The Blackburn Buccaneer was a British, carrier-based, strike aircraft, which was in service with the Royal Navy between 1962 and 1994. It had the distinctive feature of being able to fly at high speed at low level. It was conceived to attack and sink Soviet heavy surface ships. It was capable of taking off the flight deck, carrying almost 16,000-lb of bomb-load, which included tactical bombs, anti-ship missiles or rockets. Due to its reliability and good handling, the British pilots liked and trusted this aircraft.
The prototype of the Buccaneer, the NA.39, first took to the air on April 30, 1958. After a long period of flight tests and carrier trials, it was finally introduced into service with the Royal Navy on October 1, 1962, as the Buccaneer S Mk.1 version, which was powered by two de Havilland Gyron Junior engines. The second variant, the S Mk.2, would be produced soon; it was equipped with a more potent power plant; two Rolls Royce RB.168 Spey turbofan engines, each capable of generating 11,106 pounds of thrust. The new engines were able to combine greatly increased thrust and improved fuel efficiency. The S Mk.2B and Mk.2C would also be introduced into service.
Although the Blackburn Buccaneer had been designed to operate from aircraft carriers, it spent most of its career flying from land air bases. It did not take part in the Falklands War, but it did participate in Operation Desert Storm, which was the US-led massive military offensive to liberate Kuwait in early 1991. There, this sturdy old attack aircraft was used successfully to designate targets for laser-guided bombs dropped by Tornados of the Royal Air Force. This legendary British strike aircraft would finally be withdrawn from service in 1994.
Below, a S Mk.2B version of the aircraft in flight, banking left. Notice the four Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles on the underwing pylons.
The Blackburn Buccaneer was a two-seat, twin-engine, mid-wing monoplane. It had an all-metal fuselage, with a ridge or bulge along dorsal side, which began right behind the cockpit and continued into the tail assembly fin (vertical stabilizer). It was fitted with a cantilever swept wing, with its leading edge having two angles of sweep; first a 60-degree angle, which was followed by a 50-degree sweep. On the wing trailing edge, ailrons were much longer than the flaps. The S Mk.2 version was powered by two Rolls Royce RB.168-1A Spey Mk.101 turbofan engines, which were mounted in wing roots. The aircraft featured a unique clamshell-type airbrakes which opened out sideways into the airstream.
Specifications
Type: low-level strike/attack carrier-based aircraft.
Length: 19.33 m (63 ft, 5 in)
Wing Span: 13.41 m (44 ft)
Wing Area: 47.82 m2 (515 sq. ft)
Height: 4.95 m (16 ft, 3 in)
Power Plant: two Rolls Royce RB.168-1A Mk.101 Spey turbofan engines.
Maximum Speed: subsonic (1,038 km/h = 645 mph)
Combat Range: 1,750 km (1,087 miles)
Service Ceiling: 13,000 m (42,650 ft)
Crew: two
Armament: four Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles; or four 1,000-lb (454-kg) laser-guided bombs + AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. Total bomb-load: 15,984-lb (7,250 kg).
Below, a color picture of the Buccaneer flying very low over the sea waters.
Front view of the aircraft parked at a Royal Navy air base in the late 1960s.
Below, the S Mk.2 version of the aircraft, XN976, at Luga, Malta, in March 1967.
Ventral view of the Buccaneer in flight.
Below, the strike bomber with wings folded up.
