OPERATIONS IN NORTH BURMA [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: OPERATIONS IN NORTH BURMA [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: JFU 129
  • Other titles: BRITISH ARMY OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary: Activities on the airstrip at Myitkyina where troops and supplies are loaded to be taken to the front line and wounded are brought back; the visit of General Stilwell to the improvised jeep railway between Myitkyina and Mogaung.
  • Description: Shirtless men queue for their dinner in the open air; their tents can be seen in the background. A mug is used to ladle tea into another mug. A piece of bread is placed on a tin plate. Something unidentifiable is spooned onto the bread. Shirtless men wash their clothes and themselves in a river. Men lay their clothes out on the river bank to dry. Two soldiers clean their weapons; one is a Bren gun and the other is a Thompson M1A1 sub-machine gun. A third man primes grenades. Close-up of the man priming grenades. Men clear jungle undergrowth with machetes. Brigadier A R Aslett, commander of 72nd Indian Infantry Brigade, consults one of his officers before boarding a Douglas Dakota. A column of British troops board a Dakota; one turns to camera with a big grin and gives a thumbs up. Some of the men carry boxes of supplies. A Dakota has cargo doors wide open; an injured Chinese soldier with his arm in a sling is helped off the plane. A woman in uniform helps another casualty off the plane. A Chinese stretcher case is carried off the plane. Close-up of another stretcher case with his head bandaged. An aerial shot of the airfield. British troops disemplane. A jeep fitted with railway wheels and on a railway track is surrounded by men. The jeep drives past on the rails pulling adapted trailers full of men and supplies. On board the train. Supplies are unloaded. American General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, in his GI helmet, walks with Brigadier Aslett. Stilwell stands with a British soldier; the two talk. Stilwell sits in a railway converted jeep which then drives away. Panning shot of an airfield; Stinson L-5 Sentinels and two Douglas Dakotas are parked. A jeep drives past the planes. A lorry is reversed up to a Dakota and is guided back by a soldier. Supplies are taken off the plane and loaded onto the truck. Troops board a Dakota. A jeep is driven up to a Dakota. Ramps are placed from the cargo door to the ground. Close-up of the jeep's wheels as they are lined up on the ramps. The jeep is driven up the ramps and into the Dakota and then the ramps are removed. The engines of the Dakota fire up. The plane takes off. Supplies from a truck are unloaded into a Dakota (2100697); the packages are parachute-equipped supply bundles. On board the plane the packages are thrown out of the cargo door by two men; static lines trail from a cable inside the plane out of the cargo door. An aerial shot of a camp. The Dakota flies over the camera. Troops rush to pick up the supplies; they detach the parachutes and take out the supplies. The supplies are unpacked and stacked. (There is an ant or similar insect in the gate of the camera at this point). Men sit drinking tea. A jeep slowly drives along a very muddy road; two more follow. They all pull trailers and are laden with British troops. A Dakota flies over and drops supplies. Another Dakota flies over. Supplies fall next to a railway line at Mayan. A package falls right next to a bullock cart; the bullocks are both startled and a dog that was riding on the cart runs away.
  • Alternative Title: BRITISH ARMY OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR [Allocated Series Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: JFU 129
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1944-07-15
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: War Office Directorate of Public Relations (Production sponsor) SEAC Film Unit (Production company) Park, RolandArmy Film and Photo Unit/SEAC Film Unit cameraman/photographer. (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Stilwell, Joseph Warren (person) Aslett, Alfred Rimbault (person) Indian Army, 72nd Indian Infantry Brigade (regiment/service) Northern Combat Area Command (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: Myitkyina, Burma (geography) Operations in Northern Burma 1943-1945, Burma 1942-1945, Second World War (event) Burma 1942-1945 (theme) British Army 1939-1945 (theme)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 742 ft; Running time: 9 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    JFU 129

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:

    JFU 157 (36TH DIVISION JEEP RAILWAY AT SAHMAW [Allocated Title])
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