Channel Title: Armoured Archivist Channel Description: Exploring the history and debunking the myths of World War II naval and maritime aviation through archival and personal accounts. Support account for www.armouredcarriers.com <video> Submarine On Patrol | Royal Navy Propaganda (1943) Description: A British World War II information film describing to the public the technicalities and roles of Royal Navy submarine operations. Filmed aboard the operational submarine HMS Tyrant, the documentary narrator offers a sketchy overview of a patrol - taking viewers from departing a Submarine Depot Ships diving, submerged operations, watch operations and practice/dramatised attacks. While this documentary appears to have been made at the same time as filming for the propaganda movie "Close Quarters", most of the footage is unique. </video> <video> Fatal Crash: Bouncing Bomb Trials (1945) #ww2 #secretweapon #aviation #history Description: https://youtu.be/sioR6aXEzUM ◁ Full "Memories of War" documentary here: Tests of a modified version of the Dambusters' bouncing bomb optimised for DeHaviland Mosquitos claimed the lives of a pilot and navigator in October 1945. The strike aircraft was flying too low, and the blast of water kicked up by the reverse spin of the bouncing bomb on its first impact struck the tailplane. The aircraft immediately lost control, twisted and disintegrated. </video> <video> Close Quarters | WW2 Movie (1943) - RN Submarines Description: This 1943 feature-length dramatisation follows the Royal Navy T-class submarine "Tyrant" on a routine North Sea patrol off the coast of Norway. Like many British wartime movies, the cast of this feature film are the serving officers and crew. It was also filmed aboard an operational submarine, offering a rare and detailed view of life in such complex, cramped quarters. </video> <video> Fleet Fighter | World War II dramatisation (1942) Description: This is a surprisingly frank and detailed dramatised account of training Fleet Air Arm pilots during World War II. Made in 1942 and released March 1943, it is filmed "on location" in the training rooms, simulators, lecture theatres - and cockpits - used at the time to turn trainees into qualified fighter pilots. FAA training was conducted using Sea Hurricanes, which by this time were being replaced by Seafire IIs and Marlet IVs. Unexpectedly, the effort was made by the producers to capture air-to-air training manoeuvres - such as deflection shooting - to put the relevance of otherwise "dry" training charts, diagrams and tables into context. This resulted in some nice footage of Sea Hurricanes in flight. Pilots would undergo conversion to more modern Seafires and Corsairs before becoming operational. </video> <video> Carrier Flying | Royal Navy Training Dramatisation (1945) Description: The British military once again takes a troubled trainee pilot to task in Carrier Flying, an instructional film intended to convey the concepts and complexities of flight deck operations. Released in 1946, the film was produced during 1945 as the war against Japan drew to a close in the Pacific. It centres on the trials and tribulations of Vought Corsair pilots seeking to gain carrier operations certification. It details the logic behind landing circuits, the race-track style course adopted by groups of returning aircraft to maximise the rate of deck landing. It explains the value of deck landing officers (batsmen) in guiding pilots down the last vital few feet where the giant nose of the Corsair obstructed all view of the approaching deck below. It details the purpose and operation of key carrier equipment, such as arresting wires and crash barriers. But, mostly, it walks us through the procedures and lectures Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilots received in the later war years. (This film also includes rare DeHaviland Sea Mosquito carrier operations footage, and clips of prototype Blackburn Firebrand and DeHaviland Vampire making their first deck landings. These can be found after the 16:00 mark.) </video> <video> Bouncing Bomb versus Battleship #ww2 #secretweapon #history Description: https://youtu.be/sioR6aXEzUM ◁ Full "Memories of War" documentary here: The unmodernised Queen Elizabeth class battleship HMS Malaya was used as a target for unarmed weapons testing of the secret new Highball bouncing bomb in the later years of World War II. DeHaviland Mosquitos were built to carry two smaller derivatives of Barnes Wallis' famous Dambuster's bouncing bomb concept. Extensive trials demonstrated the weapons' high accuracy and ability to bypass torpedo nets and other harbour defences. Testing was complete and a squadron deployed before the surrender of Japan ended Operation Highball. </video> <video> Mosquito Strike | "Don't look now, but his wing's about to fall off!" Description: "The aim was to be below the level of the 20ft outer wall" ... The pilots, navigators and planners of World