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Extracts from the film

"C 0 A S T A L
C 0 M M A N D"

with a short commentary





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On a wall of the Control Room in Coastal Command
Headquarters is a huge chart on which are marked
the convoys on the high seas, the patrols that
are being flown by Coastal Command aircraft and
the "strikes”, as attacks on the enemy are called.
On the chart Bergen is marked with a question mark.
A plane of Coastal Command has reported the pre-
sence there of a large Nazi warship, but has not
been able definitely to identify it.Patrols are kept up all day, but the following
morning it is found that the warship has put to
sea under cover of darkness. A "Catalina” flying
boat, built in America, takes off to search for
the Nazi ship, which is believed to be heading for
the Atlantic to attack shipping travelling between
U.S.A. and the British Isles.' The "Catalina" sights the ship and identifies it
as a large battleship. Immediately the wireless
operator of the flying boat sends this information
to Coastal Command Headquarters. The "Catalina"
continues to shadow the battleship.The Controller at Coastal Command H.Q. receives
the news of the sighting of the battleship at

seaAir Chief Marshal Sir Philip Joubert, Commander-
in-Chief, Coastal Command, is informed and goes at
once to the room of the Naval Liaison Officer,
where a member of the staff phones the Admiralty
and asks what action they are taking and what ac-
tion they would like from Coastal Command. The
answer is: "Attack the battleship and slow her down
so that our forces can catch her."	w m  _
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The Coramander-in-Chief then goes to the room of the
Controller and looks carefully at the chart and
boards in the Control Room which show him the exact
position of all aircraft under his command.His mind made,up, the Commander-in-Chief gives his

instructions. '‘Beaufort” torpedo bombfers from

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Iceland are to attack the battleship, to be followed
by a bombing attack by "Hudsons” from the same base.Meanwhile, a relief must be arranged for the
"Catalina" that is shadowing the battleship. At
Perry Bay, a Coastal Command base, the captain of
a "Sunderland" flying boat is summoned to the Con-
trol Room and given his instructions.Accompanied by his navigator, a launch carries
him out to his craft, on which the rest of the
crew are already waiting.The "Sunderland" takes off and heads out across the
Atlantic to relieve the "Catalina".In Iceland, the "Beauforts" are ready to take off,
each plane carrying a torpedo.

-siTheir engines roar into life and the planes go
streaking across the airfield and set course for
their target, the Nazi raider.The "Hudsons" which are to follow have to change
their bombs as the armour-piercing type are essen-

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tial for an attack on a warship.With speed and precision, the armour-piercing bombs
are loaded into the '’Hudsons’” racks.Then they too take off and head out to seaHHHPar out at sea, the "Beaufort” torpedo bombers
break formation while their observers scan the sea
for the Nazi raider.Soon they sight the battleship, and prepare to
attack.One after another they swoop down to the
water and, peppered by the fire from the guns
of the battleship,, fly in and release the tor-

pedoes.One torpedo strikes home on the stern of the battle-
ship and a great fountain of smoke and water shoots
into the air.As the "Beauforts" turn for home, the "Hudsons"
come in to the attack.v£y •’







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One after another they fly into the thick of the
anti-aircraft fire from the crippled German battle-
ship and drop their load of bombs.A direct hit on the Nazi

raider envelops the ship

in smokeDodging the A.A. fire, the "Sunderland" still

*	I

shadows the battleship.While members of her crew watch the attacksThe wireless operator receives instructions that
the "Sunderland” is to go in close and get a de-
tailed report of the damage to the battleship.11	f: m- fig	
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m i  jk mil	Using cloud for cover, the pilot sets his course
so that the "Sunderland" will come out right over
the top of the ship, thus shortening the time during
which it will be under fire.The flying boat comes out of the cloud, and there
below is the crippled battleship.yj' ,	•;

' ' ' ’The observert down' in the bomb aimer's compart-
ment f lies flat so that he can look down on the
battleship and report on the damage done.I

A relief "Sunderland" appears, the first "Sunderland"
hands over, and the pilot sets course for home.rBack at Headquarters the Controller tells the
Naval Liaison Officer that the Nazi raider has been
caught and sunk by the Navy.While at Perry Bay the crew of the first "Sunder-
land" also hear the news of the end of the opera-
tion in which they played so important a part.Mm®

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