''Squadron 992'' is a 23-minute 1940 British

propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...

produced by the General Post Office

GPO Film Unit The GPO Film Unit was a subdivision of the UK General Post Office. The unit was established in 1933, taking on responsibilities of the Empire Marketing Board Film Unit. Headed by John Grierson, it was set up to produce sponsored documentary films ...

of the British Ministry of Information and re-distributed by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

(NFB) as part of their wartime ''

Canada Carries On ''Canada Carries On'' (French: ''En avant Canada'') was a series of short films by the National Film Board of Canada which ran from 1940 to 1959. The series was initially created as morale-boosting propaganda films during the Second World War. Wit ...

'' series. The film was directed by

Harry Watt Harry Watt (18 October 19062 April 1987) was a Scottish documentary and feature film director, who began his career working for John Grierson and Robert Flaherty. His 1959 film ''The Siege of Pinchgut'' was entered into the 9th Berlin Inter ...

and produced by

Alberto Cavalcanti Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti (February 6, 1897 – August 23, 1982) was a Brazilian-born film director and film producer, producer. He was often credited under the single name "Cavalcanti". Early life Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, ...

. ''Squadron 992'' describes the training and operations in 1940 of No. 992 (Barrage Balloon) Squadron RAF, a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF)

barrage balloon A barrage balloon is a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe collision risk to aircraft, making the attacker's approach more difficult. Early barra ...

unit stationed in the United Kingdom. The film's French version title was ''Escadrille 992''.

Synopsis

By 1940, in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 40,000 RAF personnel are in the

RAF Balloon Command Balloon Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling all the United Kingdom-based barrage balloon units during the Second World War. History Prior to the establishment of Balloon Command, a balloon group was b ...

, created to protect urban centres and key targets such as industrial areas, ports and harbours. Balloons were intended to defend against

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

s attacking from heights up to 5,000 feet (1,500 m). The balloons forced the bombers to fly higher and into the range of concentrated

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

fire. A third of the balloon barrage were deployed over the London area. Specialized training was involved in learning about riggings, how to secure the rope ties, inflation and maintenance of the balloons that includes patching the outer skin when tears or leaks are detected. The entire Squadron 992 also has to be mobile and able to set up and maintain the balloons, using a converted

Crossley Crossley, based in Manchester, United Kingdom, was a pioneering company in the production of internal combustion engines. Since 1988 it has been part of the Rolls-Royce Power Engineering group. More than 100,000 Crossley oil and gas engines ...

lorry A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

that not only carries the balloon but has the winch equipment to raise it to height. In 1939, the Luftwaffe attack on the

Forth Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...

in Scotland ended with

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

s from No. 603 RAF "City of Edinburgh" Squadron intercepting the raiders. During the low-level attack, the Spitfires shot down the first

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

aircraft downed over Britain in the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. Although the enemy raid was countered, Squadron 992 was rushed to the north to protect the coasts, estuaries and harbours in Scotland. Within a day, the 50 lorries from the squadron immediately created a barrage balloon area near the strategic Forth Bridge, setting up a headquarters and operations centre, designating varied sites for balloons to be located (including in farmer's yards) and establishing a supply depot to maintain the balloons.

Cast

* Jock Harrison as Himself * Tommy Evans as Himself * Jim Gilder as Himself

Production

The General Post Office Film Unit (United Kingdom) was originally set up to make

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

informational films publicizing the work of the Post Office, but by the late 1930s, had widened their scope to include documentaries about other aspects of life in Great Britain. After the outbreak of war in 1939, the GPO Film Unit concentrated on making

s about various aspects of the war effort, of which ''Squadron 992'' was one of the earliest productions. A request from the squadron commander to make a film publicising the role of his squadron, precipitated the production. ''Squadron 992'' incorporated scenes of the training of the balloon squadron as it was being formed then recreates an incident involving a Luftwaffe attack on the Forth Bridge on 16 October 1939. When acquired by the National Film Board of Canada, ''Squadron 992'' was released as part of the ''Canada Carries On'' series of morale-boosting

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s.Morris, Peter
"Film Reference Library: Canada Carries On."
''Canadian Film Encyclopedia''. Retrieved: 19 March 2016. The film series was made in cooperation with the Director of Public Information, Herbert Lash."Recognize leadership of Winnipeg women."
'The Winnipeg Tribune'', 18 April 1941. Retrieved: 19 March 2016.

Reception

As one of the earliest GPO Film Unit's wartime productions, ''Squadron 992'' was previewed for the French Minister of Information in early April 1940, before being issued as a theatrical release in Great Britain. In a contemporary review in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' by Basil Wright, he noted that the documentary was very effective and, "... there are many points which all film-goers will recognise with that special delight which real screen mastery always brings."Wright, Basil
"The Cinema: 'Squadron 992' —At the Regal and London."
''The Spectator'', 13 June 1940. Retrieved: 19 March 2016. As part of the ''Canada Carries On'' series, ''Squadron 992'' was produced in 35 mm for the theatrical market. Each film was shown over a six-month period as part of the shorts or newsreel segments in approximately 800 theatres across Canada. The NFB had an arrangement with

Famous Players theatres Famous Players Limited Partnership, DBA Famous Players, is a Canadian-based subsidiary of Cineplex Entertainment. As an independent company, it existed as a film exhibitor and cable television service provider. Famous Players operated numerous ...

to ensure that Canadians from coast-to-coast could see them, with further distribution by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

.Ellis and McLane 2005, p. 122. After the six-month theatrical tour ended, individual films were made available on 16 mm to schools, libraries, churches and factories, extending the life of these films for another year or two. They were also made available to film libraries operated by university and provincial authorities. A total of 199 films were produced before the series was canceled in 1959.Ohayon, Albert
"Propaganda cinema at the NFB".
''National Film Board of Canada'', 13 July 2009. Retrieved: 19 March 2016. ''Squadron 992'' was later released in the BFI DVD compilation, ''If War Should Come: The GPO Film Unit Collection, Volume Three'' (2009).

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Ellis, Jack C. and Betsy A. McLane. ''New History of Documentary Film''. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. . * Khouri, Malek. ''Filming Politics: Communism and the Portrayal of the Working Class at the National Film Board of Canada, 1939-46.'' Calgary, Alberta, Canada: University of Calgary Press, 2007. . * Lerner, Loren. ''Canadian Film and Video: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997. .

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Squadron 992 English-language Canadian films Battle of Britain films British black-and-white films British short documentary films British World War II propaganda shorts British aviation films Films directed by Harry Watt Canadian World War II propaganda shorts Canadian aviation films Canadian black-and-white films National Film Board of Canada documentaries Canadian short documentary films 1940 documentary films Black-and-white documentary films Crown Film Unit films Documentary films about ballooning Canada Carries On Quebec films Columbia Pictures short films 1940 short films 1940s short documentary films 1940s Canadian films