COMMANDER SUPPLY COL STEER SUN 31 3 91 EASTER [Main Title]

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  • Title: COMMANDER SUPPLY COL STEER SUN 31 3 91 EASTER [Main Title]
  • Film Number: WOY 1766
  • Other titles: ROYAL LOGISTIC CORPS MATERIAL [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary: Colonel Frank Steer, Commander Supply in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps presents (from Saudi Arabia) a video intended to give an indication of the sort of problems experienced when packing up this equipment, and giving an indication to troops back home in the UK and British army on the Rhine reasons why the kit is returned in the state that it is in. He also highlights the problem faced by sorting, storing and transporting the war-battered equipment, and the amount of waste generated.
  • Description: I. Introduction by Colonel Steer is followed by shots of 63 Vehicle Company vehicle park (Land Rovers) - pan across to show white bus fleet, warriors, snowcats (adapted for desert use) and Bedford 4-tonners. DROPS vehicle drives past. M548 cargo carrier vehicles (loaned from the US Army). Civilian vehicle fleet: close-up of Toyota Landcruiser in desert camouflage with anti-fratricide markings. Colonel Steer notes how such (hired) vehicles now have to be re-sprayed and renovated before being returned. Damage on other cars (sometimes severe) is highlighted. Exterior of 5 Ordnance Battalion: MFL Supply Company role explained. Hundreds of ISO containers belonging to 41 Ordnance Company lined up: shots of engine and major assemblies park, with equipment preparing to be returned. Damage to crates pointed out. Challenger and Warrior power packs (Warrior one is lacking a transport frame). II. Entrance to 41 Ordnance Company headquarters, "Container City", which has hundreds of other containers in the compound, some damaged. Further compounds in the distance. Detailed Issues Area: Thomas-binned containers and post-palleted containers (this is an active area for daily issue of various items). Collapsed cardboard boxes and wrecked pallets seen: "not good". Problem with rain (including a large, deep puddle), this will "cause problems with the repack". Volvo and JCB heavy-duty forklift trucks in action. III. Vast storage area showing items sent up country but returned unused (some never having reach their unit destination). Air pallets prepared for return. Damaged mail in post-pallets illustrates part of the problem of sorting this equipment, and how much waste has been generated: Colonel Steer is highly critical. Piles of boxes collapsed by rain, and vast piles of combat body armour and camouflage nets. Pioneers at work checking body armour before cleaning. IV. Convoy marshalling area (1st Armoured Division, under the control of 63 Ordnance Company): long shot of a vast park of A vehicles (tanks etc) and surrounds, giving an impression of the size of the area in question. Trackings shots of marshalling area: Ptarmigan vehicles, BAOR lorries and Land Rovers, most in desert camouflage. Large gaps show where batches of vehicles have already departed. Tanks Warriors, plant vehicles and specialist wheeled vehicles. Tanks of B Squadron Queen's Royal Hussars. Colonel Steer climbs over captured Iraqi tanks. More (and varied) armour is passed. Captured Iraqi Toyota Landcruiser and gun. V. "Moonbase", the home of 421 EOD Company, tasked with ammunition reclamation. Ammunition dumps: 81mm mortar rounds, some in poor condition. Piles of S15, LAW-80 missiles and 66mm rockets. Pyrotechnics (trip flares etc) are repacked. Pile of unrecoverable 30mm sabots. Barrels, which will be used for deep-sea dumping of unused ammunition. Mixed ammunition, now no longer fit for use. Mountain of small arms ammunition, all of which has "lost its identity" (ie no longer has a batch number). Colonel Steer laments the waste. The poor state of some of the ammunition is demonstrated. Pile of grenade containers and packing fixtures, and piles of salvaged grenades, still with their batch number. Panning shots of desert. VI. Ammunition Supply Point 2: more recovered ammunition. More examples of unidentified ammunition including 76mm high explosive. Colonel Steer comments on the major task ahead and the amount of work that has been done. Some ammunition (still in good condition) is also shown, in ammunition storage area shared by 52 Ordnance Company and the US Marines: soldiers try to match up ammunition by batch. General views of the Supply Point. Tracking shots: DROPS flatracks loaded with ammunition (LAW-80 and MLRS munitions). Final comments by Colonel Steer are followed by further shots of ASP 2 with Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" playing on the soundtrack. [Abrupt end]
  • Alternative Title: ROYAL LOGISTIC CORPS MATERIAL [Allocated Series Title]
  • Colour: Colour
  • Digitised: No
  • Object_Number: WOY 1766
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: Attribution: © Crown copyright. IWM (WOY 1766)
  • Featured Period: 1990-2000
  • Production Date: 1992-03-31
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Royal Logistic Corps Video Production Centre (Production company) Dyer, Neil (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords:
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: Colour Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English Subtitle language: None
  • Technical Details: Format: VHS Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 120; Running time: 77 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    WOY 1766

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