buck’s bloodied men off the plane, Bucky jokes: “I don’t know how you flew that thing all the way to Africa, but you couldn’t make the runway. It’s right there!”

The man whose legs were blown off Norman Smith) is carried out onto the ground. Only 11 out of the 21 B-17s made it to Africa, and Curt’s plane isn’t among them. “Knowing Biddick, he’s probably sipping on a bottle of schnapps right about now,” Bucky says, but he can see the faith leaking from his friend’s soul. “We’re gonna get through this. Come on, don’t you stop believing that,” he says. “Sure, Bucky,” Buck responds, as the pair stare off into the distant sunset.

Masters of the Air Episodes 1-3 are streaming on Apple TV+, which you can sign up for here. You can also check out our other coverage below:

Review | Premiere recap |  Release schedule: Dates & episodes | Cast and real-life characters | Is it a Band of Brothers sequel? | Soundtrack & songs

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