I recently came across these old newsreels on YouTube. Obviously they are all propaganda films, but that does not make them uninteresting.
Axis aircraft
Luftwaffe over Malta
SM-79 torpedo bombers
Tobruk footage
More Tobruk footage
Italian propaganda
More propaganda
I do not understand the voice-over, but it sounds delightfully bombastic.
Edit: Added clip from the 1942 Axis capture of Tobruk
North Africa footage from YouTube
North Africa footage from YouTube
Last edited by Jon G. on 10 Aug 2006, 17:14, edited 1 time in total.
Thanks Andreas. I actually wanted to include some British/Allied films too, but the great majority of clips I could find on Youtube are German/Axis. Here's what I could find from the Allied side:
Short clip of Allied forces in the desert
Montgomery speaks on the eve of El Alamein
Kudos to the people posting WW2 clips on YouTube, but their collective dyslexia makes searching the site a challenging endeavour.
Short clip of Allied forces in the desert
Montgomery speaks on the eve of El Alamein
Kudos to the people posting WW2 clips on YouTube, but their collective dyslexia makes searching the site a challenging endeavour.
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Brian Ross
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I managed to find a single Wochenschau from North Africa. Nice footage of tanks rolling about and Rommel strolling through Agheila.
Funny to hear the exultant speaker declare 'This is the work of our FLAK artillery!' and then you see a knocked out Italian tank, amongst other things...
Funny to hear the exultant speaker declare 'This is the work of our FLAK artillery!' and then you see a knocked out Italian tank, amongst other things...
you can find a very large production of war/postwar movies from Istituto Luce (Italian) linking to
http://www.archivioluce.com
then you enter "Archivio Luce" and register (it is free: nickname/password) to have access to the whole production (yust see, neither offload nor save)
http://www.archivioluce.com
then you enter "Archivio Luce" and register (it is free: nickname/password) to have access to the whole production (yust see, neither offload nor save)
I found a few more YouTube clips worth posting here:
Here's a 1941 Wochenschau showing the deployment of the DAK to North Africa. The footage of troops and equipment embarking is of particular interest
Also footage of tanks rolling about in the desert, Axis troops liberating Benghazi, and Rommel throwing a high five (or is that a British salute?) at Commonwealth POWs.
Here is a bit of June 1941 Wochenschau film in faded colour, showing tired-looking infantry in tropical pitch helmets approaching Tobruk, heavy guns bombarding Tobruk, and a downed Commonwealth aircrew captured by German soldiers.
Another Tobruk 1941 clip, probably later than the one above. Rommel in conference with Italian officers, more POWs (might these be Australians? I'm not sure), more guns firing (incl. a 75 mm IG), and Rommel having a snack prepared by his batman. Also a few seconds of Stukas bombing Tobruk.
Finally, to provide contrast, here is a British newsreel from a July 1942 convoy battle. No ship-on-ship engagements on the film, but lots and lots of AA fire at Axis planes, including a Ju 88 flying very close to a British ship and another Ju 88 dramatically shot into the sea. Finally some rather less dramatic footage of a royal visit to Scotland - the king & queen visiting, among other things, a kindergarten for the children of war workers and the fire brigades of Edinburgh and Glasgow (staffed by both men and women) showing their skills.
Here's a 1941 Wochenschau showing the deployment of the DAK to North Africa. The footage of troops and equipment embarking is of particular interest
Also footage of tanks rolling about in the desert, Axis troops liberating Benghazi, and Rommel throwing a high five (or is that a British salute?) at Commonwealth POWs.Here is a bit of June 1941 Wochenschau film in faded colour, showing tired-looking infantry in tropical pitch helmets approaching Tobruk, heavy guns bombarding Tobruk, and a downed Commonwealth aircrew captured by German soldiers.
Another Tobruk 1941 clip, probably later than the one above. Rommel in conference with Italian officers, more POWs (might these be Australians? I'm not sure), more guns firing (incl. a 75 mm IG), and Rommel having a snack prepared by his batman. Also a few seconds of Stukas bombing Tobruk.
Finally, to provide contrast, here is a British newsreel from a July 1942 convoy battle. No ship-on-ship engagements on the film, but lots and lots of AA fire at Axis planes, including a Ju 88 flying very close to a British ship and another Ju 88 dramatically shot into the sea. Finally some rather less dramatic footage of a royal visit to Scotland - the king & queen visiting, among other things, a kindergarten for the children of war workers and the fire brigades of Edinburgh and Glasgow (staffed by both men and women) showing their skills.
I've added a few more film clips from YouTube to this thread:
First up is an April 1941 Wochenschau of the German invasion of Greece. Some fairly stock pictures of artilley firing into the distance, but also some nice footage from Stuka bombers attacking the Metaxas Line and some scenes showing German troops negotiating the difficult terrain of Greece.
