I was at Red Flag in the late 70’s . I was in aircraft maintenance, with the 27TFS of the 1st TFW out of Langley AFB , Virginia. In the hanger across from us was the RAF with these planes. I went over to see them and talk with some of the people and they were the best group of people one could ask for. I had never seen a Buccaneer before and asked what it was. Well he told me and I couldn’t understand him so I asked him to repeat it and I still couldn’t understand him so I asked him to repeat it slowly and he finally said, bloody hell yank it’s a Buc-can-eer. I’ve never forgotten that these 40 years now. I wonder if this was the same time this gentleman was there? I was around the RAF another time in 1980 in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada.They were there with Harriers. One day they taxied down to where we were parked and put on a show for us. Seven Harriers all in unison lifted up and hovered and then did different maneuvers and when they were finished they did a bow and sat back down and taxied back to where they were. To say I was impressed was a great understatement. I met several of them in the base club and I really liked them. Tried my best to trade for a Beret but couldn’t get one. If you want to know what we thought of the RAF I’ll tell you. We thought they were a great group of people and respected them. These memories are still fresh in my mind. God bless the RAF and the USAF!
I was a cadet in the 1980' s, and flew with the American airforce from Middlehall England ,they were the nicest people I've ever met in my life ,very friendly and a credit to the USA 👍👍👍👍👍
Voor Naam You come here and insult people who have a common love of their time in their respective Air Forces and who share their experiences with one another. You have nothing to contribute so you make what you think are clever little remarks about something you know nothing about and you then proceed to talk about enlightenment. Enlighten us with your experiences and maybe talk about something constructive. Maybe you might even find it enjoyable.
Voor Naam Well, if the truth be told we use to make the same joke on TFW ourselves. No more squabbling and it’s nice to meet you! Glider pilot, well you’ve got more balls than I do. Where did you do your flying?
In USAF I had a colleague who was a B-52 pilot. He told story of when they were at Red Flag, they were flying the BUFF at 100 feet over the desert, when a Buccaneer flew underneath them from one side to the other. He was impressed.
I was at Holbeach range in the seventies, and one day we had a flight of four buccaneers call up asking for a bootleg FRA, (first run attack) coming from Germany armed and couldn’t land in the Uk like that. The American RSO, (range safety officer) from the 48th TFW was told, ‘watch this it will be interesting.’ As the buccaneers climbed up over the sea wall and promptly destroyed the target 3, the RSO just stood there trying to lift his jaw up off the ground, whilst asking who the hell those guys and aircraft were.
The RAF took some Hawks to Red Flag a few years later. They explained to the gathered crews that although it was small, subsonic and lightly armed, it was very small and hard to see. The USAF crews laughed. Until 2 F15s got gun killed by a pair of Hawks they hadn’t seen.
@@barrierodliffe4155 Only the Germans had a high accident rate in the F-104. Everybody else operated it without major safety problems. During one period of 3 years the Luftwaffe had an average of one F-104 crash every month. During that same period the Spanish Air Force was using the F-104 as its only air defense fighter and they had no crashes at all. In USAF service the F-104 had a slightly higher accident rate than the F-4. In Italian service they had a high accident rate with the F-104 for one year and after that it was fine. EDITED for spelling.
I was stationed at RAF Wattisham near Ipswich, 1970- 74,and visited the RAF/ USAF bases of Alconbury,Bentwaters,Woodbridge and Lakenheath on a regular basis and cannot speak highly enough of the welcome received on every visit by our American friends and allies,God Bless America .
I was doing some Forward Air Controlling in Wales. Minding my own business when a Bucc flew up the valley turned right, came up the hill and took off six feet of my whip aerial. Concentrated the mind wonderfully... Love to meet the guy...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Typically understated RAF pilot account of what was an extremely difficult task to perform when you know the Americans are busting a gut to humiliate the Brits, bringing all their toys to bear and couldn't scratch the paint of a single Buccaneer. What a rush that must have been 550 knots at 10 feet! Absolute respect 🙏🏾
He just described flipping upside down over the crest of a hill and pulling back on the stick to follow the contour of the hill upside down at low level if I'm not mistaken. That is *amazing* skill from pilot and navigator.
Yes, the F-111 Pilot describes the same manouvre and says how it can cause departure from controlled flight with the f-111. A very good interview that one.
It's super cool and skillful, but really it's not made for looks or show of skill, but because jets suck at pulling negative G's. If you don't roll over the jet would refuse to go lower fast enough to follow the hill.
@@Galf506 It's not that jets can't do negative G, they can, no reason for them not to. Its because even with a G suit , the human body cannot tolerate negative G for as hard or for as long as it can positive G, redout will be experienced far sooner than black out.
Yup. RNZAF version of it involved pushing the aircraft down *into* the crest of the hill in order to get an air compression bounce, and as it started to happen you would flip the aircraft over onto it''s back in order to be able to pull down onto the downward slope. You can see one start the compression roll over a crest (from ~25 feet off the ground) in this YT video ua-cam.com/video/HMZM17V_GYE/v-deo.html
@@FrodeLund-vx3fc Most air forces around the world train "very low level" as ~100 feet. It's really only the UK, NZ, OZ, and northern Europeans that have always treated vll as meaning less than 50 feet. Even today, if you watch aircraft going through the Mach Loop you'll see that, for example, US aircraft usually go through much higher than RAF aircraft.
Great video, you probably knew my old man, Bob Northard, Flyco on Ark, ejected from a 2 seater Hunter near Lossimouth some time circa 70. Later was Captain of HMS Heron. I grew up with stories like these and love them to this day. Keep ‘em coming.
When I was a soldier in 1985, an exhibition came to our base, and showed a photo pod containing several camera's for the F16. One of the example pictures showed the tail of a running cow. Full frame. Tail up like a happy cat. Talking about low level.
@@TheLee105 most of the time we just rode the aircraft's own shock wave. This was usually somewhere between 30 and 50 feet ASL at a cruise of 500 Knots. Low flying was below 20 ft and usually reserved for "hostile" territory. Which could be a little worrying over high seas.
Philip Robinson i used to fly F 16, flew a lot of sorties against the Buccaneer in the 80ties , never got a kill when they flew low level. We had a saying about them: above 100 feet they get hypoxia. 😎😎😎 Also flew a lot of sorties together with the tremblers at Lossie against them, we nearly always ended tail chasing the banana, and nobody had the guts to bunt at 200 to get a video gunshot.😎😎😎
We loved Area 51. If you flew down the fence you knew you could only be bounced from the North. And when Ken talks about the nav kit in the back 0f the Bucc not being sophisticated, it was a map, a thumb and a compass!
I recall coming home from school in Worcester in the early '80's on the top deck of a double-decker bus when we were passed by a low level Buccaneer. I swear I was looking down onto the top of the wings.
In the early 80’s, I was on my first ever rock climb, (Agag’s Groove on Buachaille Etive Mor Scotland) when I looked down between my legs there were two Buccaneers skimming the valley floor - incredible!
My Dad used to build this aircraft at former British Aerospace in Brough right near Hull, then he worked on the flight line at Holme Upon Spalding Moor with test pilots before it came into production, myself and my Dad love the Buccaneer, to hear Ken talking about the progression and success of the aircraft makes me proud, and to have the best pilots flying them too, amazing ! Thanks Mike ☺
I used to work at Brough and Holme on Spalding Moor as well. I had the same affection for the Buccaneer. I have been trying to remember the name of the test pilot who did the first carrier landing. Once say him do an impromptu flying display in a Phantom. The man in the back was from Marconi and they had been out over the North Sea testing some equipment. Anyway when they the pilot decided to put on a display. He came hurtling down one side of the runway, sat the Phantom on its tail and went up and over the runway before levelling out on the other side. When they landed the man from Marconi looked decidedly green.
@@trunk39able I was a development engineer at Holme on Spalding Moor from 1961 to 1965. Landing gear, nosewheel steering, wheels and brakes and anti skid systems were my responsibility. Fun time, loved working there - of course evenings at the Red Lion didn't hurt.
My father worked at Ferranti on the Buccaneer amongst other aircraft. We spent time in South Africa (Waterkloof AB, Pretoria) when the SA government bought a number, I believe one or two are still flying.
All very heroic. I was at Laarbruch II (AC) with 15 and 16 in residence, 81-83. No credit at all given to those hard working Buccaneer ground crew. We generated our full NATO commitment generally 6-8 hours before the Buccaneers. Massive credit to them. All forgotten now…. …. All respect to Buccaneer ground crew.
