Look at Life Vol 2 Military Flight Deck 1960

[@chrischappell9824]

Is it me, but when I watch these short films England was a positive place to be, looking forward to the future and proud to be an industrial leader.......what happened, where did it all go wrong?

[@allstardaddy_0170]

1776

[@PleasantvilleLad]

Perhaps you mean "Britain" ..?

[@chrischappell9824]

@@PleasantvilleLad it's a very good point you make sir.

[@philippevalois381]

I ask me every day the same question for France...

[@theflash9613]

British Leyland.

[@mikeybrant5595]

Of the 7 decades i have lived the 60,s were without doubt the best.

[@lablackzed]

100% agreed today's world is a very stressful place I will be happy when I leave it.

[@stugill4513]

great film my dad was on the hermes when this was filmed , i was looking for him aqll the way threw the film

[@adriansams6066]

Hi Stu, Is your dad Terry Gill by any chance?. If it is then my dad Rodney Sams remembers him. My dad was also on the Hermes too, He was an armourer in the Fleet Air Arm . I think it may have been 846 sq. Anyway he served from 1957-69 and he says that other than my mum the Hermes was the only other woman in his life. Regards Adrian Sams

[@Farweasel]

@@adriansams6066 Small world innit?

[@adriansams6066]

@@Farweasel It certainly is Farweasel.

[@turquoisecat761]

*through

[@stugill4513]

@@turquoisecat761 sorry spelling police

[@richardprice7763]

Great to see Hermes as she was originally designed for.

[@BerylDavies-mw5ft]

I was on this flight deck at time of film as mechanic for 804 squadren happy days

[@jimramsey8887]

I was impressed and proud during this era but now we are on a slippery slope.

[@m.streicher8286]

The Sea Vixen is such a good looking plane damn

[@papagee100]

Pity it was a bit of a "death trap"

[@DrTWG]

Fantastic . It's great that we have these digitised films . I love the music at the start.

[@michaeloconnell532]

I remember seeing Hermes in Portsmouth Harbour just after her return from the Falklands in 1982. That was very exciting!

[@duartesimoes508]

I remember seeing the brand new HMS Invincible in Lisbon in 1980 and took a few pictures. Little did we all knew that she would go to war two years later. I visited the HMS Bulwark and the Clemenceau too, beautiful ships.

[@ianmangham4570]

I there was

[@michaeloconnell532]

@Cardinal Sin Yes but ships are usually referred to as 'she' whatever the name is. I thought everyone knew that.

[@michaeloconnell532]

@Cardinal Sin Wallow in ignorance if you will.

[@number8485]

Very engaging and great to see how advanced the RN Fleet Air Arm was all that time ago.I once met a pilot on a skiing holiday and it was fascinating to get some understanding of the necessary skilled precision for these operations.

[@allgood6760]

Awesome...HMS Eagle came to NZ in the early 70's and I been interested ever since in carrier aviation.. Thanks for this 👍🇳🇿

[@robertricketts5467]

I grew up in Bermuda in the 60's and 70's and 'Look at Life' were one of the British 'filler' programmes in the gaps in American CBS or ABC programmes.They're where I got my love for aviation,parachuting and shipping.

[@Cr4cKf0x]

Look at those Scimitars and Sea Vixens. Amazing.

[@duartesimoes508]

Pilots did like the Scimitar. But it was a dangerous, unforgiving aircraft, no question about it. Have you seen "Thunders & Lightnings" site?

[@Farweasel]

In its way the humble Gannet was the cleverest of the lot. A twin, contraroatating turboprop fueld by the ship's bunker Oil. That is *really* amazing. Slight digression - The Scimitars look like they borrowed a lot of their configuration from Hawker Hunters.

