Zeno’s Warbird Video Drive-In Big August 2008 Newsletter
Hello World War 2 plane fans ---
You’re invited to drop by Zeno's Drive-In
www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com for this month’s summer six pack of a half-dozen WW2 combat aircraft documentary films playing over the Internet. We're paying special attention to the 65th Anniversary of the epic Ploesti mission, including a new film on one of the participants, the 98th Bomb Group, now playing at the Matinee. The newsletter is a little late getting out because Zeno has been beavering away producing several new programs.
Just like the day we opened on July 15, 1997, all the World War II aircraft videos on our site are showing for free, for your viewing pleasure. Now showing At the Matinee
White Tailed Marauders The 323rd Bomb Group and their B-26s Premier! Exclusive Production Rare color film of B-26 Marauders in action in the Spring of 1945. See the 453rd, 454th, 455th, and 455th Bomb Squadrons operating against Germany from their base in Laon, France. All color footage really brings this bygone era startlingly back to life. Special treats include escorting P-38s and a round trip mission. A must for Marauder fans everywhere!
The 98th Bomb Group Liberators Over North Africa” Premier! Exclusive Production -- hear Zeno speak! This recently discovered footage shows Medal of Honor winner Col. John R. "Killer" Kane and the men of the 98th Bomb Group in the Summer of 1943, shortly before the heroic, costly Ploesti mission, at their desert base in Benghazi/Benina, Libya. You'll see legendary B-24s like "The Vulgar Virgin," "The Sandman," and "War Cloud." Sadly, several of these ships were filmed here for the last time before they were lost over Romania. There's an unexpected gem too. Soon after the Axis surrender in Tunisia, 9th combat cameraman Jim Bray hitched a ride on a B-24 and filmed all the major North African targets the 98th had hit from the air, from El Alemein to Tunis. You'll see Tobruk, Tripoli, Benghazi, Bizerte and more from above, the way pilots and crew saw them during the Desert War. And the big Liberator goes in low too so you can take in sunken warships, clamoring liberty ships unloading their cargoes, and bombed out harbors that have long since been rebuilt. This is a priceless time capsule.
Medal of Honor: Ploesti August 1, 1943 On August 1, 1943 Specially trained elements of the 8th and 9th Air Forces flying B-24 Liberators based in Benghazi Libya launched a daring low level attack on Ploesti, over 1,200 miles away. They struck hard, but the cost was high. Unescorted by fighters and coming in literally at tree top level to surprise the enemy, 54 out of 162 of the attacking bombers were lost, along with 540 American air crew. Every member of the attacking force was awarded a medal, including 5 Medals of Honor, the highest decoration awarded by the U.S. military. Of the Medal of Honor recipients, only Col. Leon Johnson, 44th Bomb Group, and Col. Jon "Killer" Kane, 98th Bomb Group, survived the mission.
Air Siege Ploesti March to August 1944 The capture of the Foggia airfield in on the Adriatic in Italy in 1944 provided the 15th Air Force with a new base to launch a new series of Air attacks on Ploesti. This time, B-17s and B-24s attacked with fighter escort at high altitude. Losses were again heavy, with over 1,800 air crew lost to FLAK and enemy fighters. Accuracy suffered when defenders used smoke pots to obscure the target, so P-38s were used as dive bombers to penetrate the defenses. Soon P-51s helped to achieve total air superiority over the target. By the end of the Ploesti air campaign in the fall of 1944, 90% of Romania's oil production was knocked at a cost of 270 bombers and 49 fighters and their crews. Narrated by Ronald Reagan.
B-24s Get Back Many of the B-24 crews who survived the Ploesti missions swore that they owed their lives to their rugged Liberators. This remarkable film that shows how B-24s overcame incredible battle damage to bring their crews home. Numerous examples of seemingly critically damaged B-24s making it back. This is a fascinating instructional training film too with specific techniques to bring your badly crippled ship down safely. Some great B-24 combat footage too.
The 362nd Fighter Group on the prowl over Germany. Premier (Color) Drive-in Exclusive. Held over another month by popular demand. This video contains some of the most exciting color air action sequences to come out of World War II. Select 362nd Fighter Group P-47 Thunderbolt fighter/bombers were especially equipped with extra color movie cameras to capture thrilling ground and air attacks as they happened. These squadrons were tasked with striking targets inside Nazi Germany as the war against the Third Reich entered it’s final act in Spring, 1945. The result is unique "from the cockpit" views putting you in the middle of attacks on tanks, airfields, trucks, rail yards, bridges, trains, fighters, and more. You'll even see antiaircraft fire arcing up from the ground, bursting around the big Thunderbolts as they make their low level strikes. You'll see 362nd CO Col. Joe Laughlin and the pilots and crews of the 377th, 378th and 379th Fighter Squadrons and their aircraft in living color.
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!
Check Six!!
Zeno
Zeno’s Warbird Video Drive-In /World War II Aviation Videos. Celebrating 11 years on the Internet 1997-2008
http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.comPS If you have any concerns about using the RealNetworks RealPlayer to watch our videos, I recommend using the “RealAlternative” media player instead. It will play RealVideo files just fine, 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.htmOnline Videos: Ploesti B-24 Liberators, White Tailed B-26s & Screaming P-47s
