WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 32 [Main Title]

Log in to create clips, download free screeners and save clips/films in Collections. Click here to find out more.

  • Title: WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 32 [Main Title]
  • Film Number: WPN 32
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: An edition of the British official newsreel "War Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.
  • Description: I. 'SHELLS FROM SOUTH AFRICA.' South African white women workers congregate in the yard of a munitions factory at the start of their working shift. Women workers operate various machinery on the factory floor. Moulding kilns and presses operated by black male factory workers shape sheet metal into shell casings under extreme temperature. A white woman factory worker adjusts a milling machine as the commentary points out that the women workers "Go to it with a determination that is good to see." Various views of lathes and milling machinery follow as commentary points out that all the factory machinery was made in the Union of South Africa. A woman factory worker displays her military style working uniform as the commentary points out that most of the women workers are recruited locally to the factory. Artillery shells are turned on a lathe and then checked for inconsistencies of calibre. A woman factory worker checks the internal finishing of a shell case using an illumination bulb on a long wire which is placed in the shell casing. The casings are then weighed and stacked in a storage area. II. 'NEW HURRICANE ON THE WARPATH.' Commentary introduces the new RAF Hawker Hurricane MkII fighter aircraft and stresses the improvements in its firepower and performance over scenes of a parked Hurricane Mk IIc fighter aircraft (Service Allocation number Z2691, Presentation aircraft, part of Hawker-built fifth production batch). The aircraft runs up its engine and taxies for take off. A Hawker Hurricane Mk IIc of No 1 Squadron RAF is evaluated in flight against a captured German Junkers Ju 88 bomber, described as being in the service of the Ministry of Aircraft Production. The Hurricane makes a mock attacking pass on the Junkers and then peels away. Another Hurricane MkII aircraft of No 1 Squadron RAF displays its formidable cannon armament for the benefit of the camera as it performs a low firing pass. Camera gun footage of RAF attack on enemy merchant shipping is interspersed with close-up of Hawker Hurricane Mk IIc fighter aircraft firing its four 20mm cannon. Cannon strikes are evident on the superstructure of the enemy ships and the sea around them. III. 'LATEST NEWS FROM RUSSIA.' Views of Russian landscape showing distant unbroken horizons. A camouflaged Russian infantryman uses a telescopic periscope to monitor enemy troop movements. Russian infantry in forage caps move under the partial cover of a trench carrying 7.62mm Moisin-Nagant carbines with fixed bayonets. The commentary explains that the Germans have time against them as they try to achieve their objectives before the onset of the freezing Russian winter. Russian infantry use a trench system and disappear into a bunker camouflaged by a hay stack. A Russian artilleryman, using a rangefinder, moves his camouflaged field gun onto a new bearing. Heavy Russian artillery (152mm 1909/30g ?) fire a barrage as smoke rises from the shell's point of impact. A Russian mortar detachment load and fire a 120mm Polkovoy Minomyot PM-38 heavy mortar using a lanyard to avoid the dangers of blast. Russian infantrymen observe the effects of the barrage through field glasses. Smoke rises on the horizon as Russian infantry advance armed with 7.62mm Moisin-Nagant 1891 pattern rifles. Commentary points out that in several sectors the Germans are retreating due to pressure from vigorous Russian counterattacks. A German PzKpfw III tank (Ausf H with 5cm KwK L/42 gun ?) topples a Fir tree as it moves at speed through wooded terrain. A Russian infantry officer brandishing a 7.62mm Tokarev pistol (TT-33) supervises the capture of German prisoners. German prisoners are marched along a country track guarded by alert Russian cavalry with drawn sabres. IV. 'FIRST PICTURES FROM THE WESTERN DESERT.' Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham (C-in-C Mediterranean Fleet) chats informally to his brother Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Cunningham (Commander Eighth Army) on the Deck of a Royal Navy Battleship (HMS Warspite ?). Following the meeting Lieutenant-General Cunningham climbs into an RAF Blenheim Mk IV bomber on his way to "advanced headquarters". The Blenheim taxies for take off as commentary stresses that Cunningham is reassured by what he sees of RAF personnel and operations. RAF officers and NCOs are assembled for the benefit of the camera showing the diversity of Nationalities serving including Canadians, Rhodesians and New Zealanders. RAF ground crews hitch a ride on towed trolleys bearing 250lb bombs. The bombs are hoisted onto an RAF Vickers Wellington bomber. RAF aircrew consult maps and discuss a mission. Elsewhere, a Fleet Air Arm Fairey Fulmar fighter is catapulted from the deck of a Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier (unidentified) watched by Royal Navy sailors dressed in anti-flash overalls. Tank crewmen consult their maps and board an M3 Stuart light tank as British soft-skinned vehicles move into position laden with troops. The commentary points out the essential support given by the Royal Navy to the British Army in its advance across Libya over scenes of RN sailors manning a 4.7-in gun aboard a destroyer at sea. British Universal Carriers move at speed across a desert terrain as soft-skinned vehicles drive along a desert track. A Royal Artillery officer radios gun ranges using a field telephone and medium British artillery guns (5.5-in ?) fire from partially camouflaged desert emplacements. British M3 Stuart tanks raise clouds of dust as they move in formation across a desert terrain.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: WPN 32
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1941-12-01
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Ministry of Information, Middle East (Production sponsor) War Pictorial News (Production company) Martin, Charles (Production individual) Keating, Rex1910-02-142005-01British newsreel commentator, WW2 period (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Cunningham, Andrew Browne (person) Cunningham, Alan Gordon (person) British Army, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (regiment/service) Royal Air Force, Commonwealth personnel (regiment/service) Red Army (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: industry, South African - munitions (object name) combat [simulated], British - air strike anti-ship (object name) prisoners of war, German - movement (object name) combat [simulated], Russian (object name) South Africa (geography) Russia (geography) Egypt & Western Desert (geography) (concept)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English Subtitle language: French & Arabic
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 905 ft; Running time: 10 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    WPN 32

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:
Register