​​​​​​As nutty points out above, 8mm Mauser (actually 7.92mm) was the standard German full bore rifle/mg round for the war (as well as a considerable amount of time beforehand!).

Can only pass that my buddy stated it was an 8mm round which ended up in dad's helmet. Was it a 7.92 round or shrapnel? Just relating the story. He flew 32 missions. I routinely shoot my mauser and other milsurp rifles. Amazed at the mess of a round after hitting a half inch armor plate target. Very informative video here.

Buddy just informed me the round did not stop so was not recovered. His father believed it was 8mm.

My apologies ................. I failed to allow for rounding of rounds!

Plus I am old school Imperial measure forced into metric and easily confused.

Memo to self: WIND NECK IN.

Having watched the trailer, I’m not sure about accuracy. It seems they are showing red-tailed P-51s which indicates the 332nd Fighter Group aka the Tuskegee Airmen. The 332nd served in Italy, not England.

I thought Band of Brothers was a great watch, Pacific less so. I just hope that this eagerly awaited series is worthwhile and not spoilt by too much CGI and actors who simply do not look the part.

The movie aircrews have superhuman powers in that they don't require oxygen masks at 18000 feet and more where the B-17s usually operated, and they don't need intercom as they can hear one another despite engines which bellow even louder than actors in American war movies. Fond memories of many hours in Hastings/Halifax include shouting directly into the ear until intercom was plugged in, the noise of big pistons is incredible.

CGI etc cannot approach William Wyler's original Memphis Belle of 1943 with its action sequences shot during real life raids.

Costly on cast, crew and props though!

Ah, yes - the predilection for casting pretty boy protagonists in action movies. The 1990 Memphis Belle remake is a good example of unauthenticity and shallow characters in my opinion. That was a one-off watch for me. Likewise The Flight of the Phoenix remake. Appalling ... the list goes on.

I saw the trailer and it looks utterly unwatchable.
Hype and over dramatised to a painful degree.
It would be so much more powerful if the program was not trying to squeeze drama and emotion out of every second - might even allow a bit of accuracy to sneak in too.
I certainly won't be watching it

I recommend the book, though, not dramatized, but all too real, even painful to consider completely what these young airmen experienced. Proud of that they accomplished what they did.

So, you will have no idea at all what it is like will you?

This is not a documentary, it is a creative piece of fiction based around real events. It is designed to entertain people with next to no knowledge or real interest in WW2 aircraft, around the world in 2023.

From my perspective, trailers only show the 'high' spots of film or serial. They are made to attract viewers who probably didn't know the main course was even coming. Like life, many productions are lng periods of routine, spiced with the odd exciting bit.

On another tack, has anyone seen the trailer for series 2 of Vigil? After their stunning success with series one (alleged life on a nuclear submarine) seeing how they portray life on what looks like a UPAS unit might raise a smile or two. However, since the mistress of misery (Surranne Jones) is a main character, don't get your hopes up.

Well, if that’s the intent, then it is completely out of tune with the book, and even with the Band of Brothers mini series. To appreciate the effort, the suffering and sacrifice, the uncertainties and disappointments, yet the courage and sometimes the exhilaration of success, but at great cost, is what I would hope for. Perhaps the series is much better than the trailer would lead us to believe. If not, it will be a black mark on Spielberg’s otherwise stellar portfolio.

War is not a football game. It is sometimes necessary, fraught with fog, errors, tedium, human faults, and yet the demonstration by many of duty, honor, country in both conspicuous and inconspicuous ways. You take casualties and still press on, even when outcome is uncertain, because the ultimate costs of defeat are unacceptable. It is possible for a work of fiction to help us see that, even better than a documentary newsreel.

Given a bet between a) a trailer being hyped up to attract the maximum audience possible and b) Spielberg + hanks doing anything other than treating the subject with the respect it deserves, I genuinely am amazed that anyone thinks b) is remotely likely given their track record.

For those of us who cannot access AppleTV (neither on a NOW TV stick, nor a Panasonic not-so-smart TV), is this series likely to be released on DVD?

What’s a DVD?

You may be able to to enrol with AppleTV for one month free which will enable you to watch the programme. Just unsubscribe after the month.

I've just changed my mobile 'phone contract and have an offer for same for three months.