I totally agree with you, it's awful isn't it. If there wasn't a Britannia as star of the show I don't think that the majority of us would have even watched it.

Many of us have fond memories of classic television from that era but watching them now often makes you cringe. Even with real time footage rather than a film studio most of what we remember doesn't quite feel the same after watching it forty years later. Most of the acting along with the scripts are excruciating to watch. (Dad's Army exempt)

Another example is "Triangle". Not aviation related but it was definitely a favourite of mine around the same time. I tried to watch it again a couple of years but I didn't even finish watching the second episode 🙃

But, but, Kate O'Mara!

I remember being on the platform of Haslemere station as she walked up & down the platform, with a hundred male heads following her progress, like watching tennis - only better!

Oh yes I can appreciate that. She had something didn't she.

Kate O'Mara was quite amusing talking about 'Triangle'! In the first episode she appeared 'sunbathing' topless (face down) on the deck of the ship - but it was the North Sea on a freezing cold day and she nearly suffered hypothermia.

'Triangle' was an abysmal series with a daft plot!

I can remember Kate O'Mara being interviewed where the subject of her sunbathing "topless" was brought. If I can remember correctly the footage was actually filmed during the month of February. I can remember from her interview that she brought up the "hypothermia" comment. The North Sea can be inclement at the best of times but February must have been absolutely freezing. Well at least she survived to tell the tale. But sadly she is no longer with us.

Watching Buccaneer (thanks Bean) I notice the Britannia crew using the callsign RY249. What flight numbers did Redcoat use? I had an idea they were RYnnn.

Doc J

The wonderful Propliner magazine confirms that Redcoat was using the prefix RY at the time of the demise of G-BRAC.
Propliner #10 of April/June 1981 carried this interesting item:


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....628b516266.jpg
Those of us who have been watching Buccaneer will recognise the name in the photo credit as the female lead in the series. I intend to contact the editor in case there is an outstanding prize for spotting the connection. Not all the acting is bad and the plot appears technically accurate. Seemingly there are more Brits than bras in that show.

A nice touch was the team discussing the potential purchase of a CL44. Most of the audience would have no idea what a CL44 was, but it would be an obvious option for a firm operating a Britannia. In fact Redcoat tried to buy one some months after filming was completed, after they lost one of their Britannias.

Redcoat did have a CL-44 G-BRED, formerly G-AZKJ with TMAC.

Fascinating, AZKJ is actually shown in the program but I don't think the owners markings were visible.

A few photos of CL-44 G-BRED in service with Redcoat. Along with a photo of when the same aircraft was previously operated by Transmeridian Air Cargo as G-AZKJ

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....acf3f95f6d.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....b50f1a19c1.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....dad045c1c9.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....d470074d39.jpg

This has certainly become a popular thread with some interesting facts brought up.

Because this thread has proven popular, I'm thinking that I might start a similar one soon regarding former British full cargo airlines from 1960 until the present day.

Prior to 1960, there were a lot of short-lived cargo airlines, many of which just came and went and far too numerous to mention. I think that 1960 would be a good starting point as the sixties saw several British cargo airlines start operations. In one way or another, a few of them even continued into the eighties.

The TMAC photo shown is G-AXAA. It's usual to credit photographers.

Thread drift.
In the late 1970s I was working at Muscat.
There were 2 or 3 TMAC and Tradewinds CL44s night stopping most nights. In the morning we would see them lined up against the sunrise. I noted that the TMAC ones always had the props dressed whereas the Tradewinds ones were all over the place. TMAC had a station engineer and I mentioned one day that the other lot were lazy and couldn't be bothered to park their props. He said they did but over night he would move them just to wind them up.
Happy days.

Ah me, lovely to see pics of '44s reappearing after all these years.

After TMAC (British Cargo as it became) went bust and Redcoat acquired one of the '44s, I thought the one they got was G-AZML, not G-AZKJ.

Uniquely in the TMAC fleet, 'ML had the no. 6 tank (centre) fitted which gave it an incredible endurance. Carried about another 15000 lbs of fuel IIRC.

Pretty sure 16+ hours was the longest I ever flew it for. But then if my memory has let me down re: which plane had the no. 6 tank, who knows. I haven't got that logbook with me or I'd go and look it up.

G-AZKJ did become G-BRED

https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.w...ger/G-AZKJ.pdf

Shirley Anne Field who played Janet Blair has died, she also appeared in The War Lover alongside some B-17s, er, Steve MacQueen...

I got on very well with Shirley Anne Field when she was filming the War Lover at Bovingdon.

Tell us more !

It was a long time ago and we were both very young!

[QUOTE=brakedwell;11555331]I got on very well with Shirley Anne Field when she was filming the War Lover at Bovingdon.[/QUOTE
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....6e9a747c5c.png
" He offered me a ride in that funny little aeroplane over there ! " (IMDb)