Agusta 109 in Royal Navy Recruitment Advert

[Flashman]

Anybody else spot the Agusta 109 in the latest RN TV advert? Is the Lynx serviceability really that bad or are the Navy short of pilots?

[BEagle]

Did you get its number for your notebook.....??

[jockspice]

It was the cab involved in the air to air filming - castle air I believe.. .At least it has a cab in it - the crab ad puts me to sleep :)

[Flashman]

BEagle, I can probably get it for you if you want. I thought it was just trains you logged!

[BEagle]

Touché!! But at least it's a better ad than the rubbish which is being used to advertise the RAF!!

Oh look - is that a Castle Class or a Hall......?

[FJJP]

Nah! It's Battle of Britain Class Bullied Light Pacific.... 92 Squadron...

:)

[Flatfish]

The helo in question is a Dauphin operated by Bond Helicopters. They are used to shuffle bods around between ships particularly during sea training. . .It's good to see that the RN has actually decided to advertise for once, perhaps there is a manning shortage after all! What is even more surprising is that "Mummy's little soldiers" aka SHAR boys are not featured, they appear in every other piece of RN propaganda !

[jockspice]

The Dauphins are bright red which is another giveaway. Castle Air, Im tellin ya!!!!! :)

[Mike Cusack]

Perhaps it was one of the Helos liberated from the Argies.

[Toddington Ted]

Ah, God's Wonderful Railway, now you've got me started. A Castle was a 4 cylinder locomotive with bent outside steampipes whereas the Halls (both the original Collett designs and the later Hawksworth modified Halls) were 2 cylinder machines with straight steampipes. The best 2 cylinder types though were the Collett "Granges" of which sadly none survive. No 6848 Toddington Grange is my favourite, as you might expect. The Southern BofB and West Country class were lovely lookers, especially in their original "air smoothed" casings. Any RAF Sqns still having any of the original nameplates and crests in their possession should get them insured, they are worth about £30k each! Several of the locomotives are still around including 92 Sqn and 257 Sqn. Now, aircraft, oh well, never mind!

[BEagle]

We've got a '101 Squadron' nameplate! Unfortunately it's firmly bolted to the side of one of Sir Dickie B's current locomotives though.....

Loved my Hornby Dublo 3-rail 'Bristol Castle'! Bet that would be worth a penny or two today...

[Daifly]

Yep. G-TELY (or something similar).

Flown by Keith I bet. It's the one that used to be on Treasure Hunt with the lovely Anneka Rice/Annabel Croft. See, not a wasted childhood.

It's not the FOST Bond one, which is Bond Air Services now too...

I didn't think it was too bad an ad really.

[Toddington Ted]

Yes, your 101 Sqn plate will increase in value although, not as much as the original plates that once adorned the Southern "light pacifics" built at the end of WW2. 101, of course, not being a fighter Sqn but a very famous bomber sqn (am I right in thinking the crest relates to a turret as the Sqn once flew the Boulton Paul Overstrand?). .Thanks to loonies like me who indulge in life size train set playing, we still have several preserved examples including 92 Sqn, 249 Sqn, 257 Sqn, Manston, Tangmere, Sir Keith Park, Sir Archibald Sinclair and Sir Frederick Pile (poor chap, head of Anti Aircraft Command I think). Winston Churchill was the only locomotive actually saved by officialdom, all the others coming from the Woodhams yard at Barry near St Athan. There is a market for old 3 rail model trains. I promise to stop now and revert back to the thread, I do like the RN advert but I don't think the current RAF one tells my children anything about what the RAF is about. There have been some excellent ideas posted recently by pruners who clearly should be at DCC (RAF).

[BEagle]

Yes - the 101 badge (according to the Chester Herald, it mustn't be called a 'crest') does indeed commemorate the squadron's time with the Boulton Paul Sidestrand and Overstrand - first turreted bombers in the RAF.

Personally I've always thought that it looks a bit like the old British Railways badge (minus the wheel) - but more closely resembles a cat cr@pping in a pork pie!

[Flashman]

....and if anybody should know about British Railways!!.........

[fuel2noise]

To put the spotters straight..The RN's support Dauphins at Plymouth are operated by British International not Bond. Don't be fooled by the red paint job.... <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0">

[Junglie]

Flatfish you are a muppet it is not a Dauphin 0 out of 10 for your recce test obviously not a junglie or AH man!!

Regards to Jockspice nice to see you at the rugby

The TV advert is the short version of the cinema ad which is even more inspirational. I left the film and tried to join all over again!