Description
Object description
An edition of the British official newsreel "War Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.
Full description
I. 'ITALY.' British V Corps Churchill IV and V (close-support) tanks move up to attack German positions in the environs of Faenza (Ravenna) in December 1944. British M4 Sherman tanks fire 75mm high explosive rounds from an open field at unseen German positions. A British mortar detachment fires 3-inch smooth-bore mortars from the yard of an Italian farmhouse. A British M4A4E1 Sherman fires its 105mm gun at high elevation. British V Corps infantrymen fire Vickers .303-inch heavy machine guns in the sustained-fire role. British infantry man a Bren .303-inch light-machine gun in a trench next to a knocked-out German PzKpfw IV (Ausf H ?) tank. British infantry armed with Lee-Enfield No.IV rifles move past the hulk of the knocked-out German tank. A British Churchill IV tank and supporting infantry move across a rural level crossing.
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II. 'KING FAROUK VISITS BRITISH SERVICES.' King Farouk of Egypt visits No 4 Base Workshop REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) at Abbassia. The King is cheered on his arrival by crowds of Egyptian civilians who line the approach route to the REME depot. The King views the work of Egyptian civilian workers employed at the depot. King Farouk briefly inspects 3-inch smooth-bore mortars housed in a storage area. Elsewhere on site, Egyptian men use Singer sewing machines to sew material (canvas ?). King Farouk later visits the Royal Egyptian Air Force (REAF) airfield at Almaza to review elements of No 2 Squadron REAF where he is presented with a twin engined aircraft (Lockheed Lodestar ?) by Royal Air Force (RAF) Air Marshal Sir Keith Park (Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Middle East).
Full description
III. 'WESTERN FRONT.' United States Army Air Force (USAAF) North American B-25 Mitchell bomber aircraft burn on the ground following attack by German Luftwaffe fighter aircraft in the early hours of January 1 1945 (Operation Bodenplatte). Airfield fire crews attempt to fight aircraft fires with water hoses. The wreckage of a Royal Air Force (RAF) single-engined fighter lies on airfield hardstanding (badly damaged- probably a Hawker Typhoon). A pair of RAF Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk IX fighter aircraft take off from an undisclosed location. Camera gun footage shows the destruction of Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and Messerschmitt Bf 109G fighter aircraft. A partially-intact German Focke-Wulf 190 fighter lies near a barn with its undercarriage collapsed. United States Army Air Force (USAAF) Martin B-26 (G ?) Marauder aircraft fly in formation. USAAF Marauder 296-212 is shown in flight. USAAF Martin B-26G Marauder of the 323rd Bomb Group (453rd Squadron) is hit by flak on its port wing. The aircraft spirals to earth trailing a sheet of flame having lost its port engine and sustained critical damage to its fuel tank. During the Allied counterattack in the Ardennes, US M10 Wolverine tank destroyers fire a barrage from their 3-inch guns. A British M4A1 Sherman tank loses traction on an ice-covered road. British tank crews attach white tablecloths to the hull of their Sherman Firefly (Mk IIC with widened track-links) to provide a convenient temporary snow camouflage for their vehicle. British infantry load a soft-skinned vehicle with boxes containing 25-pounder ammunition. British M4 Sherman Crab Mk II flail tanks bearing white-wash snow camouflage drive along a tree-lined road. British infantry laden with packs, picks and shovels and Lee-Enfield No 4 .303-inch rifles walk past a tree-mounted sign that reads "mines cleared to hedge." The commentary states that the German defeat in the Ardennes was entirely due to a complete coordination of Anglo-American fighting strength. US infantry shake hands with British infantry wearing snow-suits in a snow-covered forest clearing.
Physical description
35mm