Blackburn (BAE) Buccaneer

[pyro-manic]

Possible, as the J79 was a bit smaller than the Spey, but why would you want to? The Spey had more thrust, better fuel consumption, and as a turbofan was better suited to low-level than the J79 turbojet.

[The Wooksta!]

Possbily but no.  The Treasury wouldn't want to spend the money.

[Weaver]

Also, the Spey was short and fat, whereas the J-79 was long and thin. The Bucc's engines sit at the front of the "pod" ahead of the wing structure: the majority of the "pod" contains nothing more than a jet pipe wrapped around  the undercarriage bay.

[PR19_Kit]

That would be taking a perfectly good British aeroplane and spoiling it by fitting totally inappropriate American engines......

[Mossie]

Then I'll really set the cat among the pigeons and mention the Atar 9....

Light blue touch paper, then step away quickly....

[Rheged]

Light blue touch paper, then step away quickly....

Didn't the South African Buccs have the Bristol Siddeley 605 rocket  as an extra fitting?      A genuine case of "Light the blue touch paper......"

[Dizzyfugu]

Yup - as a start aid for high and hot climate conditions.

[Weaver]

Wasn't the same rocket suggested for the various Bucc fighters?

[XV107]

I'm actually surprised Shrike, ALARM & TIALD weren't cleared for the Bucc as they were in service with the RAF.

As for the others, I suspect you'd need a different user to justify the integration of the weapon into the systems.

Regards,

Mav

The Buccaneer was on its way out, they only went to the gulf because their "Airships" wanted the brick to go out in a blaze of glory. Even if it was only painting targets for the tonkas. So no need for it to be refitted for ALARM or TIALD. Plus TIALD was still officially under trials. The two pods hurriedly shipped out where pre production units.

Their Airships didn't want the Buccs to go, and the decision to send them was because - to quote Paul Jackson - the TGR1 took to medium level dumb bombing like a duck to accountancy and the RAF felt that there was an urgent need to use PGM to make the Tornado force's contribution meaningful. There were concerns that if the Tornados couldn't bomb accurately and therefore ended up not playing a particularly significant part in the war, this might in turn lead to the government deciding (remember this is at the time of Options for Change) that they could cut the Tornado force even further than the three squadron reduction that actually hit the force at the end of the war (with 15, 16 and 20 disbanding).

With only two TIALD pods, the Buccs with Pave Spike had to be used to facilitate the use of PWII - IIRC, the Air Staff were a bit concerned that the Bucc might show the Tornado up (being able to self-designate), but there was no alternative.

ALARM was also not fully cleared for service at the time (Granby was a useful means of providing intensive testing...), although IIRC, there were some mutterings about it possibly being useful for the Bucc and worth looking at - but with only three years left in RAF service, that idea - if the word 'idea' isn't too strong - was never going to come to fruition.

[PR19_Kit]

As it was the two TIALD pods had to be hand assembled before they were shipped out east, and IIRC the Buccs went out there before the TIALDs anyway.

My daughter (you know, the RAF's Best................... etc etc  ) went out with the Buccs for a few days too, something to do with air traffic at Dahran or wherever they were based.

[rickshaw]

As it was the two TIALD pods had to be hand assembled before they were shipped out east, and IIRC the Buccs went out there before the TIALDs anyway.

My daughter (you know, the RAF's Best................... etc etc  ) went out with the Buccs for a few days too, something to do with air traffic at Dahran or wherever they were based.

Must've been rather busy airspace... 

[Weaver]

Also, TIALD, ALARM etc, being more modern systems, need a digital databus on the carrier aircraft, whereas the Bucc was hard-wired for the Vietnam-era Pave Spike. Integrating the digital stuff onto the analogue Bucc might have been much harder than it looks at first glance.

[jcf]

Integrating the digital stuff onto the analogue Bucc might have been much harder than it looks at first glance.

Understatement of the decade. 

[DarrenP]

I wonder if Buccaneer had been exported more what other weapons would have been integrated or would we like to have seen integrated.
Exocet, Kormoran and Harpoon spring instantly to mind.
But what about Shrike, Standard, Walleye, Maverick, GBU8 or GBU15

[hamsandwich]

I have a Royal Navy Bucc with a pair of AGM 12C Bullpups and an RAF version with a pair of AGM 62 Walleyes.