As so often happens, British designers created yet another beautiful aircraft. Ordering an Airfix Buccaneer on EBAY. I love Airfix kits. I'm a messed up American....really miss our Midgets and Sprites.....such fun in our youth.....dad had a 3000 in early sixties, after his '58 Corvette (car, not the vessel)....English aircraft are beautiful......don't get me started on the Vulcan.....
He's still sharp as a tack , you can see at points he's still in the seat you can see him pulling the stick at points with his hands , and is mind is still sharp.
I was at Lossie from 80 to 83 on the Jag sim. Our building also contained the Bucc sim and Martelo. I remember one night being on shift and noticing that the stores building close to the sim appeared to be on fire, so I called out the fire brigade. Too late to save the building and much of the inventory therein, including a lot of Buccaneer spares. It was a good 6 months before stores started to get back to normal. In the meantime it was pretty much pot luck what you received or if you got anything at all. It took months of trying to get a cover for the LP cock switch in the Jag, including one memorable large box being delivered that contained a removal rail for the Bucc's Spey engine. It was officially classed as a C store, so there was no route to return it to stores. I called up your guys at the OCU to come and get it. Apparently it was needed for an urgent job over there. I'd have been happier if you had brought me my LP cock cover in exchange! Good times and topped off with an amazing display by the Buccs of a mock attack on the airfield, along with the T7 Hunters your guys used for training purposes. It was utterly terrifying, especially seeing the Buccs flying between the Hangars below roof level. My shift boss watched a WRAF woman being knocked off her bike by the shock wave from one. She wasn't as impressed as everyone else was!
@@fizzyridertoo Brilliant I remember having a go of the Jag sim especially I remember the air bladders operating in the seat 😀 I’ve used the same idea in my vr sim Cheers Dave
@@davidmuir6849 Were those on the G suit or the seat pan? The latter actually had a small hydraulic jack that pushed up to simulate g forces. The trousers of the g suit didn't work properly until the system was redesigned in the mid 80s. The original design on the sim still used the valve built into the g-suit connector and which required actual g forces to operate!
@@fizzyridertoo Hi It was in the seat . I felt the back of my seat moving on take off here’s a wee clip showing my vr g seat ua-cam.com/users/shorts2p-zkBZynSQ?si=u_83XhO87YwFn6gN
It was a grinding of teeth and some expletives when he mentioned how the good old BBC had given the Argies the heads up about the A4 and how to drop their bombs better. So the death and destruction of the the SIR GALAHAD is blood on their hands.
@@chriswilliams5498 That caused me both grinding and gnashing of the teeth too. I had never even thought about how the BBC coverage could have helped the Argies, yet it is so obvious in hindsight, their very own observers on the land. Expletives deleted. The BBC do indeed have British Blood on their hands
@@rmcguire7033 the bbc announced in a report during the evening news, that the reason their bombs were not exploding was because the brave argentinian pilots were flying so low the bombs did not have time to fuse. the argies watched the news of course. i couldn't believe it when i heard the broadcast.
I did hear that a US pilot (obviously incredibly well skilled) flying in the back seat did say Holy S...t the pilot had to climb to avoid hitting a horse.
That was a usaf colonel or general who was offered a ride as ballast, and when he got out he was as white as a ghost and quipped it was terrifying, we had to climb to get over a horse or something along those lines
When I was a kid, family where coming back from Orkney. We where on the back of the ship and four of these beasts shot by. Below us. We where looking DOWN on them as they passed.
I was at RAF Honington when the Bucks were posted in from the fleet air arm. The runway had an arrestor hook system fitted so they could still practice carrier landings. You could tell the RAF pilots from the fleet air arm pilots by how hard the aircraft hit the runway, RAF pilots fairly gently whereas the Fleet pilots slammed it down right on the mark..
Brilliant an ancient yet revered aircraft piloted by the best in the world, RAF pilots, always professional, adaptable and humble yet so totally British! Proud of them and once again, a brilliant insight. another great video!
It should be pointed out that during the Gulf War it was Tornado GR.1s doing the low-level attacks rather than Buccaneers and the Tornado was never quite as good as the Bucc at flying very low. Also the majority of the losses were during loft attacks rather than laydowns.
logicbomb007 plus the RAF didn't need to land on aircraft carriers because that was left to the fleet air arm of the the Royal Navy who are experts at landing on a carrier!
The RAF web site gives the best breakdown on what the cause of each loss was where known (3 of the aircraft fell in a location where an investigation team could get to them after the ceasefire, so the actual cause of the aircraft loss is known (2 x SAM and 1x Fragged by own bomb detonating on arming). Of the other three including the JP233 aircraft, one was hit by 2 X SA-2 at medium level, while the cause of the other two losses were never determined. RAF - RAF Tornado Aircraft Losses www.raf.mod.uk/history/RAFTornadoAircraftLosses.cfm The initial phase of the campaign was at low level for many of the players. F-111s, F-15Es and even B-52s were in those initial days flown at low level to strike targets. A number of B-52Gs suffered combat damage at low level. One F-15Es was lost during a low-level mission near Basra. Again during this low level phase other Coalition aircraft suffered damage. One French Jaguar returned with its tail shredded. After the initial part of the low level phase CENTAF ordered the switch to medium level operatations. Details of the low level phase were highlighted in Operation Desert Storm - Evaluation of the Air Campaign - General Accounting Office - House of Representatives. B-52 low level info. Colonel Ramsay bio 'In January 1991 he was the flight leader for the first night, low-level combat mission ever flown by a B-52G, leading 14 aircraft to strike five Iraqi airfields in the opening minutes of Operation Desert Storm.' www.151arw.ang.af.mil/resources/biographies/bio.asp?id=10878 "On 17 January 1991, seven B-52Gs, known as the "Doom Flight", took off from Barksdale AFB in Louisiana to help kick off the air campaign. They performed a flight that lasted 35 hours and took them almost halfway around the world to launch 35 CALCMs and then go back home. The routes of the missiles were planned so that they would impact almost simultaneously, and 33 of them hit their assigned targets. That same day, the B-52G followed up this strike with the first low-level attacks conducted by the type after decades of training. Buffs swept into Iraqi airspace at an altitude of 90 meters (300 feet) to pound four airbases and a highway. With Iraqi air defenses disabled, the B-52Gs then returned to high-altitude bombing, with three-ship formations pounding Iraqi troops concentrations in Iraq with 340 kilogram (750 pound) bombs and cluster bombs. The B-52 performed 1,600 sorties in the Gulf War and dropped 22,725 tonnes (25,000 tons) of munitions." www.faqs.org/docs/air/avb52_2.html Major James Riggens, USAF also highlights the initial low-level phase in the following. 'Brilliant Attack: The Need For Autonomous Standoff Weapons in Airfield Attack Missions' www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA293645&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf See also accounts online of low level operations - B-52 Stratofortress Units in Operation Desert Storm by Jon Lake www.fighterpilots.net/Iraq.htm Account by EF-111 pilot on 17th January 1991 providing the jamming for strike packages. He highlights the following '10 F-111Fs and 2 Mud-Eagles (F-15Es) were coming in on the deck against two different targets.' See online pages of 'F-15E Strike Eagle in Combat 1991-2005 by Steve Davies' F-15E 'On the first night of the war there were 21 F-15Es that went into Iraq. The original plan was for 18, but three more were added near the start time...... Once the refuelling was completed , we headed north and descended to low level.... We were all on the Terrain Following Radar at 200ft in radio silence - the pilots were hand-flying the TFR steering while concentrating on the FLIR picture in the HUD .....
logicbomb007 That was clearly a tongue in cheek comment logic, he was referring to the “tailored” suits that you guys had as you wore your g-suits over your flying suits compared to the baggy suits worn by the RAF who wore theirs under the flying suit. Changed to a much smarter tailored suit in later years when they adopted the same practice and wore them over the top. Don’t be so sensitive over a bit of banter.
Buccaneer was a classic example of an aircraft designed with a specific role in mind. Pilots who were also specialists and trained for certain missions. This meant a lethal platform that would triumph over newer but multi role aircraft.
Yep, a Red Beard Scabbard designed to lob a Nuke at a Soviet Cruiser. OK for low level attack in daylight over the sea or a Desert, not so hot at night over a cloud covered Europe.
10 to 20ft....that I would love to see, might search 'Buccaneers at Red Flag' and see what it throws up. Brilliant interviews keep up the fantastic work.
