Sailor series -Aircraft from HMS Ark Royal at Vieques weapons range

Sailor, The 1976 BBC series set on HMS Ark Royal. Vieques weapons range. Cut down version from the DVD with a live version Pink Floyd's Shine On You Crazy Diamond replacing the 'tune' Aunty Beeb misguidedly chose to use for their vhs/dvd re-issue of the series. I believe this is what was used originally.

[@lumpas9727]

Chills... thanks, Manish!

[@YellowPinkie]

I'm here for the same reason...

[@albinoewok]

Me too

[@richardm1183]

Brilliant 👏

[@robertmarsh3588]

Fabulous series and this is amazing music. So evocative. Crazy to see what we've thrown away in this once great country. Leaves me in despair sometimes. I was 12 when this was recorded and now in my mid to late 50s. I just can't believe those years have past. One thing is for sure, time hasn't been kind. It's like an awful dream. I lived down in Plymouth for several years just after the Falklands conflict. Perhaps the last time the UK had a sizeable navy?

[@raytalbot5890]

Back then we had full jet fighter capability not like now when we have to use the US Marine F35s to fill out our carriers 👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@SmartSilver]

I watched this fantastic series in 1976 when I was 15 years old and I left school and joined the Royal Navy the following year.

[@aumarigan]

Nice. What was your specialty in the Royal Navy?

[@B1900pilot]

Shine on...HMS Ark Royal R09...Gone, but NEVER forgotten

[@markrafferty9736]

Joined Navy Oct 77. This video shows the pure majesty and power of the Royal Navy and the Ark Royal. I served aboard her as she was anchored off awaiting disposal, everyday going aboard walking around her was well..... eerie comes to mind. It was sad to walk around (torch in hand) in the pitch black thinking of all those who had served aboard her all the things which had happened aboard & now she was just an empty shell. The day they towed her away actually physically painful to witness and I could not bear to watch it happen. Gone was a ship the likes this country would never see again sadly and our navy started on the slide which we can/will never recover.

[@ianstewart2335]

First time I witnessed grown men cry September 1980… Chapeldown Rd, Torpoint. I was 8 years old 😞

[@allgood6760]

Thanks for this.. my mate flew Sea Hawks from the Ark Royal and HMS Eagle visited NZ in the early 70's I fell in love with the Buccaneer.. been interested ever dince.. cheers from NZ 👍🇳🇿

[@russmar2168]

Great to see this sequence again! I served in Ark Royal for her final deployment in '78, the best months of my service career. I remember spending hours on the goofing deck just, well, goofing! (I was in the RM band so had sod all better to do lol!!). I made the mistake of going to see her in Plymouth the day before she was towed to the scrappers- wish I hadn't because now, my final memories of that once magnificent ship are of her stripped bare and lifeless.

[@paulcammack5847]

It makes me so sad to remember how it was.never no more so sad good years spent in the navy .10 all together im 62 now and still miss every thing about it SAD

[@stevbrkr]

This is far better than the opening scenes of Top Gun (1986). It is real for one thing.

[@raytalbot5890]

Love it, I miss her so much 👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@Grahampk73]

My dad was in the Navy at the time of this series. I saw the Ark Royal when she was decommissioned and laid up near Plymouth. A great looking ship but a sad sight waiting for the scrapyard. Its great that we soon see some big carriers again in the fleet.

[@colinwyatt3076]

they say it's the good old days , you bet they where ,real ships ,real aircraft, real life ,ex naval airman,tractor six

[@Grahampk73]

I lived in Torpoint as a child and would see the Ark Royal every day. Could see it from our school, it was a sad day when the towed her away.

[@ianstewart2335]

Just watching the shots from above it’s incredible to think those catapults could get 20 tonne planes off the deck in such a short distance… Ark was pretty big but she certainly wasn’t designed for the F4 or Buccaneer… she did an amazing job 🇬🇧

[@ianstewart2335]

Absolutely perfect ❤

[@Edgestudios]

I'm 22 ,so this ship was scrapped along time before i was born,but wow the Mighty Ark has to be the best looking Aircraft Carrier ever made.if she was a Supercar she would of been a Aston Martin

[@transonicbuoy1]

Class in a glass. From Japan. Love my country and the men who sail.

[@joelwebster8227]

wonderful images and very evocative music (I bought this album the moment it came out and it remains a favorite).

[@JohnVilla1960]

I was on a destroyer that went with the Ark on her last visit to the USA in 78.

