Blackburn Buccaneer - British Nuclear Bomber
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
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The Blackburn Buccaneer was a Royal Navy carrier-borne attack aircraft designed in the 1950s, a mid-wing, twin-engine monoplane with a crew of two in a tandem seat arrangement. Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough, it was later officially known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer when Blackburn became a part of the Hawker Siddeley group.
The Buccaneer was originally designed in response to the Soviet Union's massive Sverdlov-class cruiser construction program. Instead of building a new fleet of their own, the Buccaneer would attack these ships with relative impunity by approaching at low altitudes below the ship's radar horizon. The Buccaneer would attack using a nuclear bomb or conventional weapons in engagements lasting less than a minute, quickly flying out of range while its weapons struck. It was later intended to carry short-range anti-shipping missiles to further enhance its survivability against more modern ship-based anti-aircraft weapons.
Clip from the documentary “Tycoon Toys - Fighter Jets”.
Watch it here - • Tycoon Toys - Fighter ...
What do the super-rich choose to spend their hard-won zillions on? We meet individuals who have a particular penchant for owning, driving and firing huge pieces of ex-military hardware, from field guns to tanks to fighter jets. Tycoon Toys goes on a journey to watch them at play. - Наука та технологія
I'll never forget operating with the Royal Navy back in the '70s. Buccaneers from the carrier 'Ark Royal' would make low passes at our ship (the John F. Kennedy) when one day the lookout spotted a Buccaneer coming in LOW. The lookout said he's Really low and then he excitedly shouted "He's UPSIDE DOWN! !" The plane passed down the length of the ship less than 50 feet off the water INVERTED the whole time.
Crazy Brits!
What aircraft was a greater challenge that he spoke of to fly than the Buccaneer???
@@whisperingdeath308 Maybe the Lightning. There was one in the hangar.
Love it 😄😄
@@whisperingdeath308 If he's talking British naval aircraft, then that would (probably) be the sea harrier. Awesome aircraft, vertical take off and landing capable, built in the days before fly by wire gave you hands off stability in the hover. They acquired a reputation for being dangerous in just about every air force they were used in because when their elite test pilots tested them they thought they were great but when their standard pilots started flying them they had a lot of accidents on take off and landing.
Allegedly it was also very fun to fly.
@i. rob Brilliant!!!
I served with the Royal Air Force at Lossiemouth for four years, and if i ever felt depressed there was one thing which always lifted my spirits..and that was seeing a 12Sqn Buccaneer taking off/flying overhead...What a beautiful sight !!
souper At the Waddington Airshow before it became International, there was a surprise 'turn' on the flying programme. 4 Buccaneers in echelon to the right flew at low level (as only a Buccaneer can) towards the crowd line, then a break to the left. About 30 years ago but never forgot it.
Amazing aircraft!
I saw them leave lossie. Sad day indeed. Seeing them stacked one on top of each other at a scrap yard in Elgin. Was the worst possible thing to to do these beautiful craft. Will never forget the day they all lined up fornthe last time and weeks later scrapped. All time fav aircraft.
MercyReaper it's at the Buccanner service station in Elgin. Lossiemouth road.
I was on the OCU at Lossie loved em
Booty
"But the plane isn't armed" no shit mate there just gunna let you fly around Africa with a nuke 😂
@MichaelKingsfordGray what the fuck
SoAmazingOnline why not? Nothing left of value without them
@@hotfusexxx hopefully.
The narrator should have said the Buccaneer is no longer capable of carrying, and dropping any weapons. Demilled basically.
Super Lufc...F U..! !.
we can and Do whatever the F we Want to do...stay ! out of our Way.
They make it sound like this guy is doing free lance air strike missions.
lol
Daft question but do they still fly Lightning’s at thunder city
1-800-callcasnow
Milsont Goodwin. Yes but they aren't allowed to have passengers and only fly very rarely because of the crash.
The narrator makes it sound like this guy actually owns a couple of nukes to drop, as well
Greetings from brazil. Here one big fan from Buccaneer! I walk probably 5 km just to buy one single square picture from Buccaneer in one store. I had 12 years old ..and it was 1994.
Head today, Buccaneer it's my favorite aircraft.
Hi JW Greetings to you friend.
Yes the Buccaneer was an excellent aircraft. A very well built aircraft. Sturdy as an aircraft
need s to be for carrier operations.