[@papagee100]

Both types had horrendous safety records

[@sss-og1yl]

@@Farweasel "fueld by the ship's bunker Oil" it's something like a revolution in aviation history. Gannet's Mambas did work on the same fuel that any other aircraft of the airgroup "Scimitars look like they borrowed a lot of their configuration from Hawker Hunters" somewhere I've seen such sentence as: "Only British could fit TWO powerful engines into Hunter-size aircraft and obtain SUBSONIC plane" :)))

[@charishraju]

Hermes was in service with the Royal Navy from 1959 until 1984, and she served as the flagship of the British forces during the 1982 Falklands War. After being sold to India in 1986 after a major refit, the vessel was recommissioned and remained in service with the Indian Navy as the INS Viraat until 2017. Viraat means Giant in the Sanskrit Language

[@stephenchappell7512]

I guess it was a giant back then however its been eclipsed since India brought the former Soviet ship and built one of its own

[@Bruce-1956]

As a child in the '60s, I remember seeing the Fleet, including carriers , going up and down the Forth to Rosyth.

[@alimohammedi3674]

This show is very good ..this channel the best ..i hope to go on..greating

[@adriansams6066]

At 2:35 my dad was saying he thinks the guy with the flags and the red beard had his beard singed pretty badly when a Sea Vixen blew up on the deck.. Brave men in those days... They had a fair few close shaves apparently and if it wasn't for the small tractor units on the deck I wouldn't be here due to another plane crash landing. They lost a few pilots during my dad's time on the Hermes. I have some film slides of the aftermarth of one of the Sea Vixen fires.

[@papagee100]

Sea Vixens! Very Dangerous RN lost around 38% of them in accidents. Large amount were fatal for the air crew too

[@sss-og1yl]

hello Adrian. "I have some film slides of the aftermarth of one of the Sea Vixen fires" Can we dicuss possible getting some of your photo or other materials concerning British carriers and its aircraft?

[@CyrusInIndia]

Currently this ship if it's the HMS Hermes is in a half broken state as of April 2021. She was decommissioned by the Indian Navy in 2017 after 30 glorious year's of service as INS Viraat.

[@mclare9817]

I remember going to a 'Plymouth Navy Day' as a kid in the early 70s.... and walked HMS Hermes. I had no idea ship could be that big!😀😀

[@stephenchappell7512]

Thought Hermes was a Pompey based ship Plymouth being home to the larger Fleet Carriers Eagle and Ark Royal

[@stevenbevis9290]

@@stephenchappell7512Ark was Devonport based because Pompey didnt have big enough dry dock but still visited pompey sometimes as in 1966 4 navy open days . All uk warships would have gone to D'port at times to use degaussing range & other reasons .

[@stephenchappell7512]

@@stevenbevis9290 Gotha 👍

[@andrewrobertson3952]

The sound of the Scimitar engines 😍never heard anything like it!

[@GEA_RuthlessKillaz35]

I was born in 2003 so seeing these old videos/photos of the Royal Navy makes me happy to see that i can see what the Royal Navy was like way before I was born. 😌

[@alanshepherd4304]

As a young lad I went to a Royal Navy day and went aboard the mighty HMS Victorious. I was so excited I wouldn't shut up talking about it for weeks!!😂😂😷

[@Biggles2498]

Alan Shepherd : I found Royal Navy Days exciting too and my Grandfather served on HMS Chrysanthemum now I believed permanently moored in The River Thames. I always found visits to RAF Stations most depressing as The Royal Navy venues eg ships and HMS Bases always had a certain "sparkle" about them !

[@alanshepherd4304]

@@Biggles2498 my brother in law was in the RAF, an air frame engineer, worked on Lightnings, Jaguars, Nimrod's and Tornados so visited bases here in the UK and Germany, enjoyed that too. Great bunch of lads, worked hard and played hard. Great memories 🙂🙂

[@lestermay5878]

@@Biggles2498 HMS Chrysanthemum was near Blackfriars Bridge - scrapped 1988.

[@Thunderer0872]

Some of that was on Victorious as well as Hermes note the V on the tails and the round down on one of the ships.

