WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 155 [Main Title]

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  • Title: WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 155 [Main Title]
  • Film Number: WPN 155
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: The "Eyes" of War.
  • Description: I. 'THE EYES OF WAR.' A thematic item relating to the manufacture and use of various optical instruments in differing theatres of war. Internal views at an unidentified optical instruments factory shows lens grinding machines in operation. A male factory worker uses pitch to attach glass lenses to a ball-joint polisher. Female factory workers use micrometers to check the trueness of each lens, while others work on the finishing processes seated at work benches. Elsewhere, at a Royal Navy (RN) workshop, a worker attaches a head-cover onto a submarine periscope and demonstrates the vertical travel on the periscope's mirrors. The commentary digresses by outlining the activities of RN submarines operating near the Norwegian coast and the RN surface vessels of the Second Escort Group. An RN fitter checks the travel of a newly serviced periscope on a T-Class submarine ("HMS Trenchant" ?). Unidentified RN surface vessels of the Second Escort Group return to port to be greeted by massed crowds waiting at the quaysides. Members of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) cheer with enthusiasm from the quayside at the returning ships. Brief views follow of First Lord of the Admiralty A V Alexander and Second Escort Group Commander, Captain Frederick J Walker, who is described by the commentary as being one of the greatest anti-U boat aces of the war. Captured German submariners are escorted from the ships and along the quayside, each Kriegsmarine sailor wearing the same style of distinctive roll-neck pull-over. The commentary returns to its main theme stating that the lens makers and optical equipment manufacturers are a highly important cog in the war machine. Internal footage shows male factory workers constructing optical range-finders for use by anti-aircraft batteries. On another factory production line, female factory workers assemble field and night vision binoculars. Hundreds of completed binoculars stand ready for delivery in a factory storeroom. A New Zealand Army Lieutenant uses field binoculars to observe German position in the Liri Valley. New Zealand infantry (2nd New Zealand Division ?) fire an Ordnance 6-pounder anti-tank gun against unseen German defensive positions near Monte Cassino. United States Army Air Force (USAAF) North American B-25 Mitchell bomber "Lady Luck " is shown in flight. USAAF B-25 Mitchells are show flying in formation followed by extended footage (ground views) of the bombing of Cassino Village by Allied aircraft. Aerial views of the extensively bombed village and monastery of Cassino follow. New Zealand infantry fire a captured German Pak 40 7.5 cm anti-tank gun at unseen targets. Stock shots show the test firing in Britain of UP-3 3-in anti-aircraft rockets from a Z battery and also from a "Land Mattress" battery (appearing to form part of an artillery barrage on the Cassino front). A New Zealand infantryman smokes a cigarette and winks at the camera while being treated for a minor wound received during the fighting for the Liri Valley.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: WPN 155
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1944-04-24
  • 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: Walker (Captain) (person) Alexander, Albert Victor (person) Royal Navy, Escort Gp 2 (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Women's Royal Naval Service (regiment/service) New Zealand Army (regiment/service) Air Raid Precautions (ARP) (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: industry, British - general (object name) prisoners of war, German - movement (object name) combat, New Zealand - artillery bombardment (object name) weapons, German - gun: [impressed] (object name) destruction, Italian military - area: bomb (object name) Cassino, Lazio, Italy (geography)
  • 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: 702 ft; Running time: 8 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    WPN 155

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