B-25 Bombers Attack the Japanese Stronghold at Rabaul "On the Deck!" (1943 Restored, HD)
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 3 июл 2020
- In October 1943 a massive Allied air offensive was launched to neutralize the Japanese stronghold at the anchorage at Rabaul on the island of New Britain in the South West Pacific. This dramatic film, shot by 5th Air Force Combat Cameramen, shows North American B-25 medium bombers from the 38th and 345th Bomb Groups attacking airfields, ships and storage dumps in and around Rabaul harbor, including airfields at Vunakanau, Rapopo and Tobera from October 11th through October 15th. To maintain the element of surprise and avoid antiaircraft fire, the attacking aircraft flew “on the deck,” just above the jungle, dropping conventional and “parafrag” parachute bombs and strafing with machine guns at very low altitudes. Many of the attacking “mediums” were B-25Gs, equipped with 75mm canon for ground attack, in addition to 50mm machine guns bristling on the nose & fuselage. The initial attack caught the Japanese completely by surprise.
Some of the action scenes in film are a bit shaky, but bear in mind that much of it was shot using a 16mm handheld camera during combat while numerous 50mm machine guns were being fired. In some of the scenes, the cameraman is crouching between the pilot & copilot in the narrow B-25 cockpit. The film is part of the "Combat Weekly Digest" series, shown only Armed Forces personnel.
The 38th BG was comprised of the 71st, 405, 822nd and 832nd Bomb Squadrons, and the 345th BG was made up of the 498th,499th, 500th and 501st Bomb Squadrons, based near Fort Moresby on the Island of Papua, New Guinea, 400 miles away from the target. The bombers were attacked by Japanese fighters on all three days, but their own fighter escorts, including P-38 Lightnings, were very effective in dealing with them, downing many with the loss of only a handful of bombers.
The 501st Bomb Squadron is featured in the film, including its Operations Officer, Capt “Jack” Manders, who leads one of the mission briefings. Captain Manders (DFC and DSC) was reported “Missing in Action” over the Philippines on January 30, 1944. RIP.
Zeno, Zeno's Warbird Video Drive-In www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com
Get this film & much more on our new "Behind the Scenes in World War 2 Volume 6 DVD" bit.ly/2VNZOHR
Visit our aviation DVD store at www.zenosflightshop.com for
the World's largest selection of World War 2 & vintage jet aircraft aviation videos. We have 100s of films in our library and have licensed footage to major TV networks and cable channels. For more info see / zenoswarbirds
Your purchases at our DVD store make this channel possible!
Get this film & much more on our new "Behind the Scenes in World War 2 Volume 6 DVD" bit.ly/2VNZOHR
Glad to see these. grandfather flew in the 405th green dragons. He never wanted to talk about. I now get to see why. Thank you for all of you post it helps some of us fill some blanks
You are welcomed !
God Bless all who’ve served our Great a Country. Because of them we are able to celebrate our Independence Day under freedom !
My day spent most of WW2 in Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines, His artillery unit 148TH from Coeur D'Alene Idaho spent a lot of their tour in New Britain ! Very tough fighting for many years.He often spoke of B25s and P38s. the unit eventually finished their tour in the Philippines . I sure miss his stories!!
Thank you for the video. Brings it home with the post script about Capt. Manders.
Perhaps in those days it just means they were asked about their sorties against the Japanese.
My Dad flew a B-25 in the 69th Bombardment Group against Rabaul during this time period.
Ello, in your description you mistakenly refer to the .50 caliber machine guns as 50mm, just a taaaad bit larger than they really are. If you would like to still give the measurement in mm it would be 12.7mm
Read the book "Air Apaches" by Jay Stout; available on Amazon. Fantastic stories. My friend's Dad was a pilot in this outfit.
The October 1943 missions against Rabaul are covers in detail👍
@@ZenosWarbirds Your videos are incredible! Thanks for uploading them!
Great book!!
God bless those brave young men.
Interesting. My father-in-law mentioned Rabaul a lot. It was a PITA to the US Navy until taken out.
I’ll bet “IL-2 1946” players can relate to this.
Think how many haiku were written about these raids.
Those balls coming at them are tracer rounds, there are 4 others that aren't for every one.
Very brave men, indeed. 🇺🇸
To Whom It May Concern = Parafrag.
Thank you.
RAAF were also there
THE NARATOR NEEDS TO KNOW HOW TO PRONOUNCE STRAFED
Ha funny thing, you need to know that SHOUTING is rude on the web and narrator has the letter r twice. That's my stone thrown for today back to my glass house.
This has been discussed at length on other films. During World World War 2 it was pronounced both ways. It was first used by the Germans in WW1 for ground attack
“From German strafe (“punish”) (a conjugated form of strafen), from phrases like "Gott strafe England" ("God punish England") which the British saw during the First World War.” A as in “ah”
"Straaf?" Curious: Why were we bombing Guadalcanal at this time? Sounds like we were attacking ourselves like in Catch 22.
*Vunakanau airdrome
You have a dirty mind!
I am trying to enjoy my evening here and all I know is that the United States Army Air Service fought in the South Pacific.
Nasty nasty nasty nasty.