Air Sea Rescue (1955)

M/S of a woman (Wren Officer Leta Ridley) wearing a lifejacket splashing around in the sea and waving. C/U of a helicopter pilot then aerial shots from the helicopter as they search for the woman. It is a practice air-sea rescue performed by members of the Royal Navy Air Station at Ford, Sussex. A smoke flare is dropped into the water to indicate wind direction then a “scoop net“ is lowered. This is a new innovation invented by Lieutenant Commander John Sproule and Chief Petty Officer Lock. The volunteer “injured survivor“ is lifted out of the water by net - she is smiling. Over various shots of the helicopter and Leta in the rescue net the narrator states “It is this type of cheerful courage, coupled with the ingenuity of men of the Navy’s Fleet Air Arm that is gradually winning the peacetime battle with nature.“ FILM ID: A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT’S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES.