military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) (01/27/91)
From: ihlpm!jfb (Joseph F Baugher +1 708 713 4548) Number 34 in the series--the BAe Buccaneer, which is to be transferred to the Persian Gulf arena: British Aerospace Buccaneer S.Mk2B Engine: Two Rolls-Royce Spey RB 168-1A Mk 101 non-afterburning turbofans, 11,100 lb. st. each. Performance: Maximum speed: Mach 0.91 (690 mph) at sea level. Attack speed: 620 mph at sea level. Maximum strike range: 2300 miles with external fuel and normal weapons load Combat radius: 600 miles (hi-lo-lo-hi, full warload) Take-off distance: 3400 feet (maximum takeoff weight) Weights: Empty: 30,000 lbs. Maximum takeoff: 62,000 lbs. Armament: No internal cannon armament. Internal weapons bay capable of carrying four 1000-lb bombs on a rotary rack. Four underwing hardpoints each stressed to 3000 lbs, compatible with a wide range of guided and/or free fall weapons. Total weapons load of 16,000 lbs. can be carried. Ferry fuel tanks can be carried in the internal weapons bay in place of bombs. Electronics Ferranti Blue Parrot multimode search and fire-control radar ARI 18228 Radar warning receivers in wing leading edges and in top of vertical fin. Can carry various ECM pods on the underwing pylons. AN-ALE 40 chaff/flare dispensers under each jet tailpipe. The cockpit is a rather faithful indicator of the age of the Buccaneer. It has mainly analog dialed instruments and lacks the video screens and heads-up displays of more modern types. Remarks: Conceived as a carrier-based low-level bomber and strike aircraft. Original Admiralty requirement NA.39 of 1952 called for a two-seat carrier-based aircraft capable of carrying a nuclear weapon internally with a combat radius greater than 460 miles and able to fly at Mach 0.85 at altitudes as low as 200 feet. Blackburn Buccanear selected by Admiralty in 1955 as winner of the NA.39 competition. First prototype flew in 1958. The Blackburn corporation was absorbed into the Hawker Siddeley consortium, which was in turn absorbed into British Aerospace. Buccaneer S.Mk 1 was first production example. Two de Havilland Gyron Junior 101 turbojets of 7100 lb. st. each. 40 built. Entered service with the Fleet Air Arm in 1961. Proved to be somewhat underpowered in service; e. g. it could not take off with a full fuel load. Buccaneer S.Mk 2 was version with much more powerful Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan. 60 percent more thrust. Larger air intakes. Higher all-round performance and a major increase in range over the S.Mk 1 version. Entered service with Fleet Air Arm in 1965. South African Air Force acquired 16 de-navalized versions of the S.Mk. 2, which were designated Buccaneer S.Mk. 50. These were intended for long-range antishipping strike role. Fitted with two retractable single-chamber rocket engines in rear fuselage for enhanced takeoff performance. These appear to be still in service. Orders by South Africa for more Buccaneers were placed under an arms embargo by the British government. RAF ordered 26 Buccaneer S.Mk.2s in 1968, as a stop-gap to fill the void left by the cancellation of the BAC TSR2 and the General Dynamics F-111K. These were soon to be supplemented by the Fleet Air Arm S.Mk.2s, which were transferred to the RAF when Britain decided to abandon its large carriers. These former-naval Buccaneers were designated S.Mk 2A. New-built RAF Buccaneers were designated S.Mk 2B. 48 were built. Some ex-Navy Buccaneers were retrofitted to S.Mk 2B standards. Buccaneer S.Mk 2C is designation applied to ex-navy aircraft that were not equipped with Martel missiles. Buccaneer S.Mk 2D is designation applied to ex-navy aircraft equipped to launch the AJ 168 Martel TV-guided air-to-surface missile. Last new-build Buccaneer delivered in 1977. Crew of 2 (pilot and weapons officer) in tandem Martin-Baker Mk 6MSB zero-zero ejector seats. Full-span boundary-layer blowing systems which enable small wing and tail surfaces behave like larger ones, providing a high-speed ride that is remarkably steady. Can be provided with an optional, non-retractable aerial refuelling probe mounted ahead of the front cockpit. The Buccaneer has a rather unusual split-tailcone airbrake that opens in