PARACHUTE TESTS, CAPTURED VEHICLE MAINTENANCE AND EXHUMATIONS FOLLOWING A MASSACRE NEAR BATAVIA, DUTCH EAST INDIES [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: PARACHUTE TESTS, CAPTURED VEHICLE MAINTENANCE AND EXHUMATIONS FOLLOWING A MASSACRE NEAR BATAVIA, DUTCH EAST INDIES [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: ABY 188
  • Other titles: ROYAL AIR FORCE OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary: A three-item film shot in and near Batavia, Dutch East Indies (Jakarta, Indonesia) showing various parachute systems being tested for suitability for use in supply dropping; RAF Servicing Commando Unit personnel repairing Japanese tracked vehicles before taking them for a spin; exhumation of corpses following the murder of RAF and Indian Army personnel by Indonesian nationalists.
  • Description: Part 1: A series of different parachutes are tested. A container of some sort is dropped from a low-flying RAF Douglas Dakota transport aircraft without any parachute. It hits the ground and bursts in a cloud of dust. Another bundle is dropped, this time using a small pilot or drogue parachute which pulls open a larger main parachute. The main parachute malfunctions and fails to inflate, the container also hits the ground in a cloud of dust. The drogue flutters to earth. A container is dropped using a triple-parachute arrangement; one of the three round canopies fails and the bundle appears to hit the ground quite hard. Yet another bundle is dropped, this time with four parachutes attached to it, and the test appears to be successful. Men inspect the supply bundle on the ground; the test object appears to be an empty oil drum which has ruptured on impact. Part 2: RAF mechanics service a light tracked vehicle, probably a Japanese artillery tractor or personnel carrier. The mechanics install an engine; most wear plain dress or are stripped to the waist but some are wearing bush hats with the insignia of an RAF Servicing Commando Unit. The mechanics take the vehicle for a spin and it proves to be surprisingly fast and agile. At one point it passes very close to camera. Mechanics at work on various components; one has an elaborate tattoo on his left forearm apparently of a scroll or parchment with a sword behind. Part 3: A local woman speaks with British troops; a photographer stands behind her. Civilian men digging at a riverside burial site with spades and picks. A column of motorised infantry and Stuart ('Honey') light tanks drive along a road. An RAF Republic Thunderbolt Mk II fighter circles low overhead. The bodies of RAF aircrew are exhumed. A corpse is pulled out of the ground; the man appears to have died with his hands bound behind his back.
  • 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 188
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1945-12-01
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Air Ministry, Directorate of Public Relations (Production sponsor) Royal Air Force Film Production Unit (Production company) Clot, Dennis Francis Emile1919-07-04 (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords: Allied Occupation of the Netherlands East Indies, Allied Occupation of South East Asia post-August 1945 (event) Batavia, Java, Netherlands East Indies (geography) Bekassi, Java, Netherlands East Indies (geography)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 597 ft; Running time: 7 minutes
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    ABY 188

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:

    ABY 190 (REPRISALS FOR THE DAKOTA ATROCITY AT BEKASSI, DUTCH EAST INDIES [Allocated Title]) JFU 443 (AMBONESE ROADBLOCK, RELEASE OF DUTCH INTERNEES AND EXHUMATION OF BODIES [Allocated Title]) JFU 477 (BURNING DOWN THE TOWN OF BEKASSI AS A PUNITIVE MEASURE BY THE ALLIES [Allocated Title]) JFU 524 (RECONNAISSANCE IN FORCE TO BEKASSI [Allocated Title]) 11381 () Documents.17155 (System.Xml.XmlElement)
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