[@ianstewart2335]

A county or T42? 🇬🇧

[@teecee1567]

I've been searching for a video like this..... flight deck ops...heat rising off the deck making the scene a little blurry....Harriers taking off a ski jump....and the crescendo of the guitar playing SOYCD.....timed EXACTLY as a Harrier left the ski-jump..... the most awesome piece of film making I have ever seen.

[@guydavies3035]

No harriers here, no ski jumps…did we watch the same video?

[@two-moonz2953]

Back when Great Britain had a real Navy and real music! Thank you for the download.

[@Popeetog]

To be fair the Ark was at the end of her life. HMS Eagle up until 1976 was moored up in the Tamar for the main purpose of being a floating spares reserve to keep Ark going. Lack of government foresight (so no surprise there!) meant smaller carriers with a smaller striking force were the way backward. Anyway, many thanks for those who've said they'e enjoyed watching these clips. When the day job allows me time, I 'll have some fresh clips posted up very soon.

[@TheRealist2022]

I've been searching for years for a sequence I saw on telly VERY similar to this. Flight deck ops on some sort of carrier.. cant even remember the nationality... cant even remember the aeroplane.. but it's a take off from the deck... all the ethereal stuff playing from "crazy diamond"...and at the creschendo about 4 mins in to the music is where the aeroplane actually leaves the deck on take off.... then it's a rearward view of the ship from the cockpit as the aeroplane climbs.. if anyone has that sequence PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE put it on here so I can see it again.. a PERFECT example of accompanying music to a fantastic film sequence.

[@Schenkerflyingv]

I was 10 when this first aired on TV - I remember it as though it was yesterday.

[@lordofbore]

I remember watching this the first time,I think I was about six or seven!! thanks for posting,brings back lots of happy memories!!

[@DaDa-David]

Manish Pandey brought me here...just FUCKING awesome!

[@stevepaul3040]

I heard the music for the first time with a video clip very similar to this on the series Sailor. The sequence had better images in sync with the music. To echo the request of others if you have the original add it to the internet.

[@cageordie]

This is the footage from Sailor, but without the BBC's precise timing to the studio version of the track. The original of this, and the 1984 Olympics Gold clip are two of the very best bits of BBC sound/action editing.

[@Grahampk73]

I My Dad did serve on the Eagle and has fond memories of that ship. I met Dad on Berwick, Norfolk and Naiad when returning to base in Pompie and Gus. I think Naiad and Berwick was sunk and I think Norfolk sold.I used to get a special day off school to meet him. Family navy days were great on these ships going to sea and seeing parts of the ship. I would always wear at school a jumper with the crest of the ship which was permitted by the schools.

[@ianstewart2335]

I used to wear Dads navy jersey wool heavies! 🤣

[@farmerned6]

@Greenhornet270 the buccanneer is the best navy strike bomber ever built, constant 560 mph at 30ft with 4000lb in the belly - hard to find, track and stop while the F4 was a one-trick pony of a fighter - plenty of power but lacked agility

[@EngTech84]

Big sigh, when we used to have a Royal Navy with teeth :(

[@sketchy74]

SUPERB! Thanks for posting!

[@B1900pilot]

This is just amazing...

[@MontytheHorse]

Sadly she was literally falling to bits by the time she was decommissioned. There were times in 1982 when sea conditions around the Falklands would have prevented carriers like the Ark from launching aircraft, so it could be argued that the support given by Hermes and Invincible might not have been there if the RN had used Ark Royal and her Phantoms and Buccaneers. Of course the war might not have happened at all if we'd still had Ark in service.

[@ianstewart2335]

If she was 20 years younger than she was Galtieri would have thought twice 🤔

[@Popeetog]

My pleasure!

[@KrisRamJ]

AWESOME, love it!

[@throthelens]

The final drum strike at 03:56 should be at the moment the brakes are released on the Buccaneer. I have the original VHS somewhere. Very emotive when its all in sync

[@TheRealist2022]

@trothelens then find the bloody thing and upload it mate...I've been waiting years!

[@davejc1]

This is the live version, hence why its off a tad... I had the VHS box set and this wasn't on it. Bbc had apparently used it without the correct permissions when it first aired

[@brucestuart9947]

I've just found this sequence after years of trying. It isn't quite how I remembered it but seemingly the Beeb has changed it a little. throthelens, please up load the original if you have it. Would love to see it in original form again. Blood stirring stuff.

[@throthelens]

@@brucestuart9947 The Copyright police prevent me doing so.😒

[@throthelens]

@@TheRealist2022 Copyright issues mean its not worth the effort. I enjoy watching it though.

