Patrouille sur l’Atlantique / Atlantic Patrol is a 1940 propaganda film about the Atlantic convoy duty of the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War, filmed by the Canadian National Film Office, directed by Stuart Legg, and narrated by Jacques Desbaillets. The film shows the determination of Canadians to help the Allies win the war, displays some of the materiel and ships involved in the convoy duty, notably Tribal and H-class destroyers, Hog-Islander class merchant ships and others, as well as some antisubmarine tactics. It ends commending the cooperation in the British Commonwealth of Nations within the Allies war effort. The film is part of the Canada Carries On series of short films.

0:10 Card: Onwards, Canada !

0:52 A calm sea. Narrator: The Atlantic – the great road to the New World, for men, materiel and supplies !

0:55-1:00 Convoy of 4 Tribal-class destroyers.

1:00-1:10 HMS Mashona, a Tribal-class destroyer

1:10-1:15 A merchant ship

1:16-1:18 A British coast guard boat, with a barrage balloon, merchant ships, including one which looks like a Hog Islander-class, arriving in the background

1:18-1:33 Barrage balloons in the skies over the ships at a port. Ships lying off the coast.1:32 Troopships – converted sea liners – including a 4-funneller, in the background – either RMS Aquitania, or RMS Windsor Castle, or RMS Arundel Castle (as those are the only three 4-funnelled ships which had service during WW2)

1:33 Steel mill

1 42 metalworking factory and at 1:46 munitions factory

1:47 Ship’s hold being filled with something and a man in a gas mask covers it with a tarp. Narrator: “3000 miles from there the Canadian industry is working for the Allies!”

1:49 Closer footage of the loading pipe; loading a truck onto a ship.

1:55 dockworkers / longshoremen

1:59 – 2:15 Narrator: “However there are 3000 miles of ocean to go through to its destination and under its surface lurks a hidden danger – a sudden torpedo can send men and their valuable cargo to the bottom of the sea”

2:15-2:38 The cargo ships are assembled in groups of 20 to 30 at a port to constitute a convoy to better protect them from attacks, their safety being the responsibility of the Royal Canadian Navy

2:38-2:53 Navy officers at the RCN HQ – Commodore Howard Reid commander of the East Coast defenses, is planning the itinerary of the convoys and gives the secret order to depart

2:53-3:10 The destroyers, which protect the convoys, are agile and speedy vessels, crewed by about a hundred Canadian seamen each.

3:11-3:31 Sailor on watch, scrutinizing the sea for signs of danger

3:16-3:22 Another Tribal-class destroyer

3:32-3:46 Antisubmarine warfare and observation Supermarine Stranraer flying boats of the Royal Canadian Air Force, which accompany every convoy.

3:47-4:02 The watch officers on the outside bridge, shots towards the merchant convoy. 4:03 Shot of the bridge. The destroyers zigzag.

4:06-4:19 Merchant ships of the convoy, including RMS Duchess of Richmond or possibly SS Empress of France (?) with a funnel removed ?

4:20 CO :Port 25 Helmsman : Port 25, Sir .

4:35-5:12 Shot of the sea and the decks of the destroyer. Crew sleeping beside their cannon, as to be ready to defend from an attack . Crewmen in oilskins and cowls talking, reading, smoking.

5:13 An H-class destroyer

5:27 Many a trip will happen without incident, but one day – Stranraer flying boat and the watch have spotted an enemy.

5:28 General alarm

5 :57 Torpedo warhead. Likely an early variant of the 19 inch lightweight torpedo.

5:57-6:07 Various command posts coordinating their firing time and distances

6:12 The Commanding Officer gives order to open fire

6:15-6 :40 Salvo firing, by bell signal, upon the spotted submarine

6:40-6:52 The CO giving the order for flank speed. Crew opening up the steam valves for maximum speed, which attains 35 knots or 65 km/h or in excess of 40 mph.

6:52 – 7:00 Crew preparing the depth charges

7:08-7:27 The destroyers maneuver to surround and confuse the enemy

7:27-7:59 Firing depth charges.

8:05-8:40 An R-class British battleship.

8:23 Main guns Narr:” Thus, protected by the Canadian Navy, another convoy successfully goes to the open seas, where it’s welcomed by the giant British battleships patrolling the sea. Their 15-inch cannons swipe the sea and condemn any and all enemy corsairs to the same fate which Admiral Graf Spree suffered …”

9:04-9:43 Shots of the ship and the crew mess hall.

9:43-end of the video Destroyer at sea, RCN flag waving. Narr:” Today, tomorrow, until victory, our Canadian men will patrol the seas under the flag which protects us in all times. “

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