WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 132 [Main Title]

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  • Title: WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 132 [Main Title]
  • Film Number: WPN 132
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: An edition of the British official newsreel "War Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.
  • Description: I. 'EGYPT.' The national flags of the United States of America and Yugoslavia fly at Heliopolis Airport (Cairo) during an aircraft presentation ceremony attended by King Peter of Yugoslavia and Major-General Royce, Commander United States Army Air Force (USAAF) in the Middle East. A USAAF guard of honour stands to attention armed with M1903 Springfield .30-in rifles and holstered M1911A1 .45-in automatic pistols. King Peter gets out of an official 4X2 Ford 21A Light Sedan accompanied by Major-General Royce; a parked and chocked Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber is evident in the background (Production No. 27-33137). The aircraft is possibly a B-24E equipped with an Emerson defensive nose turret; no national markings are visible. King Peter delivers his acceptance speech from a free-standing podium in thanks for the generous presentation of four Liberator bombers to the Yugoslavian people by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. King Peter talks to a Royal Yugoslavian Air Force aircrew officer, part of the team of ferry pilots who collected the aircraft from the United States. King Peter and Major-General Royce pose for photographs in the defensive waist gun position of a B-24, the air-cooled .50-in Browning heavy machine gun is not mounted and has been stowed away prior to the aircraft's ferry flight. II. 'TRAINING PILOTS AUSTRALIA.' Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) flying instructors walk towards the camera wearing one-piece flying overalls as the commentary introduces an item on the "unsung heroes" of the flying training units. An RAAF flying instructor climbs into the rear cockpit of a De Havilland DH 82A Tiger Moth II training aircraft possibly built under licence in Australia and forming part of the Empire Air Training Scheme equipment inventory. The aircraft's rear cockpit has a blind-flying instrument hood attached to it and secured in the folded position. Aerial footage shows cockpit views of apparent ground motion as the Tiger Moth performs a spin followed by the instructor instituting the spin recovery procedure. Aerial footage shows a Tiger Moth performing a loop with cockpit views showing the grass landing area as the aircraft enters finals. Stock shot footage shows a South East Asia Command (SEAC) Hawker Hurricane Mk II(B ?) fighter aircraft taking off from an unidentified airfield watched by ground crew. The Hurricane is equipped with a Vokes tropical air filter and may be equipped with the universal wing as no cannon armament is evident. Stock shot footage shows a mock stern attack by a Royal Air Force (RAF) Hurricane on a captured German Junkers Ju 88 bomber being used as the camera aircraft. III. 'RAIDS ON BURMA.' SEAC North American B-25 Mitchell bombers make a low-level formation pass over part of the Burmese coastline firing their nose-mounted air-cooled Browning machine guns at the hulk of a wrecked merchantman. SEAC armourers use a wheeled tractor to pull a train of General Purpose 250-lb bombs to waiting aircraft. SEAC ground crews working under difficult monsoon conditions manhandle a 250-lb bomb into the bomb bay of a waiting aircraft. The pilot of a Bristol Blenheim Mk VD bomber is shown giving the hand signal for chocks away to his attendant ground crew at the start of a bombing mission to Japanese-held Minbya in Burma. The commentary states that despite the treacherous monsoon conditions, the weather cleared long enough for the bombers to hit their target. Aerial footage shows Blenheim Mk IV bombers in flight and aerial footage of 250-lb bombs dropping over flooded rice paddies. IV. 'MOSCOW CONFERENCE.' Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Vyacheslav M Molotov waits for the arrival of British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden at a Moscow airfield at the start of the Moscow Conference for Foreign Secretaries (19 October 1943 - 1 November 1943). A Red Army guard of honour, armed with Samozaryadnaya Vintovka Tokareva obr 1940g 7.62mm (SVT-40) automatic rifles, is drawn up awaiting the arrival of the foreign dignitaries. United States Foreign Secretary Cordell Hull arrives by USAAF Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport aircraft and is met on disembarkation by Molotov. Anthony Eden arrives by RAF Consolidated C-87 Liberator transport aircraft and is later shown inspecting the Russian guard of honour. The commentary gives an outline of the more important decisions made at the conference over interior views of the meeting area and the signing of documents by the three Foreign Secretaries (30 October 1943). The commentary lists the two main political and administrative decisions of the Moscow Conference: the establishment in London of a European Advisory Commission to facilitate cooperation and coordination between the three governments and a Special Advisory Council for matters relating to Italy. Another council will be set up to include the French Committee of National Liberation and representatives from Greece and Yugoslavia. The Chinese Ambassador in Moscow (Foo Ping-Sheung ?) is shown observing the proceedings. The national flags of the three signatories as the commentary states "The Allied Foreign Ministers have launched on Germany a hammer blow whose sound will reverberate through the stricken Reich."
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: WPN 132
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1943-11-15
  • 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 cast)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Peter II, King of Yugoslavia (person) Eden, (Robert) Anthony (person) Hull, Cordell (person) Molotov, Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Scriabin (person) Royal Australian Air Force (regiment/service) Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (person)
  • Keywords: training, Australian air (object name) ceremonies, Yugoslav - state (object name) combat, British - air strike (object name) Second World War & Moscow Conference & 19/10/1943=1/11/1943 (event) India (geography) Burma (geography) rain (concept)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English Subtitle language: Arabic
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 887 ft; Running time: 10 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    WPN 132

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