'Masters of the Air': IWM Duxford advise on Apple TV+ series

The series - from the creators of Band of Brothers and The Pacific - will premier on Friday, January 26, and stars Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan as US airmen who served in the 100th Bomb Group during World War II.

Produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, the series is based on the book of the same name by Donald L. Miller.

Masters of the Air premiers on Apple TV on Friday (Image: Apple TV)

The 100th Bomb Group was nicknamed 'The Bloody Hundredth' due to the high losses of servicemen during the allied bombing campaign over occupied Europe.

IWM provided curatorial consultancy services for the series, helping bring the story and locations to life with their historical knowledge and archival collections of film, photographs and posters.

The producers were advised by IWM's Emily Charles and Dr Hattie Hearn.

Emily Charles was the principal historic advisor on Masters of the Air (Image: IWM)

Emily, who was previously curator of the American Air Museum at IWM Duxford, served as the principal historic advisor for Masters of the Air.

She was often enlisted to answer the production team's challenging questions about the US Army Air Forces, assisting the screenwriters in understanding the perilous conditions of flying in a B-17 Flying Fortress - the US bomber which features heavily in the series.

Emily also advised the writers on the experience of Black personnel, and helped the art department recreate the locations seen in the series.

Dr Hattie Hearn is the current curator of the American Air Museum (Image: IWM)

Dr Hattie Hearn is the current curator of the American Air Museum, and is responsible for the museum's collection of aircraft and objects relating to American airpower from World War I to the present day.

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She also manages the museum's website, which records stories of the men and women of the US Army Air Forces and memories of the British people who befriended them.

Barry Keoghan in Masters of the Air (Image: Apple TV)

The B-17 Flying Fortress in Masters of the Air was modelled on the museum's B-17, which is the most complete surviving example of its type in the world.

During World War II, Duxford was home to the US Army Air Force 78th Fighter Group, who escorted heavy bombers on their missions into Nazi Germany.

Callum Turner and Austin Butler in Masters of the Air (Image: Apple TV)