194 SQUADRON DROP SUPPLIES TO 25TH EAST AFRICAN BRIGADE [Allocated Title]

RAF 194 Squadron deliver supplies by parachute to 25th East African Brigade (11th East African Division) on the Tamu-Sittaung road, Burma.

Film shot by Sergeant Abbott: Aerial footage; the camera looks through the windscreen of an RAF Douglas Dakota transport aircraft of RAF 194 Squadron towards hills shrouded in cloud. The camera aircraft overflies a thickly wooded area which is covered in the parachutes of previous supply drops; cloud drifts over the trees and another Dakota can be seen a short distance in front. Shot facing aft showing three airmen waiting to despatch a stack of supplies. Series of shots looking out of the open door showing supplies being pushed out and the passing jungle canopy. Brief shot looking forward over the port engine. Another bundle is pushed out. Close-up of a member of the flight crew. Forward-facing view through windscreen. Instrument panel with pilot's hands on the controls. Somewhat soft-focused close-ups of the navigator at work. Landscapes and cloudscapes. At an airstrip at Imphal the aircraft is loaded with supplies from the back of a lorry; the word 'SNAKE' can be seen on the rear fuselage. Views of sacks being thrown aboard; they are not fitted with parachutes and so may be sacks of fodder for mules. Parachute bundles follow. A Dakota takes off. Very brief shot showing Squadron Leader Ridd checking the location of the dropzone (DZ) on a map with Captain A J Chase, Air Liaison Officer at Imphal.

Film shot by Sergeant Watson: Footage looking through the door of a Dakota as the aircraft takes off. View (through a fuselage hatch?) of the terrain below with rivers, roads, paddy fields etc. Airmen despatching supplies. Bundles falling from the aircraft with parachutes inflating.

35mm