Interesting Youtube Channels

The BBC Archive has recently (17-May-2026) posted the documentary, "The Life of Test Pilots" (1970).

Among the test pilots and aircraft featured are Bill Bedford (Harrier), Donald Ferguson and Wilfred Ronald "Ron" Gellatly (Westland Sea King), Jeffrey Quill (Spitfire Mk VB, RAF Ser. AB910, c/n CBAF.1061; wearing "QJ-J"), Harold H "Timber" Wood (Bristol Beverley), Roland Prosper "Bee" Beamont (TSR-2), Empire Test Pilot School (Boscombe Down), Patrick "Pat" Charles Stuart Chilton, J.A. "Robby" Robinson (Canberra, RAF Ser. WH876; c/n SH.1633), Flt. Lt. Mick Hindley (Vickers 744 Viscount, RAF Ser. XR801, c/n 89 and Vickers 745D Viscount, RAF Ser. XR802, c/n 198), James Leonard "Jimmy" Dell (Jaguar S, RAF Ser. XW560, c/n S.06), Derek Whitehead (McDonnell Douglas F-4M Phantom FGR.2, RAF Ser. XT912, c/n 2742; and Blackburn B.2 Series 1, [G-AEBJ, c/n 6300/8]), and John "Cat's Eyes" Cunningham (Trident 3, performing VMU and Auto Land "go-around" flight testing),

Plus there is one heck of a low pass by a Phantom FGR.2 at the 25-second mark.

YouTube - BBC Archive: 1970: "The Life of Test Pilots" - Tuesday Documentary
 
The official video on one of the prototype engines produced during the BR era, Falcon, a design rendered obsolete by improvements in engine power rather than by any specific design flaw. Like Lion, DP2 & Kestrel this one failed to make it into preservation unlike the later Avocet.

View: https://youtu.be/aZZe2VPWbJs?si=X5_gmVuPmZLLSaNR
 
I couldn't find the best thread for this, so, if the administrators know of a better place, please feel free to move it to the appropriate topic.

Recently posted (July 6, 2026) to Periscope Film is a 1980 US Air Force "Special Purpose Report - Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratories"-produced film, entitled, "AFWAL R&D: Technology: Technology For The Future." It features a smorgasbord of circa-1980 projects and programs that those here can far better identify than myself.

Here's a rundown of what I was able to identify:
Included are images/illustrations of a FLTSATCOM (Fleet Satellite Communications System) satellite (2:26); Vought - VFW Eaglet variant (2:27); Martin Marietta ASALM (Advanced Strategic Air-Launched Missile) (2:29); an unidentified canard fighter concept (2:31); an Air Force high speed target drone (or long-range air-breathing AAM) (2:32); then from 2:32-2:43: a (McDonald Douglas?) Spanloader concept, a couple of hypersonic concepts, spaceplane concept, V/STOL tilt-fan-jet concept, a reusable air-launched space vehicle, ASALM (?), an F-15 with a modified wing and ventral fins; something the National Archives describes as (though, I am not sure if they are correct) as a "Artist concept of a short-field, high fuel-efficiency aircraft in flight" from Rockwell (NARA NAID: 6366423 LINK) (3:03); the Grumman Advanced Stealthy Penetrator (GASP) (3:04); Boeing M-4.5 Double Parasol Wing wind tunnel model (3:37-4:12); wind tunnel F-16 Sparrow under wing pylon flutter study (4:50); composite lay-up of an unidentified aircraft structure (5:20); B-1A wing carry-through box structure (6:11); A-10 wing structure testing (6:21); heat testing of the F-111 cockpit/escape capsule (6:46); B-1A wing carry-through structure test to failure (7:09); J58(?) jet engine testing, followed by various jet engines/turbines (7:54-10:36); The first YF-16 (USAF Ser. No. 72-1567) configured as the CCV (13:26-14:06); scale models of the F-111 AFTI's mission adaptive wing and desk model of same (14:07), joined by a desk model of a concept I am unable to identify with twin tails and what appears to be deployable canards (14:19); then at the 17 minute mark the USAF Flight Dynamics Laboratory XBQM-106 Mini-RPV (FDL-33) makes an appearance in a test armed with what is described as a "100-lb warhead" and shown being used in a SEAD-role, taking out a notional air defense radar (17:40); after a brief look at a Boeing AGM-86A test, several Compound Cycle Turbine Diesel Engine (CCTDE) mock ups and models are shown (17:52); ASALM test firing from an A-7 Corsair II (18:28), then several illustrations of various concepts are shown to conclude the film, beginning at the 22:45 mark.

YouTube - Periscope Film - "AFWAL R&D: Technology: Technology For The Future" (1980)
 
Here is another interesting US Air Force film posted to YouTube today (22-July-2026) by Periscope Film. The film is entitled, "Photography in the USAF - Optical Instrumentation at Vandenberg Air Force Base California" (circa-1962), detailing the work of the 1352nd Photographic Squadron documenting launches from Vandenberg AFB on film, including the various cameras, equipment, locations, etc., used by the unit to do so.

What is also interesting about this film is from the 12min 24sec mark onward it features footage of the July 21, 1961 failed launch and destruction of the Thor-Agena rocket (Thor DM-21 Agena-B; consisting of Thor 322 and Agena 1110) carrying Discoverer 27 (Corona 9020A), which was actually a KH-5 Argon reconnaissance satellite. Much of the footage leading up to that point shows the various cameras being trained upon the Thor-Agena carrying Discoverer 20, which used Thor 298 as its first stage to successfully place the first KH-5 Argon into orbit on February 17, 1961.

YouTube - Periscope Film: "'PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE USAF' MISSILE LAUNCH FAILURE ANALYSIS AT VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE GG28355"
 
Interesting!

Related on the subject:

"The Battles of Cagayan were a series of military engagements that took place in 1582 between the Spanish Navy in the Philippines—commanded by Captain Juan Pablo de Carrión—and Chinese and Japanese pirates led, according to Spanish records, by a certain Tay Fusa. The battles occurred near the Cagayan River in response to Japanese raids on the coasts of Luzon and resulted in a Spanish victory. The event was notable for pitting arquebusiers, pikemen, and swordsmen against a contingent that included Japanese pirates.

Contrary to popular belief, similar clashes between Westerners and the Japanese had already occurred—such as the Siege of Moji in 1582 and the Battle of Fukuda Bay in 1565, which pitted the Japanese against the Portuguese—but this marked the first time the Spanish Navy fought an enemy force that included Japanese troops."
 
Not from Youtube, but Japan broadcaster NHK :

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/5135001/

White Flag: Mizuki Shigeru and the War​

Manga artist Mizuki Shigeru's masterpiece "White Flag" comes to life as an anime. His story was based on a WWII soldier who defied his superiors to protect his men. What truly happened on "Iwo Jima"?

Only available online from 12 to 20 Sep 2026 ...... catch it while you can ....
 
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