Zeno’s Warbird Video Drive-In Big May 2009 Newsletter

You’re invited to drop by Zeno’s Drive-In www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com and sample this month’s outstanding lineup of aircraft & combat 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 premiere of our first Vietnam War feature, “The Twenty Five Hour Day: A Story of Air Force F-105s” and another debut, John Huston’s controversial “Battle of San Pietro,” along with the return of three popular films: “A-26 Invaders Attack!, The 416th Bomb Group in Color,” “Winged Artillery” with cannon firing B-25Gs and “FLAK!,” all about Axis WW2 AAA.

“The Twenty-Five Hour Day: A Story of Air Force F-105s” (Color) New with color corrected print. This film offers a unique look inside F-105 “Thunderchief” (The Thud!) fighter-bomber operations when the air campaign against North Vietnamese supply lines was ramping up into to high gear. Secretary of State Robert McNamara gives the broad outline of the Thud's primary mission in a series of strategic briefings: to strangle the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the strategic supply line from North to South. You'll see exciting color footage of F-105s, F-4s, F-100s and other aircraft hitting bridges, supply depots convoys and other key targets along the Trail, and carrying out tactical operations in the South in conjunction with air mobile units. You'll also see F -105 mission briefings, base operations, midair refueling, maintenance and up close scenes of everyday pilot life on an very active forward base, working “Twenty-Five Hour Days.”

“A-26 Invaders Attack! The 416th Bomb Group in Color” Exclusive color corrected production from Military Arts Pictures. Legendary SFP 186 combat cameramen rode along with 416th Bomb Group A-26 Invaders during March and April 1945, with color film in their cameras. The results are some of the most beautiful and dramatic footage to come out of the World War II. You'll see fleets of silver fast attack bombers soaring through towering cumulus clouds before unloading torrents of bombs deep inside the Third Reich. An added bonus is a cache of remarkable still pictures taken by 416th Group (668th, 669th, 670th and 671st Bomb Squadrons) staff photog "Sergeant Cachat" showing A-26s on location and their crews.

“John Huston's Battle of San Pietro” New! Exclusive production with additional footage. Director John Huston's "San Pietro" was one of the most dramatic and controversial combat documentary films to come out of World War II. Almost alone, it portrayed dead and wounded American soldiers and civilians on the battlefield (always with reverence) and unflinchingly revealed the face of War. It's release was delayed by the U S Army, who said it would be bad for morale and that it portrayed the controversial Italian Campaign in a bad light. General George Marshall was the film's savior in 1945, saying, "This picture should be seen by every American soldier in training. It will not discourage but rather will prepare them for the initial shock of combat." The Battle of San Pietro was fought in Winter, 1943, with Fifth Army forces attacking from the south against the heavily defended German "Winter Line" in and around the town of San Pietro Infine, south of Monte Cassino. The Germans held the mountain tops and poured fire down into the Liri valley on exposed, Allied troops. After four successive, costly Allied attacks and enemy counter-attacks, the Germans pulled out when Allied troops took the high ground

“Winged Artillery” (Color) Nine 75mm cannon 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.

“FLAK! “is a fascinating World War II training film for pilots on the theory and practice of evading antiaircraft fire. ("FLAK" is a German acronym for Fliegerabwehrkanone = "Flyer Defense Cannon.") The specifications, capabilities, and targeting methods of a variety of German and Japanese AAA pieces are discussed as well as both high and low altitude evasions tactics . Well illustrated with charts, animations, and combat film.

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 sighted over Zeno’s Drive-In!

That’s over 14 hours of rockin’ World War II props & jets 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

PS: If you have any concerns about using the RealNetwork’s RealPlayer to watch our videos, I highly recommend using the “RealAlternative” player instead.  It’s built around the very popular “Media Player Classic” and will play RealVideo files just fine (along with just about every other video format), is independently produced, a small download, and has none of the purported vices of RealNetwork’s RealPlayer. You can download the RealAlternative player here:

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/real_Alternative.htm

Online Vids: F105 Thuds, Invaders Attack!, Huston’s San Pietro, Cannon firing B-25Gs & FLAK!