[@expat545]

Ex FLM . 1980. good vid.

[@Popeetog]

The two Queen Elizabeth class carriers due to enter service in 2014 and 2016 will initially be configured for STOVL operations, the carriers will be adaptable to conventional catapult and arrested-landing configuration in the future - although what we'll have to fly from them is another story! Maybe Thundercity in South Africa will lend-lease us their Buccaneers for a bit!

[@ryanmgill]

Bloody good!

[@Popeetog]

Ta very much! I was much toooo young (LOL) to remember it first time Davejc1!!! I've cut off about two mins off the start of original footage - -which may well tie in the beats with the rockets . Plus only had a live version of Shine On.....to play with which probably stretches a little longer than the studio version.

[@SteamboatWilley]

Fast jets and Pink Floyd. Liked.

[@nick000002]

Sublime

[@ianclarke7547]

almost haunting

[@jameshogan5029]

I quite liked the tune that the BBC did on the re-release . Has anyone got it by any chance?

[@Motoguzzi750]

@farmerned6 thats fair enough mate! I have a freind who is a Retd Lt Col in the USAF he started out in F4s, then F111s, then finally managed a short time on F15s due to a general who was a good freind (he shouldn't really have been flying too much by then due to his rank...) - Bob has a lot of good to say about the F4 as a ground attack/strike aircraft but as you say in a dogfight not the right thing at all - though his combat expereience in then was confined to SE Asia in the 1960s.

[@linklater86]

Imagine if we had this during the Falklands War...

[@Mishima505]

Grant Linklater probably wouldn’t have even been a war. The firepower the Ark could bring would have made the Argies think twice about invading.

[@Motoguzzi750]

@farmerned6 I wont disagree that the Buccaneer was very good, the F4 was not just a one-trick pony. Have you read what Eric Brown said about it? And he's a bloke who's opinions on carrier aircraft (of that era) I would take over pretty much anyones.

[@davejc1]

this is great!!!!!!!!might i suggest timing off bit? seem to remember the rockets being in time to dum-dum-dums...not a critisism at all..Amazing piece of film, thank you for up loaing it. Maybe i`m remembering it wrong?

[@thewobblyorange1987]

JSF was going to come into service years after QE carriers. This is still the case but dates are now closer.

[@MrDastardly]

When Britain had a Royal Navy.

[@well-blazeredman6187]

Cripes but those catapults are short!

[@ianstewart2335]

Extremely! 😁 They got the job done, though.

[@Korporaal1]

I never knew that Ringo Starr was an RM FOO?

[@Popeetog]

Yes I have, but nearly seven hours to edit down to 10 min section on youtube woud take toooooo long to do.

[@Grahampk73]

The government says it will order 150 JSF but not until the carriers are nearly complete. Due to the new carriers being delayed by two years the harriers might have to go on longer with our present carriers or possibly there might be gap in which the RN has no planes on carriers. But we know as governments change their defence policy change so I hope we get our carriers and JSF not a low budget fleet air arm.

[@2Phast4Rocket]

Even by 1976, the British carrier based aircraft were obsolete.

[@CaptainFancy]

That's why they've just launched two new ones

[@davejc1]

Not sure about differences between fleet air arm and raf Bucs... But if they were that obsolete, they wouldn't have brought them back for the gulf War. Bucs could get down and dirty arguably better than the tornadoes

[@rhodesshah4603]

Hoping for war is a terrible thing to say, however I have come across two gentlemen who happened to work together as ground crew in Lincolnshire during the 60's & 70"s and they have both said a number of times that they would have liked to see the buccaneers get a chance to prove themselves, Iv'e always thought the buccaneer looked a very mean weapon.

[@farmerned6]

@Motoguzzi750 Hiya moto I was replying to hornet's bucc v F-4 coment. and no I haven't read what Eric Brown said (put some up maybe?) I have however seen documentaries with vietnam pilots , who said it lacked agiliy in combat, ("go vertical") & the book "phoenix squadron" kinda backs that up it its early pages -(but it could be read as a bit too pro-RN ) that aside it probably was the best carrier-capable fighter of the 60/early 70's I was saying the bucc was NO sitting duck

[@YARROWS9]

I hate seeing what we used to have.

[@888ssss]

hello sailor.

[@pauls7956]

I would have liked to hear the actual planes ibstead.

[@paulcammack5847]

I agree mate

[@colinwyatt3076]

they say it's the good old days , you bet they where ,real ships ,real aircraft, real life ,ex naval airman,tractor six