a clamshell fashion to provide enormous drag during rapid deceleration. In "Red Flag" exercises in USA, the Buccaneer has performed extremely well in its low-level strike role. As the Buccaneer fleet began to age, several had to be retired from service because of chronic fatigue problems. Others were rebuilt and strengthened to extend their service lives. As the Panavia Tornado began to enter service, the RAF's Buccaneer fleet was reassigned to the maritime strike role. Surviving RAF Buccaneers underwent an update program to extend their service life into the late 1990s. New Ferranti FIN 1063 inertial navigation system, updated Ferranti "Blue Parrot" radar, Marconi Sky Guardian passive detection system, and Tracor ALE-39 chaff and flare dispensers. According to recent news reports, some RAF Buccaneers are to be transferred to the Persian Gulf to supplement the Tornado fleet that is already there. Sources: Various issues of Aviation Week The World's Great Attack Aircraft, Gallery Books Modern Air Combat, Bill Gunston, Mike Spick The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft Armament, Bill Gunston The Aircraft of the World, William Green and Gerald Pollinger. Joe Baugher ************************************* AT&T Bell Laboratories * "I've got a really bad feeling * 200 Park Plaza * about this....." * Naperville, Illinois 60566-7050 ************************************* (708) 713 4548 ihlpm!jfb jfb200@cbnewsd.att.com Who, me? Speak for AT&T? Surely you jest!
tohall@helios.lerc.nasa.gov (Dave Hall (Sverdrup)) (02/05/91)
From: tohall@helios.lerc.nasa.gov (Dave Hall (Sverdrup)) In article <1991Jan27.100207.22333@cbnews.att.com>, writes... | |> |>From: ihlpm!jfb (Joseph F Baugher +1 708 713 4548) |>Number 34 in the series--the BAe Buccaneer << Lots of good stuff deleted >> |> |> In "Red Flag" exercises in USA, the Buccaneer has performed |> extremely well in its low-level strike role. |> Here is a story related to me by a retired USAF F-4 pilot. Seems he was flying a training mission over the North Atlantic during the mid-70's from his base in Great Britain. His backseater detected a Britsh Royal Air Force Buccaneer at long range, with both aircraft traveling in the same direction (Buccaneer ahead of Phantom). He gave his WSO permission to "Light up" the Brit with the Air-Air fire control radar. Said that he got one helluva surprise. The Brit did an aerail "About Face" and bore down on the lumbering F-4 in a heartbeat. The last comment from the retired USAF type basically indicated that the Buccaneer could fly circles around the Tornados that were replacing it, but could not match the newer airplane for radar/avionics performance. As a side note, the British "Air Show" airplane for many years was (perhaps it still is?) the Buccaneer.
adrian@cs.heriot-watt.ac.uk (Adrian Hurt) (02/08/91)
From: adrian@cs.heriot-watt.ac.uk (Adrian Hurt) In article <1991Feb5.043352.6256@cbnews.att.com> tohall@helios.lerc.nasa.gov (Dave Hall (Sverdrup)) writes: > <Story about how a US Phantom got behind a RAF Buccaneer and switched on its fire control radar shortened to save space.> > Said that he >got one helluva surprise. The Brit did an aerail "About Face" and bore down >on the lumbering F-4 in a heartbeat. Lucky for the F-4 that the Buccaneer didn't carry Sidewinders. I wouldn't advise doing that nowadays, because they do now. In fact, just about everything with wings is carrying Sidewinders in the Gulf, which must be some sort of tribute to the AIM-9. Back to the Buccaneer; it is doing a "Pathfinder" job. It uses a laser to paint a target, onto which a Tornado then drops bombs. The RAF released some film of such a team bombing a bridge. You saw the bridge, with a cross-hair over one end - this was the Buccaneer's view, and the cross-hair was where the laser was pointing. Then you saw an explosion right in the middle of the cross-hair. Hmm... Buccaneers, B-52's, and WW2 battleships - this is beginning to look like a museum. Now, if we could only get a Lancaster and some Tallboys ... :-) "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott Adrian Hurt | JANET: adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian | ARPA: adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk