Blackburn (BAE) Buccaneer

[simmie]

I believe that ALARM's party piece is if the radar shuts down and scoots to a new location.  The missile turns straight up, ditches the motor stage and pops a parachute.  The seeker head is slightly off balance so that is spins around scanning for the radar coming back on.  When it does it ditches the chute, lights a second motor and goes a hunt'in!!

Of coarse I could have this all wrong.

[Weaver]

ALARM can also do that straight away, i.e. it goes straight up off the rail and then "loiters" under the chute, or it can fly direct to the radar without using the chute at all.

The fundamental difference in concept is that HARM is designed to be used by a dedicated SEAD aircraft who's only objective is to destroy the radar, while ALARM is a secondary weapon, designed to be carried by non-specialist aircraft in order to suppress radars for a limited period while they get on with their objective of bombing something else. Of course, ALARM isn't neccessarily used like that in practice, but that was the theory.

[DarrenP]

there is also fundemntal differences in how Alarm attacks as well but I'm not going to discuss them here.

A dedicated SEAD version would have been interesting the Bomb bay did give the space to put many black boxes. That space would also have made a great camera bay for dedicated recce versions.

[PR19_Kit]

That space would also have made a great camera bay for dedicated recce versions.

There was a pukka recce pod made to fit the Bucc's bomb bay. It was quite a hefty thing as it was but it always surprised me that they didn't make a dedicated bomb-bay door that was itself the recce pod.



This piccie of the real pod was passed on to me by someone on here, but I've forgotten who I'm sad to say. Thanks to them, whoever they are.

[GTX]

This piccie of the real pod was passed on to me by someone on here, but I've forgotten who I'm sad to say. Thanks to them, whoever they are.

Dat would be me I believe...you always welcome.

[PR19_Kit]

Dat would be me I believe...you always welcome.

Many thanks indeed, that piccie must have travelled 24000 miles now. 

[raafif]

back on page 3, Nev posted a photo of a USMC Buccaneer & on page 4 anthonyP posted 2 pics of USN ones.  The links are now dead so can someone repost them or PM them to me (considering the Airfix kit) ??

Did someone do a drawing of a 4-engine Bucc ?

[Howard of Effingham]

just one thing there....

if the FAA buccaneers had lasted long enough to have been used in the falklands war,
what paint scheme could they have worn?

trevor

[The Wooksta!]

Probably what they were wearing in the 70s - Extra Dark Sea Grey overall.

[Mossie]

As Lee says, with minimal markings and what was left toned down, i.e. black numbers instead of white or blue.  If you can get decals for an Falklands 809 NAS Shar, some retained toned down squadron markings, they also operated Buccs as well of course.  You could use smaller roundels maybe, with larger ones partially painted out.

[The Wooksta!]

I'd also go with the bulged door for additional fuel for extra loiter time.

[McColm]

Would the camera bay from a Canberra PR.9 fit the Buccaneer?

[The Wooksta!]

No. The latter is larger, certainly wider.

[PR19_Kit]

Individual cameras that the PR9 carried may possibly fit, but not the whole shabang, as The Wooksta says.

[DarrenP]

Alternate engines.

Could Buccaneer have been fitted with the General Electric J79 engines like the American Phantoms?