[@alastairnicoll1216]

Many memories - I served on HMS Hermes in the mid 1970’s. Happy days...

[@markcooke5270]

Thank you for your service 🇬🇧

[@angusmcangus7914]

In the days when we still had a navy.

[@duncancallum]

AYE.

[@kristov29]

You chaps are making a comeback. Your two new carriers may not be all that they could have been, but those two ships show that Britain has a long term have a commitment to being a leading player in world affairs. Every modern navy is based on the British example. Much respect from across the pond.

[@richardsanders5287]

Loved "Sea Vixen"..😘

[@Biggles2498]

Their Cockpits were very jumbled and very difficult where every instrument was as they were obviously analogue displays but my(CPO) Dad's friend was a Fleet Arm Pilot(Sub.Lt)who used to let me start the engines up (on dry land HMS Condor Arbroath) it wouldn't be allowed now though far less then ! Great fun Old Boy) those were the days when 1/2 day seemed like 10 minutes of excitement.

[@pit_stop77]

Scary to think, all those young men in that film are in their 80's and 90's now 😳

[@mackan-kf4tg]

Filmed in 1960, the youngest members of the ships company would’ve been 16, so born 1944, making them 77 this year (2021). Hopefully there’s still a good few of them around, spinning their dits!!😀I wonder who that young Bunting at 7:50 is? Standing with his hands in his pockets, goofing at the flight deck!!😂👍🏻⚓️⚓️

[@Super8Rescue]

🧐 I love this 'Look at Life' Thanks for posting it.

[@lestermay5878]

Brilliant! Carrier aviation - the most exacting flying in the world. BZ the Fleet Air Arm.

[@ZLAKOZILLA]

love the color,shots and sound

[@JohnAsmith-rw6uo]

They lose the tow cable into the sea every time they launch from the catapult?

[@g111g]

Wow, I didn't know about those rollers at 2:30 to centre aircraft for the catapult. Did the US or French take on this idea?

[@syorukel]

They did not use rollers at US and French carriers.

[@sss-og1yl]

it was British idea, but none other Navy used it

[@flybobbie1449]

Friends brother served carriers, which one, not sure, will have to show this film. Tells me a few tales his brother told him like the Gannet that took off a wing folded, crew rescued. Few weeks later same again , crew lost. His brother a radio tech. had many flights on all the navy types at that time.

[@Farweasel]

'Should have bought the Vought' (F8 Crusader) Ludicrous thrust to weight ratio & a good lifting body. One USN lad got to circa 5,000 above the Med (might have been the Bay of Naples?) and couldn't work out why it was so heavy on the stick and impossible to trim. *Then* the Penny (well I suppose in his case the Dime) dropped. Astonishing. But its very well documented.

[@stevenbevis9290]

@@Farweasel landing gear still down ?

[@Farweasel]

@@stevenbevis9290 Give that man a Cocconut - He got it in one 👍

[@sss-og1yl]

brilliant short film and tears-squeezing look back to epoch when Hermes was CATOBAR 2 questions for experts: - what carrier appears ahead of Hermes? - some planes (Scimitars) have distinct V on tail. Does it means these shots were made at Victorious or at that days some R38-based planes were detached to R12???

[@sss-og1yl]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3PbXodrmt12odk this is LARGE carrier with LONG island. So not Centaur/Albion/Bulwark anyway. It has NO Type 984 so not Vic. Either Eagle or Ark but which one?

[@sebastieneude8199]

Skyraider at 9.14 ?

[@mh53j]

Good catch!

[@werewolf5970]

Airfix 1/600 HMS Victorious. Scimitars, Sea Vixens and Skyraiders...

[@sss-og1yl]

exactly. They flew as Gannet's predecessors up until 1959-60. from Hermes sister ships Albion and Centaur

[@johnappleby405]

Always an impressive sight!

