THE BUCCANEERS [Main Title]

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  • Title: THE BUCCANEERS [Main Title]
  • Film Number: ADM 2150
  • Other titles: POST-WAR NAVAL OPERATIONS - MISCELLANEOUS [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary: Fictionalised documentary in which Blackburn Buccaneer S.1 aircraft (800 RNAS operating from the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle) successfully bomb an enemy-held viaduct.
  • Description: (Reel One) HMS Eagle and its aircraft are introduced as part of "the world's most mobile fighting force". A brief section of archive footage pays tribute to the early pioneers of naval aviation. HMS Hampshire (D.06) guards the carrier against aircraft, and the frigate HMS Galatea (F.18) and 820 Squadron's Wessex HAS.1s watch for submarines. AEW is provided by the 849D's Gannet AEW.3s. The Buccaneer S.1s of 800 Squadron are given the mission of striking at the enemy's supply lines by destroying a viaduct. While the aircraft are marshalled on deck and the catapult gear is checked, the pilots are given their briefing - at this point two 'characters' are introduced, Guy Harris and Dave Thomson, the pilot and observer of Buccaneer 106. (Note that one of the pilots at the briefing wears the badge of 831, an Electronic Warfare squadron who embarked on carriers from time to time for exercises.) On deck, aircraft and ordnance - 1,000-pound bombs - are prepared. The Lieutenant-Commander (Flying) takes up his position in the Flying control position. CU of drill Red Top Anti-Aircraft Missile on one of 899's Vixen FAW.2s. A Buccaneer is unblanked. Guy and Dave board 106. 820 fly planeguard and ASW patrol. As the fixed-wing aircraft are launched each is descriptively tagged - Gannets are "airborne eyes of the fleet", Vixens are a "shield against possible air attack", Scimitars are "flying filling stations". Detailed sequence showing the launch of the Buccaneers. Ship's radar directs the Buccaneer flight to a rendezvous with the Scimitar F.1 tankers of 800B - the camera is now in the observer's seat of one of the Buccaneers. The camera-aircraft refuels. More aerial shots show a Wessex lowering and retracting its dipping sonar and Sea Vixens flying Combat Air Patrol. As they approach the coast, the Buccaneers descend through the cloud layer to fly low level (10 feet above the sea) to avoid enemy radar. (Reel Two) The Buccaneers cross the coast and fly down a valley to attack the viaduct (simulated - shots of the Buccaneers dropping practice bombs are intercut with pyrotechnic petrol explosions on the top of the viaduct). The viaduct collapses (clearly demolished by a series of set explosions at the base of the brick piers). The aircraft return to the ship. The CAP lands on. As the Buccaneers approach Eagle the weather closes in, necessitating a Carrier Controlled Approach. Talked down by the CCA radar operators the first Buccaneer lands on successfully, but Guy and Dave are given a bolter from the Flyco (Flying Coordinator). Their second attempt is successful. The AEW Gannets land on - all the aircraft of this flight have a humorous 'snorting dragon' badge below the cockpit (D Flight - D for Dragon ?). The film ends with a montage of Seaslug, Seacat and Polaris firings and the assurance that as "technical developments never stand still" the missile will replace the aircraft as the weapon of the future. "Many of Her Majesty's ships at sea today are equipped with these latest weapons systems. More ships with even more advanced missiles are to follow. But for some years yet our ground forces and the Royal Navy will still be able to rely on the Fleet Air Arm equipped with Buccaneers and soon the 2,000 mile an hour Phantom for speedy and powerful assistance whenever and wherever required."
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM (ADM 2150)
  • Featured Period: 1945-1975
  • Production Date: 1966
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Drummer Films (Production company) Barnes, Ian K (Production individual) Harris, Martin M (Production individual) Ferris, Peter (Production individual) Holness, Bob (Production cast)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm, Sqdn 800 (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm, Sqdn 899 (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm, Sqdn 849 (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm, Sqdn 820 (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm, Sqdn 800B (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm, Sqdn 831 (regiment/service) Royal Navy, EAGLE (HMS), aircraft carrier (1946) (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Hampshire (regiment/service) Royal Navy, GALATEA (HMS), frigate (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: ships, British naval - aircraft carrier, fleet: Eagle (object name) ships, British naval - destroyer: Hampshire (D.06) (object name) ships, British naval - frigate: Galatea (F.18) (object name) aircraft, British naval - combat: Blackburn Buccaneer (object name) aircraft, British naval - combat: De Havilland Sea Vixen (object name) aircraft, British naval - combat: Fairey Gannet (object name) aircraft, British naval - combat: Supermarine Scimitar (object name) aircraft, British naval - combat: Avro 504N & [wrecked] (object name) aircraft, British naval - combat: Hawker Nimrod & [wrecked] (object name) aircraft, British naval - combat: De Havilland Sea Mosquito & [wrecked] (object name) aircraft, British naval - combat: Fairey IIIF (object name) weapons, United States naval - missile: Polaris & [British] (object name) weapons, British naval - missile: Seacat (object name) weapons, British naval - missile: Seaslug (object name) weapons, British naval - missile: Red Top (object name) weapons, British naval air - bomb: 1000-pound (object name) equipment, British naval air - surveillance: dipping sonar & [+] (object name) operations, British naval air - preparation: refuelling, in-flight (object name) equipment, British naval air - propulsion: steam catapult (object name) equipment, British naval air - navigational: Deck Landing Projector Sight (object name) equipment, British naval air - surveillance: CCA radar (object name)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: Colour Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English Subtitle language: None
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 2 Footage: 2315 ft; Running time: 26 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Notes: Technical: very warm print Summary: the brief section of archive footage is worth a full description. The first aircraft is a Fairey IIIF, S 1351. The catalogue of crashes consists of (i) A Bristol fighter fuselage breaking up on acceleration in a catapult test. (ii) An Avro 504N breaking its main wheel supports attempting to land on. (iii) A Hawker Nimrod ditching - interestingly, this aircraft is S 1594, a number given as 'not known' in Bruce Robertson's 'British Military Aircraft Serials'. (iv) A Sea Mosquito hitting the safety barrier and disintegrating. The final shot shows HMS Furious as a flush-deck carrier seen from an approaching aircraft. Though the film as a whole is pretty silly there are some interesting details which are not often seen, eg the Buccaneer pilot placing the back of his hand against the starboard quarterlight to acknowledge the checkboard and indicate that he is ready for the launch Remarks: the opening tribute to those who "struggled against official opposition and lack of funds" to establish the Fleet Air Arm, sits very ill with the final comment that "In a few years shipborne tactical and strategic missiles will be the Royal Navy's main strike and defence weapons." The demise of the fixed-wing carrier force was due not to its being superseded by any "move into the missile age", but to the same official opposition and lack of funds that those early fliers struggled against. The feeble format of this film, with its totally unrealistic attack on an 'enemy-held' viaduct, and a CCA landing in perfect visibility, hardly deserves comment
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    ADM 2150

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