American Volunteer Group (AVG), Magwe, Burma, 23 March 1942. Prescott, a member of AVG ground crew refuelling a Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk fighter aircraft. Shot of the nose of a Tomahawk airplane focusing on the painted sharks teeth design. Brief shot of AVG pilot Moss in cockpit of Tomahawk aircraft. Quick panning shot of Tomahawk aircraft on the runway. Shot of a Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft. Numerous shots of various Tomahawk aircraft taxiing and taking off from airfield. Shots of Douglas C-47 Skytrain and Bristol Blenheim aircraft taking off from airfield.

Burma, 23 March 1942. View from moving vehicle driving along deserted road. View of explosions on ground in the distance, presumable Magwe airfield. Several shots of smoke rising in to the air. Plumes of black smoke rising in to the sky. Shot of a road sign "51 TAUNGDWINCYI" and "2 MAGWE". RAF Hawker Hurricane flying overhead. Various shots of smoke in the distance. Shots of flames and heavy smoke in the mid-distance.

Mute, unedited footage shot by British Paramount News cameraman Maurice Ford in Burma.

Notes

Above stories relate to Maurice Ford's shipment number 141.

Maurice Ford notes on his Dope Sheet " To show the 'drome being bombed is, in my estimation, bad propaganda and a waste of film, so I endeavoured to get into a position where one could not see the aircraft. Unfortunately this could not always happen, but I certainly was not going to photograph the enemy bombs actually bursting around our aircraft, and so although I was actually on the 'drome during two of the raids, I decided to save my film."

See also film ref BAY 253-5 for the bombing of Magwe.

The names of personalities are taken from the cameraman's original Dope Sheets.

For the British Paramount newsreel including footage shot by Maurice Ford in Burma, 1942, see issue no 1173, IWM film ref NPA 1173.