Royal Air Force Film Production Unit
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Royal Air Force Film Production Unit (typically abbreviated to the acronym RAFFPU) was a unit of the British
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
that produced propaganda films depicting RAF personnel and aircraft both on the ground and in aerial action during
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
from 1941 to 1945.


History

The RAFFPU was formed in 1941 after it was recognised that captured film footage was being processed by civilian companies before it could be securely classified. Additionally, many civilian cameramen were not able to be taken on bombing raids, so service personnel were trained to be able to perform these tasks. The RAFFPU had two main tasks; to document the RAF's work and to produce propaganda films involving the Royal Air Force. One of its early successful propaganda films was Target for Tonight. The aim of the film was to show the public how
Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...
operated, especially with a varied crew drawn from
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,
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and
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. The film followed a
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
crew (F for Freddie) bombing railway infrastructure over
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. The film was a big success with the British public and its investment of £6,000 was regained 12 times over as it took £73,000 at the cinemas. The film's director, Harry Watt, later regretted that most of the allied aircrew who starred in the film, did not survive the war. The RAFFPU mainly worked at Pinewood studios which is where Richard Attenborough was seconded. He starred in one of their films, ''Journey Together'', which was directed by Flight lieutenant John Boulting. After the war, Attenborough went on to be directed by Boulting in the film '' Brighton Rock'' because of his connection with the RAFFPU. Personnel from the film unit were present on many notable raids, such as Operation Jericho, the Amiens prison raid, which was flown to free members of the
French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
under threat of execution. The director,
Lewis Gilbert Lewis Gilbert (6 March 1920 – 23 February 2018) was an English film director, producer and screenwriter who directed more than 40 films during six decades; among them such varied titles as '' Reach for the Sky'' (1956), '' Sink the Bismarck! ...
, also served in the unit during the Second World War. The unit had access to Beaufort, Anson, Hudson, Havoc and Auster aircraft based at
RAF Benson Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) List of Royal Air Force stations, station located at Benson, Oxfordshire, Benson, near Wallingford, Oxfordshire, Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line st ...
and RAF Langley. Whilst production stopped in 1945, the unit was officially stood down at RAF Stanmore Park in March 1947 when it became the ''Film Production Unit Library''.


Personnel

FPU personnel included early commander Flight Lieutenant John Boulting as well as later director
Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, film director, and Film producer, producer. Attenborough was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Acade ...
who flew camera missions over Europe. Noted dramatist
Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...
, then a
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
Flight Lieutenant, was posted in 1943 to the RAF Film Production Unit to work on '' The Way to the Stars'' and '' Journey Together''.


Films

These were some of the films produced by the RAFFPU. * '' Target for Tonight'' (1941) * ''Mosquito Day Raid'' (1942) * '' Fly Away Peter'' (1942) * '' Malta GC'' (1943) * '' Desert Victory'' (1943) * ''Operational Height'' (1943) * ''Now it Can be Told'' (1944) * ''The Big Pack'' (1944) * ''The Nine Hundred'' (1945) * ''RAAF over Europe'' (1945) * '' Journey Together'' (1945) * ''Air Plan'' (1945)


See also

*
Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...


References

{{reflist


Further reading


"The Royal Air Force film production unit, 1941–45"
in Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television Volume 17, Issue 2, 1997


External links


RAFFPU at IMDB

"Welfare with its Finger Out" 1944


Royal Air Force units History of the Royal Air Force during World War II World War II propaganda