Hello All --
You are invited to drop by Zeno's Warbird Video Drive-In (
http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com) and catch our three new World War II aviation features for free online video viewing . This month "At the Matinee," there's two new flicks from the Navy, "Flight Deck Crews: 'Landing and Re-spotting Aircraft,'" and the latest addition to our permanent collection, "Meet the Brewster SB2A 'Buccaneer' Scout-Bomber," and one from the Army, "Collecting and Reporting Enemy Information by Fighter Pilots."
I'm very excited about out new "Carrier Flight Deck Crew" feature. Major air battles in the Pacific in World War II often turned on the ability of each side to quickly launch, land, rearm & refuel, and then relaunch their aircraft. This unique film is an unusual look (in color) at how US Navy carrier flight deck crews were trained to quickly land, park, fuel & re-arm incoming aircraft. As a bonus, you'll see GM FM-1 "Wildcats" and Grumman TBF "Avengers" up close, handled expertly on the tiny deck of a CVE "jeep" escort carrier. Built on merchant men hulls, the 78 jeeps were pressed into service for a variety of rolls, including anti submarine war in the Atlantic and covering amphibious landings in the Pacific, Their greatest moment came on Oct. 35, 1944, in the battle of Samar in the Philippines, when the CVEs of Task Group 77.4 (Task units "Taffy 1, 2, 4") launched a furious attack on Adm. Kurita's overwhelming task force and caused it to retreat. The CVE St Lo was lost and several others were heavily damaged, but the landing at Leyte was successfully protected.
Was the SB2A Buccaneer really "one of the worst aircraft of World War II?" See the video and judge for yourself!
Though this training film goes out of it's way to sing the Buccaneers praises, her flaws are all too obvious if you watch and listen carefully. The Buccaneer is a prime example of how a design that looked good on paper in 1939 can be woefully lacking by 1941. Between the drawing board and the production line, the SB2A put on substantial weight that overwhelmed her 1,700 horse power engine and out dated air frame, resulting in a ship that proved to be, slow, sluggish, and with unpleasant handling qwerks. Though many other stats appear comparable to the Grumman TBF on paper, her inferior wing area, bomb load, and real world performance put her way behind the Avenger.
Collecting and Reporting Enemy Information by Fighter Pilots" is a rare early war training films features Bell P-39 Airacobras of the "181st Squadron" carrying out a complete bomber escort and ground attack mission, with an emphasis on briefing sessions, gathering intelligence during a combat mission, and how to give accurate after action reports. Basic squadron tactics of the strike are also are also covered .
If you haven't stopped by Zeno's Drive-In before, we also feature 1942-45 vintage WWII Army & Navy films on how to fly the F4U, F6F, P-38, P-39, P-40, P-47, P-51, P-61, TBF/TBM, AT-6, B-17, B-24, B-25, A-20, A-26, B-26, B-29, and more.We just added the SNJ/AT-6 "Harvard" trainer too.That's over 12 hours of rockin' props for free viewing over the internet. See detailed charts, diagrams, and interior photos from original WWII pilot's manuals too.
Finally, our "Control Tower" page has the largest collection of World War II Aviation links on the 'net
So drop your flaps & drop in!
That's
http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.comZeno