Brilliant review of a typical red flag sortie, he speaks almost as fast as he was flying, rethinking the mission in his mind and almost unable to keep up with his speech. But I can clearly remember the Buccaneer in the 70's in Germany, in that time they were still able to fly very low and very fast, and they were very noisy afterwards, still you couldn't hear them coming, frighting me numerous times. Oh those halcion days....
I was at Holbeach range in '77-'78. Had a flight of four call up for an first run attack, as they had live SNEB and couldn't land in the UK like that. As they pulled up over the sea wall, the American range safety officer (48th TFW Lakenheath) Just stood there with his jaw on the floor totally gobsmacked at what happened. It was worth having to rebuild the target that evening, just to have witnessed such brilliant flying.
I have a good book on the B52 and there are a few stories from red flag, like the B52G pilot who was told by an F15 pilot from the defending CAP that he knew the bomber was there when it passed under him, he was at 150 feet but he could no lock on because of the tremendous cloud of dust it was kicking up! In this same sortie, the bomber lost a bottom engine cowl knocking over a simulated SAM truck! Later on they describe an attack on an Iraqi oil refinery during the first gulf war which involved multiple bombers in timed low level laydowns with delayed action bombs from multiple directions. As he flew in he had to make a turn to target at a certain village clock tower but when the navigator told him the course vector to take, he realise the angle of bank would cause the wing to hit the ground!
Back in the mists of time we occasionally saw Buccaneers come in off the North Sea and climb to cross Spurn Point, East Yorkshire. Stunningly visual and noisy!
The year was 1982. A group of us were up a mountain near Loch Doon, Scotland during a nice sunny day. We heard jet engines echo through the valley where the Loch is located, and turned away from the mountain to see two Buccaneers passing through below us! I mean how often does one get the opportunity to watch aircraft fly below whilst you are standing on terra firma?
I live in a part of the Pennines where the RAF used to do low flying, and I clearly remember on the edge of the hill, where the "flat" top meets the steep valley side, and looking down on a Hawk. I could see the two crewmen's faces as they looked back at me. The RAF also flew training missions where a Hercules had to get from one point to another without being detected, and they too flew up the valleys well below hilltop height. They also did this in the dark, climbing to crest the hill and dropping (I believe) SAS troops on nearby moors in "low drop" practices. I heard that the SAS would be dropped from 200 feet, then have to find their way to a certain point by a certain time. I know those moors, and I can't imagine dropping into an unknown spot in their 100 square miles, in the dark, and then having to navigate - it's hard enough in broad daylight !
The RAF didn't want this aircraft but when the RN Fleet Air Arm catapult launched aircraft carrier were disbanded the Buccaneer was passed over to the RAF and was beloved by both RN and RAF aircrews !!
@@tonyhaynes9080 In all truth TSR.2 wouldn't have been as useful as Buccaneer. The need for the nuclear penetration mission had disappeared with the arrival of Polaris. The real loss wasn't TSR.2 as an aircraft, it was the avionics inside. If the UK had put those Avionics in the Buccaneer it would have been a world beater, even better if the small amount of cash needed for the Blackburn P.150 Super Buccaneer had been spent. It would have resulted in no TSR.2, but also no Tornado as it would have outclassed it in all areas. The UK could then have developed ACA earlier (no Tornado F.3) or the P.1216 Harrier replacement. Realistically the UK aviation industry would have been in a far better place today.
@@dogsnads5634 Polaris mission was nuke Moscow, nothing more and nothing less. RAF still needed a tactical nuclear strike force to met NATO requirements in Europe. Buccaneer S Mk 1 was an under powered dog. The Avionics were not lost. Most of it was further developed and went into the Harrier, Phantom (including the Recce Pod) and the Jaguar. Buccaneer couldn't meet the RAF Operational Requirement that lead to TSR2 in the first place when the first issue of the GOR was put out before Sandys. The real pity was English Electric's P17 was screwed up, that could have worked.
I read a comment on another Buccaneer red flag programme which if true is hilarious. A senior officer from the American Air Force was invited to fly in the back seat of a Buccaneer. When they returned to the air base, after flying the sortie, the American officer climbed out of the aircraft looking very shaken and pale. When asked if he was ok,, he replied "we had to climb to avoid a horse" 😅
As I child we lived opposite the village church and to this day I can clearly remember two buccaneers at low level either side of the tower on their way into the Holbeach ranges this would around 1975
Very fortunate to be at At RAF Laarbruch in the early 70's, as a teenager, my father being stationed, we knew many on 15 and 16 and I sat in the cockpit of many Bucc's as I did on Lighning's on my fathers previous tour. The Buccs flew down to 10 feet at 500 knots and on one occasion one aircraft supposedly ingested a brick, not sure that happened but it certainly ingested something it disagreed with. First Bucc with IBS I think.. RIP Wg Cmdr Bunny Warren.
I remember sailing in a yacht in the Minch in Scotland when we wer 'attacked' by a pair of Bucaneers - I think they had to climb to clear our 40' mast ! We were too busy ducking to worry too much !
500+mph at 20ft! I'm amazed they didn't fly into the ground. Anyway, the Royal Navy had something called the AWI or Air Warfare Instructor course. This is basically 'Top Gun' training for the Navy. Does anyone know if the RAF had an equivalent course at the time?
The Navy had the BAI course ( Buccaneer Attack Instructor) the RAF initially kept the same name but later in mid 70’s changed to QWI course (Qualified Weapons Instructor). This is the course Ken and his mates were completing when attached to 208 Squadron on the first RAF Red Flag exercise in Aug 1977. I believe the AWI course was Air Defence.
@@porticopete8196 I see. So QWI was 'Top Gun' for attack pilots. Yeah AWI was for air defence. I learnt about it from Sharkey Wards book and wondered if the RAF had the same course. It seems they do. Thanks.
I was in the RAF in the 70s - early 80s and remember seeing a film of Red Flag showing the Buccaneers totally surprising the fighter control station (as described here by Ken). Despite searching for this video I have been unable to find it. Anyone have any ideas?
I lived near the Welsh valleys . Often you'd be looking DOWN at the RAF as they flew own the valley at 500knotts plus. Seeing big F4 phantoms getting flicked about to get through the narrow gullies in between each valley.
On the back underside there is an aerial that is boomerang shaped (not the lowest part on the aircraft) but they where a few that came back from flights trailing wire from farm fences on.
I've always wondered how much a pilot, flying at such low level & high speed over flat terrain, feels ground effect. How much does ground effect help the pilot maintain that ~20ft ground clearance? Given that the huge Soviet Ekranoplan could exploit ground effect, I'm assuming that a more normal aircraft must be affected as much or more so, when flying low enough. A gusty final approach in an airliner seems to become much smoother during the flare, with the wing in ground effect. Does flying in ground effect result in a smoother ride, compared to flying slightly higher?
The only decent plane Blackburn made...and what an airplane! The idea of rising to 20' at 550 knots is scary.....and thrilling. Only the RAF/FAA would do stuff like this and this was the perfect plane for it.
ive seen talk of an RAF recruiting video used circa 80s that had footage of bucks at red flag, something about the US SAM crews going outside to see the low flying bucks and a tv presenter introducing the bucks at redflag for a news programme .... anybody heard of such a video or know where it could be found? asking RAF perhaps?
I saw it on Nationwide when it was broadcast, it was a report on Red Flag filmed by a local American TV station. It was unbelievable, one pair flew down a dry riverbed effectively below ground level all you could see was the tail. And the Americans shouting "Jeez get outside if you want to see something amazing guys." and all piling out of a bunker. as these things came in at 20 ft. Sadly that film was lost by the BBC and no one has seen it in years.
I can't help wondering why they don't still make this aircraft. As Ken describes, it was pretty much impossible to shoot down so why not? Modern engines, modern radar and modern electronics and this thing would still be a beast.
Fantastic recollection of the capability of an awesome aircraft and the skillful crews that flew them. Begs the question why there is the need to spend billions of $ on new aircraft that overrun on cost and delayed by years when we can take a proven capable design and build new Buccaneers using modern technology.
It's a case of airframe and engine hours unfortunately. As you can understand the stress that is caused by ultra low level flying and high speed takes it toll.
In 1980 a wing fell off a 13 year old Buccaneer on a Red Flag. the resultant checks found 1/4 of the fleet so cracked up that they were beyond economical repair and the rest mostly needed new ring spars. No wing ever fell off a Tornado in its 39 years of service.
