How They Knew Bob Was a German Spy in Masters of Air Episode 4?

In the fourth episode of Masters of the Air, Bob, an American soldier, is introduced. A complicated but successful test soon reveals him to be a German spy.
#masteroftheair #bob #germanspy
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[@amartyaroy3754]

- Injuries were inconsistent with other two - German lighter, an infantry soldier can have a German lighter probably picked it up during battle but an airman based in England can't.

[@Kruppt808]

A German fighter pilot who got shot down parachutes and drops his lighter mid air, it falls into a B-17 hatch, an American picks it up, they gey shot down ect.... Bob paid for his newly found lighter😂😂😂😂

[@andresramirez4469]

Maybe there are stores that sell german lighters

[@amartyaroy3754]

@@andresramirez4469 So you are telling me that allied airmen went to shopping after getting shot down over Germany 🤣🤣🤣

[@gregrizal5043]

​@@Kruppt808those German lighters they just keep falling into US Bombers' open hatch. 😮

[@mattiadenicolo]

Bob's European date format gave him away

[@ctrzcinka]

I thought the he was able to sing the whole Star Spangled Banner while most Americans end up humming it. Germans would train a spy to learn the whole thing.

[@Blashmack]

It was probably that, the European date notation, and all other clues which added up that the resistance members weighed and then decided yep he is probably a spy.

[@ChelseaLopez-c1q]

He didn’t sing it right though, he said “just so proudly” the correct words are “what so proudly” I get what you’re saying but I’d hope most Americans would know the words to their national anthem and not have to resort to humming it. I do understand what you’re saying tho, in order to be a spy you’d think they’d make sure you know the words to the song.

[@gildor8866]

There is a short story written by Isaac Asimov, "No Refuge Could Save" aka. "To spot a spy", in which a german spy is identified by his too good knowledge of the US-anthem. The spy knows the text of all four verses and is unaware that most americans don't even know that there is more than one, let alone would know the text.

[@brucenorman8904]

During the 1944 Ardennes offensive German troops disguised as American troops were easily detected by their identification cards. The US army identification cards had a typo. they were labelled "INDENTIFICATION" the German forgers corrected the typo so all the German forgeries were labelled "IDENTIFICATION".

[@Chzydawg]

You've been given a suicidal mission, been given very little support and the mission is a total failure, you've been shot down and you're in the custody of some randoms you have never met, they are speaking a language you have likely never heard in a very foreign accent and they ask you to sing the national anthem. Forgive me, but if I'm in that situation I don't think I'd be very patriotic. Come to think of it, if I heard someone sing it in a gleeful tone, I'd think they were stoned out of their mind (not beyond the realm of possibilities when it comes to WW2, mind) or that they were a spy.

[@jimmysundberg2376]

I caught early on that there is something fishy about him because he doesn’t have any injuries while both American pilots did. A subtle hint.

[@uncle7215]

He could have just bailed out with his chute and sustained no injuries

[@jimmysundberg2376]

@@uncle7215 Also remember this is a mini series, directors often design these little hints when the show is full of details

[@_TheDarkHalf]

You're right. There simply was something off about him from the get go and thats it. I think the reason people cant agree on a reason is because Spielberg simply didnt give much of a clue and wanted the audience to be just as shocked. Bobs whole character was just simply a little odd. The way he came into the picture..the way he sung the star spangled banner. And I think thats all the real clues that there are. The date thing doesn't add up to me because although Europe does do DDMMYY. The U.S military also does DDMMYY. I still have my grandfathers letters and papers from WW2. Everything is DDMMYY. Especially if the soldiers had been living in England for quite some time, surely there would be a possibility they would get in the habit of DDMMYY. So thats just not a reason enough execute the man flat out like that in my opinion.

[@yaboileroy561]

He had a hint of a German accent from the first words he said that made me think

[@LudiCrust.]

@@uncle7215those planes get torn to shreds by flak. The chances the airmen had no scratches on them after getting shot down is almost zero.

[@carlosspiceyweiner3305]

My grandmother, a German who fled in 38, struggled with writing the date for almost 70 years. Habits are had to break.

