MASTERY OF THE SEA [Main Title]

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  • Title: MASTERY OF THE SEA [Main Title]
  • Film Number: ADM 2
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: "Thanks to the Navy, we remain unconquerable."
  • Description: An early morale booster which sets out to demonstrate that Britain is not beleaguered, her Navy is still supreme, her merchant shipping is still relatively unimpaired and the convoy system (only 1 ship in 680 allegedly lost in convoys) is an effective protection against the German navy - "an upstart with notoriously bad sea manners", further characterised as being most successful with those weapons requiring least seamanship, and no respecter of neutrality. British submarines, by contrast, attack warships not merchantmen. Despite the use of models, the explanation of convoy procedures is credible until the film seeks to demonstrate how a bomber attack is beaten off - German aircraft are spotted by a reconnaissance plane, "action stations" are called, and Swordfish take off from a nearby carrier to assist... Unfortunately, most of the footage of German planes is from BAPTISM OF FIRE (including, improbably, a Henschel Hs 126 spotter plane), while the close-ups of Swordfish pilots apparently come from a feature film.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: ADM 2
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1940
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Associated British Film Distributors (Production sponsor) Ealing Studios (Production company) Balcon, Michael Elias (Production individual) Cavalcanti, Alberto (Production individual) Hamer, Robert (Production individual) Kellino, Roy (Production individual) Irving, Ernest (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Royal Navy (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: propaganda, British - inspirational (object name) aircraft, British naval - combat: Fairey Swordfish (object name) operations, British naval - routine (object name)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English Subtitle language: None
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 1650 ft; Running time: 18 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    ADM 2

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:
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