[@phillipecook3227]

Now that was worth watching. 60 + years ago it says but to this lay person the images seem almost ultra modern. Remarkable to think the UK was manufacturing jet fighter aircraft then (and specialist ones for the Navy at that). I wonder whatever happened to Lieutenant JL Williams?

[@stevetheduck1425]

Britain was building jet aircraft in 1943; the Gloster 'squirt' or 'pioneer', in 1944 the Gloster Meteor and the DeHavilland Vampire.

[@lestermay5878]

My guess is that he is the four-stripe Captain in my 2005 edition of The Navy List of Retired Officers - an air engineer officer, seniority 30 Jun 1980 (likely a test pilot, therefore). John Lawrence Williams was born around 1932, I'd wager.

[@hansjurgenochsenfahrt6176]

Military had culture at this time - look the officer young pilots at the bar before dinner.

[@frostyfrost4094]

Those Scimitars were horrible.... They would scare me as a nipper at the top of the garden, and would run inside as they came into land at Wisley.

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

Seemed that the Scimitar & the Sea-Vixen were RN disappointments of the time. Fortunately the Buccaneer was an outstanding success !

[@tonywilson6032]

We used to call the scimitars “flying fuel leaks”

[@Farweasel]

@@Charlesputnam-bn9zy Not sure the Bucc was the *toughest* aeroplane ever built. But I can't think of any that were tougher.

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

@@Farweasel If asked to pick the Royal Navy's equivalent of the US Navy's Phantom for attack plane, I'll pick the Buccaneer.

[@sss-og1yl]

@@Charlesputnam-bn9zy "equivalent of the US Navy's Phantom for attack plane, I'll pick the Buccaneer" Phantom was multi-role (so you can have airgroup totally "phantomised" in sense of combat a/c) while Bucc may did well only one role

[@elrjames7799]

Six minutes in the narrator acknowledges it as a "pocket carrier".

[@mentalizatelo]

Indeed it was, British budget and efficiency balanced as its best, the thing did it's job!

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

HMS Hermes' Finest Hour : Falklands 1982 !

[@donlove3741]

RN second to none ! Many Navies are patterned after the Royal Navy including my Navy the USN. Rule the waves !

[@jacksugden8190]

All this when I was a child of 5, if only I could have been older to understand.

[@kneelneil]

No mention of the golden rivet...

[@MrButtonpresser]

Fantastic time capsules

[@Schnorbitz]

Wow, when Britain was truly Great…

[@Biggles2498]

My Father was a CPO (at the age of 21) Fleet Air Arm as promotion was automatic as a "Tiff" and he loved HMS Eagle. Does anybody know why both Carriers are doing a Zig Zag Course ? It's not a test as I haven't the foggiest Old Boy !

[@joshuahighlands2900]

Usually zig zag courses are used as an anti-submarine measure, along with varying speed. I should imagine the Soviets were never too far away.

[@Paul-lb1uw]

I thought Artificers had to do 2 years as PO before being made up to Chief?

[@Biggles2498]

@@Paul-lb1uw Not then because he went to a Naval Boarding School Holbrook and was a CPO when I was born but refused a commission because he disliked "The Wardroom".

[@mackan-kf4tg]

They’re definitely not zig-zagging, nor are they ”turning”……they’re ”wheeling”, as any Bunting will explain to you. The lead carrier doesn’t have a 984, so I’d guess that it’s HMS Centaur, another Light Fleet Carrier…..correct me if I’m wrong, someone. Also, not many cabs ranged on either carrier, so I’d guess that these were OOW manoeuvres just for the sake of the film⚓️⚓️

[@stevenbevis9290]

@@mackan-kf4tg Seen static photo of that . It was oct1960 the non 984 carrier was Ark Royal . It was the only time she + Hermes + Victorious exercised together . A pic of the 3 is on inside front cover of "British warships & auxiliaries 1979 edition " Of course Ark was just decommed then & Vic long before .

