Blackburn Buccaneer
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| Blackburn Buccaneer | ||
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| Image caption | ||
| Description | ||
| Role | Strike aircraft | |
| Crew | 2 | |
| First Flight | 30 April 1958 | |
| Entered Service | ||
| Manufacturer | Blackburn Aircraft Company | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Length | 63 ft 5 in | 19.33 m |
| Wingspan | 44 ft 0 in | 13.41 m |
| Height | 16 ft 3 in | 4.97 m |
| Wing area | ft² | m² |
| Weights | ||
| Empty | lb | kg |
| Loaded | 62,000 lb | 28,120 kg |
| Maximum takeoff | lb | kg |
| Capacity | ||
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines | 2 x Rolls-Royce Spey Mk 101 turbofans | |
| Thrust | 2 x 11,255 lbf | 2 x 50.065 kN |
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | 646 mph at 200 ft | 1040 km/h at 60 m |
| Combat range | miles | km |
| Ferry range | 2300 miles | 3700 km |
| Service ceiling | 40,000 ft | 12,200 m |
| Rate of climb | ft/min | m/min |
| Avionics | ||
| Avionics | ||
| Armament | ||
| Guns | ||
| Bombs | 4 x 1,000 lb (45 kg) bombs in bomb bay | |
| Missiles | ||
| Rockets | ||
| Other | 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) of ordnance on hardpoints | |
The Blackburn Buccaneer was a British attack aircraft. It saw service with the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm. It was widely regarded as one of the finest low level strike aircraft of its day. It saw war service during the 1991 Gulf War when examples were rushed to the area to provide a laser designation capability for British aircraft. It left FAA service with the decommissioning of HMS Ark Royal in 1978, with the remaining examples being transferred to the RAF. The last squadrons were disbanded in 1993.
South Africa was the only country other than Britain to operate the Buccaneer, where it was in service with the South African Air Force from 1965 to 1991.
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Variants
- S.1
- S.2
- S.50 (A special South Africa-only version of the naval S.2, complete with folding wings. An important change from the British version was the addition of a single-stage rocket to assist take-off from hot-and-high airfields like that of AFB Waterkloof in Pretoria, where the type was mostly based.
Units using the Buccaneer
Royal Air Force
- No. 12 Squadron RAF
- No. 15 Squadron RAF
- No. 16 Squadron RAF
- No. 208 Squadron RAF
- No. 216 Squadron RAF
Fleet Air Arm
- No. 736 NAS
- No. 800 NAS
- No. 801 NAS
- No. 803 NAS
- No. 809 NAS
South African Air Force
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