Blackburn Buccaneer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackburn_Buccaneer

The Blackburn Buccaneer is a British carrier-borne attack aircraft designed in
the 1950s for the Royal Navy (RN). Designed and initially produced by Blackburn
Aircraft at Brough, it was later officially known as the Hawker Siddeley
Buccaneer when Blackburn became a part of the Hawker Siddeley Group, but this
name is rarely used.

The Buccaneer was originally designed in response to the Soviet Union's
Sverdlov-class cruiser construction programme. Instead of building a new fleet
of its own, the Royal Navy could use the Buccaneer to attack these ships by
approaching at low altitudes below the ship's radar horizon. The Buccaneer could
attack using a nuclear bomb, or conventional weapons. It was later intended to
carry short-range anti-shipping missiles to improve its survivability against
more modern ship-based anti-aircraft weapons.

The Buccaneer entered Royal Navy service in 1962. The initial production
aircraft suffered a series of accidents due to insufficient engine power, which
was quickly addressed in the Buccaneer S.2, equipped with more powerful
Rolls-Royce Spey jet engines. The Buccaneer was also offered as an entrant into
a new Royal Air Force (RAF) contest for a new attack aircraft. It was initially
rejected in favour of the much more advanced supersonic BAC TSR-2, but the cost
of the TSR-2 programme led to its cancellation, only to be followed by the
cancellation of its selected replacement, the General Dynamics F-111K. The
Buccaneer was finally purchased by the RAF, entering service in 1969.

The Royal Navy retired the last of its large aircraft carriers in 1978, moving
their strike role to the British Aerospace Sea Harrier, and passing their
Buccaneers to the RAF. After a crash in 1980 revealed metal fatigue problems,
the RAF fleet was reduced to 60 aircraft, while the rest were scrapped. The
ending of the Cold War led to a reduction in strength of the RAF, and the
accelerated retirement of the remaining fleet, with the last Buccaneers in RAF
service being retired in 1994; in favour of the Panavia Tornado. The South
African Air Force (SAAF) also procured the type. Buccaneers saw combat action in
the first Gulf War of 1991, and the South African Border War.

Overview

The Buccaneer was a mid-wing, twin-engine aircraft. It had a crew of two in a
tandem-seat arrangement with the observer seated higher and offset from the
pilot to give a clear view forwards to enable him to assist in visual search.
Its operational profile included cruising at altitude (for reduced fuel
consumption) before descending, just outside the anticipated enemy radar
detection range, to 100 feet (30 m) for a 500-knot (930 km/h; 580 mph) dash to
and from the target. Targets might be ships-at-sea or large shore-based
installations at long range from the launching aircraft-carrier. To illustrate,
in May 1966, an S.2 launched from HMS Victorious in the Irish Sea, performed a
low-level simulated nuclear weapon toss on the airfield at Gibraltar and
returned to the ship, a 2,300-mile (3,700 km) trip The aircraft had an
all-weather operational capability provided by the pilot's head-up display and
Airstream Direction Detector, for example, and the observer's navigation systems
and fire control radar. The Buccaneer was one of the largest aircraft to operate
from British aircraft carriers, and continued operating from them until the last
conventional carrier was withdrawn in 1978. During its service, the Buccaneer
was the backbone of the Navy's ground strike operations, including nuclear
strike.

The majority of the rear fuselage's internal area was used to house electronics,
such as elements of the radio, equipment supporting the aircraft's radar
functionality, and the crew's liquid oxygen life support system; the whole
compartment was actively cooled by ram air drawn from the tailfin. For
redundancy, the Buccaneer featured dual busbars for electrical systems, and
three independent hydraulic systems. The aircraft was made easier to control and
land via an integrated flight control computer that performed auto-stabilisation
and auto pilot functions.