[@AndreiTupolev]

"She's the pride of the fleet and the envy of the world's navies." That is until USS Enterprise came along a year later. She (Hermes) was actually regarded as a Light Fleet carrier, too small to operate the Phantom, and quite a bit smaller than Ark Royal

[@barracuda7018]

Typical Britsh patriotic Bullshit. Everything they made was the envy of the world. The first nuclear reactor for Britain's first nuclear sub was delivered by Westinghouse of the US along with all the neccessary knowhow and technology. But I like Brits pretending they have invented pretty much everything.

[@callumpettitt8192]

​@@barracuda7018 The aircraft carrier was a British invention as was the jump jet and as was the tank if you didn't know. Americans are incredibly good at assuming they did everything themselves and when they find out we did it first they get upset. Nuclear weapons are the only thing your lot ever did and surprise, surprise the Manhattan project was full of non Americans same with NASA but keep taking credit for others achievements

[@burlatsdemontaigne6147]

barracuda7018 __Says the guy writing in.... English🤣🤣😂🤣. Haven't got your own language yet have you?

[@sss-og1yl]

@@barracuda7018 "Typical Britsh patriotic Bullshit" not sure but it seems you are from the same place (country) I am So believe me, Soviet (or as most write here "Russian") typical patriotic bullshit looks absolutely similar

[@duartesimoes508]

So amusing when a Gannet folds her wings. Almost as if she was saying "it's not my fault, there was nothing I could do!"

[@krostouin]

¯\_(0)_/¯

[@duartesimoes508]

@@krostouin Great!!

[@anglerfish1001]

What drops into the sea when the aircraft has left the carrier? Part of the catapult? If so were these on a cable or something so they can be retrieved?

[@MrSheckstr]

I don’t know what it was called then but more recently it was called a bridle.... if you look at carriers of the late 60 to late 80s you will sometimes see a little downward sloping ramp at the end of the catapult. That was a bridle catch. It was so bridles could be refurbished and reused. As Naval Aviation evolved the number of types of planes requiring a bride diminished to the point those catches were removed. It was decided that the number of bridles needed during a cruise didn’t justify the need for the recycling department on ship, just extra storage for more bridles

[@anglerfish1001]

@@MrSheckstr So you think the splash is the catapult bridle. In that case the effectiveness of the carrier could be counted in the number of bridles it carried lol. Thanks very much for the answer. I always wondered what that splash was.

[@MrSheckstr]

@@anglerfish1001 i must point out I am completely guessing... my experience and knowledge on this subject is second and third and and even then only involves vietnam and Cold War era NAVAL aviation

[@MrSheckstr]

@@anglerfish1001 if you’re looking at the video at or around the 4:00 mark you can see the bridle as a narrow diagonal line going up from the catapult to the underside of the plane behind the front wheel. Over time naval aviation evolved to my classes of plane could be hooked directly to the catapult shuttle In fact, and my memory is very fuzzy here, the last class of plane flown from catapult carriers that required a “bridle” were OV10 scout planes that were doing improvised missions from some carriers. This is just something I was told but some bright boys came up with the idea of making homemade bridles out of plain hemp rope, electrical tape, and a few metal bits and then launching the planes from one of the catapults using a test cycle launch that is below the lowest regular setting. This meant these little planes could be “gently” lofted into the air saving deck places they usually had to clear for them to do a self powered take off .... once again this is just something someone told me could be an exaggeration or pure fiction

[@anglerfish1001]

​@@MrSheckstr Wow, thanks for the detailed answer. It’s fascinating how clever, but also simple, some of these engineering inventions were. I suppose catapults are a thing of the past now with VTOL aircraft being the future for carriers.

[@roddyk05]

At 8:35 as one aircraft takes off, the one parked up lifts its nose and appears to drop its tail down - has something gone wrong here?

