WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 104 [Main Title]

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  • Title: WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 104 [Main Title]
  • Film Number: WPN 104
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: An edition of the British official newsreel "War Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.
  • Description: I. 'TANK BUSTERS.' Royal Air Force (RAF) ground crews replace the aerodynamic fairing on a 40mm Vickers Type S gun mounted under the wing of a Hawker Hurricane Mk IID fighter/ground attack aircraft. The commentary introduces the new mark of Hurricane and describes it as a "flying tin-opener" by virtue of its intended role of attacking enemy armour and soft-skinned vehicles with its large calibre wing cannon. RAF ground crew hand start a Hurricane's Merlin engine using two hand cranks. Aerial footage shows a Hurricane IID of 6 Squadron RAF en-route to give a demonstration of its anti-tank capabilities. Hurricane Mk IIDs overfly at low level British soft-skinned vehicles on a desert road. A pair of Hurricane IIDs make a firing pass on a captured Italian M13/40 medium tank, setting it ablaze. II. 'MIDDLE EAST NEWS.' Egyptian Premier Mustafa el Nahas Pasha meets some of the seven hundred British and Commonwealth troops personally invited to spend the Easter holidays at his expense. Nahas Pasha wishes his guests a happy day as he sees them off on a Nile riverboat trip to the Barrage Gardens. The mixed contingent of New Zealand (NZ) and United States (US) infantry give him a rousing cheer. Members of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) use a gangplank to board a Nile paddle steamer for their Easter Sunday trip to the Barrage Gardens. Contented NZ troops mingle with the women of the ATS on board ship, enjoying the river views. A concert party entertains the gathering in the flower filled gardens with an accordion player, conjuring tricks and a manly display of fencing in the style of "Captain Blood." Much appreciative applause is received by the concert party at the end of the performance. III. 'WOMEN WORK FOR VICTORY.' Egyptian women civilians in the employ of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) refurbish vehicle generators and starter motors. An Egyptian woman worker re-solders wires onto generators and then tests electrical circuits using an ammeter. Egyptian men and women cut engine gaskets at desks using a template and scissors. The commentary highlights the skills of the Egyptian workers and the fact that the British Army needs thousands of gaskets for their petrol engines. Elsewhere, Egyptian women regrind used binocular lenses on a circular grinding board. An Egyptian woman worker uses a circular saw to cut glass. Massed ranks of Egyptian civilian women workers and nurses give the "Victory" sign to camera. IV. 'MALTA TODAY.' Air Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder arrives by aircraft at an undisclosed Maltese airfield (Luqa ?) and is met by Lord Gort, Governor of Malta. Maltese dock workers unload supplies from Merchant shipping in Grand Harbour, Valletta. Sailors of the United States Navy (USN) walk through the narrow streets of Valletta while on shore-leave. Members of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) play with Maltese children and chat to local civilians. In celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of its formation, the Royal Air Force (RAF) gives a display of its equipment in a Valletta square which includes a Supermarine Spitfire Mk VB (EP187) fighter aircraft, barrage balloon, bombs of various sizes and a 18-in torpedo. Squadron Leader Lynch and Pilot Officer Osbourne RAF, credited with the 1000th and 1001st Axis aircraft brought down over Malta, pose for the cameras with a Supermarine Spitfire Mk V forming the backdrop to the scene. An RAF groundcrew man chalks the legend "Maltas 1000th" on the fuselage of a Spitfire Mk V.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: WPN 104
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1943-05-03
  • 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 individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Lynch (Squadron Leader) (person) Osborne (Pilot Officer) (person) Tedder, Arthur William (person) Vereker, John Standish Surtees Prendergast (6th Viscount Gort) (person) Nahas Pasha, Mustafa el (person) British Army, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: destruction, Maltese military - area: bomb (object name) ceremonies, British - event-related: anniversary of RAF, 25th (object name) operations, British military - salvage (object name) recreation, Allied military - theatre (object name) recreation, Allied military - general (object name) Second World War & Anniversary of RAF, 25th & 4/1943 (event) Malta & Valletta (geography) Egypt & Nile <River> (geography) (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: 933 ft; Running time: 10 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    WPN 104

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