I definitely do my share of complaining about the vagaries of YouTube’s algorithms, but I will give them credit, they generally have a good idea of what I’d like. Case in point, this lovely clip that was recommended to me.
Why yes, I would enjoy watching Phantoms and Buccaneers of Her Majesty’s Royal Navy shooting traps on the HMS Ark Royal sometime in the ’70s. I would like that very much.
Delving down the rabbit hole of the Source of All Knowledge, it appears that the original footage is probably from 1976 British documentary series called Sailor. Given that a lot of the discussion is about pilots earning their carrier qualifications, I’d guess it’s from the second episode of the series?
Some very specific Amazon research even turned up an entry for what appear to be used copies of a DVD release! A bit too pricey for my current budget, but definitely something to add to the wish list. Maybe at some point…
Okay, that sent me searching for more Blackburn Buccaneer videos. I think that’s going to have to be a proper avgeek history segment sometime soon, but for now, I’ll leave with this closout flyby of the last Buccaneer to leave Malta as the type was being retired.