Zeno's Warbird Video Drive-In March 2008 Newsletter

G'Day World War 2 plane fans ---

You're invited to drop your flaps & drop by Zeno's Drive-In
www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com to view this month's unique selection of
three powerful WW2 air combat documentary films playing online.

As always, all of the flicks showing on our web site are free, for the
viewing pleasure of our audience.

Now showing "At the Matinee"

"Mission to Rabaul" The island of Rabaul, located in the southwest
Pacific, northeast of the large island of New Guinea, was one of two
strategic lynchpins for the Japanese in the Pacific. They poured in
tens of thousands of troops, hundreds of airplanes, and thousands of
tons of supplies to make it a mighty fortress. Douglas MacArthur's
brilliant solution to the Rabaul conundrum was to isolate it and
bypass it -- rather than assault it. One of the key steps in this
strategy was the seizure of airfields in northern New Guinea by
Australian & American forces. Those airstrips would be used by Army
P-38 fighters who would escort US bombers on long range missions
against the heavily defended Japanese stronghold. By the end of the
War, once mighty Rabaul was cut off and reduced to a virtual prison
for starving Japanese soldiers and airmen. "Mission to Rabaul" shows
how each piece of this classic campaign culminated inevitably in the
first escorted, massed bomber strike on 12th October, 1943. The film
focuses on the decisive and revolutionary impact of the air component,
including high & low level attacks, parachute drops, and re-supply.
You'll see amazing on the deck footage from attacking A-20s and B-25s.

"Fight For the Sky." In February of 1944, General Jimmy Doolittle
"turned loose" his fighters to go after the Luftwaffe where they
lived. This marked a radical change in strategy from the disastrous
tactics of 1943 that kept escorting fighters chained to bombers. Now,
US fighters, including the P-51, probed deep into Germany, catching
the opposition on the ground, inflicting mortal damage. This feature
combines thrilling combat footage filmed by 8th Air Force combat
cameramen with some of the most action packed, down and dirty World
War II gun camera film you'll ever see.

"Ramrod to Emden" The 56th Fighter Group (made up of the 61, 62 & 63
squadrons) was one of the most storied Air Corps units of World War
II. Home to aces like David Schilling (22 kills), Frances "Gabby"
Gabreski (28), Robert S. Johnson (27), Fred Christensen (21.5), Walker
Mahurin (21), and CO Hubert "Hub" Zemke (18), the 56th blazed an early
trail across the skies of the ETO in their massive, but deadly P-47
Thunderbolts. "Ramrod to Emden" is the story of the Dec 11, 1943
bomber escort mission (aka "a ramrod") to Emden, Germany. As you'll
see in the film, the 56th encountered heavy, determined opposition
from Germans, but it proved to be an exceptionally productive day.
With Lt. Col. Schilling leading 50 planes of the group, they claimed
17-0-5, with two aircraft lost in a midair collision and no aircraft
lost to enemy action. Allied bomber losses were minimal.

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!

Tally-ho!

Zeno

Zeno's Warbird Video Drive-In /World War II Aviation Videos.
Celebrating 10 years on the Internet 1997-2007 http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com

WW2 Videos Online: 8thAF Fighters Strike the Luftwaffe, Zemke's P-47
Aces & B-25s Assault New Guinea