Blackburn (BAE) Buccaneer

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Since the proposed Bucaneer mission for the Luftwaffe was to be nuclear strike and battlefield air-interdiction.  What would a Buccaneer look like with that German designed cluster munitions dispenser that ejected the bomblets horizontally attached in place of the weapons bay door?  Since the Buccaneer has the rotating weapons bay door, would it be possible to remove the rotating door and attach the dispenser pod with appropriate fairings, of course in the resulting void.  

Anyone got the pod and a Buccaneer in the appropriate scale to do a "CHECK-FIT?"

[Aircav]

Just found this site on the Buccaneer Geoff, hope its of some help
http://www.blackburn-buccaneer.co.uk/0_Contents.html

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Love the idea, Geoff.

Speed.... Well like the guys said Low level, the Bucc would be a better ride but the WW mission in Vietnam was a MEDIUM LEVEL trip. Trawl for the FAN SON radar between 10-15,000, get painted, acquire the site, shoot the missile(s), run away.

Remember the SEAD mission was a team effort. If the AGM-78's/AGM-45's missed then the site would be clobbered by the other members of the team with CBU's & Snakes etc.

Of course that does not mean that you couldn't build your own Hunter-Killer Bucc-Weasel team..... or should that be Wild Brick ?

I H-G

[anthonyp]

Mine's going with an A-6 probe in place of the Bucc's original one (it's also getting a drogue from a KA-6D to become a KA-8C tanker).

As for a USAF version, you could go with either, I'd think, as the F-104 had a probe, and some earlier F-105's had probes as well (see link):

http://www.military.cz/usa/air/post_war/f1...f105reftest.jpg

I'd go with what you want, Geoff.  If it were me, I'd give it a refuelling port and it on the spine behind the cockpit, ala the F-16.

[lancer]

How about this for a night intruder load. Especially if it's USAF over Vietnam. put the 4x20mm gun pack from the canberra on the weapons bay, have the conformal tanks on the inboard pylons for additiona fuel if necessary and have MER loaded up with an assortment of different weapons, i.e a mix of mk82's and cluster bombs or napalm tanks or what ever combo you need for a particular mission. OR, have RAF Phantom style triple matra pods on the outer pylons, it'd probably cause a bit of a mess on the Hoi Chi Min trail 'd have thought. Gotta admit a Bucc in that SEA cammo does sound appealing.

[Geoff_B]

Geoff

I think somebody discovered that at least a pair of Buccs were evaluated by the USAF for use in Vietnam. Plus it was compared against the Intruder by the USN at the end of the 50's.

A good book on the Bucc is "From Spitfire to Eurofighter" by Roy Boot one of the brough development staff that covers various propossed Buccaneer developments. The Bulged bomb door idea was propossed in the 60's and various mods propossed for a true RAF machine rather than the Naval Spec.

Cheers

Geoff B B)

[NARSES2]

A picked up a Matchbox Buccaneer from Thorvic at the SIG meet on Saturday and I don't know if anyone else has noticed the box end illustration before. The fusalage has been elongated forward of the wing/engine inlet. Makes the front end look almost TF104' ish ? Looks very sleek anyway. So I'm thinking of a Buccaneer with a fusalge plug inserted just behind the canopy for extra fuel etc ?

Anyone else got any thoughts ?

Chris

[B777LR]

AMRAAMs, New radar, glass cockpit (computer screens), Harpoons, afterburners, sidewinders, Slight larger wings (like the super hornet), new air intake (like on the super hornet), and of course lots of pictures!

[Howard of Effingham]

hthh, chris.

i think that reference to british secret projects book - bombers will give you some
ideas as from a QUICK look i see plenty of buccaneer related stuff.

why there's even a canadian option!  :ar:  

[The Rat]

And a CDN option, eh ? Hmmm.........

Ah, but this is Canada, we couldn't call it a Buccaneer though, a bit perjorative. How about 'non-traditionally self-supporting nautically based entrepreneur'?   

As we all know, near the end of its service life the crews said that the only aircraft that could replace a Buccaneer would be a new Buccaneer with updated avionics, so I say WHIFF THAT SUCKER! 

Fuselage extension sounds good.   

[jcf]

There's always the P.150 thin-winged supersonic Bucc.



Cheers, Jon

[jcf]

More Buccing goodness.

The P.145 was a proposal for an improved Bucc with a 100% increase in load and 40% increase in radius of action...the major aspects of the design were a new four-bogie landing gear, and a new fuel/weapons pallet.

The aircraft was also to be fitted with the twin-rocket system as used on the South African S.Mk.50, which would have given a 33% reduction in take-off run.

The P.150 I already mentioned was a major redesign with a thin-wing, re-heated Speys, the undercart and bomb pallet of the P.145 and an all-new Nav-Attack System.

The MoD was not interested. 







Cheers, Jon

[B777LR]

Wingtip AMRAAMS needed!  

[elmayerle]

Taking a look at the 1980s, what if the MOD had decided that for some tasks, the only thing to replace a Buccaneer was a better one; however, being still somewhat parsimonious, they refused to pay for any major airframe redesigns beyond incorporation of improved materials where the improvement could be demonstrated by operational use of the material on other aircraft.  By the same token, all systems upgrades were required to be already in proven use on other RAF or FAA aircraft.

From this came the Buccaneer SR.3:
Powerplants: 2x RR Medway (refanned, with increased by-pass ratio, versions of a dry RB.199) that match or exceed the performance of the MK.2's Speys with better fuel economy
Noticeable external changes: Single-piece blown windshield as pioneered on several American aircraft; external housings for incorporated vision and designation hardware taken directly from that used in operational pods; since the new engines could, under certain conditions, draw more air that the existing inlets would allow, blow-in doors were added around the outer 2/3's of each inlet; a sophisticated recconaisance weapons bay pod/door was developed as well as a less sophisticated sensor-equipped door that allowed for immediate BDA
Systmes Changes:  Basically, most of the systems and displays from the Tornado GR.1 were the baseline here, with upgrades where proven and applicable, some displays from the F-15E were incorporated as well as a MIL-STD-1553 databus that made upgrades much easier

The new aircraft was cleared for all weapons in the RAF inventory, save radar-guided AAMs (and a later radar upgrade covered that), as well as most from allied air forces stores

Thoughts?

[The Rat]

Taking a look at the 1980s, what if the MOD had decided that for some tasks, the only thing to replace a Buccaneer was a better one;...

Exactly what the crews were saying during her final days. And I like your suggestions!