For your viewing pleasure, Spaz Sinbad sends along this video from the old Royal Navy, back in the days when a proper aircraft carrier had arresting gear and catapults, rather than such modern innovations as ski jumps.
Terribly civilized discourse amongst a well-dressed tower cohort, amidst some hesitation to put the hook down in the spaghetti on the part of one Buccaneer jock.
In answer to the question, “Where are your Buccaneers?” comes the inevitable reply: “On my bucking head!”
If the Buccaneer had longer gear struts they wouldn’t have to fly so close to the deck to land. Seems pretty obvious.
RN FAA Mess Song: Meatball Wizard (Tune: Pinball Wizard by The WHO)
When I was a young sprog, the Goofers I’d enthrall,
Hermes, Vic and Centaur, I guess I’ve played them all,
But never did one good D.L., at least that I recall,
That deaf, dumb and blind kid, Sure flies a low Meatball.
Horsing round on finals, see that Meatball sink,
Better stuff some power on, or wind up in the drink,
Amid the cries of the Goofers, hear the lonesome Looker call,
That deaf, dumb and blind kid, Sure flies a low Meatball.
I’ve seen them low, I’ve seen them high,
I’ve seen them hit the ramp,
I’ve seen them screw on overshoot, and get their backsides damp,
I’ve seen the fear leap to their eyes when they hear that ‘Bolter’ call
Those deaf, dumb and blind kids, Sure fly a low Meatball.
PJ: Explanation video about BuckingEars: Sailor series. HMS Ark Royal. Buccaneer landings and bolters. You will see similar footage however this time the pilot is seen debriefing with LSO and then much later he explains his difficulties: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bW7tjy7AOk&feature=related
Sight of F-4s and Buccaneers together brings back memories of my days spent in Albion’s fair skies when both were in evidence aplenty–especially when running low levels up in the “Wash” in Scotland practicing nuke delivery. Those Buccaneers were steady as a rock at low level and really fast on the deck, especially when slick with nothing but a nuke (practice, of course) in the internal bomb bay.
Of course most of their time was spent over water as their main deal was anti-shipping low level long-range strike in those days for the RNAF guys.
Veddy British, all around.
The auld Ark Royal was a real warship, even when pushed to handle Phantoms . Their pilots were quite good, at least in the air to ground stuff I observed. Their Forward Air Controllers were a hoot, and quite the partiers.
Very fond memories of a Tattoo reception [that is done with bands, etc, not ink and needles, for the edification of the youngsters among us] held in port. Most impressive to see the Royal Marine band rising up to the flight deck on the elevator. Good munchies and lots of great rum.
The old Navy, in so many ways.
Still glad to be allies with our British cousins, even though their cultural values are decaying rapidly from rampant political correctness among some segments.
Marvelous video, even for us ground-grippers. Sorta makes one think about how difficult it is to thread a needle in a 60-mile an hour wind. And I loved the veddy correct tower crew. Gorgeous creatures.
Marianne
John/
Your mention of the partying qualities of the Royal Navy reminds me of an R&R I had in Hong Kong in ’68. Hooked up with the young CO (John Harris, Commanding) and 1st officer of the minesweeper HMS Dartington in local bar–invited me over to the ship the next day. We spent good time watching movie “Blow-Up” (riske for those days–my how times have changed) projected on wardroom wall while drinking “mass quantities” (h/t Beldar) of Royal Navy grog. Have some great 35mm slides of occasion I took with my then brand new Cannon SLR I had purchased at Navy Fleet Store–complete with (now old-fashioned and heavy, but state-of-the art then) barrel 55-185mm zoom….Memories…..
Damn the Rhino was a gorgeous bird…
He was just a bit reluctant to put the hook down. The tower crew was just as entertaining as the reluctant pilot.
I saw the Ark Royal before she went to the breakers yard when she called on Norfolk, VA. What a shame to scrap such a magnificent ship.
In dumb-question mode… I noticed the roundels on the F-4s were red, white, and blue, while those on the Buccaneers were red/blue… no white. I’ve seen both variants on aircraft of different eras and am wondering… what ARE the rules for applying the insignia? Or are there rules at all?
RN FAA & RAF roundel info here: “Some of these roundels have also been used on the aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm and the Army Air Corps. They were also used on the aircraft of various Commonwealth air arms until the 1940s or ’50s, including the Royal Australian Air Force… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force_roundels
&
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleet_Air_Arm
Thanks!!
When I was on Coral Sea, one of the guys on the staff had done an exchange tour with Buccaneers. He said he had a blast and was quite sad when he had to come back home.
