WITH THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE IN BURMA [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: WITH THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE IN BURMA [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: ABY 122
  • Other titles: ROYAL AIR FORCE OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary: Airmen of the Royal Canadian Air Force, operating in India and Burma, deliver food to local people by air before enjoying some time off duty.
  • Description: Reel 1: Aerial footage showing a Royal Candian Air Force (RCAF) Douglas Dakota transport aircraft in flight; the aircraft is KJ902 'R' and has a maple leaf insignia on its nose. Sacks of food are unloaded. The crew of a Dakota named 'Salomi' eat a small meal by their aircraft. Rice is distributed to local people. 'R' in flight. Aircrew board 'Salomi'. View of the aircraft undercarriage. Pilot leans out of the cockpit window of 'R' and gives a thumbs-up. A ground crewman reciprocates. View from the cockpit as the Dakota rolls along the runway. Aircrew being briefed by their commanding officer and an Air Liaison Officer. An RCAF flag flying. A Dakota takes off. Series of low passes by Dakotas. A Dakota landing. Interior shot from a tented stables; airmen inspect horses. Outside five airmen on horseback ride off. The airmen enter a local village and dismount. An airman talks with a local woman stall owner; she has a vertical white mark in the middle of her forehead. At Bawdwin mines a man carrying a sack of rice gets off a train. Dakota landing. A lorry is backed up to a Dakota and the aircraft is loaded from it. A Chevrolet CMP lorry drives along a road. Local women, carrying tall baskets on their backs by means of head straps, pass camera. A small railway locomotive underway. [Repeated footage of man with sack disembarking at Bawdwin]. CMP lorries driving. Interior shots onboard a Dakota; the pilot at the controls, the wireless operator at his transmitter and the navigator at work. The navigator is a Flight Lieutenant and wears 'Canada' on his epaulette. In a godown (warehouse) an officer watches as a sack of rice is weighed on a large balance before being carried away. A driver climbs into the cab of a CMP lorry with 'CAS' (Civil Affairs Service) marked on the door. Reel 2: A jeep makes its way along a winding mountainous road. In a tent a wireless operator transmits Morse code. A sign reads 'Chinthe Riding Club'. Men playing baseball. Local children watching the game; a Canadian airman with a ball appears to be trying to explain the rules. Men cooking on camp stoves. Interior of a Dakota in flight; men position sacks by the open cargo door. They brace themselves before kicking them out. Looking down the side of the Dakota from a portside hatch as sacks of rice are 'free-dropped' (i.e. without parachutes) from low altitude. Aerial view of a partially destroyed suspension bridge. A second broken bridge or viaduct over the deep Gokteik gorge ('Gotik' on the dopesheet). At Tulihall (Tulihal) airstrip near Imphal a local man drives a plough, drawn by bullocks, across a paddy field as Dakotas pass in the background. Airmen walk across a field and cross a ditch by a rickety bamboo bridge. A local woman pounds grain with a pole and an airman tries to help. They talk to the woman while another tosses grain in a large flat basket or tray. The airmen share cigarettes and play cards with the locals. Brief shot of children performing for the airmen. Sacks being filled with rice. A sign reads 'HQ 61 Coy RASC (AD)' [61 Company, Royal Army Service Corps (Air Despatch)]. Parked Dakotas with petrol bowsers. An RAF De Havilland Mosquito takes off. A US Army Air Force North American B-25 Mitchell takes off. Reel 3: Two flight commanders speak with their squadron commander. Local people ploughing their paddy fields with large huts on a hillside in the background. View of the airstrip. Airmen on horseback. Men mounting and riding before jumping bales of hay. Men writing letters; one man is wearing an RCAF jersey. A sign reads 'Personnel Counsellor' and various posters advertise the benefits ('Clothing Allowance', 'War Service Gratuity', 'Educational and Vocational Training', 'Veterans' Land Act Benefits', etc) available to servicemen. A Squadron Leader, seated at a desk with various files and books, is joined by an airman wearing a baseball cap. Men saddling horses. A jeep, marked 'Sqn MO' [Squadron Medical Officer], pulls up and the driver gets out. As he enters a small hut a queue of seated servicemen (white and Indian) stand up. The Medical Officer takes a man's blood pressure. Interior shots of 'Duffy's Tavern'; pin-up girls decorate the counter and walls. Airmen are served tea and sandwiches and sit down to eat. Interior of a tent, probably some sort of NAAFI, with food and other small items available. Exterior shots at a swimming pool; a sign declares 'Chinthe Swimming Club: Built by Canadians'. Men swimming, diving into the pool and generally larking about. Airmen at a local village bazaar; one man buys a small vegetable with a note and the woman stallholder gives him change. Other airmen look at jewellery and some assorted fruit and vegetables.
  • Alternative Title: ROYAL AIR FORCE OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR [Allocated Series Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: ABY 122
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1945-07-27
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Air Ministry, Directorate of Public Relations (Production sponsor) Royal Air Force Film Production Unit (Production company) Goozee, S (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Royal Canadian Air Force, 435 Squadron (regiment/service) Civil Affairs Service, Burma (regiment/service) British Army, Royal Army Service Corps, 61 Air Supply Company (regiment/service) Royal Air Force (regiment/service) United States Army Air Forces (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: Imphal, Manipur, India (geography) Bawdwin, Burma (geography) Air supply operations, Air operations over Burma, Burma 1942-1945, Second World War (event) Welfare and recreational activities and services, Burma 1942-1945, Second World War (event) Royal Air Force 1939-1945 (theme) India 1939-1945 (theme) Burma 1942-1945 (theme)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 3 Footage: 2328 ft; Running time: 26 minutes
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    ABY 122

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:

    WPN 234 (WORLD PICTORIAL NEWS NO 234 [Main Title]) ABY 124 (CANADIANS DROP RICE TO ISOLATED BURMESE [Allocated Title]) ABY 134 (CANADIANS DELIVER RICE TO ISOLATED BURMESE [Allocated Title]) JFU 176 (CIVIL AFFAIRS SERVICE ACTIVITIES IN MANDALAY [Allocated Title]) JFU 275 (THE WORK OF THE CIVIL AFFAIRS SERVICE (BURMA) AT MEIKTILA, SHWEBO AND MAYMYO [Allocated Title])
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