Air Base – Gusap, New Guinea 1944 WWII DVD

Description

This film looks back to the construction of the Gusap, New Guinea airbase in late 1943 and early 1944.

The film has several segments with low-flying action by C-47s, P-40s, and P-47s. Many personnel are clearly shown.

Gusap consists now of two grass strips and 180 revetments. During the war, it was home to several American USAAC squadrons including the 41st Fighter Squadron (P-47’s) and 312th Bomb Group.

One veteran said of an experience at Gusap. “On one trip we were flying into Gusap, a forward mud strip that had two runways, side by side. As I leveled off to land I looked over at the other strip and a Zero was flying almost in formation with me, strafing the parked aircraft on the other strip. I put the plane down hard, pulled the mixture controls off, cut the switches, and locked the brakes. Then I turned around and yelled for everyone to bail out and run for it before I realized that I was all alone. Everyone else had already gone. I beat a hasty retreat, over the bank of a nearby creek.”

Gusap isn’t one of those places that you will instantly recognize, but this is a nice film showing real day-to-day life in Gusap at a time when it was at the front line of the battle.

In NTSC DVD format and region-free with a total run time length of 30 minutes. Please note that because of the age and rarity of these films, quality can vary. Packaged in a clear plastic C-Shell case without paper graphics.