Rabaul Under Siege | Cartwheel’s Air Hammer | WW2

🎖️ This documentary traces the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s transformation from a small prewar training arm into a hard-hitting Pacific air force. It follows Kiwi pilots from the fall of Singapore to Guadalcanal, the Slot, and Bougainville, highlighting Geoff Fisken’s ascent from Brewster Buffaloes to his famed P-40 “Wairarapa Wildcat.” The film details the RNZAF’s integration with U.S. and Australian forces, the shift from P-40 Kittyhawks to F4U Corsairs, and sustained operations against Rabaul under Operation Cartwheel. It examines day-to-day squadron life, daring rescues, and grim episodes—including the torture of a downed pilot and the fatal January 15, 1945 storm that claimed multiple Corsairs—while quantifying the campaign’s scale with thousands of sorties and heavy bombing tonnage. The story closes with the RNZAF’s late-war role changes, losses in men and machines, and the legacy of New Zealand’s airmen in the Pacific. 📜 COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER "The War Years" does not claim full ownership of all content featured in this video. Some footage, images, and audio materials belong to their respective creators, to whom we give full credit and respect. This video is produced under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, which allows limited use of copyrighted material for purposes such as criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research under the doctrine of Fair Use. If you are the rightful owner of any content used and would prefer it not to appear in this video, please contact us via private message or at [email protected], and we will respond promptly. 👉 If you enjoyed this video and want to see more powerful stories from World War II, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and turn on the notification bell.