Masters of the Air is the new WW2 epic from Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg – so, here’s a rundown of the show’s filming locations.
In Band of Brothers, we watched “Easy” Company trudge through the Western Front, tracking their journey from paratrooper training through to Japan’s capitulation as they’re battered by artillery, punishing weather, and constant fear. The Pacific, its first successor, focused on the Marines’ efforts in the Pacific theater of the Second World War.
More than a decade later, we’ve arrived at Masters of the Air. The series revolves around the heroic, tragic service of the men in the “Bloody Hundredth” , a bombardment group notorious for its casualties as it carried out daytime bombings over Nazi Germany and other European targets.
Masters of the Air filming locations
Masters of the Air was an extensive shoot across England in the UK, with filming locations in London, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Berkshire.
Specific filming locations include:
- Trinity Square, London
- Oxford city center, Oxfordshire
- Dalton Barracks in Abingdon, Oxfordshire
- Newland Park, Buckinghamshire
- Bledlow, Buckinghamshire
- The Hind’s Head in Bray, Berkshire
- Hemel Hempstead’s Old Town, Hertfordshire
Interestingly, much of the series is presented as taking place at Thorpe Abbotts, an RAF station in Norfolk that was handed over to the US as the 8th Air Force (and the 100th Bomb Group) increased its numbers. However, the series wasn’t shot in Norfolk at all, with the production building a huge set in Newland Park that looks just like a 1940s air base.
“The site was selected as a filming location for the series due to its natural untouched surroundings and wide-open green spaces that were ever present during the war,” Caroline Comer, sales and marketing director at developer Comer Homes, told Bucks Free Press.
The show spared no expense (it’s believed to have a $250 million budget), with star Jon Ewart (Lt. William Couch) explaining to HELLO: “I remember getting out of the car and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness’. There were 100 supporting artists marching down the road, military buildings all built, people driving past in military vehicles and planes. They built the whole thing. It was a barracks. They left no stone unturned.
“One of his big rules was: This needs to be real. If it’s going to take longer or we need a bigger budget, this needs to be real. It made it very easy for the actors to give their best performances.”
Masters of the Air Episodes 1-3 are streaming on Apple TV+, which you can sign up for here.