The Aircraft of British Aerospace and BAE SYSTEMS 1977 - 2017 17Legacy aircraft programmes
was decided that the Vulcan would fit the
bill. So much so that after initial
discussions on 30 April, the go-ahead was
given just a few days later on 4 May 1982.
When installation in the bomb bay
was found to be unsuitable, it was
decided to install a Hose Drum Unit
(HDU) in the rear ECM bay. As the bomb
bay was not used, a third bomb bay fuel
tank could also be fitted giving the
Vulcan an overall fuel capacity of
100,000lbs. Six Vulcans were converted at
BAe Woodford (where they had been
built) and flew with No.50 Squadron until
the end of March 1984 when they were
replaced by newly-rebuilt VC10 tankers.
The Buccaneer
In answer to the Royal Navy requirement
for a high subsonic speed, twin-seat,
twin-jet, carrier strike aircraft able to
deliver nuclear or conventional weapons
in all weathers, Blackburn devised the
Buccaneer. The prototype XK486 made its
maiden flight on 30 April 1958 and by the
end of 1961 all the 20 development
aircraft were airborne. It had an obvious
capability as a land-based tactical strike
aircraft, and the manufacturers made
many presentations to both for the RAF
and foreign governments, to win just one
export order - in October 1962 the South
African Air Force placed an order for 16.
The first operational RN squadron,
equipped with the Buccaneer S1, No. 801
Squadron was commissioned in July
1962 and others soon followed. However
the Gyron-engined S1 was under-
powered so the Rolls-Royce Spey-
powered Buccaneer S2 was developed.
The Navy found the greater power and
equipment refinements provided a far
superior aircraft and by the end of the
1960s the S1s had all been retired from
active service.
After the Government cancelled the
F-111, in July 1968 the MoD announced
as an ‘interim measure’ that the RAF
would now inherit sixty-four Buccaneers
from the Fleet Air Arm made redundant
by the scrapping of the aircraft carrier
fleet along with twenty-six newly-built
aircraft. This ‘interim measure’ continued
until 1994 when the Buccaneer was
replaced by the Tornado.With the RAF
In parallel with this new production, a
refurbishment programme at Brough
converted some 64 ex-Royal Navy
Buccaneer S2As to RAF standards. The
initial batch of these refurbished aircraft
was delivered to the RAF in October
1969 and the first new S2B flew in
January 1970. Further orders kept the
Brough production line busy to the end
of 1977, by which time 209 had been
built.
The majority of the ex-Royal Navy
Buccaneers S2As transferred to the RAF
were ultimately modified to full S2B
standard with the ability to carry the
Martel TV-guided air-to-surface missile
and incorporating the bomb door fuel
tank modification. This added another
425gals to the existing fuel capacity and
gave a pronounced bulge on the
Buccaneer’s underbelly.Buccaneers grounded and
return to service
During a ‘Red Flag’ exercise at Nellis Air
Force Base in Nevada in February 1980, a
15 Sqn Buccaneer crashed into the desert
after its wing had broken off. All machines
were immediately grounded. The cause of
the additional stress to the airframe was
primarily because of the wing tip fairing
extension fitted to the S2s. Two
Buccaneers with the greatest flying hours
were totally dismantled at BAe Brough
and examined minutely and one of the
pair was tested to destruction. The repair
was very complicated, requiring a
dismantling of the aircraft down to its
basic structure and either the shaving of
0.1inches from a metal rib to remove the
crack in the structure or the total removal
and replacement of the front spar.
All the aircraft were assessed, some
did not need modification, some did and
some were scrapped. All bar two of the
aircraft in Nevada flew home and the
remaining two were shipped home for
repair. To maintain the crews’ flying hours,
a fleet of 34 Hunters was assembled so
they could keep flying. After six months,
Buccaneer flying was gradually resumed.
By 1983 with the introduction of the
Tornado into service the Buccaneers’ roles
were reduced to maritime strike and
reconnaissance and all the squadrons
were based at Lossiemouth. It was
recognised that their weapons suite was
insufficient, so 42 aircraft were earmarked
for modification to carry the BAe
Dynamics Sea Eagle and host of other
improvements to keep the aircraft viable First VC10 K
tanker ZA141 taking
off on its maiden
flight from Filton on
22 June 1982. This
aircraft was
formerly G-ARVG
with British Airways
and Gulf Air.
(BAE SYSTEMS)