This impressive and hilarious “gag film” from 1974 was apparently made to honor Capt. Clarence “Clancy” Rich, at the time of his retirement as the first commander of the (brand new) Naval Parachute Unit, aka Naval Aerospace Recovery Facility / National Parachute Test Range in El Centro, California. Rich, who passed away in 2017, was a WWII veteran who served in Naval Aviation for 30 years. Rich was something of a legendary story teller, which might have inspired this film. According to his obit, he told people about how as a kid, he had killed a bobcat with a pocket knife (an apparently true story). His three favorite pastimes were flying airplanes, riding horses, and sailing boats.

The film is mostly hilarity, but it does contain footage of various tests the range, including parachute jumps and air drops of equipment. At 2:46, Rich is shown purchasing a rotary engine Mazda automobile. At 3:13, Clancy is shown driving the Mazda on the highway. At 3:35, Clancy is pulled over by a Highway Patrol officer. At 4:14, Rich gets into a North American T-28 Trojan.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com