PORT CLEARANCE WORK BEGINS IN CHERBOURG [Allocated Title]
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- Title: PORT CLEARANCE WORK BEGINS IN CHERBOURG [Allocated Title]
- Film Number: ADM 1284
- Other titles: OPERATION NEPTUNE [Allocated Series Title]
- Summary:
- Description: I. Bows on MS of the coaster Normand - capsized to block the entrance of the Port de Commerce. MLS of blockship Solglint, and pan over the caissons of the Quai de Normandie, and across the Darse Transatlantique to the ruined passenger hall of the Gare Maritime on the Quai de France. MCU of shattered masonry, and pan over ruins to cratered quay wall. Shots of railway trucks with a cargo of GX sea mines abandoned in the Gare Maritime. II. Group MS and CUs of British and US crew, including divers, gathered in the bows of a 6-davit LST. III. MS from inside station looking out on to rubble-strewn quay - a fallen spire lies amidst the debris. LS of demolition work alongside Gare Maritime. CU of anonymous Commodore USN, and pan to the blockship Solglint. MS as man inspects ramifications of German OP. MS along front of 15cm battery - gun in the foreground is elevated and then depressed. Interior shot, looking out of embrasure as gun is trained right - Fort de l'Ouest visible in the distance. MLS of fortifications in the old town (?). LS of two BYMS ("British Yard Mine Sweepers") conducting a sweep in the Grande Rade - Fort de l'Ouest in the background. HA.LSs from searchlight position to the partially demolished Digue du Homet, and along the harbour front to distant Quai de France, then pan inland over the area of the Naval Arsenal - Bassin Charles X, warehouses, etc. USN rating rotates the searchlight through 360 degrees and points it vertically. US crew drive a Chenillette tractor with Lorraine trailer. MS looking out of the entrance of E boat pens (?) - reflections from the water play upon the arched roof. Pan over shattered reinforced concrete of pens. LS of a mine being detonated just beyond the Digue du Homet. IV. Five RN divers don Sladen suits and oxygen re-breathing apparatus. Support crew man the pump, pour silicate crystals into filter, check gas pressure, etc. Sheer legs lower diver into local skiff whence he enters water. Diver bleeds air from helmet valve and submerges. Divers are recovered and unsuit - a process which amuses the RM guard and local spectators.
- Alternative Title: OPERATION NEPTUNE [Allocated Series Title]
- Colour: B&W
- Digitised:
- Object_Number: ADM 1284
- Sound: Silent
- Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
- Featured Period: 1939-1945
- Production Date: 1944-07
- Production Country: GB
- Production Details: Admiralty (Production sponsor)
- Personalities, Units and Organisations:
- Keywords: armour, French - carrier: Chenillette infantry carrier & [Allied] (object name) armour, German - carrier: Infanterie Schlepper UE 630(f) & [impressed] (object name) armour, French - carrier: Tracteur Blinde 37L, trailer & [Allied] (object name) armour, German - carrier: Lorraine Schlepper (f) (SdKfz 135/1), trailer & [impressed] (object name) equipment, German military - surveillance: searchlight & [captured] (object name) equipment, British naval - personal: Sladen diving suit (object name) demolition, German - denial (object name) demolition, Allied - safety (object name) destruction, French military - area (object name) ships, French civilian - cargo: Solglint & [expended] (object name) ships, French civilian - cargo: Normand & [expended] (object name) weapons, German naval - passive: GX sea mines & [captured] (object name) defences, German - emplacement: coastal guns & [captured] (object name) operations, Allied military - mines: clearance (object name) 01/5(4-16).1 (event) Darse Transatlantique, Cherbourg, Manche, France (geography) Digue du Homet, Cherbourg, Manche, France (geography) Gare Maritime, Cherbourg, Manche, France (geography) Port de Commerce, Cherbourg, Manche, France (geography) Quai de Normandie, Cherbourg, Manche, France (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: 1188 ft; Running time: 13 mins
- HD Media:
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