HMS CEYLON VISITS COLOMBO [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: HMS CEYLON VISITS COLOMBO [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: ADM 498
  • Other titles: BRITISH NAVAL OPERATIONS IN THE FAR EAST [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary:
  • Description: I. HMS Ceylon in port at Colombo. MS of Reverend Stephenson, the ship's chaplain, talking with Ceylonese dignitaries - Mr Mamujee, Mr de Silva and Mr Corea. Royal Marine band plays. MS pan right to left across the Ceylonese delegation, posing with Admirals Somerville and Layton beneath the guns of 'Y' turret. Layton talks with Mr Senanayake. MCU of Somerville, with Sir Gerard Wijekoon in the foreground. C-in-C shakes hands with his departing visitors who leave in Layton's barge. II. Gunnery demonstration by Ceylon at sea. Ready use 4-inch ammunition is laid out on deck. View behind the gun shield as twin 4-inch is fired and reloaded. Multiple 2-pounder at 'X' position fires over the port beam - 'Y' turret is also trained over the beam. CUs as twin Oerlikon is trained and fired off. MCU of 2-pounder director crew closed up. 'X' position 2-pounder traverses. 20mm fired off. MS over the stern as depth charges explode in the ship's wake. View forward from the quarter deck as 'Y' turret fires by single barrels over the port beam. Final LA.CU of turret face and barrel array, 'Y' turret, and MCU of the crew framed in the turret hatch. III. Royal Naval Aircraft Ceylonese Training Establishment (RNACTE). Native aircraft maintenance crew at work on Fairey Albacore. CU as two young boys emerge from inside a steel aircraft float. Armed march past by Sinhalese ratings. MS, parked Fairey Seafox. Sinhalese under instruction - driving Australian 30-cwt Chevrolets, lectures on aero engines, demonstration of inflatable dinghy, salvage of old aircraft. CU study as British crew arm an Albacore with 18-inch torpedo - the aircraft then takes off. Sequence shot from a torpedo recovery vessel, showing Albacores dropping torpedoes, the launch following the track of a runner, expended torpedoes floating nose-up, their capture and stowage - one is recovered before the marker flare has finished burning.
  • Alternative Title: BRITISH NAVAL OPERATIONS IN THE FAR EAST [Allocated Series Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: ADM 498
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1944
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Admiralty (Production sponsor) Gaumont British News (Production company)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Somerville, James Fownes (person) Layton, Geoffrey (person) Stephenson, Colin (person) Drayton, Robert (person) Silva, C R de (person) Silva, W H de (person) Silva, G E de (person) Sarem, Leslie de (person) Marsh, N O C (person) Huxham, H J (person) Nihill, J H B (person) Mahadeva, A (person) Senanayake, D S (person) Corea, G C S (person) Mamujee, A (person) Goonetillake, Oliver E (person) Wijekoon, Gerard (person) Kotelawala, J L (person) Royal Navy, Royal Naval Aircraft Ceylonese Training Establishment (regiment/service) Royal Navy, CEYLON (HMS), light cruiser (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: ships, British naval - cruiser: Ceylon (object name) aircraft, British naval - combat: Fairey Albacore (object name) aircraft, British - seaplane: Fairey Seafox (object name) weapons, British naval - torpedo (object name) weapons, British naval - gun: twin 4-inch (object name) weapons, British naval - gun: multiple 2-pounder AA (object name) weapons, British naval - gun: Oerlikon 20mm AA (object name) weapons, British naval - gun: 6-inch (object name) training, British naval - weapons: torpedo practice (object name) training, Sinhalese - specialist: aircraft maintenance (object name) delegations, British international - goodwill (object name) Second World War & 1944 (event) Sri Lanka (Ceylon) & Colombo (geography)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent Soundtrack language: None Title language: None Subtitle language: None
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 1053 ft; Running time: 12 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    ADM 498

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