The 1st Fighter Squadrons in New Guinea in World War 2 (Restored Color- 1944)
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- Опубліковано 3 сер 2020
- In 1981 retired Air Corps Lt. Col. Ken Gerrish donated movies he shot during his service on Papua New Guinea in World War 2 between 1942 and 1944 to the U.S. National Archives. The image quality of parts of this film had deteriorated badly over time, so I used digital technology to restore it to closer to the way it must have looked when it was filmed during World War 2. Gerrish added music and his own first personal narration to his 16mm film and edited it together to create this presentation. This is not a “documentary” in the usual sense, it's more like a home movie. The scenes are not all shown in chronological order and Col. Gerrish's comments and observations are his own impressions and not necessarily 100% historically accurate. Having said that, this is a unique “Behind the Scenes” look at every day life on remote front line fighter bases, in this case set in one of the most primitive environments in the World. The fact that its in color makes it virtually one of a kind.
As Engineering Officer Gerrish was responsible for maintaining P-39s for the 36th Fighter Squadron and P-38s for the Eighth Fighter Group of the Fifth Air Force. They were the first American Air Corps unit to operate on the island. You'll see P-39 Airacobras, P-38 Lightnings and B-25 bombers flying from muddy airstrips carved out of the jungle, along with the men who maintained and flew them. There are frequent contacts with colorfully dressed indigenous tribesmen, AKA “Head Hunters,” who had never had contact with outsiders at all until airfields were suddenly built near their villages. An added bonus are scenes of Aussie infantry who accompanied the 36TH FS when they relocated to a new base by ship. The content has been edited slightly here for brevity and to make it suitable for viewers of all ages. A memorable account!
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Thanks zenos for making these vintage videos possible.TALLY HO!
24:25 George Welch (Pearl Harbor P40 pilot) on a gun range. Remarkable catch by Colonel Gerrish and overall a priceless documentary of an important facet of the Pacific War.
Outstanding footage thanks
Priceless history, excellent restoration.
What a splendid film!
Great footage, very interesting indeed. Many thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome!
Amazing footage. I can't imagine the difficulties of maintaining such a varieties of fighters and bombers.
My dad was there, with the US Army, in New Guinea. He was a medic. He always spoke well of the Aussies.
ClayZ. 👍. My granddad was there also..army air corps . We have a lot to be thankful for.
Good educational material here. I've seen many films of WWII in the pacific theater of operation but never seen this particular one. Thanks for sharing it.
Like going back in time. Thanks so much for this. My father was a sailor who fought in the pacific in WWII.
Fantastic show mate 👍 really enjoyed watching this one 👍keep it up
Zeno is a great conservator of our very important national history. Another great film.
Hello! A great piece of film history, really interesting to see the conditions our men lived and fought in...the icing on the cake is having an officer who was actually there filming and telling us all about it! Thanks!!
G'day,
Yay Team !
Nice vintage narration..., featuring the non-existant "Y" which the US always insisted on adding onto their idiosyncratic pronunciation of
"MILNE Bay..." (!).
I've only ever read of that affectation, in books written by Australians who were around at the time ; so it's quite a giggle to hear the phenomenon "for real".
The Airfield at Milne Bay was known as "Turnbull Field", named after Squadron Leader Peter Turnbull, shot down there on take-off before retracting his Undercarraige, on a Ground-Strafing Mission to support the Infantry defending the Airfield from Japanese attempting to dispute possession of the Runway.
Every ANZAC Day (before the Bat-Eaters' Lament Virus began stalking the Earth.....), my home town still gets a detatchment from 76 Squadron to march in the Parade, & a Jet Flyover at the Cenotaph ; owing to Peter Turnbull having grown up here... (Glen Innes, NSW).
Thanks for posting...
Stay safe,
;-p
Ciao !
Thanks for the clarification- good to know!
Hopefully the commemoration can continue next year.
Your info is very interesting...enjoyed the BELV reference :) (not the actual scourge).... best wishes to all " down under"....Thanks!
A tough place to operate from . A great insight of a part of the war seldom mentioned , but as important as any other .
Very interesting.
Thank you
Fantastic Update
I wish this film was restored as substantially as The Cold Blue. I think this is much cooler.
My father was there. He was so happy to see the p-39 aircraft replaced with the P -38, The Japanese were defeated in the air with the 38' there.
Emily Mcfadden. Awesome. My grandfather was a radar operater in a three man crew bomber in New Guinea..said he jumped out of a plane once when it was going down after being shot up..jumped out onto a beach..must've been crazy fighting
Some B-25 with eight 50 caliber machine guns were used much later by CIA in Central America and other hot spots.
i have head of these 50 cal attacks for years
👍 🎥
I would have loved to be a P 38 pilot in the SW Pacific ❤❤❤❤
B-17s, P39s and B-24s all burned, incredible waste.
Fifty years wrote: "B-17s, P39s and B-24s all burned, incredible waste." ...... The scene was a minuscule fraction of the destruction in WWII. WAR is an incredible waste.