Hi All,
I'm putting out an APB for the location of some video footage showing the A6M3 M32 Zero that was rebuilt and test flown at Eagle Farm airfield, Brisbane, Australia in 1943.
The original source film is being sought by the Eagle Farm Aviation Society (EFAS) as part of a project to gather resources about the activities of the Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit (ATAIU) in Hangar 7 at Eagle Farm where a number of captured Japanese aircraft were rebuilt between 1943 and 1944, after which the ATAIU returned to their NAS Anacostia HQ in the USA.
Saturday last, the 20th of July, was the 70th anniversary of the first flight of the rebuilt Zero at Eagle Farm and it was hoped that the footage shown in the links below would have been tracked down by then. However, one source, a DVD doco "Secret Japanese Aircraft of WW2" that we knew contained some Eagle Farm Zero footage, has not yielded an original source film or master video tape to date.
Credit: Banpresto Model Aircraft Series DVD Vol 01 "Zero Fighter" courtesy of Jacob
The Eagle Farm footage contained in "Secret Japanese Aircraft WW2" can be downloaded here (29 MB MPEG1 file):
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK5hRvN5HNM
on 'Mitsubishi Zero Fighter" starting at 0:56 >> through to 2:20 and then 4:02 >> to end of video.
To date we have received some evidence that the original source film is located at National Archives Records Administration (NARA). However, inspite of the best efforts of a retained researcher there and additional time spent online toiling through the ARC at NARA we have failed to locate this footage.
Just so the eager beavers know what we already know and don't waste their time on fruitless searches, cast your eye over the list below which is possible sources that we know about but are yet to reveal the location of their original source footage:
DVD - History Channel Doco "Secret Japanese AIrcraft WW2" 2003 (About 1 min. of footage)
DVD - Destra Entertainment doco "WWII BAttleline Vol 4" 2000s but doco dates from the 1950s (10 secs)
DVD- Banpresto Model Aircraft Series DVD Vol 01 Zero Fighter, Japanese produced 2000s (10 mins. footage)
We also know about the film held by Motion Picture Division at NARA:
"TAIU Story - Technical Air Intelligence Unit"
This film contains footage on Japanese aircraft captured during the Philippines campaign in 1944/45 mainly showing aircraft captured at Clark Field in the Philippines.
If anyone recognizes the footage above from any commercially available DVD, web media clip online or via a stock footage company or other archival source other than those sources shown above we would greatly appreciate the information.
If you have searched the ARC at NARA in the past and may have seen a record referring to the ATAIU and/or the Zero at Eagle Farm in Brisbane 1943 - 1944, again we would greatly appreciate the information.
In fact, such is the importance of obtaining this footage, your name would be forever heralded by EFAS as the person who ended the search for the 'holy grail' of our group - where the Zero at Eagle Farm original footage is located.
Thanks for any help in resolving this matter.
Darryl
on behalf of Eagle Farm Aviation Society at Eagle Farm Aviation Society, Inc. - The Legend of Hangar 7
I'm putting out an APB for the location of some video footage showing the A6M3 M32 Zero that was rebuilt and test flown at Eagle Farm airfield, Brisbane, Australia in 1943.
The original source film is being sought by the Eagle Farm Aviation Society (EFAS) as part of a project to gather resources about the activities of the Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit (ATAIU) in Hangar 7 at Eagle Farm where a number of captured Japanese aircraft were rebuilt between 1943 and 1944, after which the ATAIU returned to their NAS Anacostia HQ in the USA.
Saturday last, the 20th of July, was the 70th anniversary of the first flight of the rebuilt Zero at Eagle Farm and it was hoped that the footage shown in the links below would have been tracked down by then. However, one source, a DVD doco "Secret Japanese Aircraft of WW2" that we knew contained some Eagle Farm Zero footage, has not yielded an original source film or master video tape to date.
Credit: Banpresto Model Aircraft Series DVD Vol 01 "Zero Fighter" courtesy of Jacob
The Eagle Farm footage contained in "Secret Japanese Aircraft WW2" can be downloaded here (29 MB MPEG1 file):
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK5hRvN5HNM
on 'Mitsubishi Zero Fighter" starting at 0:56 >> through to 2:20 and then 4:02 >> to end of video.
To date we have received some evidence that the original source film is located at National Archives Records Administration (NARA). However, inspite of the best efforts of a retained researcher there and additional time spent online toiling through the ARC at NARA we have failed to locate this footage.
Just so the eager beavers know what we already know and don't waste their time on fruitless searches, cast your eye over the list below which is possible sources that we know about but are yet to reveal the location of their original source footage:
DVD - History Channel Doco "Secret Japanese AIrcraft WW2" 2003 (About 1 min. of footage)
DVD - Destra Entertainment doco "WWII BAttleline Vol 4" 2000s but doco dates from the 1950s (10 secs)
DVD- Banpresto Model Aircraft Series DVD Vol 01 Zero Fighter, Japanese produced 2000s (10 mins. footage)
We also know about the film held by Motion Picture Division at NARA:
"TAIU Story - Technical Air Intelligence Unit"
This film contains footage on Japanese aircraft captured during the Philippines campaign in 1944/45 mainly showing aircraft captured at Clark Field in the Philippines.
If anyone recognizes the footage above from any commercially available DVD, web media clip online or via a stock footage company or other archival source other than those sources shown above we would greatly appreciate the information.
If you have searched the ARC at NARA in the past and may have seen a record referring to the ATAIU and/or the Zero at Eagle Farm in Brisbane 1943 - 1944, again we would greatly appreciate the information.
In fact, such is the importance of obtaining this footage, your name would be forever heralded by EFAS as the person who ended the search for the 'holy grail' of our group - where the Zero at Eagle Farm original footage is located.
Thanks for any help in resolving this matter.
Darryl
on behalf of Eagle Farm Aviation Society at Eagle Farm Aviation Society, Inc. - The Legend of Hangar 7
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