War II's famous Operation Jericho raid on the Amiens Gestapo Prison in 1944 tell their tales in their own words in this documentary. The DeHaviland D.H. 98 Mosquito fighter-bombers of 21 Squadron, 487 Squadron, engaged in an ultra-low level, carefully timed attack on the Prison's walls and guards quarters. The stated reason at the time was to give French Resistance fighter prisoners a chance to escape before they were executed. After the war, the added explanation that at least two prisoners held sensitive knowledge of the impending Normandy invasion was offered. But some historians suspect the real reason was a simple "deception" attack - to convince Nazi Germany that preparations were underway for the invasion force to land at nearby Calais. Whatever the case, the raid - primarily conducted by New Zealand and Australian aircrew - would do much to enhance the legendary status of the Mosquito as a precision strike aircraft. The death of Group Captain Charles Pickard - who had won the hearts of the British public for his role in the propaganda movie "Target For Tonight - was kept secret for some considerable time to maintain morale ahead of the D-Day landings. Here, Wing Navigation Officer Edward Sismore, Wing Commander Irving Smith, RNZAF Pilot Officer Maxwell Sparks, Pilot Officer Duncan Taylor and Navigator Arthur Dunlop recall their memories of that day. </video> <video> Fastest Warplane in the World | Building Britain's Mosquito (1943) Description: A propaganda film spruiking the success of the De Haviland Mosquito in World War II. But the footage is historically interesting as it captures several important scenes - including the design and drawing office of the De Havilland Aircraft Head Office and Works at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, in 1943. The narrator speaks over footage showing a general arrangement drawing for a DH 98 Mosquito bomber aircraft, most likely the B. Mk IV variant. The narrator details DH 98 Mosquito construction techniques and performance statistics over footage including a general arrangement drawing for the Mk IV bomber variant and interior factory views of a production line. Factory workers cut wood and shape Mosquito fuselage sections. A monocoque fuselage is shown being lowered by hoist onto a waiting wing assembly. Inspection pits are used to test an aircraft's undercarriage and bomb-release equipment. The propaganda film end with a Mosquito B Mk IV being rolled out of its workshop hangar prior to delivery (DZ 416). Aerial footage shows a pair of RAF 105 Squadron Mosquito aircraft in flight (105 being the first squadron to be issued with the Mosquito aircraft in November 1941). </video> <video> Corsair Pilot | USMC VMF-213 in the South Pacific (1943) Description: A narrated propaganda film presenting the life of Marine Corsair fighter pilots of VMF-213 deployed in the South Pacific during 1943. It offers a glimpse of the life of pilots, mechanics and ground crews as they maintain and fly their machines, while also going about their daily lives on the Russell Islands (central Solomon Islands) during World War II. Marine aviators featured in this film are George Defabio [De Fabio], Mr. Greg, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Garrison, Mr. Leary, Mr. McCleary, Mr. Votaw, and Mr. Winnia. </video> <video> Air Attacks on U-boats | Royal Navy Instructional Film (1941) Description: This matched pair of visually spectacular Royal Navy instructional films titled U-Boats Recognition and Attack by Naval Aircraft were released in 1941 to detail the workings of submarines and techniques of anti-submarine operations for trainee Fleet Air Arm pilots. Part 1 is titled Recognition. It explains how to identify the three main types of German submarines before detailing the basics of the engineering behind them in order to explain their limitations and weaknesses. Part 2 is titled "Depth Charge Attacks by Naval Aircraft". It talks viewers through the techniques used by Fairey Swordfish crews to locate, track and attack a U-boat with depth charges. </video> <video> The Volunteer | WW2 Movie - Fleet Air Arm Recruitment (1943) Description: A World War II recruitment short drama telling the story of Fred Davey, famous actor Ralph Richardson's one-time theatre dresser, who joins the Fleet Air Arm. His career is followed from the day he enters the Royal Navy as a mechanic until the point where he finds himself responsible for the maintenance of a Seafire aircraft during the height of a naval battle. His heroic actions are caught on film, which his one-time employer turned Fleet Air Arm pilot (Ralph Richardson) sees when he is assigned to the same aircraft carrier. Fred's behind-the-scenes actions earns him a visit to Buckingham Palace and a Distinguished Service Medal (DSM). Lieutenant-Commander Ralph Richardson was a high-profile British actor who joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve as a sub-lieutenant pilot before the war. Nicknamed "Pranger", he mostly flew a desk during the conflict, but he also contributed to the recruitment effort by playing himself in this movie. </video> <video> U-boat Slayer | 'Johnnie' Walker's HMS Stork Years 1941-42 Description: Captain Frederick John 'Johnnie' Walker (DSO & 3 bars) is Britain's most famous U-boat hunter of World War II. 