Insane Video Of RAF Buccaneers Flying Ultra Low Level During Mock Attack On HMS Liverpool Off Gibraltar
December 23, 2021 Military Aviation
David Cenciotti
RAF Buccaneer low level
Blackburn Aircraft Company NA.39 was a carrier-borne, high-speed low-level strike aircraft which, in its production form, became famous as the “Buccaneer”. The first prototype, XK486, carried out its maiden flight from RAE Bedford on Apr. 30, 1958. Designed from the outset for low-level operation over land and sea, the first production Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer (as it was called after Blackburn & General Aircraft was absorbed into Hawker Siddeley Aviation in 1960), made its first flight on Jan. 23, 1962.
“The Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer made use of boundary layer control on wings and tailplane to allow operation from the relatively small British aircraft carriers,” says the BAE System website on the type. “The area-ruled fuselage (a design technique used to reduce an aircraft’s drag) featured a rotating bomb bay and two jet engines, integrated in the wing roots. The two crew were seated in-tandem, under a single sliding canopy, with a search radar mounted in the nose. Air brakes were incorporated into a bullet fairing at the rear of the fuselage, opening laterally to provide its braking action.”
The HS Buccaneer S Mk 1 entered service with the Royal Navy in 1963. A subsequent variant, designated the HS Buccaneer S Mk 2 (which is readily identified by its large elliptical engine air intakes) was re-engineered to accommodate the more powerful Rolls-Royce Spey engine, which was required for carrier take off. All Royal Navy squadrons were converted to the improved S.2 variant by the end of 1966. After withdrawal from Royal Naval service (upon the retirement of their carriers in 1978), 62 x HS Buccaneer S Mk 2 were transferred to the RAF, with the fleet being augmented by another 49 ‘new-build’ HS Buccaneer S Mk 2B’s. These new aircraft featured an increased all-up weight, larger weapons bay, increased fuel capacity and 16,000 lb weapon load.
https://theaviationist.com/2021/12/23/raf-buccaneers-off-gibraltar/