By the 1970s, the early Soviet radar gun SHORADS were deployed against the Americans Inn Vietnam. Would these have stopped the Buccaneer? A bit of googling says Shilka 'sees' the Buccaneer, at 10 feet, for 20 seconds in and 20 seconds out. But it won't lock due to ground clutter so that's very much reduced. Shilka needs 8 second to find and attack a target. I'm guessing that means will laid out defenses means that's why we don't do more level attacks anymore.
The aggressor squadron ,!! Is that the same top gun squadron that was based in Germany in the early 80's?. I ask because if so they didn't do very well against the harrier squadrons either.Lt/ cdr Sharky Ward and his guys had a successful exercise beating the top guns (11/2 I am not 100% sure on the number it was a long time ago reading his book) the problem was again the low level flying and the manoeuvrability) I remember he was pretty angry with the superior officer that mentioned at a cocktail party ( or such like event) saying they expected less than half of the pilots would come home.Its interesting to see what happened in reality, the Argentine pilots where given orders not to engage the harriers in a dog fight and dump any add on fuel tanks and turn away.I wonder if the great success against the " top gun squadron" and the acquirement of the new side winder air to air missile and the " I can't wait to get stuck in" interview with Lt/ Cdr Ward had a bearing on the tactics?... one other significant event that could have saved ships and lives, was the order not to use the blue fox radar whilst on cap cover patrols... Lt Cdr Ward and his squadron ignored the instruction and would often see missile trails ( but later found out that it was the vapour from the ejected fuel tanks) and the Argentine pilots disappeared from the area.If the other squadrons had used the radar the moment it was detected the Argentine pilots would have disengaged as ordered and many of the attacks may not have happened.I was down there on a type 21 and we would be deliberately put in a place to tempt an attack to give the landings precious time to get men and machines ashore.Picket duty was a little stressful...I hope that the lessons have been learned and let the flyers decide how to be best used.
I used to know a guy years ago who said he knew of some RAF Jaguars that took part at Red Flag and shot down the US AWACS aircraft. The pilots flew on the deck until they were directly underneath the AWACS, pulled up then Sidewinder the AWACS. The escort fighters couldn't respond in time. A couple of beaten up Jags defeated the most sensitive piece of equipment the US had and their super advanced fighter escorts at the time. The US were livid that their prize AWACS was taken out of the tournament. :D
Tom Hay As you can see from Rustiswordz comment we have keyboard warriors over here in England as well , Red Flag is a training exercise,not a competition to see who’s better than who ,some people need to remember we are on the same side ,
Old Red Flag tapes, good for a laugh: ua-cam.com/video/3FE55g3SRY0/v-deo.html EDIT: 80s stuff apparently, including some accounts of possible MiG23 aggressor engagements at 01:35...????
....I've seen footage of one of these exercises....the Americans couldn't believe it when they got them on camera....flying at virtually zero feet over sand hills! (Can't seem to find that footage any more, though)
It was shown on "Nationwide" and at one point they were flying in a dry riverbed and only the tail fin was visible. An amazing bit of film, sadly lost, never to beseen again, well done BBC.
@@bobwhite459 I know! I've been trying to find it for years! What about the Vulcan 'strike' on the US East coast (simulated, obv!)....I think they got within 20 or so miles, before they were picked up!
I see! "Banana Bomber" because of BNA and the BANA military acronym; i thought it was because it looked like a banana ie fat fuselage like Kate or Betty
One of the big aircrew disappointments at Red Flag was the belief you had hit your target and gone home clean ... only to see camera footage from a ZSU-24 being aimed optically ... Oops. Didn't see that one coming!
The inertia arming device can be adjusted. So you can drop at a lower altitude, but it becomes dangerous for the delivery plane. A little math is needed.
ua-cam.com/video/lteL18wd15Y/v-deo.html Awesome footage of RAF Buccaneers operating out of Gibraltar do a low-level mock attack on Type 42 destroyer HMS Liverpool. At 2:31 they are level with its deck!! :-0
Sadly the British used to build some of the best aircraft in the world, but no more it would have been interesting to see how the Lightning would have preformed in the Gulf War alongside the Tornado and Buccaneer, fly safe one and all.
It was not the BBC that let out the story of the Argentine bombs not arming, it was one of the newspapers "Trying to prove that they had balls as big as aircraft tyres". 😠
Very poignant comment about the BBC reports being the cause of so many deaths. I find it amazing that the reporters did not think about what they were saying or filming.
I was at Red Flag in the late 70’s . I was in aircraft maintenance, with the 27TFS of the 1st TFW out of Langley AFB , Virginia. In the hanger across from us was the RAF with these planes. I went over to see them and talk with some of the people and they were the best group of people one could ask for. I had never seen a Buccaneer before and asked what it was. Well he told me and I couldn’t understand him so I asked him to repeat it and I still couldn’t understand him so I asked him to repeat it slowly and he finally said, bloody hell yank it’s a Buc-can-eer. I’ve never forgotten that these 40 years now. I wonder if this was the same time this gentleman was there? I was around the RAF another time in 1980 in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada.They were there with Harriers. One day they taxied down to where we were parked and put on a show for us. Seven Harriers all in unison lifted up and hovered and then did different maneuvers and when they were finished they did a bow and sat back down and taxied back to where they were. To say I was impressed was a great understatement. I met several of them in the base club and I really liked them. Tried my best to trade for a Beret but couldn’t get one. If you want to know what we thought of the RAF I’ll tell you. We thought they were a great group of people and respected them. These memories are still fresh in my mind. God bless the RAF and the USAF!
Voor Naam The Ox spoke and said, mooo!
Voor Naam It
I was a cadet in the 1980' s, and flew with the American airforce from Middlehall England ,they were the nicest people I've ever met in my life ,very friendly and a credit to the USA 👍👍👍👍👍
Voor Naam You come here and insult people who have a common love of their time in their respective Air Forces and who share their experiences with one another. You have nothing to contribute so you make what you think are clever little remarks about something you know nothing about and you then proceed to talk about enlightenment. Enlighten us with your experiences and maybe talk about something constructive. Maybe you might even find it enjoyable.
Voor Naam Well, if the truth be told we use to make the same joke on TFW ourselves. No more squabbling and it’s nice to meet you! Glider pilot, well you’ve got more balls than I do. Where did you do your flying?
In USAF I had a colleague who was a B-52 pilot. He told story of when they were at Red Flag, they were flying the BUFF at 100 feet over the desert, when a Buccaneer flew underneath them from one side to the other.
He was impressed.
Only 1, poor show RAF. They could have fitted 4 under the BUFF with room to spare. And I mean 4 in a vertical column.........well maybe not quite.
This old boy just said that he rose from 10feet , to 20 feet so the USA pilots couldn't see the dust trails , that must have been some sight
I was at Holbeach range in the seventies, and one day we had a flight of four buccaneers call up asking for a bootleg FRA, (first run attack) coming from Germany armed and couldn’t land in the Uk like that. The American RSO, (range safety officer) from the 48th TFW was told, ‘watch this it will be interesting.’ As the buccaneers climbed up over the sea wall and promptly destroyed the target 3, the RSO just stood there trying to lift his jaw up off the ground, whilst asking who the hell those guys and aircraft were.
The RAF took some Hawks to Red Flag a few years later. They explained to the gathered crews that although it was small, subsonic and lightly armed, it was very small and hard to see. The USAF crews laughed. Until 2 F15s got gun killed by a pair of Hawks they hadn’t seen.
The Sea Harriers killed Eagles 10/1 before the Falklands.
Proof that it isn't the tool, it is the guy using it.
@@SvenTviking
Too bad the Harrier has killed more of it's own pilots in the first 3 years than enemies in it's entire career.
@@N75911_
You are getting mixed up with the F 104, except that killed more of its pilots every year than it killed enemies in its entire career.
@@barrierodliffe4155 Only the Germans had a high accident rate in the F-104. Everybody else operated it without major safety problems. During one period of 3 years the Luftwaffe had an average of one F-104 crash every month. During that same period the Spanish Air Force was using the F-104 as its only air defense fighter and they had no crashes at all. In USAF service the F-104 had a slightly higher accident rate than the F-4. In Italian service they had a high accident rate with the F-104 for one year and after that it was fine. EDITED for spelling.