Darth Wiffy wtf is wrong with you
Darth I think you're aiming hate at the wrong area of the South... It's Hail Brazil and fuck their neighbors Argentina.
J Wagner good for you man :) I hope you get to see it take off!
I am from Brazil.I am a big fan bucanner!
The dramatization on this video, how many times have they mentioned nuclear bomber, it's not as if it's actually carrying a nuke
But it was designed to carry one
So?, a lot of cold war aircraft had the ability to carry nuclear bombs, the way they emphasize it is like it's currently carrying a nuke and that's why it's so restricted when it comes to flying it
Designed to carry 2 actually
the actual design was for maritime strike, to take off from a cairrer, and do the following
SEAD (supression of air defences) with the martel missiles
anti surface (naval) with sea eagle missiles,
and strike with up to 12,000 pounds on an internal bomb bay, ranging from 1 large nuclear weapon to 2 smaller nuclear bombs, ungided bombs and on the external mounts you can find sidewinder missiles, rocket pods and laser guided paveways
they could also carry the pave spike designation pod for that purpose
The Bucc entered RN service in 1962, well before Martel or Sea Eagle. It was not designed to carry them, but was later modified to do so.
I think that there is too much emphasis here on the
Buccaneer 's nuclear capability and not enough on the jet being a superb carrier aircraft.
The Buccaneer is also strangely beautiful.
@@Assassinus2 No, just strange...and Fugly.
“bUt iT’s aLSo a NUcLeaR BoMBer”
- documentary
@Thane Mac in WW2 they made the Spitfire and the Mosquito, so they get some leeway. And the Bucc wasn't ugly, he was like a linebacker with no neck....call him ugly at your peril. The Lightning now, THAT was ugly
@@marklittle8805 It's subjective.... I always thought the Buccaneer and lightning looked pretty good in a way. For ugly I'd need to move on to Seamews.... Pretty bad! Though others might love them.
I've seen a pair of these birds in formation at transonic speeds at 50' of altitude at CFB Shearwater Nova Scotia in the 1990s. It moved me. Simple beauty and raw British power.
When you have a military jet of your own you can say you've reached total happiness
Well done Ian. We need guys like you to keep these wonderful aircraft flying. Enjoy.
Once had the incredible experience of looking DOWN on one of these aircraft from a picnic bench/table in the Welsh mountains, above Betws-y-Coed. Heard this whistling sound, then it appeared, following the valley down until it disappeared round a fold in the terrain. A few minutes later, the same or another one shot over our heads at high speed. That memory is burned into my brain, along with the sight of the Vulcan flying test-bed for the Concorde engines, standing on its tail and vanishing, almost vertically, into the clouds on that one engine and looking up the tail-pipe at the heat diamonds, it created. This time, at the famous Farnborough Air Show. We’ve certainly produced some fantastic aircraft in the UK.
A few comments about the Blackburn Buccaneer, not mine however I hope the authors will excuse my quoting them uncredited.
“I noticed they were not flying above the trees, they were flying between the trees”.
“The Buccaneer is a rather unique airplane, needing to retract its landing gear in order to descend to an operational altitude.”
“I'm trying to recall the old saying about the take off procedure, something like "Rotate, Retract the undercarriage, descend to operational level.”
“I recall working on a fishing boat North of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula in the 80s when a Bucc, trailing a rooster tail of water, passed at wheelhouse height about a wingspan or two away. It was like being at a two second long Motorhead concert. Fucking awesome.”
“they were so low the U S jets couldn’t lock on to them. They could only spot them by the disturbed sea water trails”.
“the first warning the U S ships had was the Bucc flying over then at below bridge height”.
“On exercise with the RAF in Scotland in the late '70's, I was told by the crew of a Rapier battery that the Bucc was the only aircraft they couldn't score a kill on. The thing was just too low & too fast - they couldn't track it! “
“"At 500 feet, cows have legs. At 200 feet, sheep have legs. At 50 feet, dogs have legs. Any lower than that and you weren't looking at the animals anymore." “
“and how low those Bucks could fly he said the Americans ,couldn't detect them ,and many a time said .. Were the HELL/****ing hell did you come from..”
😉😄⚓
That bird is GORGEOUS!
Clyde Marshall that's the British for ya
It's very graceful-looking.
Chuckling...it's hideous! OMFG
Looks like gloster metor.