[@Yujifanik]

Wanna hear something funny? Right now, US military personnel are *required* to write the date, the way Germans write it in this series. DD/MMM/YY

[@davidlynch9049]

​@@YujifanikWell, finally common sense has prevailed. Next, embrace the metric system. 😊

[@EuroS50]

@@Yujifanik Exactly. It was this same for US military even back in WWII, some docs even show it back in WW1. It was HOW the numbers were written - not the format.

[@Muschelschubs3r]

@@EuroS50 Even that need not be a tell...

[@ICU1337]

@@Yujifanik exactly, which is why I find he "my grandma found it hard..." story🤨I learned how to write the date and tell the time rather quickly in the military🤔

[@Giantist]

He sang the national anthem with too much enthusiasm, as if he knew that demand was coming

[@JosephCampana-o7c]

Captain Glenn Dye is my uncle- not only was he the first in the 100th to complete all 25 of his missions- he never lost a crewman on his missions. He continued in service until WWII had ended - teaching, test pilot, etc. attaining "acting Colonel." My father Lt. R. Warner Dye was also a pilot - not the 100th. Debbie Dye Campana

[@timothydye7276]

Good name

[@shakey2634]

If you don’t mind my asking, how are you and your family finding this series? I know Hollywood can’t help but embellish every story they’ve ever told, but overall, fairly accurate?

[@timothydye7276]

@@shakey2634 Its on Apple TV

[@ApollonDriver]

​@@shakey2634yeah all the events are real, sometimes even worse than what was shown, there may have been a few things added for drama effect but Band of Brothers, The Pacific and Masters of the Air are the most accurate and best productions about the war out there.

[@Mr_Jish]

​@@ApollonDriver I'd absolutely hope so given they are all based directly on the biographies and stories told first hand by the ones that were there 😂

[@magill248]

"...When his jet suffered significant damage..." LOLOLOL.

[@ersikillian]

I was unaware that B-17s were jet powered. Who knew?

[@srgmiller340]

I thought I heard him say jet that is bad commentary even AI standards

[@UrbanElectronicMusic]

A subtle clue that proves he's a spy...

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

They did have turbine driven compressors so they were part of the evolution towards jets which were not a clean break innovation as many people assume.

[@markwilliams2620]

It happens quite a bit with this voice bot. I've heard it on other channels. It appears our new overlords aren't there, yet 😉.

[@ApollonDriver]

I think the way he sang the anthem was also a giveaway. He was so ready and too joyful, didn't feel like a confused and battle scarred man

[@RcottR]

Also the fact he knew the national anthem without fault was a give away. Keep in mind the star bangle banner wasn't adopted as the national anthem until the 1930s and a lot of these boys lived through the great depression (i.e. more important things to worry about)

[@MarkHolmes-v9h]

He did have a fault, he sang, "Just how proudly we hail ..." instead of the correct, "What so proudly we hail..." Big flaw.

[@RcottR]

@@MarkHolmes-v9h yeah but if compare how one the other two resorted to humming some parts. The confidence of thinking you have it is more daming

[@scottmeehan2422]

Bit like how allied spies caught in Germany. They would say hail hitler when the germans actually said hail hit.

[@_TheDarkHalf]

But they didnt show him singing the whole thing. And he did sing it with fault. He said ''just'' instead of ''what'' (so proudly we hailed).

[@Muschelschubs3r]

@@MarkHolmes-v9hAnd? If the lyrics weren't that well known back then, I doubt he was the only one.

[@MrSmokeeater69]

And the fact when he was lighting the cigarette, it was a German cigarette lighter not an American zippo lighter

[@charliewilson1880]

I have one of those IMCO lighters made in Austria!

[@cleverusername9369]

In fairness, TONS of Americans kept souvenirs from the war, it was extraordinarily common for soldiers to keep enemy items like lighters, knives, firearms, helmets, flags, etc. It's not unreasonable at all that an American would have a German lighter instead of a Zippo, so I don't think that's the big tell, the Belgians already had him figured out.

[@rocketboi_]

@@cleverusername9369 how would pilots be able to collect souvenirs?

[@JefferyHagen]

I noticed the lighter too but I didn’t see him write the date but that would definitely be tell says the guy watching KZbin videos in the comfort of his home.😂

[@devilmoma4103]

I caught the lighter too. I told hubby that I thought it was both the date and the lighter. I didn’t connect that Americans only carried zippos but I knew that lighter didn’t look right and I knew it had to be important because of the way the scene played out. I knew the date was important because he’s the only one they zoomed in on and I knew the lighter was too but I just didn’t know how. It made me miss my PawPaw. I wished I could call him and ask him. So I had to settle for the next best thing…google lol

[@SukacitaYeremia]

Clearly it's because he accepts when the guys with guns said "zigaretten"

[@danl.909]

“…when his _jet_ suffered significant damage.” 😂😂😂

[@ulyssesfraire]

I literally cringe every time someone calls prop fighters or bombers as "jets".

[@matydrum]

IKR.....

[@andresramirez4469]

It’s probably the dialogue. Jets weren’t even invented

[@matydrum]

@@andresramirez4469 yes they were. But not in active service at that point in Time. First jets were pre war time. At the time of the episode the Germans were developing and flying me-262, the British the meteor, and the US the Bell jet which never saw service and I can't remember it's number. P something. But by Bell like th P-39 airacobra.

[@lonestar-oo9yy]

There are at least two other things that may have given Bob away. First, the proper lyrics for the Star-Spangled Banner are "Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light WHAT SO PROUDLY we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?" Bob, however, sang, "JUST HOW PROUDLY we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?" A minor discrepancy, but not one a native American would be likely to make. Also Bob's written number one had that little flourish at the top, sort of like this, '1.' Whereas an American is more likely to write the number one like this, 'I.' I think it was the totality of multiple errors that made the French Resistance men feel certain that Bob was actually a German spy.

[@brechtvb07]

They where Flemish Resistance men, not French

[@jimiwilson1029]

FWIW, that little flourish is known as a serif--hence, why some fonts are called "san serif," because they are lack serif markings.

[@catherinelw9365]

@@brechtvb07 No, they are Walloons. Flemish people are Flemish. Walloons are French people living in Belgium.

[@brechtvb07]

@@catherinelw9365 it's says that they are in Flanders Belgium, so they are Flemish resistance fighters. Not Walloons. Plus, the man with the hat who shot Bob is a Flemish actor and in a article he says he is playing a Flemish resistance fighter.

[@JPSilure]

@@catherinelw9365 Walloons ain't french, they just speak french, wich doesn't make them french

[@sonnyjim5268]

It wasn't the date format but the way he wrote the number '9'. North Americans write it with a straight tail, while many Europeans write it like a 'g'.

[@erdnusse277]

In reality it was basically all the things people have pointed out. The date and handwriting style are two major ones, everything else on its own could’ve been coincidence, all of them together? Spy

[@svdagoat7972]

They wouldn't have shown bob writing the date the european way if that wasn't the reason why

[@SirRyneaux]

His "1" was a dead giveaway.

[@Pentan797]

Also with the date, the way he wrote the numbers. On mainland Europe, they tend to write 1 like an inverted checkmark/tick and 9 like a lowercase G. So the way he wrote the year was significant. English speaking western nations don’t do this! No idea why but we just don’t.

[@jeoh93]

The way he wrote his date and the way he wrote his “9”

[@theloniousm4337]

The d/m/y format isn't a tell on its own but part of a series. In Canada we interchange and use either d/m/y or m/d/y based on blood sugar levels as long as you spell the month. Another tell is the way Bob made his "1" and his "9" - that is the way they are taught in Europe but not a smoking gun as he could have been home schooled in the US by European parents. The third tell is the lighter being specialized and not a zippo - not a smoking gun as pretty sure you could get a German lighter in the US. Put all three together and he is dead on arrival.

[@ischaprive9515]

Not sure about this scene in particular, but as a European who has heard plenty of WW2 resistance stories, I'm pretty sure it's not JUST something like the date writing that would give away spies. Sure it could be a hint, or even serve as evidence when already suspecting (like in the 'three fingers' in Inglorious Bastards'), but most of these conclusions came from errors in the details (like what breakfast you had) while acing more general questions, and having too much convidence. The fact that the American soldiers did not quite know what Trafalgar Square was, was a key indicator that they really were American. A German would know to describe it, as most Europeans know about their neighbouring countries' key monuments.

[@andrew2677]

I can tell you as a vet, the US Navy today uses the Day Month Year format. So while this is what I also suspect was the reason the guy was shot, it would lead to a lot of false positives today.

[@celticman1909]

In the film "Inglorious Bastards" the basement barroom shoot out occurs because one of the Allied spys held up his index, middle, and ring fingers to indicate three 🍸 drinks to be served to the waitstaff when a German would hold up his thumb, index, and middle fingers. It seems that Europeans start counting their fingers with the thumb not the index finger.👆

[@ScoopsTVtools]

It was three in inglorious bastards

[@celticman1909]

@@ScoopsTVtools yeah, now that you mention it.

[@celticman1909]

@@ScoopsTVtools Yeah, now that you mention it. I think it was three.

[@Blashmack]

The character in Inglorious Basterds who held up the wrong set of fingers was British (Lt. Archie Hickox)

[@celticman1909]

@@Blashmack Yes

[@zhhrah]

In old movies, you could conclude who a murderer was if you had the mental capabilities to connect the dots sprinkled throughout the story. But in more modern movies, they leave out any visible hints to make the protagonist look like a genius in how he collected the evidence to find a murderer. So, instead of one spectator of a movie being clueless while another knew who the murderer was, it is a way of unifying the spectators into one combined opinion about a scene or movie so public ratings and reviews would not vary too much or even contradict each other. We can speculate about the hints in this scene, but if there was a scene later in the series that described the evidence, like a persona writing a report or diary, they would come up with many things that we haven't seen on screen for the same reason described above.

[@ericharmon7163]

That’s actually how you write dates in the military. It was the lighter.

[@kored8688]

No, it wasn't.

[@ericharmon7163]

@@kored8688 ok, did you write the script? I still write my dates that way because of the decade plus spent in the military.

[@kored8688]

​@@ericharmon7163 I haven't even watched the show, so I have no idea about the script. I just know that the U.S. military didn't use the standard date format.

[@ericharmon7163]

@@kored8688 wait, so all you know is what the video said? 😆

[@kored8688]

@@ericharmon7163 I just corrected your false statement :)

[@Dkazakis84]

These series like Band of Brothers, and MoA really show the all around life of that time. It’s nothing but bravery and difficult decisions.

[@landen_skaggs5223]

The US military uses Day/Month/Year. I think Bob got discovered because he wrote his 9’s more like a lower case g

[@TrueSonOfOdin]

The DDMMYY sequence is military ... at least now. A trained German intelligence agent would not have European-stylized his numerals or carried a German lighter. Plenty of Zippos from captured or killed American personnel. This was weak.

[@djackklingler3]

Except this is how the military writes the dates. Proper military date format includes the day, month, and year, in that order. There are specific requirements for the number of characters, or numbers and letters. When taking into account the character limits, the format can be expressed as DD MMM YY with no commas. So if he was following proper military format, he did not write it out in the European style, but in the military style.

[@lonestar-oo9yy]

Actually, I think he wrote, '18 August 1943."

[@fdijkstra614]

@@lonestar-oo9yy Yup your right, 18 August 1943

[@Tank50us]

The way our guys write the date came after the formation of NATO, one of the things we changed as the US and Canada were the only ones using that format. The only plausible reason for an American to do that would be if they immigrated to the US before the war, and volunteered for the US, but it's highly improbable as European immigrants, with few exceptions, were sent to the Pacific theater. The same with Japanese Immigrants and Americans being sent to the European Theater.

[@antartis73]

@@jimkaratassosJim μάλλον εσυ δεν πρόσεξες, 19 August 1943, κάνε μεγέθυνση

[@antartis73]

@@jimkaratassosJim πρόσεξε με μεγέθυνση ότι γράφει 18 August 1943

[@johnfilangeri8568]

The US military uses the day, month, year format. And, they did during WWII. However, looking over some documents I can see both formats used. Possibly, because many of those preparing them had recently been inducted into the service and hadn't adapted. So, it would have been highly unreliable in any case.

[@Zerojquan]

Bob said the wrong second phrase in the spangled banner…. “What so Proud” (correct) but Bob sung “Just so Proud” (wrong) plus he was singing loudly with no fear…

[@icemanmatty8889]

Exactly. He said "Just how proudly we hailed" which doesn't seem like a big deal but that's exactly how you'd interpret the verse if translating. "What so proudly we hailed" makes little sense to a non English speaker.

