This WWII film shows a demonstration of airborne aviation engineers presented in 1943 at Westover, Massachusetts. The airborne aviation engineers — in this case the 879th Airborne Engineer Aviation Battalion — were created to meet the need for an air transportable unit capable of rapid repair or construction of airfields. Their equipment was limited in size by the load capacities and door dimensions of the C-47 plane (5000 pounds, 841/2 inches wide) or WACO CG-4A glider (3750 pounds, 70 inches wide by 60 inches high). As a result, the equipment was very light – the Clark dozer only had a 23 horsepower engine, the towed scraper had a 11/2 cubic yard capacity, and the dump trailer held 1/2 ton. All the equipment could be loaded without disassembly into C-47s or gliders.
The 879th Airborne Engineer Aviation Battalion was activated on 1 March 1943 at Westover Field. After training there and at Laurinburg-Maxton AAB, NC, they arrived at Piaradoba (near Calcutta), India, on 23 February 1944. They started establishing the battalion headquarters, company orderly and supply rooms, and barracks before accepting missions.
The film shows various activities of the unit in training, including loading of a C-47 with construction equipment including a foldable grader. A WACO type glider is also seen. A concrete runway is demolished with explosives and then rebuilt as part of the exercise.
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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 and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