@Thane Mac Well, I'm also someone who finds the A-10 aesthetically pleasing so take that as you will.
When they designed the Buccaneer it was built longer than the specified length which was restricted by the size of the lifts on the UK aircrraft carriers. However a couple of design features were introduced to shorten the aircraft to fit on the lifts. First the entire nose including the radar was on a hinge and could be rotated almost 180 degrees. Also the tail spike that is not only there for aerodynamic efficiency is also the air brake. This has a vertical split and the two sections rotate about 90 degrees to bioth act as an airbrake and to shorten the aircraft to fit into the lifts. Clever stuff - it allowed Blackburn to design a larger aircraft and more capapble aircraft than the competition.
The Buccaneer is a suprisingly large aircraft when you get up close.
Also was quite underpowered with the "Gyron Junior engines". Only made good when they rebuilt with "R.R. Speys". Amazing to see them when out in Germany on excercise flying around "balls to the wall at 50ft". XV Sqn I think it was out of Laarbruch.
Yes I think it was only Hermes that had a deck-edge lift (amongst Brit carriers) therefore their aircraft needed to be made
to fit the ships lifts
He's putting too much emphasis on the fact that it can carry a nuclear bomb . It can do things other than that too.
My dad was the non-RAF chief electrician at RAF Honington when Buccs were based there in 208 Squadron. He worked for Hawker-Siddley at Brough just outside of Hull as a sparky building them & the RAF approached them when the squadron moved there in 1974 to be the man who knew how to rewire one of them quick. We relocated to Suffolk from Hull when I was about 4 so did all my schooling in Suffolk. My dad's respect at that base from pilots - they'd go to his hanger where he was based & tell him personaly rather than waste time reporting a fault & he'd get it fixed - to the RAF sparkies was something to be abused as a 9 year old so the fact is I've probably sat in about as many Bucc cockpits as a real pilot & had a go on the base flight simulator. Then they went & Tornado arrived. Sad to see them go, they used to fly over our house going back to Honington & the sound is still instantly recognisable. Thanks for this video man.
*NUCLEAR* bomber...
Lighten-up Francis, he isn't carrying a nuclear bomb.
Good on him, what a life scooting about in that! Wow ✈️🛩️
That's what all the Khayelitsha think when he blasts overhead ... hear them shout ... "go, go you rich mother fucker"
Wow!... who says money doesn't buy happiness? ... I wouldn't say no to a Buccaneer... HMS Eagle visited NZ in the early 70's and I fell in love with the Buccaneer ...thanks🇳🇿
Nuclear bomber sponsored by Shell? 😂😂😂 I thought from the thumbnail it was redbull, like what 😂
It said he used to be in oil business
@@lukeg1504 youngest director on Shell's Board it said.
He's at least given it a nice paint job. Looks really nice.
who the fuck writes the scripts for these documentaries, it is a documentary not an action movie! ffffff Nice plane though.
It's an American documentary so don't expect to much.
Like many British planes designed in the 50s (ie Lightning), it was way ahead of the competition. Wasn't mush good at bombing oil tankers though !! My father was on the design team for this and many UK designed jets.
Know Very Little Shots fired
The documentaries suck these days. Ever since someone decided they needed to dramatize them.
Know Very Little the Lightning was never as good an aircraft people try to make out. It was hamstrung by that idiot Duncan Sandys' white Paper on the future of combat aircraft, which virtually destroyed one section of the British aircraft industry.
morfeas333 I
A beautiful craft. More importantly it could still be in service now, awesome machine.
That is one beautiful plane.
I have heard of a Rad Flag exercise that involved a Vulcan Bomber and two Buccaneers. They successfully 'attacked' the US base. The story goes that the Vulcan Bomber was coming in very low but there was no sign of the two Buccaneers. Apparently, they were underneath the Vulcan. Has anyone else heard of this?
The Buccaneer in it's day the finest low level strike aircraft in the world, as the USAF discovered in Red Flag 1977 (I believe), the beast was stable at high speed right down to as low as 30 feet, nothing could catch it at that height, and radar couldn't track it , certainly technology moved, on the advent of look down, shoot down radar cancelled much of the aircraft's advantage, now sadly just another almost museum piece.
Indeed. Red Flag in theory had a floor below which aircraft were not allowed to go. However it was 'understood' that the Buccaneers would simply ignore the rule.
