Other titles:NATO DOCUMENTARIES [Allocated Series Title]
Summary: An issue of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) film magazine series (The Atlantic Review), focused on the tenth anniversary of the Atlantic Alliance and several of the Special Forces that operate within the alliance. Including: the Italian Alpini, frogmen of the Norwegian Royal Navy and an anti-submarine school jointly operated by the RAF and the Royal Navy.
Description: Dignitaries return to Washington, ten years to the day, for a ceremony to mark the establishment of NATO in April 1949. Archive film of the original ceremony shows the treaty being signed by: Mr Spaak (Belgium), Mr Schuman (France), Count Sforza (Italy), Mr Beck (Luxembourg), Dr Stikker (Holland), Mr Bevin (United Kingdom) and President Truman (United States of America).
Coverage to mark the anniversary continues in Naples, Italy. Military personnel from various NATO nations are in attendance, including: the Royal Hellenic Army (aboard the HMS Aetos), the Turkish 229th Infantry Regiment and Italian Alpini. A parade through the city is watched by Mr Androtti (Italian Minister of Defence) and Admiral Charles R Brown (Commander in Chief of the Allied Forces in Southern Europe). Italian paratroopers, the aforementioned Alpinin (riding ‘mechanical mule’ motorised tricycles), students of the Nunziatella military school, the elite Italian Bersaglieri corps and the US Army’s Honest John missile partake in the parade. In bay of Naples, destroyers of the French, Greek, Italian, British and US Navies are anchored.
Another event to mark the anniversary is taking place on the Halleplatz in Mainz, Germany. Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, General Norstad, General Valluy, Gernal Speidel and Air Marshal Sir George Mills are shown reviewing NATO troops of the central European nations. Troops seen in the march past include: a British Infantry regiment, the “new” German Wehrmacht, a Belgian Engineering Corp and US military personnel.
The remainder of the film features a number of specialised military units in profile. Starting with the Italian Alpini; demonstrating skills in climbing, skiing and crossing mountain terrain supported by mules.
Norwegian frogmen, selected from the most highly skilled seamen in the Norwegian Navy, are shown undertaking a variety of specialised tasks, such as: building objects underwater, diving from a moving landing-barge, avoiding detection and destroying unexploded sea mines. Working alongside the Royal Norwegian Air Force, one frogman is shown climbing back into a helicopter having completed his task at sea.
The final profile features an exercise by the Anti-Submarine training school, jointly operated by Royal Navy and RAF Coastal Command. The nature of the exercise is to ensure NATO personnel have the skills to protect merchant shipping across the Atlantic. For the sake of the exercise a Dutch submarine is used to simulate the enemy, a variety of NATO vessels the target. Portuguese, French, Dutch and British aircrews form “hunter-killer” groups designed to track and destroy by working cooperatively with NATO vessels on the surface. The HMS Whitby demonstrates the use of a twin three-barrel Nimbo projector to simulate an attack with 300-pound depth charges.
Alternative Title:NATO DOCUMENTARIES [Allocated Series Title]
Colour:B&W
Digitised:Yes
Object_Number:NAT 2021
Sound:Sound
Access Conditions:IWM NATO
Featured Period:
Production Date:1959-04-04
Production Country:
Production Details: NATO INFORMATION SERVICE (Production company)
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Production sponsor)
