MERCHANT NAVY VESSELS IN DOCK TO RECEIVE REPAIRS AND COLLECT MILITARY CARGO [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: MERCHANT NAVY VESSELS IN DOCK TO RECEIVE REPAIRS AND COLLECT MILITARY CARGO [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: BTF 5
  • Other titles: RAILWAYS IN BRITAIN, 1935-1976 [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary: A record of Southampton Docks being used by Merchant Navy vessels to transport military cargo and receive repairs. Royal Navy vessels are also in dock, along with stockpiled military equipment for use by HM Forces serving overseas.
  • Description: (27 March 1940) The SS DOMALA moored at Southampton Docks, having been bombed and set on fire in the English Channel. The vessel is listing to the starboard side. MH26 (39 sec) The “SS ANDOVA STAR” (presumably the ARANDOVA STAR) entering King George V Graving Dock. (53 sec) SS CHARLES F. MEYER in dry dock, having repairs for mine damage. An armed guard stands by and a barrage balloon can be seen in the distance. The camera pans round to show welders making repairs from some wooden scaffolding. (1 min 32 sec) A Destroyer moored at the “Inner Dock” and HMS EREBUS (One of few Monitor class vessels remaining from the First World War) anchored at the floating dock. MH26 (27-28 March 1940) 150,000 petrol cans stacked in ‘shed 102’ for shipment overseas, at Southampton Docks. Workmen fitting a mobile workshop carriage at Ashford Works, in Kent. (2 min 6 sec) MH27 (1 April 1940) The bombed cargo liner, SS DOMALA, at Southampton Docks. Scenes of on-board damage and a 150-ton floating crane alongside. Close-up of a lifebuoy with crane’s details; “S.R. Floating crane No. 152 Southampton Docks”. Workers look around the severely damaged decks of the vessel and cranes begin to remove the debris. (3 min 41 sec) MH28 (1 April 1940) The SS ARANDORA STAR (torpedoed and sunk by a U Boat on the 2 July 1940) in King George V Graving Dock, and the floating crane alongside SS DOMALA. RAF men in gas masks for an ARP (Air Raid Precautions) drill, some ware full anti-gas suits. A row of British Army Austin K30 trucks along a road outside Southampton Docks. The SS MAID OF KENT Hospital Ship in dock. (6 min 1 sec) MH29 (1 April 1940) Stockpiled sections of wooden army huts in 101 shed, Southampton Docks, and the unloading of sections from rail trucks. British Army personnel monitor outgoing stock. (7 min 21 sec) MH30 (3 April 1940) 25-pounder Field Guns and armoured transports (Morris-Commercial C8 Field Artillery Tractor) stored in shed 106 and being loaded onto the SS DELIUS Southampton Docks. Signage for a car dealership hangs from the roof of the storage shed; “MORRIS CARS – DEALERS EVERYWHERE”. The guns are manually wheeled out to the dockside for loading onto the cargo vessel. Two electricians join cables for degaussing on SS ARANDOVA Star. (7 min 58 sec) MH31
  • Alternative Title: RAILWAYS IN BRITAIN, 1935-1976 [Allocated Series Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: BTF 5
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM (BTF 5)
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1940-03 1940-04
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Southern Railway Film Unit (Production company)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords:
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 867ft ; 9 min 20 sec
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    BTF 5

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:
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