Masters of the Air: Was Sandra Wesgate a real person?

❘ Updated: 2024-03-14T16:29:26

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Masters of the Air Episode 7 continues Crosby’s relationship with Sandra Wesgate – but was she a real person? It’s a little complicated, but here’s what you need to know.

Crosby met Wesgate in Episode 6 after he was sent to Oxford to attend a conference for the allied nations, as well as some well-needed time away from base after losing his best friend, Bubbles.

He believed she was a man, given he’d been told her name was A.M. Wesgate and they were bunked up together. However, it turns out she’s a subaltern (a junior female officer with the Auxiliary Territorial Service) – but she’s suspiciously secretive about her role in the war.

While Masters of the Air has been incredibly accurate so far, Wesgate is a slight anomaly.

Who is Sandra Wesgate in Masters of the Air?

Masters of the Air’s Sandra Wesgate wasn’t a real person – but she is inspired by Landra Wingate, a woman Crosby met in real life and wrote about in his memoir.

It’s unclear why her name has been changed; on the show’s official podcast, Episode 6 directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck said they “had to change her name for various reasons.” Some have suspected that Wingate’s family may have objected to her inclusion, or perhaps they weren’t able to get permission – on account of the fact Crosby barely knew who she was in real life.

On the show’s subreddit, one user says Wingate was described as an “attractive, hard-drinking, well-educated, witty, and self-confident Scot with a mysterious war job” in Crosby’s book.

“In his memoir, Crosby (who genuinely does not seem to know what she did) conjectures Landra Wingate may have been sent on covert operations in Europe or involved in some intelligence activity,” another wrote.

Some viewers have even suggested she could be Princess Elizabeth – she isn’t! – but the series has yet to reveal what she’s been up to. Perhaps she’s one of Alan Turing’s codebreakers – or, more likely, a spy who could be called away at any second.

Masters of the Air Episodes 1-7 are streaming now. You can check out other new TV shows coming out in March here, and read our other coverage below: