Zeno's Warbird Video Drive-In March 2007 Newsletter

You’re invited to drop by Zeno's Drive-In www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com for this month’s “finger four” of World War 2 plane videos playing live online.

As always, every film on our web site is showing for free.

This month “At the Matinee,” you’ll see the fighter action favorite “The Fight for the Sky,“ the Drive-In carrier classic, “The Fighting Lady,”  low level bomber action over New Guinea in "Air Operations Lae-Salamaua",” the irrepressible Ron Reagan learning to deal with those pesky Zekes in  “Recognition of the Japanese Zero Fighter.”

"Fight For the Sky" In February of 1944 General Jimmy Doolittle "turned loose" 8th Air Force fighters to go after the Luftwaffe where they lived. This marked a radical change in strategy from the disastrous tactics of 1943 that kept escorting fighters chained to bombers. Now, US fighters, including the P-51, probed deep into Germany, catching the opposition on the ground, inflicting mortal damage. This feature combines thrilling combat footage filmed by combat cameramen with some of the most action packed, down and dirty World War II gun camera film you'll see anywhere.

"The Fighting Lady" follows the fictional career of an Essex class aircraft carrier from the Marcus Islands campaign, through Tinian, Truk, the "Mariana's Turkey Shoot" and much more. But don't let the term "fictionalized" miss lead you. All of the footage shown in this fascinating composite documentary is real -- shot on board ship and in the air, showing actual Navy and Marine pilots and crewmen up close and personal. ("The Fighting Lady was actually the nickname given to the Yorktowns, CV-5 & CV-10.)

"Air Operations Lae-Salamaua" covers a key battle of the oft-overlooked 1943 New Guinea campaign in the South Pacific. General Douglas MacArthur and his staff put together a brilliant combined arms strategy that utilized Air Power as a key element to leap frog over rugged jungle terrain and isolate and destroy Japanese strongholds. While tough Australian jungle fighters spearheaded the frontal ground assault, American paratroopers accompanied by Aussie light artillery volunteers dropped on, seized & secured a Japanese air base behind enemy lines so that an Aussie division could be ferried in on C-47s and attack the enemy from the rear. This film effectively uses maps & illustrations to show the strategy and tactics used in this this classic battle. In this almost impassable terrain, that made transport of heavy guns slow and difficult, air power functioned as "flying artillery." You'll see spectacular in cockpit views of B-25 Mitchell medium bomber making strafing runs on Japanese bases at tree top level as well as some of the first ever "on the deck" tail gunner views of delayed action and "para frag" bombs dropping & exploding right behind the hedge hopping Mitchells. Some nice A-20, B-24 & P-38 action footage too!

“Recognition of the Japanese Zero Fighter” Lieutenant "Jimmy Saunders" (Ronald Reagan) learns how to tell a P-40 from Japanese A6M Zero, the hard way. (That's a very angry Craig Stevens aka "Peter Gunn" on the receiving end.) Contains plenty of interesting info about what US pilots were told about Japan's most produced and feared fighter and how to spot it. Includes seldom seen footage of a captured Zero doing spectacular aerobatics. Even though this is "only" a 20-minute training film "the Gipper" gives a very convincing performance as the cocky yet apprehensive new P-40 pilot, Jimmy Saunders. This earnest commitment to give his very best, regardless of the size or scope of the job, was a hallmark of his long and distinguished career

If you haven't stopped by Zeno's Drive-In before, we also feature 1940-45 vintage WWII Army & Navy films and pilot’s manuals on how to fly the F4U, F6F, P-38, P-39, P-40, P-47, P-51, P-61, TBF/TBM, AT-6/SNJ, B-17, B-24, B-25, A-20, A-26, B-26, B-29, and Stearman N2S .Alert! – Alert! There’s just been an F-86 sighted over Zeno’s Drive-In!

That's over 14 hours of rockin' World War II props for free viewing over the Internet!

Zeno
Zeno's Warbird Video Drive-In
World War II Aviation Videos Playing Online 24/7
http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com