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114-457: Green Cheese arose as part of the ' Sverdlov crisis ', when the Royal Navy were concerned over the appearance of a new Soviet heavy cruiser class. Green Cheese was a longer-ranged and guided replacement for the unguided Red Angel , which had required an approach by the attacker too close to be considered survivable. During development the range requirement could not be met, and a small rocket motor

228-482: A 4K33 "Osa-M" (SA-N-4 "Gecko") SAM system. Senyavin also had the "Y" turret removed to make room for a helicopter deck and hangar, and four additional AK-230 mounts installed atop the Osa-M missile system. Zhdanov and Senyavin were respectively designated Project 68U1 and Project 68U2 . Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsia was refitted with an enlarged bridge in 1977, with Admiral Ushakov and Aleksandr Suvorov receiving

342-699: A voluntary arms embargo on that country. Blackburn's first attempt to sell the Buccaneer to the Royal Air Force (RAF) occurred in 1957–1958, in response to the Air Ministry Operational Requirement OR.339, for a replacement for the RAF's English Electric Canberra light bombers, with supersonic speed, and a 1,000-nautical-mile (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) combat radius; asking for an all-weather aircraft that could deliver nuclear weapons over

456-532: A 2,000-litre (440 imp gal; 530 US gal) ferry tank, a photo-reconnaissance 'crate', or a cargo container. The reconnaissance package featured an assortment of six cameras, each at different angles or having different imaging properties, and was only mounted on missions specifically involving reconnaissance activities. The Buccaneer also featured four underwing hard points capable of mounting 1,000-pound (450 kg) bombs, missiles, fuel tanks, or other equipment such as flares; later developments saw

570-585: A 500-knot (930 km/h; 580 mph) dash to and from the target. Targets might be ships-at-sea or large shore-based installations at long range from the launching aircraft-carrier. To illustrate, in May 1966, an S.2 launched from HMS  Victorious in the Irish Sea, performed a low-level simulated nuclear weapon toss on the airfield at Gibraltar and returned to the ship, a 2,300-mile (3,700 km) trip The aircraft had an all-weather operational capability provided by

684-481: A carrier take-off, the Buccaneer was pulled tail-down on the catapult, with its nosewheel in the air to put the wing at about 11°. It could be launched "hands-off": the pilot able to leave the tailplane in a neutral position. With blowing on, the Spey 101 output drops to around 9,100 pounds-force (40,000 N), though about 600 pounds-force (2,700 N) is recovered from the trailing edge slits which face aft. About 70% of

798-466: A distance. The Anglo-French Martel missile was introduced upon the Buccaneer, but the weapon was said to have been "very temperamental", and its deployment required an attacking Buccaneer to increase its altitude and thus its vulnerability to being attacked itself. An extensive upgrade programme undertaken in the 1980s added compatibility with several new pieces of equipment; including the Sea Eagle missile ,

912-546: A further 20 Buccaneers was blocked by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson 's government. In the maritime strike role, SAAF Buccaneers were armed with the French radio-guided AS-30 missile. In March 1971, Buccaneers fired 12 AS-30s at a stricken tanker, the Wafra , but failed to sink it. The AS-30 missile was also used in ground attacks for effective precision strikes, one example being in 1981, when multiple missiles were used to strike

1026-632: A greater interest, and considered replacing its Hawker Sea Hawks with the type, although it eventually decided on the Lockheed F-104G for its maritime strike requirement. At one point, a total of three privately owned Buccaneers were being operated at Thunder City . In the United Kingdom, Buccaneer S.2 XX885 has been rebuilt to flying condition by Hawker Hunter Aviation . It was granted UK CAA permission to fly in April 2006. Five Buccaneers in

1140-480: A large television guided glide bomb , Blue Boar . This system was overtaken by other developments, and ultimately cancelled in 1956. However, a smaller development under OR.1127 was already being considered as an anti-shipping weapon which could be launched in large numbers from the Vickers Valiant while flying at high altitude, around 50,000 feet (15,000 m), far beyond the range of the ship's guns. In 1954,

1254-495: A limiting factor of the Buccaneer's operational life, even under the formidable conditions imposed of low level flight. However, design changes for the Mark 2 Buccaneer, the addition of extended wingtips and the position of a new bolt hole, did cause fatigue problems leading to the loss of two aircraft. A large air brake formed the tail-cone of the aircraft. The hydraulically operated air brake formed two leaves that could be opened into

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1368-418: A long range, operate at high level at Mach 2+ or low level at Mach 1.2, with STOL performance. Blackburn proposed two designs, the B.103A, a simple modification of the Buccaneer S.1 with more fuel, and the B.108, a more extensively modified aircraft with more sophisticated avionics. Against a background of inter-service distrust, political issues, and the 1957 Defence White Paper , both types were rejected by

1482-508: A major role in the Battle of Cassinga in 1978, being employed in repeated strikes upon armoured vehicles, including enemy tanks, and to cover the withdrawal of friendly ground forces from the combat zone. The Buccaneer was capable of carrying heavy load outs over a long range, and could remain in theatre for longer than other aircraft, making it attractive for the CAS role. On 3 January 1988, Buccaneers of

1596-517: A mechanical failure in his ejection seat the navigator was killed. Subsequent inspections concluded that the Gyron Junior engine was no longer safe to fly. All remaining S.1s were grounded immediately and permanently. By April 1965, intensive trials of the new Buccaneer S.2 had begun, with the type entering operational service with the FAA later that year. The improved S.2 type proved its value when it became

1710-535: A medium altitude of roughly 18,000 feet (5,500 m), and successfully attacked the As Suwaira Road Bridge. Operations continued on practically every available day; missions did not take place at night as the laser pod lacked night-time functionality. Approximately 20 road bridges were destroyed by Buccaneer-supported missions, restricting the Iraqi Army 's mobility and communications. In conjunction with