There was a news clip shown on BBC Nationwide showing the Buccaneer in action during Red Flag, but no-one seems to have kept this particular footage when many, many aviation enthusiasts have searched for this footage which was pretty dramatic to say the least.
It did certainly demonstrate just why the Buccaneer was so difficult to track and stop.
and Canadian CF-104s at Red Flag could do the same thing at supersonic speed. Our Canadian CF-104s were nuke capable and that was the Canadian role in Germany at the time. When the CF-104 was at tree top height nothing could stay behind it.
As far as a low level aircraft I would take a a proven aircraft like the F-105 Thunderchief, hundreds were used in Vietnam and the videos and pics of them returning with holes and half an aerelon is impressive.
It's one thing doing a low level drag race over clear territory, it's a different ball game with a full load over undulating terrain, avoiding "enemy" defenses and "hitting" the target, there were many aircraft faster than the Buccaneer, but at extreme low level there was very little that could stay with it, simply because the Buccaneer was a stable platform at very low level and at full speed which was only marginally affected by load, until the advent of look down shoot down capability, the supersonic fighters of the day, including F15- F16 simply couldn't catch the thing, it's also worth noting that most aircraft had to slow in order to launch weapons Buccaneer didn't.
Of course there are many aircraft with outstanding capability, attempting to label one as being totally superior is difficult at best, but why the constant efforts to ridicule anything and everything British? to then proclaim a license built Starfighter as the greatest thing since sliced bread is puzzling, particularly when 46% of all Canadian CF 104s were lost in assorted failures and accidents.
Exactly and that was the Canadian role in Germany, CF-104s operated in Southern Germany, their NATO role was low level strike.
"Extreme low level" - The Canadian air base at Baden was in Southern Germany and they were operated over undulating terrain for over 25 years!!
The area of southern Germany is not flat, it's hilly and mountainous.
We didn't fly them over the flat ocean or the flat countryside of Lincolnshire
Squadron commander was asked "where are your Buccaneers" to which he replied "under my Bucken hat".
The saying was actually; "Either side of my bucking head"
The Buccaneer was a very tough aircraft made from the best quality materials, no pressed steel bits only machined and heat-treated components, it needed to be tough to withstand the battering of flying just above sea level.
Saw the last fly past over BAE Brough, East Yorkshire England. 9 in diamond formation with a 10nth following. Awesome sight, sadly missed.
the old Blackburn factory I do believe
@@stephenchappell7512 see my comment earlier. Good to see people still talking about this wonderful machine.
I both love and hate the aircraft. My Uncle died test flying it in the back seat when a NASA pilot did unauthorised manoeuvres. Brilliant plane, would have liked to have known my Uncle.... he died 6 days after I was born.
I was in the USAF in West Germany in 1983. I worked as a refueler and serviced many Buccaneers.
I visited HMS Ark Royal twice in the late 70s and I was quite impressed by this aircraft.
Superior by a long way to the Tornado that replaced it. The RAF and RN should still be flying new build versions of this jet. Just because it dates from the mid 60s does not mean it is not the best at what it does. Imagine a new build Buccaneer with FADEC engine control, all digital electronics and you would once again have the worlds best strike jet, and it can fly from a carrier. Awesome.
The buccaneer is a naval strike aircraft designed to attack ships flying so low by the time radar has picked it up it already on top of you.The nuclear bomb was not to attack land targets but a fleet of ships ( battle group aircraft carrier and escort ships) the buccaneer would fly a few feet from the sea surface and once on the horizon climb virtually and " lob" the nuke on a parachute so it had time to get out of the area ( i served on HMS Ark Royal and saw them in the air and day and night landings ) the buccaneers saw service in the gulf war where they were not allowed to fly less than 8 feet from the ground because any lower the Iraqis could see the sand that was kicked up behind.......loved seeing them
The Blackburn Buccaneer - built from girders and boilerplating. A true aviation icon.
Blackburn always had a reputation for building incredibly tough, solid aircraft. Built like battleships.... Unfortunately most of them flew like battleships. Practically everything they designed and built before and during WW2 was woefully underpowered and performed badly. Then someone invented the jet engine...
The someone was Frank Whittle, Blackburn had a wind tunnel just before WW II, they made some good aircraft but were overshaddowed by Westland Hawker, Supermarine Bristol and DH, just like Boulton Paul and Fairey.
