EXERCISE FABIUS II - 50TH (NORTHUMBRIAN) INFANTRY DIVISION REHEARSE AMPHIBIOUS LANDINGS AT HAYLING ISLAND, HAMPSHIRE [Allocated Title]

Troops of 231 Brigade, 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division take part in Exercise Fabius II, a large-scale amphibious landing exercise at Hayling Island in Hampshire.

On the quayside at Southampton fully laden troops broad a ship (LCI G64) by a gangway. Troops coming up a gangway; they have broad white stripes painted around their helmets. [Aperture closed slightly from this point.] On deck; some of the troops carry metal detectors and so may be engineers. Looking down on troops on deck; one inspects the barrel of a soldier's rifle and a gun crew ream the barrel of a 20mm gun. Longer lens shot of the 20mm gun. Looking down on a church service being held on deck. Longer lens shot of the padre on a raised platform. Sailors are addressed by the flotilla lieutenant and then dismissed. At sea; another vessel signals by Morse lamp. A landing craft motors away from the ship. Men on deck looking out at the assembled ships. A British destroyer passes. [Aperture corrected.] Footage from a landing craft, taken in dull early morning light, showing a small launch (mounting twin Vickers 0.5-inch guns in a rotating turret) motoring alongside. A small warship underway. Onboard a Landing Craft Assault carrying troops of 1st Battalion Hampshire Regiment as it approaches the shore (one man appears to be consulting reconnaissance photographs). Troops landing. Looking along the beach; some sit on the sand and others run forward. A small explosion from a Bangalore torpedo used against obstacles. Two men run down the beach away from a barricade, presumably after setting a charge. Different angle; a charge explodes. Troops use the exit blasted by the charge; mine tape is laid out to mark the route. Fighter aircraft overhead. Troops pass through the gap. Looking down the beach at troops coming up the beach; Landing Craft Vehicles can be seen off shore. Troops (Beach Masters?) marking the beach with mine tape. Troops come ashore from LCAs (LCA 654, LCA 733 and LCA 1006). They move up the beach along the mine tape track. Troops disembark from LCT 7008 [edge numbers appear in frame from this point]. Troops coming up the beach. LCA 1083, 1086 and 737 coming ashore. Men disembark from an LCA; some stumble in the water. A DUKW amphibious lorry comes ashore; it is marked 'Beach Recovery'. A sign 'Light Tracked Exit'. Two LCTs, 571 and 546 coming ashore. An adapted tracked carrier (named 'Vera') tows an anti-tank gun through a beach exit. Pan of the beach with beached LCTs (including 543) and guns towed by carriers; a man twirls a flag. LCT 555 comes ashore directly towards camera as a Sherman Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle drives off. A signals jeep drives off LCT 555 (LCT 116 in the background). Pan of the beach from barbed wire towards the sea with barrage balloons aloft, vehicles and landing craft. An Morris light reconaissance car exits the beach. A jeep exits. A wading carrier and a jeep (with its trailer on the bonnet) exit. A half-track exits. A Sherman DD tank on the beach. A Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers DUKW on the beach. More troops up the beach (these with the same white bands on their helmets as seen earlier). A 3-inch mortar crew with their weapon. A signaller; he appears to notice the camera and grins.

35mm