I was stationed at RAF Wattisham near Ipswich, 1970- 74,and visited the RAF/ USAF bases of Alconbury,Bentwaters,Woodbridge and Lakenheath on a regular basis and cannot speak highly enough of the welcome received on every visit by our American friends and allies,God Bless America .
I was doing some Forward Air Controlling in Wales. Minding my own business when a Bucc flew up the valley turned right, came up the hill and took off six feet of my whip aerial. Concentrated the mind wonderfully... Love to meet the guy...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
“...so we climbed up to 20 feet so we wouldn’t leave dust trails...”
Gigantic Titanium Balls.
It was their balls leaving the dust trails!
The Buccaneer crews were hilarious! "All the way *up* to 150 feet" isn't something you normally hear, especially for someone doing 500 kts.
Typically understated RAF pilot account of what was an extremely difficult task to perform when you know the Americans are busting a gut to humiliate the Brits, bringing all their toys to bear and couldn't scratch the paint of a single Buccaneer. What a rush that must have been 550 knots at 10 feet! Absolute respect 🙏🏾
Travel down the runway. Get up to speed. Raise gear. Descend to cruising altitude.
Old joke:
Q- Why does the Buccaneer raise its undercarriage?
A- So it can get down to operating hight.
Hahaha, nice one :D
Bwahahahahaha
Brilliant!
He just described flipping upside down over the crest of a hill and pulling back on the stick to follow the contour of the hill upside down at low level if I'm not mistaken. That is *amazing* skill from pilot and navigator.
Yes, the F-111 Pilot describes the same manouvre and says how it can cause departure from controlled flight with the f-111. A very good interview that one.
It's super cool and skillful, but really it's not made for looks or show of skill, but because jets suck at pulling negative G's. If you don't roll over the jet would refuse to go lower fast enough to follow the hill.
@@Galf506 It's not that jets can't do negative G, they can, no reason for them not to. Its because even with a G suit , the human body cannot tolerate negative G for as hard or for as long as it can positive G, redout will be experienced far sooner than black out.
Yup. RNZAF version of it involved pushing the aircraft down *into* the crest of the hill in order to get an air compression bounce, and as it started to happen you would flip the aircraft over onto it''s back in order to be able to pull down onto the downward slope.
You can see one start the compression roll over a crest (from ~25 feet off the ground) in this YT video
ua-cam.com/video/HMZM17V_GYE/v-deo.html
@@FrodeLund-vx3fc Most air forces around the world train "very low level" as ~100 feet. It's really only the UK, NZ, OZ, and northern Europeans that have always treated vll as meaning less than 50 feet. Even today, if you watch aircraft going through the Mach Loop you'll see that, for example, US aircraft usually go through much higher than RAF aircraft.
Great video, you probably knew my old man, Bob Northard, Flyco on Ark, ejected from a 2 seater Hunter near Lossimouth some time circa 70. Later was Captain of HMS Heron. I grew up with stories like these and love them to this day. Keep ‘em coming.
"we CLIMBED to 20ft, so we didn't leave any dust trails"
I picked up on that too......Jaw dropping.......
When I was a soldier in 1985, an exhibition came to our base, and showed a photo pod containing several camera's for the F16. One of the example pictures showed the tail of a running cow. Full frame. Tail up like a happy cat. Talking about low level.
@@TheLee105 most of the time we just rode the aircraft's own shock wave. This was usually somewhere between 30 and 50 feet ASL at a cruise of 500 Knots. Low flying was below 20 ft and usually reserved for "hostile" territory. Which could be a little worrying over high seas.
Philip Robinson i used to fly F 16, flew a lot of sorties against the Buccaneer in the 80ties , never got a kill when they flew low level. We had a saying about them: above 100 feet they get hypoxia. 😎😎😎 Also flew a lot of sorties together with the tremblers at Lossie against them, we nearly always ended tail chasing the banana, and nobody had the guts to bunt at 200 to get a video gunshot.😎😎😎
Buccaneer, the only aircraft that climbs before landing.
We loved Area 51. If you flew down the fence you knew you could only be bounced from the North. And when Ken talks about the nav kit in the back 0f the Bucc not being sophisticated, it was a map, a thumb and a compass!
I recall coming home from school in Worcester in the early '80's on the top deck of a double-decker bus when we were passed by a low level Buccaneer. I swear I was looking down onto the top of the wings.
In the early 80’s, I was on my first ever rock climb, (Agag’s Groove on Buachaille Etive Mor Scotland) when I looked down between my legs there were two Buccaneers skimming the valley floor - incredible!
My Dad used to build this aircraft at former British Aerospace in Brough right near Hull, then he worked on the flight line at Holme Upon Spalding Moor with test pilots before it came into production, myself and my Dad love the Buccaneer, to hear Ken talking about the progression and success of the aircraft makes me proud, and to have the best pilots flying them too, amazing ! Thanks Mike ☺
I used to work at Brough and Holme on Spalding Moor as well. I had the same affection for the Buccaneer. I have been trying to remember the name of the test pilot who did the first carrier landing. Once say him do an impromptu flying display in a Phantom. The man in the back was from Marconi and they had been out over the North Sea testing some equipment. Anyway when they the pilot decided to put on a display. He came hurtling down one side of the runway, sat the Phantom on its tail and went up and over the runway before levelling out on the other side. When they landed the man from Marconi looked decidedly green.
My father worked at holme on spalding moor on the pre production aircraft back in the 1960s. I think the test pilot was Derek Whitehead.
@@trunk39able I was a development engineer at Holme on Spalding Moor from 1961 to 1965. Landing gear, nosewheel steering, wheels and brakes and anti skid systems were my responsibility. Fun time, loved working there - of course evenings at the Red Lion didn't hurt.
@@hughlynas6219 My old man was on cockpit instrumentation. His name was Alan Hughes
My father worked at Ferranti on the Buccaneer amongst other aircraft. We spent time in South Africa (Waterkloof AB, Pretoria) when the SA government bought a number, I believe one or two are still flying.
All very heroic. I was at Laarbruch II (AC) with 15 and 16 in residence, 81-83. No credit at all given to those hard working Buccaneer ground crew. We generated our full NATO commitment generally 6-8 hours before the Buccaneers. Massive credit to them. All forgotten now…. …. All respect to Buccaneer ground crew.
The RAF and RN were ahead of the field when it came to being inclusive, they had a plane for pilots with a fear of heights
🤣
LOL
As so often happens, British designers created yet another beautiful aircraft. Ordering an Airfix Buccaneer on EBAY. I love Airfix kits. I'm a messed up American....really miss our Midgets and Sprites.....such fun in our youth.....dad had a 3000 in early sixties, after his '58 Corvette (car, not the vessel)....English aircraft are beautiful......don't get me started on the Vulcan.....
Bloody hell, I thought someone was winding me up when I saw this video in my suggestions! 😮 Great, interesting talk, too. 😄
😂
He's still sharp as a tack , you can see at points he's still in the seat you can see him pulling the stick at points with his hands , and is mind is still sharp.
Love this story. Great to hear the Navs getting a shout out from one of their pilots. Once again great interview. Keep up the good work guys 😁
Fantastic ,thanks for sharing .
I was an engine tech on the Buccs in the 80s at Raf Lossiemouth ,237ocu
What an aircraft 😊
Regards
Dave
I was at Lossie from 80 to 83 on the Jag sim. Our building also contained the Bucc sim and Martelo. I remember one night being on shift and noticing that the stores building close to the sim appeared to be on fire, so I called out the fire brigade. Too late to save the building and much of the inventory therein, including a lot of Buccaneer spares.
It was a good 6 months before stores started to get back to normal. In the meantime it was pretty much pot luck what you received or if you got anything at all. It took months of trying to get a cover for the LP cock switch in the Jag, including one memorable large box being delivered that contained a removal rail for the Bucc's Spey engine. It was officially classed as a C store, so there was no route to return it to stores. I called up your guys at the OCU to come and get it. Apparently it was needed for an urgent job over there. I'd have been happier if you had brought me my LP cock cover in exchange!
Good times and topped off with an amazing display by the Buccs of a mock attack on the airfield, along with the T7 Hunters your guys used for training purposes. It was utterly terrifying, especially seeing the Buccs flying between the Hangars below roof level. My shift boss watched a WRAF woman being knocked off her bike by the shock wave from one. She wasn't as impressed as everyone else was!