When the UK made its own gear, top notch. 👌
There's a famous story of a Buccanear landing after a low level flight over the North Sea and the pilot looking as white as a sheet, he was so low he'd basically flown straight through a wave. There's footage out there somewhere, would love to see it.
These had a rotating bomb bay. At one Biggin airshow, the Fleet Air Arm flew one over, which tilted left 30 degrees and then rotated the bomb bay to show the crowd a set of powerful lights spelling "Fly Navy", just to poke the RAF in the eye on home turf.
They used to do this in the bomb bay of the Shackletons and Nimrods as well.
I joined The Royal Navy (Not The “BRITISH” RN)as a Radio/radar Mech, just 18 months after Ark Royal was decommissioned. The Buccaneer is still my favourite jet by a country mile. I’ve worked on Harriers, but I would have loved to done on this Icon.
I worked with lots of guys who did and of course they loved it!
It was tied up at Devonport until late 1980
I know because I took a trip around her before she was towed away
@@stephenchappell7512 I think I will always regret not doing what you did. Not jealous at all 😊
growing up in SW Scotland I used to see a Buccaneer flying on trials everyday from RAE West Freugh, my dad was a cinetheodolite technician and filmed high speed bombing runs for the Ministry of Defence. The airbase used to have a Christmas party for the families of the employees and the kids were treated to a showing of some of these films, it was like watching a war movie but for real.
This is just about the coolest thing ever!
I'm at a loss for words.
What a pilot!!!!!
Mmmmm maybe "the coolest thing ever", on the other hand, have you seen the English Electric Lightening?
It outperformed many of todays aircraft.
It was said "it only had wings to keep the nav lights apart".
My grandfather was the chief tool designer on the buccaneer. When he died my mother (his daughter) threw all the plans we found out and burnt them grief I suppose.
Its pretty cool that some of those fast jets from the 50's and 60's can still more than hold their own in performance terms against todays aircraft. Were they that good or just over engineered ? Perhaps both...perhaps both.
SquillyMon british mashines are great
In their day they were that good, they were also very well engineered, originally designed for carrier use, they were a rugged piece of kit.
The Buccaneer was very well engineered. In some areas it was more capable than the Tornado which replaced it. for instance it was far more economical on fuel and could cruise faster and further at low level.
Yeah the US makes creates horrible planes that your country has to buy and rely on. At least my great country can still and does create and innovate and produce. What does yours do? Besides wait for us to make something for you to leech off of. If it wasn't for our innovating and injinuity, you would all be speaking german these days.
The US are a European facsimile. Good at commercialization - but if you check - most of the new thought and innovation begins in Western Europe. Also many of our engineers and scientists were swiped by the US. The US profiteering from and strategically playing two world wars isn’t something to be proud about. The US waited nearly 4 years to join the first and over 2 years to join the second war against barbarism (after being attacked). However, the US still has excellent and objective people. Many but not all.
Love the fact that youtube is recomending me this when warthunder said they are going to add the Buccaneer
same thing is happening to me with the a7
Some aircraft like this one should be like class A listed buildings or Heritage Protection Plan and protected and preserved
Great aircraft - lovely to see one still flying!
My Dad used to work on them and many other Aircraft. He always said you couldn't believe the height of one.
Looks beautiful hope you keep her going credit to all our old friends who keep these superb British aircraft flying pity we don’t do more ourselves.
I saw a film where a Buccaneer was flying in war games in the American deserts. The woman who was commenting was more or less screaming as the aircraft was flying with it's wing in a wadi. I suppose that he was repremanded but everyone bought the beers after.
That jet is painfully pretty. So elegant.
Love the colour scheme
Their was a program during the Late 70's of the old HMS Ark Royal. In one of the those programs 2 of these passed the carrier below the hanger deck. and they were really going fast . Incredible video!
'Sailor' filmed during 76
I think the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should buy one of these vintage beauties and demo it at games---
Imagine this old girl in Orange and pewter!!!
6:16 Cliff hanger and a half right there.
I’m on the edge of my seat
Currently for sale. Along with two other Buccaneers, three Lightnings, and I believe four Hawker Hunters.
The Buccaneer was an awesome Aeroplane. The Man flying it is obviously a successful Man. The Fuck Sticks posting negative comments are obviously jelous. Good on you mate!
