Cologne Cathedral stands tall at war’s end, surrounded by devastation wrought by the Allied bombing campaign. (Wikimedia)

The U.S., Britain and the WW II bombing campaign in Europe

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

The finale of a Second World War television trilogy has arrived on Apple TV+ and early episodes of the graphic and visually stunning of Masters of the Air have already made some questionable claims about the U.S. bombing campaign over Nazi-occupied Europe.

Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the nine-part series comes 26 years after Saving Private Ryan (1998) hit theatres and set the standard for HBO TV’s subsequent series, Band of Brothers (2001) and The Pacific (2010).

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More from Front Lines

• War graves, battlefield tours and Canadian Steve Douglas’s little shop of horrors
• Indigenous soldier to be commemorated with plaque in Flanders
• From Napoleonic-era ostentation to itchy fatigues: How uniforms evolved in WWI

The Golden Hawks during a performance. (NEW BRUNSWICK AVIATION MUSEUM)

Remembering Canada’s first national aerobatics team—and its legendary aircraft

STORY BY PAIGE JASMINE GILMAR

From 1951 to 1963, the CL-13 Sabre was the Royal Canadian Air Force’s front-line “dog-fighter.” But the Canadian-built aircraft is best remembered for its five years of service in domestic airspace, where its flashy gilt became symbolic of the RCAF’s first official national aerobatics team. Sixty years ago today, the Golden Hawks were disbanded.

Enchanting more than 15 million Canadians and Americans during 317 performances, the Golden Hawks set the bar for their successor, the Snowbirds, all while inspiring countless young people to enlist in the air force.

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More from Military Milestones

• How Canadian volunteer sailors helped win the Battle of the Atlantic
• Kosmic debris
• Canadian women in the Persian Gulf War

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