Blackburn: Buccaneer
From Graces Guide
Note: This is a sub-section of Blackburn Aircraft
Type
- Maritime Strike Aircraft.
Designer
Manufacturers
Number produced
- 211
Engines
- 2 x Rolls-Royce Engines: Spey Mk 101 turbofans, 11,100 lbf (49 kN) each.
The Blackburn Buccaneer originated in the early 1950s as a design for a carrier-borne attack aircraft able to carry a nuclear bomb below radar coverage. It was a British low-level subsonic strike aircraft that served with the Royal Navy (RN) and later the Royal Air Force (RAF), retiring from service in 1994. Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough, it was later known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer when Blackburn became a part of the Hawker Siddeley Group.
Variants
Blackburn NA.39
- Pre-production build of 9 prototype NA.39 aircraft and a development batch of 14 S.1s ordered 2 June 1955.
Buccaneer S.1
- First production model, powered by de Havilland Gyron Junior 101 turbojet engines. 40 built ordered on 25 September 1959, built at Brough and towed to Holme-on-Spalding Moor for first flight and testing. First aircraft flown on 23 January 1962. A further ten S.1 aircraft ordered in September 1959 were completed as S.2s.
Buccaneer S.2
- Development of the S.1 with various improvements and powered by the more powerful Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engines. From 1962, 10 were built by Blackburn Aircraft Ltd. and 74 by Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd.
Buccaneer S.2A
- Ex-Royal Navy S.2 aircraft reworked for RAF.
Buccaneer S.2B
- Variant of S.2 for RAF squadrons. Capable of carrying the Martel anti-radar or anti-shipping missile. 46 built between 1973 and 1977, plus three for Ministry of Defence weapons trials work.
Buccaneer S.2C
- Royal Navy aircraft upgraded to S.2A standard.
Buccaneer S.2D
- Royal Navy aircraft upgraded to S.2B standard, operational with Martels from 1975.
Buccaneer S.50
- Variant for South Africa. Wings could be folded but folding was no longer powered. Aircraft could be equipped with two single-stage rockets (see RATO) to assist take-off from hot-and-high airfields like that of AFB Waterkloof in Pretoria, where the type was mostly based.
See Also
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Sources of Information