LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SLIM LAUNCHES TWO WARSHIPS ON THE RIVER CHINDWIN (9/4/1945)

This film is held by the Imperial War Museum (ID: JFU 171).

Synopsis

The commander of 14th Army, Lieutenant-General Sir William Slim, launches two warships on the River Chindwin at Kalewa, Burma.

Deck work on a gunboat at Kalewa. Indian Engineers of 536 Artisan Works Company caulking, planing, planking, painting and preparing the slipway. Further shots of the slipway. The deckhouse is fitted. An Ordnance QF 40mm Bofors gun is manhandled onto the deck of the boat. Launching tackle is prepared. A 20mm Oerlikon cannon is fitted. The slipway is greased and the hull is hauled from its building site to the slipway. Propellers are fitted. Propeller shafts and rudders fitted. Final deck work. Scenes from earlier in construction, showing the wooden framework of the vessel and construction techniques. Slim arrives by motor launch and is received by Major Layton, commander of 536 Artisan Works Company, Indian Engineers. Slim inspects a number of British and Indian officers. Slim inspects a workshop; various Indian artisans are at work and Slim watches one use a power saw to cut teak beams. Launching ceremony; Slim smashes a bottle of wine ('of doubtful quality' - Slim) over one of the gunboats before hacking through a rope with a kukri to release the vessel. Indian sappers push the boat down the slipway and spontaneously cheer and applaud as it enters the water. Naval personnel viewing the vessels at anchor on the Chindwin. Slim departs by launch.

Notes

A very fine piece of film, well shot, apparently edited in-camera and conveying a clear narrative about a relatively little-known aspect of the war in Burma.

The dopesheet identifies the following individuals:

Major J Layton, Royal Engineers; commanding 536 Artisan Field Company.

Captain R J Harris, Royal Engineers; commander 909 Independent Works Section, Indian Engineers.

Captain W J Holt, Royal Canadian Navy; Admiralty consultant.

Lieutenant D G S Pennan, Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (Burma); Senior Naval Officer, Chindwin Flotilla.

Slim's use of a kukri to launch the vessels, while possibly a simply practical choice, is nonetheless neatly symbolic of Slim's service history, having been a battalion adjutant of 6th Gurkha Rifles in the 1920s, and commander of 2nd Battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles in 1938.

General Slim discusses these vessels at length in his autobiography. The two gunboats were named HMS Pamela and HMS Una, after the Supreme Allied Commander Lord Mountbatten's youngest daughter, and Slim's own daughter respectively. They were fully commissioned Royal Navy vessels and flew the White Ensign. In addition to these gunboats, several hundred unarmed barges of various types were built to carry supplies. These barges helped remedy a scarcity of river transport and relieve logistical pressure on road, rail and aerial transportation. The construction of these craft can be seen in the film referenced below. See related items.

 

Titles

  • LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SLIM LAUNCHES TWO WARSHIPS ON THE RIVER CHINDWIN (9/4/1945) (Allocated)
Series Title:
BRITISH ARMY OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR
 

Technical Data

Year:
1945
Running Time:
11 minutes
Film Gauge (Format):
35mm
Colour:
B&W
Sound:
Silent
Footage:
987 ft
 

Production Credits

Production Countries:
GB
Sponsor
War Office Directorate of Public Relations
cameraman.
Govan, H W (Sergeant)
Production company
SEAC Film Unit
 

Countries

 

Production Organisations