Sadly, not even this will stop the totally stupid privatisation of the air-sea rescue force in 2016. :*

S41

CULROSE???????????!!!!!:{

Apart from the dropped "d's" I'd say good effort - not much HRH at all, and when the divers involved in the MV Muree rescue told their stories...gulp.......:ok:

Wow! What a program. Congrats to John Sergeant and more than that, deepfelt thanks to the guys who have served their Sea King time with absolute devotion to duty and have saved so many lives.

Anyone who doesn't feel proud of what they have seen tonight needs a check-up.

Great programme, lots of familiar faces (not just the obvious ones) - BZ/Well done as appropriate. Would be nice to get '298 and '718/BN together before the former is retired......Perhaps the 2 most combat experienced airframes in the UK military?

Much better than I thought it was going to be.

I did chuckle when they mentioned the Fastnet race showing a brief veiw of a Wessex.

Smashing program, well presented with due respect to the aircraft and its operators and maintainers. Well done says I!

I am sure John Sargeant is, in fact, Jo Brand in a trilby hat!

Somewhere, at this very moment, there is a Bagger Sqn PRO dreading tomorrows chat with the Boss.....

Great programme. Nicely done, a tad navy-centric, but she's done so much it must have been difficult to shrink it down to 1hr!

Fear God, Honour the (Mighty) King!!
 

I thought John Sergeant did OK, even if he couldn't pronounce CulDrose, I'm sure the Pingers, SAR Queens and Baggers won't have minded....much!

ZA298 is definitely a legendary cab - surely it's got to be the most obvious donation to the FAA MUseum once it's retired from service? Nice to see Neil Copeland talking about his downbird team and their efforts in the Patrol Base - they did a monumental job to strip so much weight out of the cab overnight so that the Chinook could lift it out at first light, he thoroughly deserved his Commendation! :ok:

Mind you, a blade change in about 2 hours in the field during the Falklands and then back into tasking - awesome!! I'm not sure the MAA would let us get away with that one any more!:}

I enjoyed it and think he is definitely one of the better presenters where military aircraft are involved, his bomber command programme hit the nail., top that off with the tactful use of background music, used where needed, but not overpowering and drowning out the narration. :ok: why can other producers not learn from the series of programmes he has been involved with.
Noticed a few Wessex door shots slipped in early on, but nothing to detract from the programme. As for the two George Cross divers on the back of the ship...... Totally well deserved and as in situations like that, totally unassuming, hats off to them, without doubt two well earned decorations, one just hopes they never have to sell them on to pay for their future care... Grrrrrrr.

Was it me or was the ASW role (why the UK had Sea King in the first place) pretty much ignored?

Huey,
The SK has been an overwhelmingly Navy asset; I guess the Navy PR machine was happy to help - and a good job they did too. Of course the RAF SAR guys have done some gnarly rescues but the programme was only an hour....The RAF can't really complain given the coverage the Chinook has had over the past few years.

WEBF,
It was referenced but it's not as public friendly as SAR. As Tourist said there might be a few questions asked within the Bagger community though....

Nice to see the Queenie get her moment in the sun. Having flown her a bit, she's not bad for a 'half-helicopter'!

I didn't know that the SK4 had a gents changing area installed. JS must have used it to take off the dry suit and pop his pink civvy shirt on during the flight out to Illustrious.

Or perhaps the editor thought we wouldn't notice? :E

Bugger - missed it! Anyone know when I can catch a repeat?

Thanks.

iPlayer - you can watch when you want to.

The resemblance is uncanny.

It's difficult since the last HAS6s went to Sultan or SFDO ten years ago, unlike 771 and 846 where you've still got an active unit to talk about Junglie or SAR.

I'm with Tourist though. Somewhere in 849 squadron building is a very unhappy bunny I suspect.

I think that it was on "The One Show" that they both appeared some little time ago when he said something along the lines of, "We're here to quash the rumour that we're never seen in the same room to-gether" to enormous guffaws all round.