MSRP-$29.00
Alaska-beautiful,
natural and deadly. The 11th
Air Force stationed in Alaska during the critical period after Pearl Harbor not
only had to fight the Japanese but also the environment, especially the weather.
Flying in remote areas with limited weather reporting facilities it was
not uncommon for them to lose more aircraft from weather and training than to
the Japanese. This does not mean
that the Japanese were a push over, but like the 11th AF they were at
the end of a long and precarious supply line.
The DVD starts off
with six chapters that allow you to navigate to the start of each section.
The first section is a newsreel entitled “US Attacks in the Aluetians”.
It is a typical WWII newsreel. Filmed
in B&W you are immediately taken back by the barren terrain.
The tents are built into the hillside with no protection from the
elements let alone the Japanese. The
permafrost preventing soldiers from digging trenches or protective cover. That doesn’t stop the Seabees from building an airfield and
it is immediately occuopied by B-24Ds, P-39s, P-38 and B-17s.
Despite the best efforts of the engineers there is mud everywhere.
When you see the aircraft up close I’m under the impression that you
can’t overweather a model airplane. These
things are covered in mud.
The next segment
is in color, “Report from the Aluetians”, shows the picturesque and
beautiful landscape and then you come back to the airfield.
There is nothing picturesque about it.
In the words from the “Battle of Britian”, “Muck and filth
everywhere Mr. Warwick.” It is a testament to the ground crews for working in such
conditions. There are some
interesting differences in the aircraft. There
are unique RDF, or ADF, setups on the fuselage and wings. The aircraft again have so much mud on them that it is
amazing that they can fly. Landing
and taking off is certainly the most precarious of operations. Navy fans will find cruisers and destroyers on sub patrol.
What the newsreel does show is boredom.
You can see how the 1.5 million square feet of PSP is laid down.
The aircraft are
so dirty and filthy that it is impossible to over weather a model.
A crashed P-38 is particularly interesting in the sequence.
There are B-26s in the background as a funeral is held in the sobering
barren terrain. Bomb loading and
the colors of the bombs are interesting. I’m
not sure if they were painted special for the documentary or not but they sure
all colorful.
The P-38E/F are
seen to good effect. There are no
aces here as there just isn’t enough Japanese airplanes around.
Jack Chenault and his P-40E are seen and he is credited with one Zero and
one Submarine. I noticed that the
white ID band is really poorly painted. The
bombers are significantly lower than Europe, not quite as low as Ploesti, but
low for high altitude bombers. The
formations are tight and low. It is
intersting to see B-17s at low altitude straffing.
That is as unique as this theater of operation.
The third segment
is a newsreel, “Kiska Landings-Aug 43”.
Shot in beautiful color this landing is not the thing that D-Day would
be. There were 313 KIAs on an
undefended and unoccupied island. Friendly
fire, booby traps and accidents
taking there toll on the troops. Truly
tragic.
The 11th
Air Force Fighters, mostly P-40s, are seen in low buzz jobs.
Descent but certainly not a John Godfrey beat up.
Bombers of the 77th
Bomb Squadron are the highlight of the next newsreel.
What I didn’t know was that drop tank modified B-25s were able to bomb
the north islands of Japan. You see
the detailed briefing. The raids
are small with four missions of four bombers each but they were bombing Japan.
The weather is bleak and overcast. The
Natural Metal Finished B-25s are interesting.
The props are even in NMF, actually everything is with just the stars and
bars being the only color seen.
General Brooks
visit is the next installment. Featured
in this sequence are some B-24s with unique turret systems.
You see them in close formation on one of the final missions of the war,
12 August 1945. Another highlight
is a highly polished C-47 with 11th Air Force markings with no other
colors except the stars and bars. A
very classic looking airplane.
The final segment
is on the 404th Squadron, 28th Bomb Group flying a 15 hour
and 5 minute mission on the 11th Air Forces last mission on 13 Aug.
You can tell that even with the end of the war insight that these men
feel they have been frozen and forgotten. Morale
is low to say the least. As an
interesting side note, more aircraft were lost to weather than to the Japanese.
This speaks volumes to the courage and sacrifice to the airmen and
soldiers who protected our northern border.
I can highly
recommend this title, as well as, all the other titles available from Victory
Films. They really provide some of
the clearest renditions of the available footage, plus some never before seen
footage. If you are a historian or
modeler then these are an invaluable asset to your research.
A moving and gripping account of the war in color and black and white.
Thanks to Wade
Meyers Studios for the review copy. You
can obtain your copy of this and all the other great titles from Victory Films
at http://wademeyersart.tripod.com/id73.html
. Let him know you heard about it
here.
Floyd
S. Werner, Jr.
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