Reel 1: Pan along a line of Indian Sikh troops cleaning their Ordnance ML 3-inch mortars. A three-man mortar team stands by their weapon, which a captain comes and inspects. Close-up of the captain. The barrel of a QF 3.7-inch Mountain Howitzer is reamed by two men with a pull-through on a long line. Alternative angle. Man cleaning a sight. Medium close-up of the barrel being cleaned. A subedar inspects a mechanism. A gun team practice manhandling a 3.7-inch howitzer up a ramp into the fuselage of a wrecked Dakota transport aircraft (serial KG519). A jeep is driven up the ramp and into the Dakota; civilians watch. Men of (15th?) Punjab Regiment dye their clothing in an oil drum. Men of the Jat Regiment cleaning small arms, including Lee Enfield rifles, Bren light machine guns and 2-inch mortars. Medium close-up of two Jats, one cleaning a Sten submachine gun and the other a 2-inch mortar. Close-up of a man cleaning a Sten gun. Men filling Bren gun magazines. The magazines are inspected. A man wearing goggles, presumably an Indian Engineer or Indian Electrical and Mechanical Engineer, brazes a piece of metal with a torch. A man at work under a jeep's wheel arch. A man at work on a jeep's engine. A United States Army Air Force (USAAF) CG-4 Waco glider is towed along a runway by a jeep. The stationary glider; nearby are two pylons with a wire between them. A tow cable is attached to a hardpoint on the glider's nose. A Dakota transport, trailing a cable, makes a low pass over the runway and the glider is snatched up into the air by the cable. Some very grey and sometimes off-frame footage of the glider airborne and returning to the airfield. An Indian medical officer with syringe. He administers injections to a number of British (presumably officers) and Indian troops. Medium close-up of a British soldier receiving an injection. Instruments are sterilised in a pan of water on a small gas burner.

Reel 2: (Location probably Thabutkon, Burma) Wide shot of two Dakotas on a runway with men around. USAAF Dakota of 2nd Air Commando Group ('!' marking) landing. Dakota of 1st Air Commando Group (diagonal white stripes) taxiing as another lands; a soldier walks across foreground. Man walking away from camera as a Dakota lands. More Dakotas taxiing and landing. A stationary Dakota in the distance; there are men around it but it is not clear if the aircraft is being loaded or unloaded. Gurkha troops unload kitbags from a Dakota. An airman pull up a set of steps. A Dakota marked '92' taxiing and raising dust. Close-up of a cheerful Gurkha. (Location now probably Imphal) Dakota of 1st Air Commando Group taking off, followed by another. 3.7-inch howitzer hauled up a ramp into a Dakota. 2nd Air Commando Dakota, with a large piece of nose art behind the cockpit window, blowing dust as it taxis. 1st Air Commando Dakota taxiing with dust clouds. Profile view of a Dakota with propeller spinning. Two men shake hands; one leans from the door of a Dakota, and the other stands by a jeep (possibly British and American respectively, but not clear). Landscape shot with a lorry towing a 3.7-inch howitzer with more lorries following. Views of the lorry towing the howitzer. Pan showing men unloading lorries, a howitzer and parked lorries. Men pulling the howitzer towards a Dakota; they pass a cine cameraman with his camera on a tripod. Men in the aircraft's doorway haul on ropes and the gun is brought on board. Two shots showing 1st Air Commando Dakotas taking off. Positioning ramp by Dakota's door. Loading cases on board; parachute harnesses hang near the door. Group of British troops smoking and drinking from white enamel mugs. Close-up of an officer (possibly Royal Artillery) with mug. An Indian officer reading a book and drinking from a mug. A group of officers, facing away from camera, receive a briefing. Closer view shows a propped up map and an officer pointing out various locations.

At Imphal in Manipur, India, the airmobile 99th Indian Infantry Brigade make preparations before being flown in to Thabutkon, Burma, in support of 17th Indian Division's advance on Meiktila.

Notes

The dopesheet does not identify a unit, but the date, and references to the brigade being flown to Thabutkon make it clear that this is 17th Indian Division's air transportable 99th Brigade. The troops seen are therefore 6th Battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment, 1st Battalion Sikh Light Infantry and 6th Battalion 9th Jat Regiment (part of the divisional infantry).

These operations form part of the advance on Meiktila, one of the most decisive acts of the 1945 Burma campaign. For related footage, see related items.