Description
Object description
At an airfield in India, a Royal Air Force squadron operating Bristol Blenheim light bombers mounts a sortie, probably as training.
Full description
Reel 1: Sheltering from the rain beneath the wing of an aircraft, looking out as a bomb train passes. Two bombs are lifted off a trolley and rolled away. Looking up into a bomb bay; two airmen lift the bomb onto a third airman's back, who stands up to lift the bomb into the bay. Alternative angle. Adjusting a bomb's impeller. A lorry with a number of airman aboard in pouring rain. Closer shot; an RAF officer following an unseen aircraft with his eyes. Close-up dashboard of the lorry; a hand presses a button. Driver releasing hand brake. The vehicle (a Morris fire engine or crash tender?). Close-up looking through an open cockpit window at a pilot. Propeller starting up on a Blenheim. Close-up propeller spinning. An unsteady fast pan following a Bristol Blenheim Mk V, serial BA926 (last digit unclear) taking off. Another angle of BA926 taking off. Another Blenheim taking off. Blenheim taking off over camera. Stationary Blenheim BA926 with engines running; the chocks are taken away. Airman hurry past camera and board a lorry. Lorry slowly driving away along a muddy track. Men debussing. An attractive aircraft interior shot, sharply focused, showing a navigator at work. Close-up airman wearing 'Canada' shoulder title. Close-up airman smoking a pipe. Close-up Australian flight lieutenant, smoking. Strapping on a belt on which is hung a pistol and a large kukri. Airman attending a briefing. Pan faces of airman attending briefing. Squadron leader giving the briefing; he points things out on a map. Pan of airmen listening. Close-up Australian pilot officer.
Content description
Reel 2: Aircrew walk to their aircraft in heavy rain and climbing aboard. An airman, standing on the wing, puts on his parachute harness. An air gunner climbs aboard. Man putting on harness. Windsock hanging loose. Men on the crash tender. Hand cranking the engine. Interior; airmen synchronising watches. Footage taken from a moving aircraft showing an airman in front guiding the aircraft. Aircraft with propellers spinning; the chocks are removed and the aircraft starts to taxi away. Aerial footage; five Blenheims in formation. Air-to-air shots of the aircraft, including BA709. Some fine views of the aircraft. Terrain view showing a broad river below. Bombs falling from the aircraft. Terrain view; the target area is coastal with small islands. View of the camera aircraft's propeller spinning. Cloudscape. View (from a ventral hatch?) looking straight down; some vibration in this section. Bombs falling away from the camera aircraft. The target is not obvious; the bombs explode on a road and on surrounding low hills. More vertical ventral footage; the shadows of aircraft can be seen and bombs fall away. One bomb explodes on a river and others explode in an area with a regular arrangement of roads but the target is not clear. Back at base; airmen in discussion over a map. Aircraft overhead. Aerial footage; grey enveloping cloudscape. Pilot at his controls. More clouds.
Physical description
35mm