Description
Object description
Scenes of life onboard a merchantman carrying supplies to Benghazi, discharge into lighters and LCTs, and clearance divers at work among the blockships in the harbour.
Full description
I. Clearance work in Benghazi. Divers work from a blockship in the harbour mouth. A helmet diver goes over the side - he has only to step into the water as the deck of the blockship is awash. West Africans man the diver's air pump. A diver sits on deck, his helmet removed, while men run a wire (?) over the side for a demolition charge (?). CU of notice "Hands Off - Divers Air Line - Dont Touch". A man planes a length of wood laid on a trestle. MSs to the quarterdeck, where the West Africans are still working the air pump, and across the short water gap to another blockship in the harbour entrance. A Commander RNVR and a Petty Officer confer. General shots of neighbouring blockships.
Full description
II. Unloading of supplies from a merchantman. Sequence showing the unloading of 6-pounder armed Valentine tanks into a LCT alongside - the vehicles are lifted in slings by the ship's crane. Other cargo unloaded includes crates and sacks of provisions, ammunition boxes, coils of rope, and tyres, which are lifted out of the hold on a looped sling. The crew take a break for tea.
Full description
III. Merchantman on its way to Benghazi in a small convoy - the escort includes a Hunt Class destroyer. CU of the merchant captain. Sequence showing crewmen queuing up on deck for a meal of stew and potatoes. The men eat, though not all with enthusiasm - one picks a potato from his mess tin and throws it overboard. Various shots of the crew checking the ship's gear - one man adjusts the bolt of a shackle supporting a cargo block, another checks a winch, a third the topping lift of a derrick. An Arab and his goat travel as passengers. The ship enters Benghazi, passing off the starboard quarter of a Z-lighter crowded with men and running through the narrow gap between the blockships.
Full description
IV. Continuation of I. A seated diver is helped with the neck of his suit preparatory to attaching the helmet - behind him is chalked up a dire warning about the consequences of lending tools. Diver goes down the side - in the foreground a second adjusts a welding torch. Crew pay out line to submerged diver. Man screws in faceplate to a diver's helmet. Final MS over the deck of the blockship to its neighbour - in the foreground men work an air pump - the bows of a merchantman enter frame left, the hull filling the screen as the ship steams through the gap between the two blockships.
Physical description
35mm