I love the Buccaneer, bastards retired it to early.
No. It was old and worn out. The poor old girls were starting to fall apart, they were at the end of their fatigue lives.
And yet they had to be brought back into service to invade kuwait and iraq because the Tornado couldn't do the job on its own. Don't get me wrong Tony I work in the development of the MRCA so I know what I am talking about. I find it sad that we are forced to rush towards the future without respecting what we already have or had. As an old fart I would happily travel on steam trains to see airshows displaying Sopwith and Spitfires and Hurricanes and Buccaneers and Hunters or pre 50's cars, you can take the future and !!!! well you know what I mean, I off for my nap now LoL ;)
Ping Pong Sorry, but the Buccaneer was still in service for the first Gulf conflict.
I've been in aviation since 1981, and my first posting was on 208sqn Buccaneers. I'm no encyclopaedia, but if I see something that is wrong, believe me I'll tell you.
Oh, and the MRCA was called Tornado from the late 70s.
I used the Tornado's experimental nomenclature MRCA only to hint on the time I have spent involved in aviation Tony. My opinion is different to yours is all. I believe 3 of the best British jet aircraft for flying and getting the job done were the Hunter the Buccaneer and the Vulcan P.S Not that it matters, I joined the RAF straight from school in 69
Tony Lockhart Agreed, I was at Honington in 1980 when XV345 crashed during that years Red Flag. Fatigue cracks in the main spar caused wing failure during a violent manoeuvre. I remember they first thought it was a failure on the wing-fold hinge but investigation showed the cracks in many other Buccs. The whole fleet was grounded for about 3 months except for one single flight that was authorised to recover the remaining aircraft from Nellis rather than bring them home in shipping containers.
The Buccaneer, just a ball of beauty. 😍
I'm from England and just like to say good luck to ya Ian it's good that you chased your dreams and it must be amazing to own your own jet bomber well done my friend👍🇬🇧✌
loved the vid Ian served on HMS Victorious with Bucc's n Vixens Loved them all but my fav was the Fairy Gannet
You're on your own there 😉
What a gorgeous plane!
South Africa's Air Force was the only export customer of the Buccaneer.
Although the Marineflieger and even the
US Marine Corps were potential buyers
War Thunder needs this "Burn" in their new update. :))
Now they do
These were used in the first gulf war in 1991
There are at least five Blackburn test pilots who were civilians when they test flew the Buccaneer, that is without the Boscombe Downs civilian test pilots who must have flown the aircraft for military certification. Four of them can be found at www.ejection-history.org.uk/Aircraft_by_Type/Buccaneer.htm. Fantastic aircraft.
The only practical replacement for a Buccaneer is another Buccaneer. It is still an effective platform.
It is a bomber, nuclear weapon capable, but NOT a nuclear bomber....
Yes, exactly! I was hoping for an actual nuclear bomber
It means it's capable of carrying and launching one. Most aircraft can't.
Imagine if someone bought one of these, got permission to fly it and managed to get hold of a nuke to fit it. They could potentially nuke any city in the world AND get out before anyone knew what was going on. It's still a powerful and fast plane even by modern standards. That's why it's banned in 99% of the world.
30 to 50 feet I guess to avoid the enemy radars
A very original aircraft.
that is the most beautiful thing Ive even seen
I still hope to see a buccaneer at Airport Weeze, which is former RAF Laarbruch, which operated buccaneers
The Marineflieger was seriously interested in the Buccaneer as a Hawk replacement however like their Luftwaffe counterparts they had to settle with the Starfighter 'widowmaker'
Huh?????? At almost 70,,,, I have never heard of the Buccaneer!?!?!?!?!?! Geez Louezzz!?!?!?!
Beautiful plane for its era
That soundtrack sounded a lot like a Leftfield song. I wonder if it's a soundalike ripoff or the original source of the samples?
MY grandad was an RAF pilot and I remember being on holiday in the highlands and him spotting a buccaneer flying low training probably. He told me about it and showed me how to recognise it from the T-tail.
He sparked a passion for jets in me that continues to this day.
I just watched the excellent history of the RAF on BBC1 and thought of Grandad a lot.
Luv and Peace.
So did you guys know he was the second civilian to ever fly the Buccaneer?
