Concerted attacks by the RAF and British Army on Fort Dufferin, Mandalay, Burma are seen both from the air and from the ground.

Airborne view of Mandalay Hill. Air-to-ground footage of Fort Dufferin with dense column of smoke rising. The fort and its moat. More distant view of the fort. Discarded supply parachutes are scattered across a nearby field - their density suggests an effective supply drop. A pagoda on the far side of Mandalay Hill from the city. Aerial view of the imposing Kuthodaw Pagoda. Fort Dufferin with dense smoke rising. The River Irrawaddy with barges sunk by the RAF during the Japanese occupation. More parachutes on the ground. Air-to-air footage of a passing Spitfire Mk VIII - squadron marking 'AF' denotes RAF 607 (County of Durham) Squadron. Aerial view of Mandalay Hill with one building fiercely ablaze. A road convoy. Another building in flames. The River Irrawaddy. Low pass over field dotted with parachutes. Troops of 19th Indian Division walking along a railway line with Mandalay Hill in the background. View of a number of small buildings. A series of explosions generate clouds of smoke. An Ordnance BL 5.5-inch Medium Gun (probably of 134th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery) is fired, with its barrel depressed to the horizontal for firing at short range. A member of the gun team checks the fall of shot. A wrecked building. Spitfires overhead strafing and bombing, some pressing their attacks to low level. Hawker Hurricanes in action, bombs can be seen dropping from the aircraft with explosions. Panning shot of Mandalay hill.

Notes

Date from dopesheet. Likely that date of shooting is up to two weeks earlier, as by 21 March 1945 Mandalay was considered sufficiently secure for Lieutenant-General Slim, commander of 14th Army, to lead a ceremonial flag-raising inside Fort Dufferin.

Operations related to the capture of Fort Dufferin and Mandalay were extensively covered by British Army cameramen and photographers. See references below.

One of the cameramen of this piece, Flight Lieutenant Sidney Woodcock, was killed in action. He and his pilot, Flight Lieutenant J G Buchanan of RAF 110 Squadron, failed to return after a Mosquito sortie over Rangoon on 2 May 1945. They are buried in adjacent plots in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Rangoon War Cemetery.