[@Scout1134]

U.S. Military uses Day, Month, Year on documents although civilians use Month, Day, Year so I would disagree

[@topgun1457]

that was adopted after ww2 before ww2 it both military and civilian used mm/dd/yy because we were deep in isolationism but after ww2 we helped make nato so the us military started using European style date formatting to make it easier for all country's involved would not get the dates mixed up

[@barnibussnaples6561]

@@topgun1457nope. Look up military forms from ww2. They were signing day month year at least as far back as 1943. And also, NATO specifically uses British standards for forms, not American. The US doesn’t change our writing style to match unless there’s a specific need.

[@_TheDarkHalf]

Yup. The date thing was 100% not it. All my grandfathers letters and papers from WW2 are DDMMYY. So I have a hard time believing that is the thing that gave him away enough to execute him.

[@barnibussnaples6561]

@@_TheDarkHalf yeah I honestly think it intentionally wasn’t revealed to us. Everyone has theories, but I don’t think there was a single concrete clue left for the audience. I think it’s a story telling tool to make the audience member nervous about how dangerous it is, but also show that spies were a real problem.

[@galvstudent1]

Came here to say this, and glad someone else pointed it out. Dad was in the USAF and always wrote like that, taught me to do so much to the chagrin of my grade school teachers--I'm glad I wasn't being evaluated by the Resistance! And other posters are correct: I had two great uncles serving in the war, one in the Airborne, and the other in the USAAF, and both dated letters and documents according to the "European standard." In all, when I first viewed this scene, I thought that bob WASN'T actually a spy, but rather it illustrated the nuance and uncertainty of the situation, and the fact that the Resistance, understandably blinded by their desire for freedom from the Germans, sometimes made mistakes and had to convince themselves that what they did was right, even if it was gray at best.

[@shanejohns7901]

I would have failed the baseball questions, and I am 100% from the USA. Maybe it was different back then, more of a shared experience. But I still doubt I would have been into baseball back then, given my lack of interest in most sports. And I tend to write dates as 15-Feb-24 (today). I do it that way to avoid any confusion, and because it goes from lesser to greater significance, left to right. Days are shorter than months are shorter than years. 2/15/24 is not going to cause much confusion, because there is no 15th month. But what about 2/5/24? Some may well think that means 02-May-24. I suppose that resistance leader understands that he will probably accidentally kill some legitimate allies with his methodology...

[@Fibonaccisghost]

Baseball and boxing were the biggest sports in America in the 40s. Asking and American then which team Babe Ruth played for in the 40s would be like asking which team Tom Brady played for. Or asking which team he played for before he went to the 49ers. You'd know he never played for the 49ers.

[@Chr1sBrown]

Baseball was America's sport back then. It has declined drastically.

[@BobHerzog1962]

I think it was not confirmed to the audience for a reason. The sad truth is no side was always right when rooting out spies. But yes they put hint in that makes him a likely one.

[@_TheDarkHalf]

I agree. The reason everyone has so many opinions is because they purposefully wanted the viewers in the dark a little just like the other soldiers were. He was just simply off it was obvious from the start. But I don't think any one little thing that was shown on screen gave him away directly.

[@arhickernell]

He's lucky he didn't hit one of the Americans when he shot Bob because they were right behind him

[@radian2323]

Yes. Except it's a tv show... :)

[@arhickernell]

@radian2323 yeah I know 😅.

[@catherinelw9365]

I thought the same thing. Very bad shooting.

[@alberttang6955]

I noticed that too. I also catch myself yelling at the TV if someone isn't practicing proper trigger discipline, or flags another actor with their muzzle.

[@gilfista5178]

Nice pull🤙🏽 I was stationed in Germany during the Cold War era I still right the day first 😂

[@trevormj]

would that be write?

[@DadManHiking]

He sang “what so broadly we hailed…”

[@yaboileroy561]

I reckon it was his German accent that gave him away it did to me the moment he opened his mouth

[@ghost53pilot]

US military also uses the euro standard for dates….so not the reason in my opinion. I think it was the date and the lighter.

[@robinhelsdon3373]

Question: In Episode 5, how did the German kids know that the downed pilot was "Amerikaner"? Why would they not assume he could be a British or other?

