Title:DAMAGED ARMOURED FIGHTING VEHICLES ARE SALVAGED AND REPAIRED (PART 2) [Allocated Title]
Film Number:A70 57-9
Other titles:
Summary: Scenes of armour being repaired in a scrapyard, followed by film of German shore defences along a section of 'Sword' Beach.
Description: I. At the scrapyard at La Délivrande, a Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (?) fitter rescues a length of chain; in the background can be seen other men engaged in searching for useful bits and pieces in the park. Fitters from the East Riding Yeomanry's Light Aid Detachment use an oxy-acetylene torch and sledgehammer to cut away a section of armour plate for use in repairing a Stuart light tank from a French-manufactured Lorraine light tractor converted by the Germans into an all-purpose carrier.
II. The cameraman surveys a section of the German shore defences at Petit Enfer captured on June 7 1944 by 4th Special Service Brigade. Ventilator blocks for underground shelters (where the defending troops could stay during the preliminary invasion bombardment) are discernible in the grass-covered ground lying behind the top of the beach, which is lined by a continuous coil of barbed-wire. A series of narrow communications trenches effectively concealed by the grass connects an empty machine gun position overlooking the beach to now destroyed seaside villas turned into strongpoints via an underground shelter, a 5cm gun position and its own underground ammunition store (with 310 rounds still in their crates).
Production Details: Directorate of Public Relations, War Office (Production sponsor)
Army Film and Photographic Unit (Production company)
Walter, Ernest Henry1919Family origin: Barry, Glamorgan, South Wales (Production individual)
Personalities, Units and Organisations: British Army, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (regiment/service)
British Army, 1st East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry, Light Aid Detachment (regiment/service)
Keywords: armour, French - carrier: Lorraine Schlepper & [impressed] & [captured] (object name)
armour, United States - tank: M3 Stuart & [British] (object name)
equipment, British military - engineering: oxy-acetylene torch (object name)
equipment, British military - engineering: sledgehammer (object name)
operations, British military - salvage: armour recovery (object name)
buildings, British - military: REME scrapyard (object name)
defences, German - passive: underground ammunition store & [captured] (object name)
defences, German - emplacement: [captured] & [damaged] (object name)
Second World War, North West Europe & Operation Overlord & 24/6/1944 (event)
Douvres-la-Délivrande, Calvados, France (geography)
Petit Enfer, France (geography)