@@fizzyridertoo
Brilliant
I remember having a go of the Jag sim especially I remember the air bladders operating in the seat 😀
I’ve used the same idea in my vr sim
Cheers
Dave
@@davidmuir6849 Were those on the G suit or the seat pan? The latter actually had a small hydraulic jack that pushed up to simulate g forces. The trousers of the g suit didn't work properly until the system was redesigned in the mid 80s. The original design on the sim still used the valve built into the g-suit connector and which required actual g forces to operate!
@@fizzyridertoo
Hi
It was in the seat .
I felt the back of my seat moving on take off here’s a wee clip showing my vr g seat
ua-cam.com/users/shorts2p-zkBZynSQ?si=u_83XhO87YwFn6gN
Thank you for your service Ken...peace from California
British engineering, British know-how, British aircrew: second to none 🇬🇧🏴 #buccaneer #RAF #RN
and after brexit we will have it all back
It was a grinding of teeth and some expletives when he mentioned how the good old BBC had given the Argies the heads up about the A4 and how to drop their bombs better. So the death and destruction of the the SIR GALAHAD is blood on their hands.
@@chriswilliams5498 That caused me both grinding and gnashing of the teeth too. I had never even thought about how the BBC coverage could have helped the Argies, yet it is so obvious in hindsight, their very own observers on the land. Expletives deleted. The BBC do indeed have British Blood on their hands
@@rmcguire7033 the bbc announced in a report during the evening news, that the reason their bombs were not exploding was because the brave argentinian pilots were flying so low the bombs did not have time to fuse. the argies watched the news of course. i couldn't believe it when i heard the broadcast.
@@hany-k95 Just checking in with you: how’s Brexit going, do you think? Any Bregrets?
I did hear that a US pilot (obviously incredibly well skilled) flying in the back seat did say Holy S...t the pilot had to climb to avoid hitting a horse.
That was a usaf colonel or general who was offered a ride as ballast, and when he got out he was as white as a ghost and quipped it was terrifying, we had to climb to get over a horse or something along those lines
A low flying Buccaneer frighted the life out of me when I was driving my HGV truck on the A 68 over Carter Barr in Scotland.
When I was a kid, family where coming back from Orkney. We where on the back of the ship and four of these beasts shot by.
Below us.
We where looking DOWN on them as they passed.
@@decam5329 Yup can remember being on a hillside in Wales watching them beneath us.
@@justwhenyouthought6119 Mach loop ?
I was at RAF Honington when the Bucks were posted in from the fleet air arm. The runway had an arrestor hook system fitted so they could still practice carrier landings. You could tell the RAF pilots from the fleet air arm pilots by how hard the aircraft hit the runway, RAF pilots fairly gently whereas the Fleet pilots slammed it down right on the mark..
Navy pilots never really described them as landings so much as controlled crashes
Brilliant an ancient yet revered aircraft piloted by the best in the world, RAF pilots, always professional, adaptable and humble yet so totally British! Proud of them and once again, a brilliant insight. another great video!
Cheers Christopher. Love how British they acted in the debrief!
It should be pointed out that during the Gulf War it was Tornado GR.1s doing the low-level attacks rather than Buccaneers and the Tornado was never quite as good as the Bucc at flying very low. Also the majority of the losses were during loft attacks rather than laydowns.
logicbomb007 plus the RAF didn't need to land on aircraft carriers because that was left to the fleet air arm of the the Royal Navy who are experts at landing on a carrier!
The RAF web site gives the best breakdown on what the cause of each loss was where known (3 of the aircraft fell in a location where an investigation team could get to them after the ceasefire, so the actual cause of the aircraft loss is known (2 x SAM and 1x Fragged by own bomb detonating on arming). Of the other three including the JP233 aircraft, one was hit by 2 X SA-2 at medium level, while the cause of the other two losses were never determined.
RAF - RAF Tornado Aircraft Losses
www.raf.mod.uk/history/RAFTornadoAircraftLosses.cfm
The initial phase of the campaign was at low level for many of the players. F-111s, F-15Es and even B-52s were in those initial days flown at low level to strike targets. A number of B-52Gs suffered combat damage at low level. One F-15Es was lost during a low-level mission near Basra. Again during this low level phase other Coalition aircraft suffered damage. One French Jaguar returned with its tail shredded.
After the initial part of the low level phase CENTAF ordered the switch to medium level operatations. Details of the low level phase were highlighted in Operation Desert Storm - Evaluation of the Air Campaign - General Accounting Office - House of Representatives.
B-52 low level info.
Colonel Ramsay bio
'In January 1991 he was the flight leader for the first night, low-level combat mission ever flown by a B-52G, leading 14 aircraft to strike five Iraqi airfields in the opening minutes of Operation Desert Storm.'
www.151arw.ang.af.mil/resources/biographies/bio.asp?id=10878
"On 17 January 1991, seven B-52Gs, known as the "Doom Flight", took off from Barksdale AFB in Louisiana to help kick off the air campaign. They performed a flight that lasted 35 hours and took them almost halfway around the world to launch 35 CALCMs and then go back home. The routes of the missiles were planned so that they would impact almost simultaneously, and 33 of them hit their assigned targets. That same day, the B-52G followed up this strike with the first low-level attacks conducted by the type after decades of training. Buffs swept into Iraqi airspace at an altitude of 90 meters (300 feet) to pound four airbases and a highway.
With Iraqi air defenses disabled, the B-52Gs then returned to high-altitude bombing, with three-ship formations pounding Iraqi troops concentrations in Iraq with 340 kilogram (750 pound) bombs and cluster bombs. The B-52 performed 1,600 sorties in the Gulf War and dropped 22,725 tonnes (25,000 tons) of munitions."
www.faqs.org/docs/air/avb52_2.html
Major James Riggens, USAF also highlights the initial low-level phase in the following.
'Brilliant Attack: The Need For Autonomous Standoff Weapons in Airfield Attack Missions'
www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA293645&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf
See also accounts online of low level operations - B-52 Stratofortress Units in Operation Desert Storm by Jon Lake
www.fighterpilots.net/Iraq.htm
Account by EF-111 pilot on 17th January 1991 providing the jamming for strike packages. He highlights the following '10 F-111Fs and 2 Mud-Eagles (F-15Es) were coming in on the deck against two different targets.'
See online pages of 'F-15E Strike Eagle in Combat 1991-2005 by Steve Davies'
F-15E
'On the first night of the war there were 21 F-15Es that went into Iraq. The original plan was for 18, but three more were added near the start time...... Once the refuelling was completed , we headed north and descended to low level.... We were all on the Terrain Following Radar at 200ft in radio silence - the pilots were hand-flying the TFR steering while concentrating on the FLIR picture in the HUD .....
logicbomb007 That was clearly a tongue in cheek comment logic, he was referring to the “tailored” suits that you guys had as you wore your g-suits over your flying suits compared to the baggy suits worn by the RAF who wore theirs under the flying suit. Changed to a much smarter tailored suit in later years when they adopted the same practice and wore them over the top. Don’t be so sensitive over a bit of banter.
Buccaneer was a classic example of an aircraft designed with a specific role in mind. Pilots who were also specialists and trained for certain missions. This meant a lethal platform that would triumph over newer but multi role aircraft.
Yep, a Red Beard Scabbard designed to lob a Nuke at a Soviet Cruiser. OK for low level attack in daylight over the sea or a Desert, not so hot at night over a cloud covered Europe.
Wrong. They were tasked to drop nuclear weapons on Warsaw Pact logistical supply routes. Poland. See Jack Strong film.
@@doughvictor2893 lethal platform regardless. Didn't they carry the 300kt free fall nuclear bomb?
10 to 20ft....that I would love to see, might search 'Buccaneers at Red Flag' and see what it throws up. Brilliant interviews keep up the fantastic work.
James Smythe scary to even consider at such a low level!
ua-cam.com/video/_2rtx40seEM/v-deo.html
Google Low Flying Buccaneer .
10 feet at 550 knots is incredible for the 1970s
I saw, witnessed this aircraft flying in South Africa, it was sadly cruely destroyed by the liberals, it crashed by British sabotage.
Or even now.☺
There ball were big.. they were hairy.. and they were BRITISH
The amazing bit was at time code 4:10ish, when he says they *climbed* to 20ft......!
You forgot to mention he said at 540 knots
Absolutely fantastic. Great stories. Thanks 👍
Glad you enjoyed it.
well they had to come upto 20 feet...there Balls were dragging on the ground at 10
Quality
Brilliant review of a typical red flag sortie, he speaks almost as fast as he was flying, rethinking the mission in his mind and almost unable to keep up with his speech. But I can clearly remember the Buccaneer in the 70's in Germany, in that time they were still able to fly very low and very fast, and they were very noisy afterwards, still you couldn't hear them coming, frighting me numerous times. Oh those halcion days....
