Zeno’s Warbird Video Drive-In Big April 2009 Newsletter
Hello World War 2 plane fans —
You’re invited to drop by Zeno’s Drive-In www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com for this month’s Spring full house of WW2 combat documentary films playing over the Internet.
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” at Zeno’s Drive-In
The Story of the Black Cat PBYs. New revised edition with restored print. Exclusive: The identities of the previously undisclosed secret PBY base shown in this film and the names of the men who flew from it are now revealed for the first time in this new release. What was that mysterious plane swooping down out of the night sky on unsuspecting Japanese ships and bases, 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. One of the least known stories of the war in the Pacific, these black painted PBY “VPB” ('Patrol Bombing") squadrons spread destruction and chaos far out of proportion to their relatively small numbers.
Employment of Heavy Machine Guns in the Attack NEW In the popular mind, the machine gun is usually thought of as a supremely effective defensive weapon. This film shows tactics that can be used to make it a potent part of offensive operations. The featured weapon in the film is the Browning M-1917 water-cooled .30 caliber “heavy” machine gun, perhaps selected with the idea that if the big Browning could be lugged forward in an offensive, anything could be. (There is a good reason why those machine gunners are big, strong fellows) The film covers all aspects of offensive machine gun tactics through live action and illustrations, including enfilade and defilade fire, moving and placing your weapon in relation to the line of advance, and using a machine gun for indirect support fire. You’ll also get a look at how a heavy machine gun platoon was organized and the different ways the Browning could be set up for different missions. German and American Automatic Weapons.
Luftwaffe Finis 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 an Me 262, the first jet fighter, and an FW 190. These color images make history come alive.
Bombers Over North 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 Group 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 them from escaping. The missions for the day of this film were to strike from 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 plans. (Ironically, the 321st would soon occupy Sidi Ahmed as their new base for the Sicilian campaign. 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.
The Memphis Belle The film chronicles the 25th mission of the Boeing B-17 Memphis Belle, flying deep into Germany to strike the all-important U-boat submarine pens at Wilhemshaven. This is the original wartime documentary, written and directed by legendary Academy Award winner William Wyler. If this film looks and sounds familiar, it’s because this is the same production crew that brought you another wonderful classic, “Thunderbolt!.” (Don’t confuse this “original” Memphis Belle with the well intentionally but flawed Hollywood fluff piece produced in the 1990s. You’ll see Capt. Robert Morgan and the men of the B-17 “Memphis Belle,” 324th Squadron, 91st BG, going about their deadly business in rare Technicolor footage. The mission shown in the film is both routine and climactic, because 25 missions completed meant the crew could rotate out of combat. (Too many never made it to 25 missions. Bomber losses were high.) It’s a measure of both the times and the men who flew these planes that several of the Belle’s crew signed on for more missions, finishing the War flying B-29s against Japan.
If you haven’t stopped by Zeno’s Drive-In before, we also show 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.com
PS 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.htm
Online Videos: Black Cat PBYs, WW2 MachineGuns Attack, Galland, Rudel & the Boys