8.6 /10 1 Votes
Genre Documentary Original language(s) English First episode date 26 August 1976 Number of episodes 10 Executive producer Roger Mills | 8.7/10 IMDb Directed by John Purdie Country of origin United Kingdom No. of episodes 10 Final episode date 7 October 1976 Director John Purdie | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sailor 01 of 12 last run ashore 1976 avi
Sailor was a major BBC television documentary series, first shown in the mid-1970s, about life on board the fourth HMS Ark Royal, a British aircraft carrier. It followed the ship on a five and a half month deployment to North America in 1976.
Contents
The series was filmed after the completion of a major refit and coincided with the twenty-first anniversary of her commissioning. It is particularly noteworthy for its depiction of fixed-wing aircraft operation in the Royal Navy before its demise in 1978, with the paying off and scrapping of Ark Royal. It shows the Phantom, Buccaneer, Gannet, Sea King and Wessex air group from 809 Naval Air Squadron, 824 Naval Air Squadron, 849 Naval Air Squadron and 892 Naval Air Squadron.
Episodes
Ship's Company return home for Run's Ashore and bang off's
Appearances
Captain Wilfred Graham, who later became Flag Officer Portsmouth (FOP) (now obsolete), is the Ark Royal's commanding officer during its deployment. Commander David Cowling, who features heavily in the series, was the executive commander. Other members of the ship's crew to feature quite prominently were a Leading Hand named LA Powell (who was shown getting into trouble for not displaying the required level of responsibility), the Fleet Master-at-Arms and the Ship's Padre.
Follow up
In 1984 BBC made a follow-up programme entitled Sailor: 8 Years On with updates on the lives of the crew members. It also showed the de-commissioned Ark Royal part-way through scrapping at Cairnryan near Stranraer, Scotland.
Soundtrack
The theme song for the original broadcast is the 1975 number one hit "Sailing" by Rod Stewart, which remains Stewart's biggest-selling single in the UK, with sales of over a million copies. However the DVD release uses a different version due to copyright issues. Likewise "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd was used in the original TV version during sequences showing a live fire exercise featuring Phantom and Buccaneers at the Vieques weapons ranges in Puerto Rico. The DVD substitutes the Pink Floyd track for a smooth jazz composition.