I was at Holbeach range in '77-'78. Had a flight of four call up for an first run attack, as they had live SNEB and couldn't land in the UK like that. As they pulled up over the sea wall, the American range safety officer (48th TFW Lakenheath) Just stood there with his jaw on the floor totally gobsmacked at what happened. It was worth having to rebuild the target that evening, just to have witnessed such brilliant flying.
I have a good book on the B52 and there are a few stories from red flag, like the B52G pilot who was told by an F15 pilot from the defending CAP that he knew the bomber was there when it passed under him, he was at 150 feet but he could no lock on because of the tremendous cloud of dust it was kicking up! In this same sortie, the bomber lost a bottom engine cowl knocking over a simulated SAM truck!
Later on they describe an attack on an Iraqi oil refinery during the first gulf war which involved multiple bombers in timed low level laydowns with delayed action bombs from multiple directions. As he flew in he had to make a turn to target at a certain village clock tower but when the navigator told him the course vector to take, he realise the angle of bank would cause the wing to hit the ground!
Wonderful story, very interesting stuff! Thank you for posting this. And thanks, Ken!
Back in the mists of time we occasionally saw Buccaneers come in off the North Sea and climb to cross Spurn Point, East Yorkshire.
Stunningly visual and noisy!
The year was 1982. A group of us were up a mountain near Loch Doon, Scotland during a nice sunny day. We heard jet engines echo through the valley where the Loch is located, and turned away from the mountain to see two Buccaneers passing through below us! I mean how often does one get the opportunity to watch aircraft fly below whilst you are standing on terra firma?
Go stand in Snowdonia.
I live in a part of the Pennines where the RAF used to do low flying, and I clearly remember on the edge of the hill, where the "flat" top meets the steep valley side, and looking down on a Hawk. I could see the two crewmen's faces as they looked back at me.
The RAF also flew training missions where a Hercules had to get from one point to another without being detected, and they too flew up the valleys well below hilltop height. They also did this in the dark, climbing to crest the hill and dropping (I believe) SAS troops on nearby moors in "low drop" practices. I heard that the SAS would be dropped from 200 feet, then have to find their way to a certain point by a certain time. I know those moors, and I can't imagine dropping into an unknown spot in their 100 square miles, in the dark, and then having to navigate - it's hard enough in broad daylight !
Amazing understatement of an amazing job.
Saw them at Maple Flag in late 70s. They flew lower than we did in F111s and nearly as fast.
The RAF didn't want this aircraft but when the RN Fleet Air Arm catapult launched aircraft carrier were disbanded the Buccaneer was passed over to the RAF and was beloved by both RN and RAF aircrews !!
Only got it because Labour scrapped the TSR2 programme.
@@tonyhaynes9080 In all truth TSR.2 wouldn't have been as useful as Buccaneer. The need for the nuclear penetration mission had disappeared with the arrival of Polaris. The real loss wasn't TSR.2 as an aircraft, it was the avionics inside. If the UK had put those Avionics in the Buccaneer it would have been a world beater, even better if the small amount of cash needed for the Blackburn P.150 Super Buccaneer had been spent. It would have resulted in no TSR.2, but also no Tornado as it would have outclassed it in all areas. The UK could then have developed ACA earlier (no Tornado F.3) or the P.1216 Harrier replacement. Realistically the UK aviation industry would have been in a far better place today.
Same as the USAF and the Phantom.
@@dogsnads5634 Polaris mission was nuke Moscow, nothing more and nothing less. RAF still needed a tactical nuclear strike force to met NATO requirements in Europe. Buccaneer S Mk 1 was an under powered dog. The Avionics were not lost. Most of it was further developed and went into the Harrier, Phantom (including the Recce Pod) and the Jaguar. Buccaneer couldn't meet the RAF Operational Requirement that lead to TSR2 in the first place when the first issue of the GOR was put out before Sandys. The real pity was English Electric's P17 was screwed up, that could have worked.
I read a comment on another Buccaneer red flag programme which if true is hilarious.
A senior officer from the American Air Force was invited to fly in the back seat of a Buccaneer. When they returned to the air base, after flying the sortie, the American officer climbed out of the aircraft looking very shaken and pale. When asked if he was ok,, he replied "we had to climb to avoid a horse" 😅
Honington 77 -79 ATC, I loved our Buccs !
Very enjoyable these crew interviews.
As I child we lived opposite the village church and to this day I can clearly remember two buccaneers at low level either side of the tower on their way into the Holbeach ranges this would around 1975
I like the way he talks about it ..nothing seems set in stone , but theres a plan.. best way :-)
Too cool, one of my favorite Brit AIRCRAFT... BAD ASS!!!
Driving up the A38 one day two buccaneers flew UNDER the HT power lines that were alongside the road. Amazing bit of flying.
There was (might still be) a Buccaneer outside of the FAA museum in Yeovilton.
Even as a clueless kid there was something about it.
Very fortunate to be at At RAF Laarbruch in the early 70's, as a teenager, my father being stationed, we knew many on 15 and 16 and I sat in the cockpit of many Bucc's as I did on Lighning's on my fathers previous tour. The Buccs flew down to 10 feet at 500 knots and on one occasion one aircraft supposedly ingested a brick, not sure that happened but it certainly ingested something it disagreed with. First Bucc with IBS I think.. RIP Wg Cmdr Bunny Warren.
I remember sailing in a yacht in the Minch in Scotland when we wer 'attacked' by a pair of Bucaneers - I think they had to climb to clear our 40' mast ! We were too busy ducking to worry too much !
500+mph at 20ft! I'm amazed they didn't fly into the ground. Anyway, the Royal Navy had something called the AWI or Air Warfare Instructor course. This is basically 'Top Gun' training for the Navy. Does anyone know if the RAF had an equivalent course at the time?
The Navy had the BAI course ( Buccaneer Attack Instructor) the RAF initially kept the same name but later in mid 70’s changed to QWI course (Qualified Weapons Instructor). This is the course Ken and his mates were completing when attached to 208 Squadron on the first RAF Red Flag exercise in Aug 1977.
I believe the AWI course was Air Defence.
@@porticopete8196 I see. So QWI was 'Top Gun' for attack pilots. Yeah AWI was for air defence. I learnt about it from Sharkey Wards book and wondered if the RAF had the same course. It seems they do. Thanks.
All UK pilots are Top Gun
I was in the RAF in the 70s - early 80s and remember seeing a film of Red Flag showing the Buccaneers totally surprising the fighter control station (as described here by Ken). Despite searching for this video I have been unable to find it. Anyone have any ideas?
Is this the one? ua-cam.com/video/AuYwOEF5xag/v-deo.html
I think it was a BBC Documentary. The Buccaneers were that low they were below the dunes and the yanks couldn’t lock surface to air missiles on them
@@markquinn3478 I remember seeing that on the BBC, and I have been unable to find it. I will keep searching, if I find it I will post it here.
Consider for a moment that nonchalant comment “… so we pulled up to 20 feet at 550 Kts. to lose the dust tail…”.
real British heroes.
10 feet and 550 knots, like it's no sweat.
I lived near the Welsh valleys . Often you'd be looking DOWN at the RAF as they flew own the valley at 500knotts plus. Seeing big F4 phantoms getting flicked about to get through the narrow gullies in between each valley.
On the back underside there is an aerial that is boomerang shaped (not the lowest part on the aircraft) but they where a few that came back from flights trailing wire from farm fences on.
That makes the boast in Top Gun of pulling a 4G inverted dive to match a "Mig-28" seem trivial.
Beautiful Buccaneer.
An era when planes were real planes...
Wonderful interview.
,
"We climbed UP to 20ft. so we didn't leave any dust trails" Yikes!!
I love how matter of fact he is about flying a 20ft
With a upgrade this would still kick ass
What a machine this was more ghan did its job
Buccaneer is a beautiful plane.
Buccaneer is a cool plane! 👍✈️
I've always wondered how much a pilot, flying at such low level & high speed over flat terrain, feels ground effect. How much does ground effect help the pilot maintain that ~20ft ground clearance? Given that the huge Soviet Ekranoplan could exploit ground effect, I'm assuming that a more normal aircraft must be affected as much or more so, when flying low enough.
