Zero & Oscar test flight (in color) …

[Mark Allen M]

Strange paint schemes applied. Lots a USA flag kills, test flight 1945? Hmm


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ6U6nyhg ... jf&index=2

[DaveM2]

Strange indeed. Never seen Japanese pilots mark their victories like that, so US applied for sure.

[Chris Brame]

I've been wondering about the source of that footage for decades - a few seconds of it appears in the Pearl Harbor attack sequence of the 1968 Bob Hope movie The Private Navy of Sergeant O'Farrell. Never saw it anywhere else until now.
A couple times you can see the camera plane's tail - looks like it was shot from the rear door of a NMF Lockheed Lodestar/C-60.

[marine air]

My guess is that they were a couple of aircraft from the several aircraft flown around the U.S. for war bond tours. I know a Zero came through Nashville a couple of times during the war. My uncle was home from the war recovering from severe jungle rot o his feet and lower legs. He was awoken one night to the sound of a Zero and he scrambled under his bed at his parents house. He thought he was having a nightmare. Then in the Sunday paper there it was , a Zero in Nashville flown in the during the night for a war bonds tour. He said the distinctive engine sounded like a washing machine of the era.

[res6kgcr]

Gooday All,

This is stock footage was taken by the Technical Air Intelligence Center, at Anacostia Naval Air Station near Washington, DC on June 30, 1945 as stated on the take board at time 05:07 on the video.

At time 01:21 a navy officer or petty officer also holds a take board. Note the 35mm Zeiss camera he has. High tech for its day.
.
Now for the planes, which with all the “Kill” markings are very Hollywood.

The Oscar (the code names are inventions of Technical Air Intelligence Unit, Southwest Pacific Area) is one 3 plus a Dinah found at Hollandia and made serviceable by the Fifth Air Force units there.

All were reassigned to TAIU-SWPA. One Oscar was given number XJ004 by TAIU-SWPA at Eagle Farm Field, Queensland Australia. Note the location of the antenna. See below.

This Oscar was ship to Anacostia and assigned TAIC number 10 and label OSCAR 2. Here it is post war at Orchard Place, now O’Hare International Airport display at the government plant that Douglas used to build C-54 at. See Below.

Very plane Jane.

This Oscar is now at the EAA Museum.

Neumann’s Zero.

Gerhard Neumann was a German working for Junkers in China. The “War Lord” period was over and the Soviets became the principal supplier for the Nationalist Chinese against the Japanese

The Soviets sign a non-aggression pact with Japan, no more Soviet weapons for the Nationalist. The Nationalist and the Communist put their civil war on hold. The Nationalist hire Claire Chennault for an air force, paid for by the Americans and Neumann is now working for the Nationalist.

Then on November 26, 1941 the first Zero falls into allied hands.

This is Neumann’s Zero because his team repair it.

Chennault says his report was ignored, others say Neumann’s Zero had an machinal defective in some respect and could not be fully tested in China. It was sent to Rangoon to be ship somewhere but was sent back to China before the fall of Burma. It finally reached Wright Field July 1943.

In the TAIC film the Zeke is the Neumann’ Zero by the louvers he fitted on the engine access panels and the overall dark scheme. Its on the Wright Field status list of November 1, 1944 as EB-200 but off the September 1, 1945 status list.

Here is how it ends up with a display unit, shown here at Los Angeles. See below.

All the best

Tom

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[dgreenblatt]

Its very cool to see that and read some of the history behind the testing and evaluation. Thanks for sharing!