Very analogous to the above is this 1941 Wochenschau of the German occupation of Yugoslavia. Precious little shooting in this film, but nice footage of German engineers crossing a river by various means, the handing over of impromptu police authority to Volkssdeutsche, destroyed infrastructure and some nice film of a horse supply column - not too often you see those on newsreels.
For contrast as much as for content, here is a much more sedately paced Italian Regia Aeronautica 1942 film. I do not understand the voiceover, but the first scene seemingly depicts a sea rescue action by RA hydroplanes while the final scene shows SM79s en route to their target.
Finally, here is a brief excerpt from the Dec. 5th, 1941 Wochenschau. The speaker announces the sinking of the Ark Royal while some (British) footage of the Ark Royal (or is that the Illustrious?) is rolling over the screen. Finally some footage of desert-painted Stukas over North Africa.
Of course the usual propaganda caveats apply - i.e. these clips are not likely to convey a true image of the war. But they're interesting regardless.
First up is an April 1941 Wochenschau of the German invasion of Greece. Some fairly stock pictures of artilley firing into the distance, but also some nice footage from Stuka bombers attacking the Metaxas Line and some scenes showing German troops negotiating the difficult terrain of Greece.
Very analogous to the above is this 1941 Wochenschau of the German occupation of Yugoslavia. Precious little shooting in this film, but nice footage of German engineers crossing a river by various means, the handing over of impromptu police authority to Volkssdeutsche, destroyed infrastructure and some nice film of a horse supply column - not too often you see those on newsreels.
For contrast as much as for content, here is a much more sedately paced Italian Regia Aeronautica 1942 film. I do not understand the voiceover, but the first scene seemingly depicts a sea rescue action by RA hydroplanes while the final scene shows SM79s en route to their target.
Finally, here is a brief excerpt from the Dec. 5th, 1941 Wochenschau. The speaker announces the sinking of the Ark Royal while some (British) footage of the Ark Royal (or is that the Illustrious?) is rolling over the screen. Finally some footage of desert-painted Stukas over North Africa.
Of course the usual propaganda caveats apply - i.e. these clips are not likely to convey a true image of the war. But they're interesting regardless.
This movie shows at first the action of RA hydroplanes to protect an italian convoy against two enemy bombers (one is shot down). Back to the base, an english aircraft launched by an aircraft carrier is shot down by the a.a. Next images, the bombs ready to be loaded on RA bombers and follows a mission on Baleari islands against a two battleships british convoy: one of the two ships is hit at twilight and the SM79s must return to their base in the dark (final scene).Jon G. wrote:I've added a few more film clips from YouTube to this thread:
For contrast as much as for content, here is a much more sedately paced Italian Regia Aeronautica 1942 film. I do not understand the voiceover, but the first scene seemingly depicts a sea rescue action by RA hydroplanes while the final scene shows SM79s en route to their target.
Regards
Oasis
Just to keep the aerial angle on things, here are a few more YouTube clips.
Me-323 flying to Tunisia. Good speak and nice pictures of the Gigants flying on the Tunisian route.
Ju-52s, purportedly shot down while flying on the Tunisian route by USAAF P-40s.
Hurricane gun camera footage of Ju-52s shot down over Malta according to the comment on Youtube. I can't tell if it really is Malta you can see below. A brief, but dramatic clip - one Ju-52 crewman manages to bail out while another Ju-52 breaks up completely from the Hurricane's fire.
Luftwaffe in Sicily Watch Kesselring's boot stuck in the mud. Also some scenes from a sea rescue operation by a Dornier hydroplane. The Ace of Spades insignia visible on the Bf-109s denote JG 53 aircraft as far as I can tell. I think this clip is from 1942 although I am not sure. I can't really tell if the Bf-109s in the clip are F or G types; if they're G types that would place the clip in 1943. Also gun camera footage of first a Hurricane (I think) and then a Spitfire shot down by a Bf-109.
Me-323 flying to Tunisia. Good speak and nice pictures of the Gigants flying on the Tunisian route.
Ju-52s, purportedly shot down while flying on the Tunisian route by USAAF P-40s.
Hurricane gun camera footage of Ju-52s shot down over Malta according to the comment on Youtube. I can't tell if it really is Malta you can see below. A brief, but dramatic clip - one Ju-52 crewman manages to bail out while another Ju-52 breaks up completely from the Hurricane's fire.
Luftwaffe in Sicily Watch Kesselring's boot stuck in the mud. Also some scenes from a sea rescue operation by a Dornier hydroplane. The Ace of Spades insignia visible on the Bf-109s denote JG 53 aircraft as far as I can tell. I think this clip is from 1942 although I am not sure. I can't really tell if the Bf-109s in the clip are F or G types; if they're G types that would place the clip in 1943. Also gun camera footage of first a Hurricane (I think) and then a Spitfire shot down by a Bf-109.