[@DElkan]

That's just the launch posture the Royal Navy devised for its' aircraft. The hold back bar, which breaks when the catapult is released, keeps the tail down and the plane in a nose-high attitude to aid in its' climbing away once shot off the deck. If you reference other pieces if footage of aircraft from the Royal Navy in the 1960's and 1970's you'll see this during launch procedure.

[@sss-og1yl]

@@DElkan somewhat strange that only Scimitars and Buccs launched this way. Sea Vixens and Gannets started in a usual position. Not say about F-4K...

[@mickbradley9487]

​@@sss-og1ylPhantoms on HMS Ark Royal had an extendible nose oleo to achieve the required angle of attack for launch.

[@MattVF]

A beautiful ship.

[@blue47er]

Every sailor aboard was obliged to swallow an atomic pill on his first night aboard. The next morning he found himself with a new clear weapon.

[@Kirkee7]

Been there when it became a commando carrier. Wessex helicopters

[@sss-og1yl]

thank for comment/ Do you have any photos of the ship and|or airgroup?

[@nommchompsky]

The British didn't seem to realize how important it was that the hand signals given by the deck crew be as cool looking as possible

[@johnsanders2266]

Oh yes we did you know! just because we don't run around like headless chickens doesn't mean that it not working like well tuned engine!

[@duartesimoes508]

Wonderful times where not everything was either a F-18 or a F-35...

[@PenzancePete]

"latest, most modern. pride of the fleet, envy of the world? This was made in 1960. Victorious was in commission as was Eagle and Ark Royal. The U.S.S. Enterprise had just been launched. Hermes was a too small ship then, too small for modern heavy jets as witnessed by the number of accidents.

[@stevenbevis9290]

Eagle was in refit 1959 to 1964 . Best carrier on globe after that refit (not biggest ) . Arks flight deck upgraded for Phantom but otherwise nowhere near Eagle standard .

[@sss-og1yl]

@@stevenbevis9290 "Arks flight deck upgraded for Phantom but otherwise nowhere near Eagle standard" your comment isn't first time I see this opinion. Can you, please, write some details why you have such a point of view?

[@danh1077]

It's ironic that the British pioneered and perfected the aircraft carrier and now they don't have a true aircraft carrier anymore. They haven't for quite some time. Just STVOL flat tops.

[@stevetheduck1425]

We moved on. When an Admiral requires command of an aircraft carrier in his resume to be permitted high command rank, the navy need aircraft carriers in numbers to outnumber the generals in the Pentagon. When an Admiral requires command of a nuclear-armed submarine in his resume for high command positions, you don't need aircraft carriers anymore.

[@joshwebb5016]

That’s because of another British Innovation ironically. The British pioneered VTOL aircraft like the Harrier which didn’t need long flight decks or steam catapults. You could put them on smaller converted Helo Carriers. This is also a cheaper idea might I add

[@lord.onk99]

Little dod they know what was ahead for Hermes.

[@stuartpeacock8257]

Incredible old girl the Gannet

[@manmonkee]

The Sea Vixen looks amazing,,, It had at least that going for it, not much else but hey ho.

[@RogueZebra83]

now the INS Viraat

[@mackan-kf4tg]

Paid-off into reserve in 2017. Officially de-listed & ready for scrap in late 2020⚓️

[@mattwilcock8967]

Sailor goes to see the doctor, I think I have Hermes says the sailor, Don't you mean Herpes? Asked the doc. No replies the sailor, I'm the carrier.

[@stuartpeacock8257]

Call the ball!

[@qmsarge]

HMS Hermes was later given to Indian Navy, where it was renamed as INS Viraat.

[@Farweasel]

That's because of the navigation problems which developed after handover, resulting it that most memorable signal: Where Viraat?

[@krimke881]

Why does it feels like this was filmed in the 40's 😅

[@mcguire2038]

Was only filmed about ten years after.

