This black & white educational film “Eagles of the Fleet” was made by the British Government as a recruiting and information aide for the Royal Navy. The first part of the film shows shore training at HMS Heron aka Yeovilton, a facility sited a few miles north of Yeovil, Somerset. The second part of the film shows flight operations, training and a mock attack staged by HMS Vengeance (R71), a Colossus-class light aircraft carrier. The film features Fairey Firefly and Hawker Sea Fury aircraft. Copyright 1950, with narration by Sir Ralph Richardson.
Opening titles: Crown Film Unit – EAGLES OF THE FLEET (:08-:34). Sailboats on the ocean. Royal Navy aircraft fly over civilian sailboats and warships at sea. Naval Air Station HMS Heron. Men and women at work, side by side, at the naval station. Oil is changed on a plane by a female mechanic aka Rosie the Riveter type. Men and women play pool. Men drink pints of beer. A man gets a trim at the barber. A couple gets married. A child. Homes, women walk (:35-2:24). A group of men and women at attention. Commanding officer saluting lower ranked men. Band plays. Men and women march. The naval base at the Rock of Gibraltar. A Royal Navy aircraft carrier with men on deck. At 3:40, HMS Gabbard D-47m a Battle-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, is seen leaving Gibraltar. Carriers sail out onto the Mediterranean Sea, with Fairey Firefly and Hawker Sea Fury aircraft visible on deck (4:14). The particular one visible can be ID’d by the marking on the wing, Hawker Sea Fury FB11, VW702. (This plane was destroyed in a fatal accident in 1953.) Royal Navy plane crew crank a plane’s propeller (3:42). Officers look over charts. The men smoke (2:25-4:08). On the flight deck, planes are rolled out and getting prepared to go. Pilots below deck get their orders and move fast. (Note at 4:32 is a prominent shot of a pin-up in the ready room!) Pilots climb into their cockpits. Propellers start. The ship sails on and planes begin taking off. Planes fly into the air, one after the other (4:09-6:04). At (6:10) anti-submarine variant Fairefly AS.Mk 6 is seen and at (6:36) a Hawker Sea Fury FB.II. Enemy cruiser is seen. The planes fire at the ship and the ship’s guns fire back. Men on the carrier relax, rest, eat. Men below deck review the radars. On deck, a plane comes in to land. One after the other, the planes come in and land. The planes get hooked when they land. Quickly, they are unhooked and moved (6:05-8:12). At (7:50) the name of the pilot of the aircraft, T.E.M. Kirby, is visible. Landing officer signals the planes and tell the planes where to go and when to shut off. A plane lands and crashes down on it’s left side, the wheel is damaged. Sailors and fire crew race to assist. The last few planes return. A sunset seen from the deck. The flag of the Union Jack. Men look out at sea, HMS Vengeance visible on their caps. Planes in the air and ships at sea. A plane does a quick maneuver (8:13-9:53). End credits (9:54-10:01).
HMS Vengeance (R71) was a Colossus-class light aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy during World War II. The carrier served in three navies during her career: the Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy (as HMAS Vengeance, 1952-55), and the Brazilian Navy (as NAeL Minas Gerais, from 1956 to 2001).
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