[@catherinelw9365]

It was not a “jet” that Quinn bailed out of. It was a bomber. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@MrRedfire2005]

Don't know how the Army Air Corp did it, but current military uses Day/Month/Yr as the military standard. Guess I'd have got shot.

[@SuperChuckRaney]

I dated a girl, an American girl, both parents American from America.... an important distinction from say, being American but having off-the-boat German grand parents. Or an Immigrant after ww2.... So, her mom is South Texas Mexican from the Valley, like Selena. Her Dad is German but his great great great grandparents came over. He worked internationally fr Reynolds Aluminum. Annnddd the Belgiums would have shot my girlfriend, she went to school abroad in those "American" overseas schools. She NEVER could stop writing the date the incorrect way. 21 July 1961. As example. Not the American July 21, 1961. My German is limited to DER WEINERSCHNITZEL !!!! ACHTUNGGGG!!!! She spoke German, Spanish, French and Italian.

[@oledahammer8393]

I noticed the date too, as soon as it showed that glimpse of how he wrote it, I thought no American would write it that way, only a European.

[@macjim]

But if you are not an American watching the show, like myself who’s Scottish, I wouldn’t have caught that clue when watching the show. That’s something that is too subtle a clue to catch… glad that was explained to us.

[@IsraelKochin]

They may of made a guess for some reason or another, but I notice in the comments everyone here assumes they guessed right. How are they so sure? Just because they shot him doesn't mean they correctly guessed he was a spy. maybe he wasn't really? but it doesn't matter because he's dead and the show moves on.....

[@currawongee1]

They'd shoot me if I had to sing our anthem.

[@Sparky_GT]

i thought something to do with the lighter, or the way he offered to light the cigarette

[@justinscherrer1793]

I'm not sure the date order was it; we use day-month-year in the military, just like they do in Europe. Handwriting styles differ greatly in the different parts of Europe and North America. Due to many of the cultural reformations taking place in Germany in the decades leading up to the war, handwriting was taught in the neo-gothic style which can be seen when Bob is writing his numbers. This kind of style looks similar to the numbering style seen in the 18th century, and many of us would be familiar with the more elaborate numbering style from some of America's founding documents. Not that the date order isn't part of it, though; I think that maybe the case. But, I appreciate this scene and how it does highlight (as does our discussion here) just how meticulous the resistance networks had to be during the war.

[@tomjohnson6810]

Jeez that was a tough penalty just for failing an exam ! The issue of German spies being uncovered and shot whilst trying to break into the lifeline networks that were trying to smuggle allied airmen into Spain is covered really well in a few episodes of series 1 of Secret Army. That BBC tv series isalso available here on KZbin. It was made in 1978 but is an excellent drama despite its age.

[@daveywavey-qc3mw]

Was in the USAF back in the 80s. The military writes it DAY/ month /year like the rest of the world I am 64 so no idea what they did back in t he 40s.

[@AirborneAnt]

But in the Military it’s standard to write the date in Day, Month, Year…and only in black ink…no blue ink…that has been the standard going back before ww1 though…

[@morellibmv]

I think, when Bob says "Star Spangled Banner", he says "Spangled" 's like gemans: Star "Shhpangled" Banner

[@JKFLASH]

From how they do the date in US... Different to Europe

[@DanBlake3rd]

The date format is not a valid test, because the US military writes the date the same way Europeans do, day - month - year.

[@bradwolszon4518]

They do now, but did they in 1943? I don’t know, but I’ve seen other comments that say they didn’t.

[@DanBlake3rd]

@@bradwolszon4518 Good question Brad. A quick web search says that it began in the early 80s. So perhaps in '43 that was a valid test.

[@streamofconsciousness5826]

I think you gave him away by saying he was in a Jet, only the Germans had Jets in the early forties. I would probably fail that as well, the order of the day month year varies by form, it may be semi standardized now that everything is on line, but I was never told this one come first. That is also pretty deep cover, so deep it's almost useless, how could he possibly contact anyone from a Air base, even knowing the target of the day, which he would not until final briefing.

[@dylanroland3992]

never knew the b-17 was a jet

[@Overneed-Belkan-Witch]

Write the today's date The German spy: write down his Girlfriend name

[@thewatchhawk]

Americans are taught to eat holding a fork in the right hand, Europeans hold the fork in the left hand, while holding a knife in the right. The was a story of OSS operatives getting nabbed because they ate food the American way.