[@Biggles2498]

Because it was B&W and all the Officers were ex Public School Old Boy ?

[@phillipecook3227]

@@Biggles2498 Didn't look like B & W ...

[@stevetheduck1425]

The people who did much filming during WWII were still in the companies making these films, using contacts set up in the 1940s to film well into the 1960s.

[@SuperSy99]

Its film.its still superior to digicam

[@tee2899]

Forth bridge not fourth duh

[@VaibhavShete1981]

Why did Brits went back to jump jets?

[@stevetheduck1425]

Forward, as did the US Marine corps.

[@kingofaesthetics9407]

@@stevetheduck1425 No, it's simply because your government refuses to spend the money required to operate CATOBAR ships, even though they're superior to STOVL carriers.

[@handlesarefeckinstupid]

@@kingofaesthetics9407 we don't use the harrier. Even old museum pieces have been sold off to the US for parts. They now use the horrendously expensive f35.

[@moneymandan6217]

Alot different than my day

[@willnewton3051]

Yeah Smithsonian, a British invention!

[@rnichol22]

Little did they know the battleship would be back. Schmitar looks like a harrier with the engine and cockpit position

[@Farweasel]

Nose on, when it came up the lift in the first few frames, I thought it was a Harrier. Tail too. In other aspects it looks more like a Hunter tho. No idea what 'Battleship is back'. Doubt any navy built any since this film was made.

[@MS-gr2nv]

Chip Chop Cheerious

[@jdb47games]

6 Argies have watched this.

[@davidsirett5560]

7 argies now

[@markrainford1219]

11 :(

[@MyScotty7]

Very proud Brit watching this,we should fly the flag on every roof top and brag about what my country has invented and achieved!

[@stuartpeacock8257]

Bolter!

[@rez4405]

1 commander

[@stuartpeacock8257]

What happened to Britain’s supremacy?

[@Treasuremonk]

The British invented Air and water also!🤣 the US had all these items in there Navy back in the 1940’s! Even in early mid 2000’s, in Iraq working on a Brit base, the UK troops gear was 10-15 years behind the US! We were instructed to “don’t make fun of the Brits kit”🤣

[@anton7402-g1o]

That means more courage to go to war, pushing your limits. As I Dutchman I have deep respect for the courage of the British army. I think the only European army that’s willing to fight really and able to take losses

[@trident1314]

Not surprising considering the differences in defence budgets is it....the UK military still gets the job done when it needs to....I won't go as far to say "all the gear and no idea" as far as the US is concerned, but there is a heavy reliance on the latest fancy gear

[@Treasuremonk]

@@trident1314 Don’t get me wrong I love my British brothers we went through a lot in 2004 and five together nothing but total respect for them

[@trident1314]

@@Treasuremonk 👍 it's all good bud

[@Kirtlington-Bandit]

British military maybe the poor relation in regard to kit but far superior in effectiveness and less likely to have friendly fire accidents in which the Americans excel at 😉

[@danh1077]

All I can see are the hundreds of thousands of bridles that got dropped into the ocean after every launch. What a waste. The ocean floor is littered with them.

[@mackan-kf4tg]

Very true…..and there’s a sense of shame that they didn’t find a way of capturing them until very late-on in the era of the steam catapult🙄OK, they were a once-only piece of equipment…..they couldn’t be re-used without first being sent ashore for stringent testing in the airbase workshops, but it’s still better to capture them than just let them sink to the ocean floor😳Problem solved these days👍🏻⚓️⚓️

[@stevenbevis9290]

@@mackan-kf4tg on Ark 1970's i have read phantom bridles were used 10 times before discarding . Read Rowland Whites "Britains greatest warship " .

[@stevenbevis9290]

Complete history of R09 !

[@sss-og1yl]

"hundreds of thousands of bridles" somewhat overestimated, I suppose :)))

[@peterkirgan6850]

Did he say hms Hermes?, or herpes???? Lol