Promises Fulfilled - [Supplies].

I. 'PROMISES FULFILLED.' North American B-25 Mitchell bombers of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) fly in loose formation. Royal Air Force (RAF) Martin Baltimore bombers drop 250lb bombs with extended fuses. British soft-skinned vehicles drive in convoy past an abandoned German Messerschmitt Bf 109F/Trop fighter parked in a sandbagged revetment. The commentary stresses that the Allied victory in the Western Desert was due to the great efforts of British and American factory workers and sailors who brought supplies to where they were most needed. British Churchill Mk I and Mk III tanks, described as being heavily armoured and fast, manoeuvre over heathland during exercises. The commentary highlights the logistical and production problems faced by the Allies of building up an effective armoured force in the Middle East and keeping up with the constant demand for tanks from the Russian war front. Ship to ship views show merchant supply convoy PQ-18 en route to the Russian port of Archangel (12-18 September 1942). A map shows the route of the convoy illustrating the dangers from the enemy held coastline of Norway. Royal Navy (RN) ratings wearing duffel coats and anti-flash hoods traverse a multi-barrelled 40mm pom-pom anti-aircraft gun, scanning the horizon for signs of enemy aircraft. Convoy PQ-18 is described as "making headlines" with the front pages of the Daily Mail and Daily Express newspapers being displayed (Saturday September 26 1942 Edition Date). Rear-Admiral R L Burnett RN scans the horizon with binoculars from the bridge of the convoy flagship HMS Scylla. Commodore E K Boddam and Rear-Admiral R L Burnett chat informally for the benefit of the cameras. Merchant ships of convoy PQ-18 come under a high-level bombing attack from German aircraft of KG 30. RN 40mm Bofors crews fire at unseen enemy aircraft with tracer fire spreading across the sky. A small RN escort ship (corvette ?) transfers survivors from a torpedoed merchantman by the simple expedient of coming alongside an unidentified cruiser and allowing the men to use scramble nets to board her. Air-Chief Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas is accompanied by Major-General Carl A Spaatz (C-in-C Eighth Air Force) and Brigadier-General Frank O'D Hunter (Commander Eighth Fighter Command) of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) on the occasion of the transfer of US personnel of the RAF Eagle Squadron to the USAAF. Eagle Squadron personnel receive USAAF wings which are pinned to their uniforms next to their RAF wings. The official transfer ceremony takes place at RAF Debden in Essex on the 29 September 1942. Old Glory and the Union Jack fly in unison from a flag pole. Sholto Douglas takes the salute during a march past from the USAAF's latest recruits. Elsewhere, a small coastal steamer manned by a Papuan crew transports war supplies to Port Moresby to support the Australian defensive campaign against the Japanese in the Owen Stanley Mountain range. Papuans unload oil drums from coastal vessels by throwing them into the surf and manhandling them to the shore. Supplies are transferred from the beach to native canoes for the hard journey to the interior. Village scenes follow as a halt is called during the supply run to the Australian forces. Supplies are portered across horrendous jungle terrain by Papuan volunteers. The commentary stresses the essential contribution of the Papuan porters to the overall campaign against the Japanese. Australian troops use a field telephone to alert the advance base that supplies and mail will soon arrive. The supply column eventually reaches an outpost of the Australian Army and the supplies are placed into store. The Papuans eat food rations at the end of the supply run. The commentary asserts that the Japanese have been all but driven from New Guinea over scenes of a supply column winding its way across remote grasslands.