British Aerospace (Blackburn) Buccaneer GR.3 and Lockheed TF-104G Starfighter
The growing threat of the Soviet Navy and the postwar drawdown of the British Royal Navy left the UK in a precarious position: it faced a larger, deadlier adversary without the means to stop it. Rather than build more surface combatants, the RN turned to deployment of more sophisticated aircraft to counter the Soviet threat. This resulted in a requirement for a carrier-based strike aircraft capable of high speed delivery of both antiship missiles and nuclear weapons. Blackburn's proposal was the only one seriously considered, and it became the Blackburn Buccaneer.
The Buccaneer was, for its time, an advance in naval aircraft design. It used area ruling for better aerodynamics, advanced avionics for accurate weapons delivery at high speed and low altitude, and refinements to the wings and tail for a smooth ride at low level. Weapons were carried in a rotary bomb bay similar to that of the Canberra. The Buccaneer was solidly built, as Blackburn's designers anticipated the stress of consistent low altitude flight and carrier operations on the airframe. The Buccaneer S.1's main weakness was a lack of engine power; this was cured in the S.2 by the use of uprated Rolls-Royce Spey engines.
The Buccaneer entered service in 1962 and acquired a reputation for toughness and reliability. However, the decision to retire Britain's large carriers in favor of smaller "Harrier carriers" in the late 1970s left the Buccaneers without a home. The RAF, which lacked an all-weather strike aircraft after the cancellation of the TSR-2 and F-111K Aardvark, took up the surviving Buccaneers as an "interim" aircraft until the Panavia Tornado was available. The Buccaneer's smooth low level handling and robust airframe ensured that the "interim" period would last over a decade. (Buccaneer crews also gained a reputation for daring: it was not uncommon for them to hit power lines during Red Flag exercises--while climbing.)
Ironically, RAF Buccaneers would only see combat in the twilight of their careers. As the Tornado fleet lacked laser designators for precision-guided weapons, Buccaneers were hurriedly sent to the Gulf for participation in Operation Desert Storm. Equipped with Pave Spike laser designators, the Buccaneers would lase a target that the Tornadoes would drop on, then use their own bombloads to follow up if necessary. No Buccaneers were lost in combat. South Africa also used theirs in undeclared wars in Angola and Namibia. It was the end of the line for the venerable "Buc": as the Tornado was upgraded, there was no need for the Buccaneer, and they were retired by 1994. Several dozen remain in museums, some in flyable condition.
Dad got a better picture that's also in my photostream, but this is XW541, a Buccaneer assigned to 16 Squadron at RAF Laarbruch, Germany. It visited the 1979 Ramstein airshow. XW541 was delivered to the RAF in 1971; it was to fly until 1980, after which it was used as a maintenance trainer until 1991, when it was scrapped. The nose section was saved and is in a private collection in the UK.
In the right foreground is a Royal Norwegian Air Force TF-104G, probably serial number 627 of 331 Squadron, based at Rygge. If it is 627, she didn't have much longer to fly: it was lost in a crash in February 1981. Also seen in the background is a Luftwaffe G.91R/3 and a CAF CF-104G, both of which are also in my photostream.
Ramstein airshows were the best. There were silver linings to growing up during the Cold War.
British Aerospace (Blackburn) Buccaneer GR.3 and Lockheed TF-104G Starfighter
The growing threat of the Soviet Navy and the postwar drawdown of the British Royal Navy left the UK in a precarious position: it faced a larger, deadlier adversary without the means to stop it. Rather than build more surface combatants, the RN turned to deployment of more sophisticated aircraft to counter the Soviet threat. This resulted in a requirement for a carrier-based strike aircraft capable of high speed delivery of both antiship missiles and nuclear weapons. Blackburn's proposal was the only one seriously considered, and it became the Blackburn Buccaneer.
The Buccaneer was, for its time, an advance in naval aircraft design. It used area ruling for better aerodynamics, advanced avionics for accurate weapons delivery at high speed and low altitude, and refinements to the wings and tail for a smooth ride at low level. Weapons were carried in a rotary bomb bay similar to that of the Canberra. The Buccaneer was solidly built, as Blackburn's designers anticipated the stress of consistent low altitude flight and carrier operations on the airframe. The Buccaneer S.1's main weakness was a lack of engine power; this was cured in the S.2 by the use of uprated Rolls-Royce Spey engines.
The Buccaneer entered service in 1962 and acquired a reputation for toughness and reliability. However, the decision to retire Britain's large carriers in favor of smaller "Harrier carriers" in the late 1970s left the Buccaneers without a home. The RAF, which lacked an all-weather strike aircraft after the cancellation of the TSR-2 and F-111K Aardvark, took up the surviving Buccaneers as an "interim" aircraft until the Panavia Tornado was available. The Buccaneer's smooth low level handling and robust airframe ensured that the "interim" period would last over a decade. (Buccaneer crews also gained a reputation for daring: it was not uncommon for them to hit power lines during Red Flag exercises--while climbing.)
Ironically, RAF Buccaneers would only see combat in the twilight of their careers. As the Tornado fleet lacked laser designators for precision-guided weapons, Buccaneers were hurriedly sent to the Gulf for participation in Operation Desert Storm. Equipped with Pave Spike laser designators, the Buccaneers would lase a target that the Tornadoes would drop on, then use their own bombloads to follow up if necessary. No Buccaneers were lost in combat. South Africa also used theirs in undeclared wars in Angola and Namibia. It was the end of the line for the venerable "Buc": as the Tornado was upgraded, there was no need for the Buccaneer, and they were retired by 1994. Several dozen remain in museums, some in flyable condition.
Dad got a better picture that's also in my photostream, but this is XW541, a Buccaneer assigned to 16 Squadron at RAF Laarbruch, Germany. It visited the 1979 Ramstein airshow. XW541 was delivered to the RAF in 1971; it was to fly until 1980, after which it was used as a maintenance trainer until 1991, when it was scrapped. The nose section was saved and is in a private collection in the UK.
In the right foreground is a Royal Norwegian Air Force TF-104G, probably serial number 627 of 331 Squadron, based at Rygge. If it is 627, she didn't have much longer to fly: it was lost in a crash in February 1981. Also seen in the background is a Luftwaffe G.91R/3 and a CAF CF-104G, both of which are also in my photostream.
Ramstein airshows were the best. There were silver linings to growing up during the Cold War.