Masters of the Air: What happened to Babyface?

In Masters of the Air Episode 4, William Quinn confesses to abandoning “Babyface” before bailing on their mission – here’s what happened.

What did you expect; they are called the “Bloody Hundredth” after all. Ever since Masters of the Air’s opening episodes, death has loomed above these men; some are killed instantly with enemy gunfire, others bleed out and freeze in the high-altitude, sub-zero temperatures, and those who survive may even envy the dead.

In Episode 3, we got two of the most harrowing moments of the series to date: Curtis Biddick let his men bail to safety so he could attempt to land the plane and save his co-pilot’s life – only to fail and die in the crash; and William was forced to leap into enemy territory when his plane took critical damage.

William and Charles Bailey reunite in Episode 4, and they talk about Babyface – if you need a catch-up, this is what happened.

What happened to Babyface in Masters of the Air?

Sgt. William Hinton, aka “Babyface”, is killed after being trapped inside the ball turret. William tries to get him out, but he’s forced to bail before the plane explodes, leaving his friend alone, terrified, and doomed to die.

When William confesses this to Charles, he’s expecting him to be angry – but he isn’t. “I would have done the same thing,” he assures him on the train to France.

However, this event didn’t happen in real life, according to the Missing air crew report (via Fold3). “This event is fictional,” the American Air Museum writes.

“The individual casualty questionnaires completed by the rest of the crew in the missing air crew report report that Hinton was out of the ball turret before they bailed out, and they suspected he may have stayed too long in the aircraft assisting Musante. Hinton is also referred to by the nickname ‘Babyface’, another fictional detail unsupported by historical sources.”

Masters of the Air Episodes 1-4 are streaming on Apple TV+, which you can sign up for here. You can also check out our other coverage below:

Review | Premiere recap | Episode 3 recap | Episode 4 recap | Release schedule: Dates & episodes | Cast and real-life characters | Filming locations | Is it a Band of Brothers sequel? | Soundtrack & songs | Is Barry Keoghan’s Curt dead? | Did Buck die?

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