'On the shelf' in the interwar years (meaning he was repeatedly passed over for promotion), the trained anti-submarine warfare specialist won the attention of the Admiralty for his conduct assisting in the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940. As a lieutenant-commander, he was rewarded with the command of the long-range escort sloop HMS Stork in 1941. There he immediately applied his knowledge, forging his rag-tag squadron of old destroyers and Flower-class corvettes - the 36th Escort Group - into a well disciplined fighting unit. Walker won fame in the defence of Convoy HG-76 (18023 December, 1941) which is credited as representing the 'turn of the tide' against Hitler's U-boat wolfpacks. Five U-boats were sunk, three of them by Walker's 36th Escort Group. He was promoted to Captain shortly thereafter. </video> <video> Deck Landing | Royal Navy Flight Deck Operations (1942) Description: This 1942 Royal Navy instructional film explains flight deck operations aboard British aircraft carriers after three years of experience in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theatres. The cycle of flight operations includes ranging on deck, preparation for takeoff, procedures for launch, attaching aircraft to catapults, and how arrestor hooks and crash barriers work. It emphasises the role of the Flight Deck Officer (more commonly known as the "batsman") in maintaining a high tempo of operations. Aircraft featured include the Grumman Martlet (Wildcat), Fairey Fulmar, Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore. </video> <video> Pacific Milk Run | SBD Dauntless dive bombers against the Gilbert Islands (1944) Description: A United States Marine Corps propaganda film talking up the service of Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers containing Japanese forces in the Gilbert Islands once they had been bypassed in the island-hopping campaign towards Okinawa. The narrative takes the viewer on a 1944 bombing mission out of Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands along with F4U Corsairs and B-25 Mitchell bombers. </video> <video> Guadalcanal | HMAS Canberra - The Road to Ruin (1942) Description: Part 1 of a two-part series detailing the Savo Island experiences of survivors of the heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra, as well as crew from HMAS Hobart, HMAS Australia and the destroyer USS Blue leading up to the Battle of Savo Island on August 8-9, 1942. The entire campaign was a rush job. Ships that had barely worked with each other were thrust together to protect the first big US counter-attack in the Pacific of World War II. The prospect of a Japanese airfield on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands threatened to harass the vital shipping lanes between Australia and the East Coast United States. More importantly, it could offer US Marines a springboard from which they could begin their long campaign of expelling Japanese forces from their Pacific island strongholds. But Admiral Fletcher - commander of the powerful three-carrier task force assigned with giving the Marine transports air cover - was tired. He'd already had two carriers sunk beneath him. So he pulled his precious flat-tops out of action earlier than expected. That left the defence of the immensely vulnerable transports in the hands of three Australian cruisers (HMAS Australia, Canberra and Hobart), and five US cruisers (USS Chicago, Vincennes, Astoria, Quincy and San Juan) and a handful of destroyers. Combined with poorly informed and prepared air- reconnaissance, it was a recipe for disaster. (Thanks to "Task Force Admiral - American Carrier Battles" https://www.microprose.com/games/task-force-admiral for the rendering of models and scenes for this documentary) MEMORIES OF WAR @ArmouredCarriers https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ6C0Z-sR4QpiI0VdJ7fz88j2JPiQlSkV ◁ Related documentary series here https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ6C0Z-sR4QrH6GRP0wtsNd0Pa2TZVvV2 ◁ Related documentary series here Intro music: Bizet’s L’Arlesienne Suite No. 1 ► Website - https://www.armouredcarriers.com/ ► Twitter - @ArmouredCarrier VIDEO CONTENT 0:00 Introduction 2:38 The People 8:02 The Ship 15:01 Prelude 21:22 Invasion 29:08 Fog of War </video>

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Exploring the history and debunking the myths of World War II naval and maritime aviation through archival and personal accounts. Support account for www.armouredcarriers.com

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