[@JoshuaDay0550]

idk about back then, but in the military, we write the dates the same. Day Month Year. I still do it to this day. So its reasonable to think that it wasnt the date - but could be.

[@AndreasHugh]

I knew he fucked up on the date. DD/MM/YYYY versus MM/DD/YYYY

[@gadzooks5541]

Yeah only Americans write the date all twisted up like that.

[@ericharmon7163]

But that's how the US military writes it. I still do because of ten years writing it that way.

[@James-zg2nl]

Putting so much emphasis on one inconsistency that is easily explainable makes for a pathetically thin argument. Simply serving in the US Armed Forces overseas would lead many to adopt the European dating system due the push to standardize as much as possible. Since the American dating system is completely nonsensical, it is not used at all since WWII by the US Armed Forces. They even switched to metric during the war, wherever possible. Whoever wrote this has a pretty superficial understanding of WWII history.

[@snakeplissken2148]

so there is an AI outside that is told "make a clip that explains why they discovered the spy in an apple tv series"?? what a wicked time we are living. And the comment sections justs looses its shit with all the tales from former relatives who served this and there etc... i have the strange feeling that the dead internet theory is right.

[@Skymedc]

His "jet" suffered significant damage? Who writes this crap?

[@sasbe1852]

So he have trained himself an american accent but made mistakes on how he wrote the date? No german spy on this level would make this mistake.

[@7Steveski]

Interesting, but he wasn’t flying a JET!

[@pittbrat7963]

Altough the work method to "uncover" a spy might not be accurate, it is indeed one of the many methods the resistance used. My grandad was part of the resistance network and altough he couldn't actively do field work (WW1 battle wound) his job as an indoor painter made sure his ears were everywhere, valuable info was sometimes the difference for a human life. As the war progressed his work became more and more dangerous but also the counter intelligence and Gestapo could never be everywhere. He helped pilots and agents to escape but it was not always succesful. And the resistance did a lot of other things.When finally the curtain fell, a lot of accounts had to be settled with collaborators and vermin, traitors...etc. my grandad always felt he could have done more, a lot were able to escape justice. That cancer is still lingering in Europe, high time to get rid of this!

[@robertpitchford1786]

After 20 years in the Navy, I still write the date as. Day/ month (abbreviated to 3 letters)/year (2 digits)

[@alexander5128]

Imagine Scientists getting killed because they know how to and use Fahrenheit an Celsius, Metric and Imperial units .....

[@A_random_guy_on_the_internet]

0:17 that’s not a jet it’s a B-17

[@jgt4862]

It was when he wrote down the date. He did it in the European fashion Day-Month-Year, instead of the American fashion, Month-Day-Year

[@bongo6_462]

0:55 that guy lives in my brothers gf street (which is also where my school is located)

[@richardmardis2492]

Jeez- I better stop writing my dates like that, it’s also the military style!

[@heavybreakdowns]

😂

[@devilmoma4103]

That’s exactly what I thought too🤣🤣 good thing I’m not there they would have shot me. IDK when military started writing it backwards but apparently not then🤷🏼‍♀️

[@royaltyblessed2454]

US military didn't start using the European way of writing dates until later. Definitely not during WW2.

[@richardmardis2492]

@@royaltyblessed2454 I was wondering that myself- thanks for the info👍 That’s why I got to watch the Super Bowl- so I don’t get shot as a spy (Battle of the Bulge)

[@richardmardis2492]

@@devilmoma4103 🤣🤣🤣 I know I’m all messed up since the Army got a hold of me🤣🤣🤣

[@darksidemachining]

Yikes… have been writing the date on documents, day/month/year, for decades without knowing it is European style. Good thing have never been questioned by Belgians in all those years.

[@MarkHolmes-v9h]

Instead of singing, "What so proudly we hail...." he sings, "Just how proudly we hail..." a glaring mistake.

[@kimber1911]

He had wrong lyrics to the SSB. In addition his handwriting style is German. The remaining points are spot on.

[@Michael-h9t8k]

Justifying present justification from the perspective of a for profit corperation, and in that notion separate themselves from the message delivered by the members the show encased.

[@musicofnote1]

Well, he wrote the date like a European: day Month Year. An American would have written it Month Day Year.