Which conforms to the opinion I have heard from just about everyone I know who did a exchange tour with the Brits-even the guys that went to Lincolnshire and flew on the E-3D’s.
When I was on Indepencence, we did 2 separate cross decks with Ark Royal. The Buccaneers were a wild looking airplane. The RN Phantoms were just plain loud with those RR engines and the funny afterburners. the fan favourite was the Fairey Gannet. Contra-rotating props on the nose, it was just cool.
For the equal opportunity – Parts of recent (USN) CARRIER documentary on PBS have made it to Utube. The second part night landings on a wobbly deck are instructive.
PBS: Carrier – Landing on a Pitching Deck Pts. 1 & 2
“From the PBS documentary series “Carrier” – Rites of Passage.
Navy pilots landing aboard the USS Nimitz (day/night) during rough seas in the Pacific.” Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gGMI8d3vLs
Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0yj70QbBzg
Oilfield Story
Back in the dark ages I worked in the Middle East drilling for oil offshore in the Gulf. One day while drilling ahead on a normal tower, I was startled when a British Buccaneer blasted past just over the top of the derrick. The drill floor is a noisy place and naturally we did not hear him coming unit he flashed by. I started watching for the aircraft after that and on a good day when there wasn’t too much heat haze you could see them coming. We were working over a jacket and elevation on the drill floor was about 150 to 200 feet above the waves. Sometimes the Buccaneers would fly by the rig and you could look down on the top of the aircraft and sometime they would pop up and fly over us.
One night in the galley the Toolpusher told me a story about the time one of the British pilots had visited the rig. The Toolpusher had met the pilot in the bar and, as expats do in a foreign land, a round of beers were exchanged and talk turned to work, home and family. Since work is interesting and the time off needs filling, mutual visits to see the working office were exchanged. The Toolpusher visited the base, saw all the go fast kit and was treated to dinner at the O-Club. A few days later the British pilot hopped on the early morning helicopter to see an active drilling from the deck as opposed to the flashing snapshot view he was used to.
I must digress for a moment and explain a feature found on drilling rigs. Above the drill floor is a derrick and about half way up the derrick is the monkey board where the derrick man works the top of the drilling pipe on trips. This lofty perch is reached by a ladder from the drill floor. In the event of a kick or blowout, the drill floor is not a place anyone wants to linger. It is also not a place anyone wants to transit on the way to safety. So there was a device called a zip line from the monkey board to the top of the Quarters that the derrick man could slide down to get away. The zip line was a small diameter braided steel wire fastened at both ends to stout pad eyes. Now a jackup from the side has a profile a little bit like the goal post at the end of the football field. One tall leg at one side where the quarters are and two legs and the derrick on the other side about 200 feet apart with the rig forming the cross bar at the bottom. Across this gap is stretched the zip line.
Now we return to the Toolpusher and the pilot and the rig tour. A couple of hours spent walking around the rig with the usual questions of what is it and what does it do ends on the drill floor with a challenge to visit the derrick. Up the ladder goes the pilot followed by the derrick man with a walk around the racking platform for the view. Coming upon the zip line the pilot ask the usual question and the derrick man explains what it is and how it works. This causes the pilot to become all thoughtful like and contemplative. Down the young men go and off to the galley for a good lunch followed by a trip back to shore on the afternoon helicopter for the pilot.
So what is the point of this story you ask? Well, the Toolpusher said that before the pilot’s visit to the rig, the Buccaneers, if approaching from Port or Starboard would shoot the gap between the legs. It seems that the pilots did not know about the zip line until the visit. After the pilot’s visit their opinion of the gap between the legs changed from a goal post to punt the aircraft through to a cheese slicer to avoid at all cost.
TexasStan: Thanks for a great story. My ears are under my hat – which is off to you.
Spaz:
WRT links on comment 13, they are great. You are truly a great source of info. We all owe you cases and cases of Fosters – so long as we get to share them with you. Thanks, Boss.
Stan/TX/
I’ll GUARANTEE you that even today in the dark of night some of those Buccaneer drivers physically shudder when prodded by their memory and contemplating what MIGHT have been…
Glenn @ 12,
Those RR engines and funny burners were, briefly, the ire of some USNers.
The Brits did their initial deck trials on the Saratoga, and left behind a mass of buckled and half-melted JBDs from their full afterburner catshots.
USN not happy, no matter how much pussers’ rum the RN guys left behind.
Eyat: For the memory… “The anniversary marks the Admiralty’s decision on 7 May 1909 to order the first airship” The Royal Navy’s FAA Centenary website can be found at: http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.7027
Eyat: f:-) or the Rhumb of Purser: (but Bundy & Coke – “Bundaberg Rum” will do)http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l261/SpazSinbad/PussersRumFORUM.gif
Editing a comment is fun now eh: Here is the link above again: http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l261/SpazSinbad/PussersRumFORUM.gif
The RN no longer issues rum, and it also no longer allows teh kittehs aboard ship. The RN has also gotten much smaller and less efficacious lately.
Co-incidence?
I think not.
All, ‘specially Lex, please google on these terms:
HMS Amethyst, Simon, Able Seacat, Dickin Medal.
Kittehs make good loyal shipmates, too.
JTG: “Issue of the last tot onboard Phoebe in the Persian Gulf (pic). Carrying out the procedure for preparing the rum issue (2 parts water to 1 part rum). The wicker jars held a gallon of rum. One fanny boldly states “No Tot, No Navy”.
http://www.axfordsabode.org.uk/lasttot3.htm
Just because: “Issue of the last tot onboard Phoebe in the Persian Gulf.
The rum issue being measured out by the Captain. First and last time for everything. It was usually the supply branch (victualling) that dished the rum up with the Officer Of the Day and Duty Petty Officer as witness to the correct issue.
Once the issue had been poured into the fanny, the ‘rum boson’ took it down the mess to be measured out into tot glasses. Usually the rum bosun was invited to take a sip out of everyone’s glass. Reason being that if the issue was short then the rum boson would be the one to go without. Usually there was a bit left over in the fanny and this was poured into a glass and was called “Queens” and passed around for each member of the mess entitled to rum to take a sip.”
http://www.axfordsabode.org.uk/lasttot1.htm
SPAZ/
Everyone should note the fact that the Buccaneer pilots were wearing their poopy suits. We in the USAF flew over the same North Sea waters with nothing but a normal flight suit. They thought we were idiots to do so–even in the summer–and we probably were.
But we were comfortable idiots….
Well, Virgil the authorities do seem to agree that cold-water hypothermia is one of the easier ways to go, if that’s any comfort. (Assuming one gets over the initial shock)
The older I get, the more I think that an awful lot of “natural” ways of leaving the planet are at least as icky as getting painfully and quickly killed in action.
Wearing old-school poopsuits in an A4G was ridiculous (there was only room for one and a flight jacket) we did without by special dispensation – but some later squadron crew used later, better models. Those old suits were awful. Shudder.
Ok Spaz, let’s not get talkin’ about rum here, cuz that’s my new favorite drink of choice. Pusser’s is an old standby, discovered when we visited the “official” store during our too-brief residency in Annapolis, MD. Lately, I’ve discovered that Zaya, Ron Zacapa and Diplomatico (which even my wife loves!) have much more to offer in terms of flavor – i.e., these are rums to drink neat, with perhaps an ice cube or two, rather than mixing with anything.
Ok, sorry about the threadjack. Mebbe I should follow it up with some barely-remembered boozefest tales about some RM pilots in Phuket…
MajH: TinyURL to Bundaberg Rum Oz website, they check ID – show ‘em your pic (I know you are getting younger every day – so stop already): http://tiny.cc/kZNEi Answer to Q: “Have you tied your kangaroo down, sport?” A: Dunno
Anyway Bundy&Coke is something you will need to try, even without ice (with warm coke no less). http://www.bundabergrum.com.au/default.htm
Maj. H My understanding is that Lex has issued a dispensation for the sin of thread jacking so long as the thread is jacked to discuss alcohol. Try some Gosling’s Black Seal on the rocks or with some limon peel. Not terribly expensive either.
OK, threadjack here we come!
For dark rum, Barbancourt 5-Star, a Haitian Rum can’t be beat. They double-distill it in copper pots like cognac and should be sipped same way, or on the rocks. Can be mixed, but tastes like cognac and coke, only sweeter. (They sell a less expensive “3-Star” as well–a better mixing rum, but still heavy.) For white mixing rums (rum&tonic, coke, etc.) I prefer Appleton White out of Jamaica–REALLY smooth. A great “value for money” rum, is one originally distilled in Cuba but now in NYC, “Ron Methuzulam”–the price is right and tastes much like Ron Rico, but can be usually found cheaper, only trouble is, hard to find.
Back in the day as JO did PASSEX x 2 with old Phantom-Buccaneer laden Ark Royal on it’s last Med cruise..
Crazy boogers. Talk about low altitude flight.
b2
So much for Zip Lip recoveries. Love the grades from Pri-Fly!