Title:WAR PICTORIAL NEWS - SPECIAL EDITION (1940 - December 30) [Main Title]
Film Number:WPN 8
Other titles:
Summary: A special edition of the British official newsreel "War Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.
Description: I. 'THE BATTLE OF SIDI BARRANI.' Dusk. Queen Elizabeth Class battleship's 15-in main guns traverse and fire. Fleet Air Arm Fairey Swordfish aircraft fly in formation. Day. Brief view of a Gloster Gauntlet biplane fighter with engine running in desert terrain (6 Squadron RAF). Camouflaged British Universal Carrier and soft-skinned vehicles drive through the desert encountering abandoned Italian vehicles, including M II/39 tanks. Many Italian corpses, abandoned tents and gun posts. Prisoners mill around in groups. More abandoned Italian equipment including 11/39 tanks, medium field artillery, ammunition boxes and intact Fiat/Revelli 14/35 heavy machine guns. Sidi Barrani deserted and in ruins. British troops pose next to an Italian monument dedicated to General Negroni dated 20/11/1940. Commentary states "What an ending to a wild Fascist dream !" over scenes of long queues of ragged Italian prisoners being marched across desert.
II. 'RECONNAISSANCE.' RAF Vickers Wellesley Mk 1 bomber lands and taxies, Vickers K gun clearly visible. The crew of two climbs out. Reconnaissance camera is unloaded by the RAF ground crew and taken for analysis. Results of bombing on port facilities evident on developed photographs. Italian ships are identified in the port. Bombers are loaded for another sortie.
Production Details: Ministry of Information, Middle East (Production sponsor)
War Pictorial News (Production company)
Martin, Charles (Production individual)
Personalities, Units and Organisations:
Keywords: casualties, Italian dead - battlefield (object name)
prisoners of war, Italian - custody (object name)
ships, British naval - battleship: Queen Elizabeth Class (object name)
intelligence, military, British - reconnaissance (object name)
Egypt & Sidi Barrani (geography)
Egypt & Western Desert (geography)
Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W
Sound format: Silent
Soundtrack language: None
Title language: English
Subtitle language: French
Technical Details: Format: 35mm
Number of items/reels/tapes: 1
Footage: 590 ft; Running time: 6 mins
