Who Narrates ‘Masters of the Air’? All About Navigator Henry H. Crosby

Masters of the Air is Apple TV+‘s epic new World War II series. The nine-part limited series embeds us when the young men of the 100th Bomb Group, who became legendary during World War II for their high-stakes daylight missions over Nazi Germany and even higher casualty lists. As we’re repeatedly told from the start of Masters of the Air, the men of the “Bloody Hundredth” are throwing themselves into some of the most dangerous air space of all of World War II. It’s not uncommon for missions to wipe out half of the planes that go up, while it is rare for a crew to make the coveted twenty-five missions that ensure a ticket home.

That said, we know that at least one Masters of the Air character will survive the bloody battles of World War II. Major Harry H. Crosby (Anthony Boyle), whom we first meet as an airsick navigator, will not only live, but he’ll also go on to write the memoir that helped inspire the series. That’s why it is Anthony Boyle’s Crosby, and not Austin Butler’s Gale “Buck” Cleven or Callum Turner’s John “Bucky” Egan who narrate Masters of the Air…

Still confused over who is narrating Masters of the Air? Here’s everything you need to know about Harry H. Crosby, the real life veteran who wrote the memoir that inspired the Apple TV+ show…

Who Narrates Masters of the Air? Major Harry H. Crosby, Played by Anthony Boyle

If you tuned into the two-part premiere of Masters of the Air on Apple TV+ last week, you might have found yourself a little confused by the sudden addition of a narrator. Was the heroic Buck Cleven narrating his experiences with the Bloody Hundredth? How about his best friend, the 100th Bomb Group’s first Air Executive, Bucky Egan? Turns out neither Austin Butler nor Callum Turner narrate Masters of the Air. Major Harry H. Crosby, played by Anthony Boyle, narrates the Apple TV+ World War II series.

Anthony Boyle is a 29-year-old Northern Irish actor who first shot to fame originating the role of Scorpius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on both the West End and Broadway. He appeared as Erin’s big crush, David Donnelly, on the cult hit Derry Girls, before earning critical acclaim for work opposite Morgan Spector and Zoe Kazan on HBO’s The Plot Against America. In addition to starring in this year’s Masters of the Air, Boyle is also set to play John Wilkes Booth in the upcoming Apple TV+ drama, Manhunt.

Anthony Boyle plays Harry H. Crosby, the narrator of Masters of the Air. Although Crosby started his service with the 100th Bomb Group as an airsick flight navigator, he would eventually become a literal war hero. During World War II, Crosby would fly 32 combat missions. For his service, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (with 2 oak leaf clusters), the Air Medal (with 3 oak leaf clusters), the Bronze Star, and the Croix de Guerre.

Crosby would go on to become a professor at Boston University (Go Terriers) and published a memoir about his World War II service in 1993 called A Wing and a Prayer: The “Bloody 100th” Bomb Group of the US Eighth Air Force in Action Over Europe in World War II. That book served as a key primary source for Masters of the Air, hence the addition of Crosby as a narrator.