A gusty final approach in an airliner seems to become much smoother during the flare, with the wing in ground effect. Does flying in ground effect result in a smoother ride, compared to flying slightly higher?
It's been said that the Buccaneer managed to fly so low and fast by riding its own wake.
The pilot has ball of titanium..and when the feel the first blade of grass they know they need to rise an inch
What an awesome jet!
Fascinating!
The only decent plane Blackburn made...and what an airplane!
The idea of rising to 20' at 550 knots is scary.....and thrilling. Only the RAF/FAA would do stuff like this and this was the perfect plane for it.
Modest professionalism
"Great Airmanship" "Semper-Fi"
Actually did some BDR on a buc. For a carrier ac it's 'kin huge.
ive seen talk of an RAF recruiting video used circa 80s that had footage of bucks at red flag, something about the US SAM crews going outside to see the low flying bucks and a tv presenter introducing the bucks at redflag for a news programme .... anybody heard of such a video or know where it could be found? asking RAF perhaps?
I saw it on Nationwide when it was broadcast, it was a report on Red Flag filmed by a local American TV station. It was unbelievable, one pair flew down a dry riverbed effectively below ground level all you could see was the tail. And the Americans shouting "Jeez get outside if you want to see something amazing guys." and all piling out of a bunker. as these things came in at 20 ft.
Sadly that film was lost by the BBC and no one has seen it in years.
@@bobwhite459 I remember that! I was home on leave (RAF) and had a massive grin on my face watching it.
Kinda giving our ages away though! :)
@@bobwhite459 I remember seeing that one as well. As I recall they flew so low they raised sand via the ground effect.
I can't help wondering why they don't still make this aircraft. As Ken describes, it was pretty much impossible to shoot down so why not? Modern engines, modern radar and modern electronics and this thing would still be a beast.
Why the non retractable air fueling probe, common in french aircraft but not ours?
Fantastic recollection of the capability of an awesome aircraft and the skillful crews that flew them. Begs the question why there is the need to spend billions of $ on new aircraft that overrun on cost and delayed by years when we can take a proven capable design and build new Buccaneers using modern technology.
It's a case of airframe and engine hours unfortunately. As you can understand the stress that is caused by ultra low level flying and high speed takes it toll.
In 1980 a wing fell off a 13 year old Buccaneer on a Red Flag. the resultant checks found 1/4 of the fleet so cracked up that they were beyond economical repair and the rest mostly needed new ring spars. No wing ever fell off a Tornado in its 39 years of service.
WOW. !!!
By the 1970s, the early Soviet radar gun SHORADS were deployed against the Americans Inn Vietnam.
Would these have stopped the Buccaneer?
A bit of googling says Shilka 'sees' the Buccaneer, at 10 feet, for 20 seconds in and 20 seconds out.
But it won't lock due to ground clutter so that's very much reduced.
Shilka needs 8 second to find and attack a target.
I'm guessing that means will laid out defenses means that's why we don't do more level attacks anymore.
The aggressor squadron ,!! Is that the same top gun squadron that was based in Germany in the early 80's?. I ask because if so they didn't do very well against the harrier squadrons either.Lt/ cdr Sharky Ward and his guys had a successful exercise beating the top guns (11/2 I am not 100% sure on the number it was a long time ago reading his book) the problem was again the low level flying and the manoeuvrability) I remember he was pretty angry with the superior officer that mentioned at a cocktail party ( or such like event) saying they expected less than half of the pilots would come home.Its interesting to see what happened in reality, the Argentine pilots where given orders not to engage the harriers in a dog fight and dump any add on fuel tanks and turn away.I wonder if the great success against the " top gun squadron" and the acquirement of the new side winder air to air missile and the " I can't wait to get stuck in" interview with Lt/ Cdr Ward had a bearing on the tactics?... one other significant event that could have saved ships and lives, was the order not to use the blue fox radar whilst on cap cover patrols... Lt Cdr Ward and his squadron ignored the instruction and would often see missile trails ( but later found out that it was the vapour from the ejected fuel tanks) and the Argentine pilots disappeared from the area.If the other squadrons had used the radar the moment it was detected the Argentine pilots would have disengaged as ordered and many of the attacks may not have happened.I was down there on a type 21 and we would be deliberately put in a place to tempt an attack to give the landings precious time to get men and machines ashore.Picket duty was a little stressful...I hope that the lessons have been learned and let the flyers decide how to be best used.
Interesting video, but I struggled to understand what he was saying/
English accent, mate. Cheers
we were leaving dust trails so we climbed to 20ft...........
I used to know a guy years ago who said he knew of some RAF Jaguars that took part at Red Flag and shot down the US AWACS aircraft. The pilots flew on the deck until they were directly underneath the AWACS, pulled up then Sidewinder the AWACS. The escort fighters couldn't respond in time. A couple of beaten up Jags defeated the most sensitive piece of equipment the US had and their super advanced fighter escorts at the time. The US were livid that their prize AWACS was taken out of the tournament. :D
The “US were livid?” Was this a Brit vs Americans “tournament?” Lol. The Americans run the Red Air side as well.
Tom Hay
As you can see from Rustiswordz comment we have keyboard warriors over here in England as well ,
Red Flag is a training exercise,not a competition to see who’s better than who ,some people need to remember we are on the same side ,
"We climbed to 20 feet." Oh, my.
10ft at 550 knots, jesus !
9 miles a minute.
The Buccaneer flew in the SAAF
I remember seeing them, both on static display and formation flying. Always thought they were beautiful aircraft, such a clean design
The Buc in Desert Storm service? I'd pay for that.
Old Red Flag tapes, good for a laugh: ua-cam.com/video/3FE55g3SRY0/v-deo.html
EDIT: 80s stuff apparently, including some accounts of possible MiG23 aggressor engagements at 01:35...????
I have seen this before, John. It’s a great little clip.
Did he say “descend to 10 feet”?
....I've seen footage of one of these exercises....the Americans couldn't believe it when they got them on camera....flying at virtually zero feet over sand hills! (Can't seem to find that footage any more, though)
ua-cam.com/video/lteL18wd15Y/v-deo.html ... not Red Flag but some pretty cool stuff anyway
I'm glad someone else remembers that footage, thought I'd dreamt it, it was shown on my regional news channel waaaaay back in the day .
yes I remember it too, with some American operator asking 'who are these guys?' as the buccs hid behind the sand dunes.
It was shown on "Nationwide" and at one point they were flying in a dry riverbed and only the tail fin was visible. An amazing bit of film, sadly lost, never to beseen again, well done BBC.
@@bobwhite459 I know! I've been trying to find it for years! What about the Vulcan 'strike' on the US East coast (simulated, obv!)....I think they got within 20 or so miles, before they were picked up!
I see! "Banana Bomber" because of BNA and the BANA military acronym; i thought it was because it looked like a banana ie fat fuselage like Kate or Betty
One of the big aircrew disappointments at Red Flag was the belief you had hit your target and gone home clean ... only to see camera footage from a ZSU-24 being aimed optically ... Oops. Didn't see that one coming!
The inertia arming device can be adjusted. So you can drop at a lower altitude, but it becomes dangerous for the delivery plane. A little math is needed.
ua-cam.com/video/lteL18wd15Y/v-deo.html
Awesome footage of RAF Buccaneers operating out of Gibraltar do a low-level mock attack on Type 42 destroyer HMS Liverpool. At 2:31 they are level with its deck!! :-0
Nice one
Buccaneers had windscreen wipers?
Well when they flew under cows and horses they would frequently piss on the Bucky with fear
Yup, to clear the grass cuttings off the screen.
Smashed bugs don't smear themselves you know :P
Sadly the British used to build some of the best aircraft in the world, but no more it would have been interesting to see how the Lightning would have preformed in the Gulf War alongside the Tornado and Buccaneer, fly safe one and all.
Lightning wouldn't have made it over the border...too short a range.
Badly. Short range. Incompatible with a modern radar and subsequently modern weapons. And that's just for starters.
It was not the BBC that let out the story of the Argentine bombs not arming, it was one of the newspapers "Trying to prove that they had balls as big as aircraft tyres". 😠
It is still flying. At least during this video:
ua-cam.com/video/30OJ_uIgQAk/v-deo.html
Bruntingthorpe Airfield, Cold War Jets
Very poignant comment about the BBC reports being the cause of so many deaths. I find it amazing that the reporters did not think about what they were saying or filming.