Zeno’s Warbird Video Drive-In Big March 2010 Newsletter
Hello World War 2 & jet aircraft fans —
You’re invited to drop by Zeno’s Drive-In www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com for this month’s sortie of five exciting aviation documentary films playing over the Internet. This month we have two Premiers and all five films have been remastered for better web streaming. (“The Fighting Lady” looks Great!)
As always, all of the videos showing on our web site are for your free viewing pleasure. The movies playing at the Matinee are viewable in both RealVideo and Windows Media Player streaming video formats.
Now showing “At the Matinee” at Zeno’s Drive-In
“B-58 Hustler MITO Tests” NEW During the Cold War, SAC bombers had only 15 to 20-minutes to get airborne after the launch of enemy missiles. Getting US air forces on their way quickly was essential for survivability, striking power and deterrence. A critical element was “MITO” - "Minimum Interval Take-Off,” determining the optimum interval between the launching aircraft to achieve the fastest possible deployment, while avoiding jet thrust and wing turbulence. In January, 1963, SAC B-58 units conducted a series of tests to determine optimum MITO for the B-58 Hustler for day and night launches, singly and in pairs, with up to a half dozen B-58s queuing up on the flight line. There’s some beautiful B-58 take-off footage here, shot from many angles, including overhead helicopter shots of dual launches and afterburners lighting up the night.
"Die Deutsche Wachenshau Captured German Newsreels NEW German combat cameramen were celebrities for a good reason. Supplementary text in English has been added, but the pictures tell the story. A unique collection of seldom seen World War 2 combat footage, that shows events as they happened. Some highlights: Rommel visits the 21st Panzer Division (with many shots of armored vehicles) and Pips Priller’s JG 26 fighter squadron in France. Daily life on a Luftwaffe night fighter base including leading Aces Leopold Fellerer (41) & Prinz zu Sayn-Wittentgenstein (83). The Wehrmacht prepares fortifications for the Allied invasion of Italy. German FLAK units and Italian Macchi C.202 Folgore fighters oppose Allied air attacks in Italy. Luftwaffe pilots take a ski vacation. German mountain troops prepare defenses in the snow covered in the Abruzzi mountains.
“The Fighting Lady” A new color corrected color print from the National Archives really brings this film to life! “The Fighting Lady” follows the fictional career of an Essex Class aircraft carrier from the Marcus Islands campaign, through Tinian, Truk, the “Mariana’s Turkey Shoot” and much more. All of the footage in this fascinating composite documentary is real – shot by combat cameramen on board ship and in the air, showing actual Navy and Marine pilots and crewmen up close and personal. ("The Fighting Lady was actually the nickname given to the Yorktowns, CV-5 & CV-10.) You’ll see dramatic action showing Hellcats, Hell Divers, Corsairs on deck and in the air, including exciting dive bombing, anti-aircraft, and gun camera footage and some amazing walkaway crash landings. And there’s a fascinating tour below decks too.
“Operation Titanic” The problem: key Axis strategic assets were located so deep in Eastern Europe that they either could not be reached by Allied bombers or involved a lengthy round trip that exposed them to heavy Axis fighter attacks. The solution was Operation Titanic, aka “Operation Frantic Joe,” one of the most audacious and least known strategic operations of the war. 15th Air Force bombers and fighters based in Italy would bomb targets in the East, land in Russia, refuel & rearm, and then hit another target on the way back. 8th Air Force bombers based in the UK did the same. The Soviets provided three bases in the Ukraine; heavy bombers at Poltava and Mirgorod and the fighters at Piryatin. The US provided material to substantially upgrade them. This film tells that story.
“Bombers Over North Africa” We return this month to operations in Africa. This is a rare look at early war US Air Operations based in Algeria. B-25 and B-17 bombers of the 321st and 97th Bomb Groups hammering Axis forces 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 stopping them from escaping. The missions for the day in 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 valuable JU 52 transports were based, a key element in German evacuation plans. 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. 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 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! - don’t miss the F-86 & B-58!
Free admission for all. 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/
Videos: Luftwaffe Night Fighters, B-58 MITO Test, WW2 CV Action, B-17s to Russia