[@timothydye7276]

But military writes it 01 January 1900 or 1 Jan 00

[@sean_d]

But an American who has been stationed in England and knows how Europeans write dates might just do it that way for his hosts. Not enough to kill a man for.

[@musicofnote1]

@@sean_d - Don't know how it is now in the US, but when I was in the US we wrote nine with a straight vertical line and he wrote with the curved line my Swiss sife uses. I didn't see if there was a one or a seven, but these are written differently here than in the US. The seven here has a slanted top with a short line through the vertical line. The one here is similar, with the top strip being shorter and more angled and no line through the vertical line. Don't forget, these three guys were under a lot of stress and it's mostly likely some small detail, that he "forgot" while under this stress.

[@adaermelgar5376]

I caught that Date bit when i watched and knew Bob wasnt american

[@mutantsdad]

Um, the US military uses the "European" style of dates as well, even in WWII. So this video isn't necessarily accurate.

[@remster5284]

Everyone keeps saying it's the date but you're all wrong unless it's an oversight in the show because the US military writes the date in that format

[@jbb9643]

I thought it was the serial number and name, I am sure they had a way of checking that. They were not in a vacuum. The date may have just been another clue.

[@macjim]

Quinn wasn’t in a jet… the bombers were radial piston engines…

[@karlwarner7401]

he was a soccer fan...

[@gogoforromeo9598]

We often write the date like that in the US Army… so…. Hope I don’t get shot by some Belgian guy I guess?

[@marcusaurelis]

Meh, US military uses the same date format Europeans use, so idk if this was the likely rewason he was exposed as a spy?

[@benjaminmarcus17]

Bob sang "Just how proudly we hailed" when it's "What so proudly we hailed" He wasn't a very good spy

[@HamishBanish]

It was the date format he used

[@lost1croc]

Uhhhh that’s how we wrote the date when I was in the Army😂 it’s was the lighter.

[@vipwanrinkle6439]

he sang the national anthem wrong. The anthem is drilled into our brains from a young age so most people would be able to sing it correctly.

[@sarabrown7689]

What? I was in the military and we always put the month and year after the date. 24 FEB 2024

[@JohnDavies-cn3ro]

If a number 7 was possibly included in the date, well Europeans write that differently to British or US folks, too. There's a horizontal dash half way up the leg. And, seriously, it jailed a fraudster trying to pass off a classic car as European when he put the wrong style figure on the VIN plate. More pertinently, German spies - certainly the ones we caught in GB - were very often very poorly trained indeed, and gave themselves away by the most basic of mistakes. (Like a group of six, newly landed from a U boat, turning up simultaneously at a very remote Scottish railway station and asking for six tickets to London. The police were waiting on the platform for them at Euston, having been alerted by the Scottish ticket officer, who normally wouldn't sell that many tickets for London in a year!)

[@jasonpaz]

If they asked me about baseball I'd be screwed....I csnt tell you about thr dodgers but I can tell you about William Hung!

[@bigl161985]

He wrote the date funny never mind the order we write it the same in the military at that time of year. he still would have been correct writing it in that order. Its his style of writing thats a giveaway, nobody writes like that check how his writing crosses the lines in the paper. We are taught to write to the line itself and never drop below the line except for special letters like q, g.Singing the anthem without humming is a dead giveaway. We typically dont know the whole thing, you'd be hard press to run into a service member that can, however we know our branch of service hymn especially us in the Marines 😂😂.

[@teracota]

Also he sang the national anthem too patriotic

[@zachbocchino5501]

You know when a person is actually American when they can't sing the entire anthem word for word 😂 I would have passed for sure...But I feel weird knowing the words to the Canadian, German, and French anthem than my own.

[@vladimirpecherskiy1910]

Well there is no sense to submit so high trained spy to local resistance whatsoever.

[@TheGrumpyChairman]

Not watched this, bur he wrote the date in in the European format (DDMMYYYY not MMDDYYYY).

[@matydrum]

His jet? really?

[@dixierebel8422]

His jet?!

[@billboth4814]

Jet?

[@DD-qw4fz]

This scene made no sense and is a case of poor writing, its not how they knew it but why was he there in the first place. There are zero benefits pretending to be a random allied airmen, you want to get inside the organization.