This well shot 16mm home movie from the late 1940s or early 1950s shows a visit to South Africa and in particular, a voyage at sea with a South African whaling vessel. The targets are most likely fin whales, also called the finback whale, razorback, or common rorqual. The vessel that this film was shot on is not known, but a sister ship is seen at roughly 27:00 in the film, the UNI-2. This ship was likely owned by the Union Whaling Company of South Africa during this timeframe. It was built by AG Wesser, Germany, and began service in 1937 as a floating factory for Unitas Deutsche Walfang GmbH, Hamburg. It had two whaling seasons before the outbreak of WWII, when it was seized by Allies at Flensburg. In 1945 it was renamed the “Empire Victory” and used as whaling factory under British flag. In 1950 it was sold to Union Whaling Co, South Africa, and renamed Abraham Larsen. It was scrapped in 1987.
The film begins with shots of a gorgeous sunset before showing fin whales at sea (2:57). At 4:16, various fishing vessels are seen at an unknown port. At 4:57, a steam engine is seen at a whale processing facility, where whale carcasses are being processed. The whale fishing fleet is seen at 5:15, and more scenes of processing of the fin back whales. The carcasses are moved with chains, pulled by the steam locomotive (this is clearly seen at about 9:40). At 10:52, there are more scenes at sea including photography of the harpoon aboard a whaler (11:09). The crew is shown as well as the ship’s wheel at 13 minutes, and there are shots of the crew operating the vessel at sea. At 15:21, the lookout spots a whale and points in the direction of the sighting. At 16:50 the harpoon is manned and prepared for firing. The lookout comes down at 17:15. At 19:33, a whale is harpooned and dives under the vessel (these shots are from the lookout position or mast). Blood fills the water as the creature dies. At 20:13 the harpoon is seen being secured. At 20:35, it is prepared for another round. At 22:00, the charges used to fire the harpoon are shown being prepared. At 23:00, the whale carcass is shown in the sea against the hull of the ship as the homeward journey begins. At 27:00, a vessel marked UNI-2 is seen at sea.
The practice of whaling in South Africa gained momentum at the start of the 19th century and ended in 1975. By the mid-1960s, South Africa had depleted their population of fin whales, and subsequently those of sperm and sei whales, and had to resort to hunting the small and less-profitable minke whale. Minke whales continued to be caught and brought to the Durban whaling station from 1968 until 1975. South Africa comprehensively banned whaling in 1979.
The fin whale is the second-largest animal after the blue whale. The largest reportedly grow to 27.3 m (89.6 ft) long[8] with a maximum confirmed length of 25.9 m (85 ft),[9] a maximum recorded weight of nearly 74 tonnes (73 long tons; 82 short tons),[10] and a maximum estimated weight of around 120 tonnes (132.5 tons). American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews called the fin whale “the greyhound of the sea… for its beautiful, slender body is built like a racing yacht and the animal can surpass the speed of the fastest ocean steamship.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
