Zeno’s Warbird Video Drive-In October 2007 Newsletter

Hello World War 2 plane fans ---

You’re invited to drop by Zeno's Drive-In www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com and partake of this month’s colorful lineup of four vintage WW2 combat aircraft documentary films playing for free, “live online.”

Now showing  “At the Matinee”

LUFTWAFFE FINIS (Color, 1945) Exclusive production. This original documentary is composed of recently discovered color film of top Luftwaffe leaders and pilots taken as they fell into Allied hands at the end of World War II. See Reichsmarschall Herman Goering, commander of Luftwaffe fighter forces Adolf Galland, Stuka pilot & tank buster supreme Hans Rudel and many more. Captured aircraft are shown as well, including a Me 262, the first jet fighter, and an FW 190. These color images make history come alive. I was unable to identify a few of the figures shown in the final scene in the film. If you know who they are, please email Zeno through our website. Include the time code on your video player when they appear and evidence, if you have any.

WINGED ARTILLERY (Color, 1944) Nine 75mm canon firing B-25Gs of the 48th Bomb Squadron, 7AAF, based on Apamama in the Gilbert Islands, conduct a hair raising tree top level strike on the Japanese air base on Mille. Also features amazingly well preserved and very rare color footage of daily life of aircrew and ground personnel stationed on the islands. As a bonus, you'll watch Sea Bees using heavy equipment to transform these hard won tropical atolls into fully functioning air bases and ground crews maintaining the Mitchell's massive canons.

THE LAST BOMB (Color, 1945, newly restored) vividly documents an almost forgotten chapter of World War II: the long range B-29 "Superfortress" bombing raids on Japan. These missions were over 3,000 miles round trip and could take 12 hours or more to complete. You'll see the huge B-29 bases that were carved out on Guam, Tinian and Saipan. Rare late war Technicolor film, shot by combat camera men, documents all aspects of a XXI Bomber Command daylight strike carried out at just 12,000' (!) on Tokyo in 1945. The mission is covered from planning by General Curtis LeMay and his staff, through fighter action and "bombs away," to final touch down. You'll see spectacular color gun camera footage taken by escorting P-51 Mustangs, based on Iwo Jima. They ranged over southern Japan, seeking targets of opportunity in the air and on the deck. These P-51 sorties were among the longest and riskiest missions undertaken by any fighters during World War II. Just imagine -- flying thousands of miles over trackless ocean in a single engine ship to take on the enemy over their territory!

BLACK CAT PBY (B&W, 1944) What was that mysterious plane swooping down out of the night sky on unsuspecting Japanese ships, hundreds of miles from any known American airstrip? The answer was, as you'll see in this good humored, affectionate film, the slow, ungainly, but deadly "Black Cat" PBY. Originally designed primarily as a reconnaissance and antisubmarine amphibious patrol plane, the big twin engined Catalina's super long range, all weather capability, capacity to lug both bombs and radar, ability to loiter for hours hunting convoys and operate from anywhere in the watery PTO, made it an ideal naval night attack bomber. These black painted PBY "VPB" ('”Patrol Bombing") squadrons spread destruction and chaos far out of proportion to their relatively small numbers. A frequent tactic was to cut their engines and float in almost silently on their prey. As this film shows, night ops were very risky, but the rewards could be huge, including the sinking of a 6,000-ton Katori class light cruiser by Lt. William B Sumpler, of VPB-33, for which he was awarded the Navy Cross.

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 been an F-86 jet sighted over Zeno’s Drive-In!

That's over 16 hours of rockin' World War II props for free viewing over the Internet!

Coming soon: A new film that will warm the hearts of P-38 fans everywhere!

Tally-ho!

Zeno

Zeno’s Warbird Video Drive-In /World War II Aviation Videos.  Celebrating 10 years on the Internet 1997-2007 http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com