If the RAF hadn't been obsessed with the TSR.2, the RAF could have gotten the Buccaneer by 1965-1966. Its ability to fly really low would have given Soviet war planners fits because it wasn't until the 1980's that the Soviets finally had a radar that could counter the Buccaneer.
The TSR2 should never have gotten off the drawing board as it was designed to replace the V-force when the deterrent role had already switched to the Polaris fleet
It's a nuclear bomber, they say.
As someone who lives away from the rest of the world I didn’t even know that there were still flying examples of these flying around.
Why say "The British Royal Navy" there's only one Royal Navy
Jonathan Williams yeah but they're all called things like Royal Australian Navy, Royal Netherlands Navy, Royal Indian Navy etc. We've got the name Royal Navy locked down.
Because it’s written for Americans?
Well,some countries are also using "royal navy" like royal Australian navy,royal netherland navy,royal brunei navy...so its make sense if he said british royal navy
Nope, everyone knows the Royal navy’s british. 🇬🇧
Well, what is Royal about the Royal Navy? It is just another navy but with a tag ‘Royal’. That’s all.
It WAS a beast....but a beautiful one!
I am rather suprised he is only the second civilian pilot to get a licence to fly the Buccaneer, Blackburn had quite a large flight test department staffed by civilians who were involved in the development of the 30 development aircraft.
But during development, and in the UK, the Bucc was never on the civilian register, so it could not have been put on a civilian licence.
I suspect Civilian Pilots were allowed to fly military registered aircraft - for instance see aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=55105 which describes a Civilian Test Pilot & Observer being killed in the crash of one of the development S1's. Not sure what the situation is now if you look at the ETPS web site the requirements for joining the course don't include any 'Military Licence' and they end up with some sort of European Testing Licence. What is not clear is if the aircraft they fly during the course are all civilian registered or if some such as the Tornado, Hunter, SAAB Grippen, Hawk, etc have military or civilian registrations.
The King of low level flying, there can only be One!
missed you at the Langebaan airshow last year😢
Aside from everything this jet has the sexiest look among other jets ,also British design is written all over it .
Wow Well done, Ian!!
My god, you're gonna need deep pockets to own & fly something like that!
But all the squatter camp kids love it when he flies overhead ...
Most be an old documentary according to this website this plane was already for sale again in 2012.
"...she was sold to Ian Pringle in South Africa. Permission was granted for some test flights here in the UK and on Friday 29th March 2002 she flew for the first time in 9 years. She sadly departed these shores a few weeks later and was then based at Mike Beachy Head's Thunder City operation. Unfortunately with Thunder City being effectively shut down by the CAA after identifying various maintenance failings that cost pilot Dave Stock his life in the crash of their Lightning ZU-BEX, that meant ZU-NIP was grounded. She was put up for sale by auction in November 2011 but so far no news has come out regarding the outcome of the sale.
Information on this page current as of 13/01/2012"
www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/buccaneer/survivor.php?id=105
Why does the narrator continually say "nuclear bomber"? Are we all supposed to think it's somehow atomically-powered? Surely not. I'd prefer him to say "nuclear weapons capable".
Believe the big airbrakes enable carrier touchdown with high power on. (In case you neeed it to go round).
Aw man What’s more challenging then the Buccaneer?!!
It's called a "nuclear bomber" because it can carry and deliver a nuclear bomb, NOT because the bomber itself is "nuclear". It's an airlpane; the nuclear part is superfluous if it isn't carrying a nuclear bomb, which this one isn't.
Thats the guy who has a nice life!
The day they decommissioned them they had an interview with some pilots. They talked about "delivering a bucketful of instant sunshine", and (IIRC) range limitations meaning that after "sunshine" they'd fly on, bail out and "settle down to live out your days with a nice Kazakh woman".😄
Brilliant well done matey
fabulous Aeroplane and Ace name 😆😈
this dude could be a mercenary with this
I wonder where the Thunder City planes will end up? Hopefully someone will bring them to the U.S. so they can stay flying. XS422 will be soon, it would be nice if she had some company! The narrator keeps saying how dangerous it is , but I would get in a jet and feel more confident and safer than if I was in a WWII plane. No tourque, P-factor. It just goes where you point it, although everything would happen faster. Plus, no tailwheel.
We will see it at the next airshow in port elizabeth 2023.
Gorgeous aircraft!
Looks beautiful...and built on the banks of the Humber near me in Hull...