Hello All --
You are invited to drop by Zeno's Warbird Video Drive-In (
http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com) and catch our two new World War II aviation features for free online video viewing. This month "At the Matinee," we're featuring the return of a Drive-In Favorite, "Recognition of the Japanese Zero Fighter," starring "the Gipper." Lyt. Ronald Reagan as "Jimmy Saunders," and a new addition to our library, "Bombers Over Africa," starring the officers and me on the 97th and 321st Bombardment Groups.
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.) This film 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 Zeke doing spectacular aerobatics.
Even though this is "only" a 20-minute training film "the Gipper" gives a very convincing performance as a cocky yet apprehensive new P-40 pilot, Jimmy Saunders. His 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
Bombers Over Africa
This is a rare look at early war US Air Operations in North Africa. B-25 and B-17 bombers of the 321st and 97th Bomb Groups help cut off Rommel's retreat from Tunisia. Part of the "North West African Strategic Air Force," these groups were initially tasked with preventing men and material from reaching the Afrika Korps, and later with preventing their escape
The missions for the day of this film were to strike from their bases in Algeria at the junction at Manouba, near Tunis, and the air field at Sidi Ahmed, near Bizerte, where a large number of extremely valuable JU 52 transports were based, a key element in German evacuation plan. (Ironically, the 321st would soon occupy Sidi Ahmed as their new base for the Sicilian campaign.) The film features an introduction by the theater commander (then 4 star) General Dwight Eisenhower and an afterword by Air Operations Commanding General "Jimmy" Doolittle.
Perhaps most memorably, this film is notable for it's extended "up close and personal" look at the men of the 97th & 321st BGs. You'll see real pre mission and after action debriefing sessions with the men who flew them, including a B-17 crew's account of an FW 190 shoot down and the water ditching of a heavily damaged B-25.
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 and the Brewster SB2a 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
