Blackburn Buccaneer
The early 1950s Soviet Navy introduction of the Sverdlov-class cruisers seriously threatened Atlantic merchant fleets. The Royal Navy decided to counter the Sverdlovs with a new specialised strike aircraft employing conventional or nuclear weapons operating from Fleet carriers and attacking at high-speed and low-level. Naval Staff Requirement NA39, called for a two-seat aircraft with folding wings, capable of flying at M0.85 at 200 ft, having a combat range of over 400 nm, and carrying a nuclear weapon internally. Blackburn's design by B. P. Laight, Project B-103, won the tender.
The Buccaneer was a mid-winged, twin-engined monoplane with a crew of two seated in tandem under a sliding canopy. To meet the specification the Buccaneer featured a number of advanced design features. The fuselage was area ruled; meaning it was designed to reduce drag at transonic speeds. This gives rise to the characteristic curvy "Coke bottle" shape. It featured a variable incidence tailplane that could be trimmed to suit the particular requirements of low-speed handling or high-speed flight.
At the low levels and high speeds traditional bomb bay doors could not be opened safely into the airstream, so doors were developed that rotated into the fuselage to expose the payload; this was also useful in assisting ground-level access. The nose cone and radar antennae could also be swung around by 180° to reduce the length of the aircraft in the carrier hangar, particularly important as contemporary British aircraft carriers were small.
With the introduction of the Martel air-to-surface missile, some Mk 2 aircraft were converted to carry it, and became S.2D. The remainder became S.2C. 16 aircraft were built (and 15 delivered) for the South African Air Force as the S.50.
When the FAA's fixed-wing operations ended in 1978, 62 of the 84 Buccaneer Mk 2s were transferred to the RAF as S.2A, joining 26 aircraft built by Blackburn's successor, Hawker Siddeley for the RAF as the S.2B. These aircraft were not navalised and, like the S.2A, had RAF-type communications and avionics equipment. They were able to operate the AN/AVQ 23E Pave Spike laser designator pod for Paveway II LGBs and act as target designators for other aircraft. From 1986 No. 208 Squadron RAF used them with the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile.
The Buccaneer entered service in 1962. In addition to conventional ordnance, in 1965 it was approved for nuclear weapons delivery i.e. the Red Beard and WE177 bombs. The Buccaneer saw war service during the 1991 Gulf War when examples were rushed to the area to provide a laser designation capability for British aircraft, and dropping small numbers of LGBs themselves. The last Buccaneers were withdrawn in March 1994 when 208 Squadron disbanded.
Seen at the Imperial War Museum's RAF Duxford site in Cambridgeshire.
Blackburn Buccaneer
The early 1950s Soviet Navy introduction of the Sverdlov-class cruisers seriously threatened Atlantic merchant fleets. The Royal Navy decided to counter the Sverdlovs with a new specialised strike aircraft employing conventional or nuclear weapons operating from Fleet carriers and attacking at high-speed and low-level. Naval Staff Requirement NA39, called for a two-seat aircraft with folding wings, capable of flying at M0.85 at 200 ft, having a combat range of over 400 nm, and carrying a nuclear weapon internally. Blackburn's design by B. P. Laight, Project B-103, won the tender.
The Buccaneer was a mid-winged, twin-engined monoplane with a crew of two seated in tandem under a sliding canopy. To meet the specification the Buccaneer featured a number of advanced design features. The fuselage was area ruled; meaning it was designed to reduce drag at transonic speeds. This gives rise to the characteristic curvy "Coke bottle" shape. It featured a variable incidence tailplane that could be trimmed to suit the particular requirements of low-speed handling or high-speed flight.
At the low levels and high speeds traditional bomb bay doors could not be opened safely into the airstream, so doors were developed that rotated into the fuselage to expose the payload; this was also useful in assisting ground-level access. The nose cone and radar antennae could also be swung around by 180° to reduce the length of the aircraft in the carrier hangar, particularly important as contemporary British aircraft carriers were small.
With the introduction of the Martel air-to-surface missile, some Mk 2 aircraft were converted to carry it, and became S.2D. The remainder became S.2C. 16 aircraft were built (and 15 delivered) for the South African Air Force as the S.50.
When the FAA's fixed-wing operations ended in 1978, 62 of the 84 Buccaneer Mk 2s were transferred to the RAF as S.2A, joining 26 aircraft built by Blackburn's successor, Hawker Siddeley for the RAF as the S.2B. These aircraft were not navalised and, like the S.2A, had RAF-type communications and avionics equipment. They were able to operate the AN/AVQ 23E Pave Spike laser designator pod for Paveway II LGBs and act as target designators for other aircraft. From 1986 No. 208 Squadron RAF used them with the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile.
The Buccaneer entered service in 1962. In addition to conventional ordnance, in 1965 it was approved for nuclear weapons delivery i.e. the Red Beard and WE177 bombs. The Buccaneer saw war service during the 1991 Gulf War when examples were rushed to the area to provide a laser designation capability for British aircraft, and dropping small numbers of LGBs themselves. The last Buccaneers were withdrawn in March 1994 when 208 Squadron disbanded.
Seen at the Imperial War Museum's RAF Duxford site in Cambridgeshire.