Role
Maritime strike aircraft

National origin
United Kingdom

Manufacturer
Blackburn Aircraft Limited,
Hawker Siddeley

First flight
30 April 1958

Introduction
17 July 1962

Retired
31 March 1994

Primary users
Royal Navy
Royal Air Force
South African Air Force

Number built
211

The Buccaneer entered service with the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) on 17 July 1962, when
801 NAS was commissioned at RNAS Lossiemouth in Scotland. The Buccaneer quickly
replaced the FAA's Supermarine Scimitar, which had previously been performing
the naval attack role. In addition to conventional ordnance, the Buccaneer was
cleared for nuclear weapons delivery in 1965; weapons deployed included Red
Beard and WE.177 free-fall bombs, which were carried internally on a rotating
bomb-bay door. Two FAA operational squadrons, and a training unit were equipped
with the Buccaneer S.1. The aircraft was well liked by Navy aircrew for its
strength and flying qualities, and the BLC system gave them slower landing
speeds than they were accustomed to. The Buccaneers were painted dark sea grey
on top, and anti-flash white on the undersides.

By April 1965, intensive trials of the new Buccaneer S.2 had begun, with the
type entering operational service with the FAA later that year. The improved S.2
type proved its value when it became the first FAA aircraft to make a non-stop,
unrefuelled crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. On 28 March 1967, Buccaneers from
RNAS Lossiemouth bombed the shipwrecked supertanker Torrey Canyon off the
western coast of Cornwall to make the oil burn; in an attempt to avoid an
environmental disaster. In 1972, Buccaneers of 809 Naval Air Squadron operating
from Ark Royal took part in a 1,500-mile (2,400 km) mission to show a military
presence over British Honduras (now Belize) shortly before its independence, to
deter a possible Guatemalan invasion in pursuit of its territorial claims over
the country.

The Buccaneer also participated in regular patrols and exercises in the North
Sea, practicing the type's role if war had broken out with the Soviet Union.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the Royal Navy standardised the air wings operating
from their carriers around the Phantom, Buccaneer, and the Fairey Gannet
aircraft. A total of six FAA squadrons were equipped with the Buccaneer:
700B/700Z (intensive flying trials unit), 736 (training), 800, 801, 803 and 809
Naval Air Squadrons. Buccaneers were embarked on HMS Victorious, Eagle, HMS Ark
Royal, and Hermes.

The Buccaneer was retired from FAA service with the decommissioning in 1978 of
the Ark Royal, the last of the navy's fleet carriers. Their retirement was part
of a larger foreign policy agenda that was implemented throughout the 1970s.
Measures such as the withdrawal of most British military forces stationed East
of Suez were viewed as reducing the need for aircraft carriers, and fixed-wing
naval aviation in general. The decision was highly controversial, particularly
to those within the FAA. The Royal Navy would replace the naval strike
capability of the Buccaneer with the smaller V/STOL-capable British Aerospace
Sea Harrier, which were operated from their Invincible class aircraft carriers.

Specifications (Buccaneer S.2)

General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 63 ft 5 in (19.33 m)
Wingspan: 44 ft (13 m)
Height: 16 ft 3 in (4.95 m)
Wing area: 514 sq ft (47.8 m2)
Empty weight: 30,000 lb (13,608 kg)
Gross weight: 62,000 lb (28,123 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Spey Mk.101 turbofan engines, 11,000 lbf (49 kN)
thrust each

Performance
Maximum speed: 580 kn (670 mph, 1,070 km/h) at 200 ft (61 m)
Range: 2,000 nmi (2,300 mi, 3,700 km)
Service ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,000 m)
Wing loading: 120.5 lb/sq ft (588 kg/m2)
Thrust/weight: 0.36

Armament

Hardpoints: 4 × under-wing pylon stations for up to 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) of
bombs, and 1 × internal rotating bomb bay with a capacity of 12,000 lb (5,443
kg),with provisions to carry combinations of: Rockets: 4 × Matra rocket pods
with 18 × SNEB 68-mm rockets each
Missiles: Either 2 × AIM-9 Sidewinders for self-defence, 2 × AS-37 Martel
missiles, or 4 × Sea Eagle missile
Bombs: Various unguided bombs, laser-guided bombs, as well as either the Red
Beard or WE.177 tactical nuclear bombs
Other: AN/ALQ-101 ECM protection pod, AN/AVQ-23 Pave Spike laser designator pod,
buddy refuelling pack or drop tanks for extended range/loitering time


Avionics
Blue Parrot ASV search/attack radar




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