1824-512: A military presence over British Honduras (now Belize ) shortly before its independence, to deter a possible Guatemalan invasion in pursuit of its territorial claims over the country . The Buccaneer also participated in regular patrols and exercises in the North Sea , practising the type's role if war had broken out with the Soviet Union. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Royal Navy standardised

1938-592: A number of radar stations in southern Angola . For overland attack, the SAAF Buccaneers carried up to four 1,000-pound (450 kg) bombs in the rotary bomb bay, and four bombs, flares, or SNEB rocket packs on the underwing stores pylons. During the 1990s, it was revealed that South Africa had manufactured six air-deliverable tactical nuclear weapons between 1978 and 1993. These nuclear weapons, containing highly enriched uranium , with an estimated explosion yield of 10-18 kilotons, were designed for delivery by either

2052-574: A range of about 20,000 yards (18,000 m). The range was limited by the radar seeker being used, which was adapted from the Vickers Red Dean air-to-air missile . The original Blue Boar design had relatively high drag as it was designed to fall at a fairly steep angle around 45 degrees, which meant the it would not have the range required when dropped from the Gannet. For this reason, the wings were redesigned to have lower drag. Fairey Aviation won

2166-521: A self-guiding 'fire-and-forget' missile capable of striking targets at an effective range of 60 miles (100 km), five times that of the Martel AJ 168 anti-ship missile, while also being significantly more powerful. In order to dramatically improve aerodynamic performance at slow speeds, such as during takeoff and landing, Blackburn adopted a new aerodynamic control technology, known as boundary layer control (BLC). BLC bled high-pressure air directly from

2280-462: A series of accidents, largely due to insufficient engine power; this shortfall would be quickly addressed via the introduction of the Buccaneer S.2, equipped with more powerful Rolls-Royce Spey jet engines, in 1965. The Buccaneer S.2 would be the first Fleet Air Arm (FAA) aircraft to make a non-stop, unrefuelled crossing of the Atlantic Ocean . During the 1960s and 1970s, the Royal Navy standardised

2394-573: A solution to the Sverdlov problem. A detailed specification was issued in June 1952 as Naval Staff Requirement NA.39 , calling for a two-seat aircraft with folding wings, capable of flying at 550 knots (1,020 km/h; 630 mph) at sea level , with a combat radius of 400 nautical miles (740 km; 460 mi) at low altitude, and 800 nautical miles (1,500 km; 920 mi) at higher cruising altitudes. A weapons load of 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg)

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2508-627: A threat to the British and Dutch navies, which lacked 24-hour day/night carrier capability before satellite surveillance. The big ship threat to the Royal Navy was useful to it in justifying maintaining a conventional fleet of warships and aircraft carriers, especially for use in the North Atlantic. The response was to introduce the Blackburn Buccaneer , a carrier-based strike aircraft that had

2622-555: A valuable capability to act as command ships for naval gunfire support of amphibious operations. They also thought they would provide a political presence in contested areas of the Third World, e.g. Cuba and Indonesia. Had more Sverdlov s been available at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, they would certainly have been deployed. The Soviet Navy intended to base several older Chapayev class cruisers at Cuban ports had

2736-674: The General Dynamics F-111K , would also be cancelled. The Buccaneer was purchased as a TSR-2 substitute and entered RAF service during October 1969. The Royal Navy retired the last of its large aircraft carriers in February 1979; as a result, the Buccaneer's strike role was transferred to the British Aerospace Sea Harrier and the Buccaneers were transferred to the RAF. After a crash in 1980 revealed metal fatigue problems,

2850-599: The South African Air Force (SAAF), as the Buccaneer S.50 . These were S.2 aircraft with the addition of Bristol Siddeley BS.605 rocket engines to provide additional thrust for the " hot and high " African airfields. The S.50 was also equipped with strengthened undercarriage , and higher capacity wheel brakes, and had manually folded wings. They were equipped to use the AS-30 command guided air-to-surface missiles. Due to

2964-483: The engines , which was "blown" against various parts of the aircraft's wing surfaces and horizontal stabiliser . A full-span slit along the part of the wing's trailing edge was found to give almost 50% more lift than any contemporary scheme. In order to counteract the severe pitch movements that would otherwise be generated by use of BLC, a self- trimming system was interconnected with the BLC system, and additional blowing of

3078-658: The 1970s, during which they underwent a limited modernization program before finally leaving service in the late 1980s. The only remaining ship of the class, Mikhail Kutuzov , is preserved in Novorossiysk . At the end of the Second World War , Joseph Stalin planned a major modernization and expansion of the Soviet Navy to turn it into a global blue-water navy . Large numbers of cruisers were required to escort heavier ships and leading destroyers. To speed up production, it

3192-529: The 1980s, it was deemed necessary to replace the original new spar rings on those aircraft that were retained. The Buccaneer entered service with the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) on 17 July 1962, when 801 NAS was commissioned at RNAS Lossiemouth in Scotland. The Buccaneer quickly replaced the FAA's Supermarine Scimitar, which had previously been performing the naval attack role. In addition to conventional ordnance,

3306-583: The British military scientist Dr. Robert Cockburn . It was replaced with the Green Flash project, armed with the Red Beard warhead. This too was cancelled and the idea of a tactical nuclear-tipped guided missile for anti-shipping use was given up in favour of a simple " lobbed " tactical nuclear bomb, the WE.177A . Sverdlov-class cruiser The Sverdlov -class cruisers , Soviet designation Project 68bis , were

3420-452: The Buccaneer due to it being a naval aircraft; it has been further suggested that developing improved Buccaneers for the RAF would weaken arguments against the Royal Navy's planned CVA-01 -class aircraft carriers. In one report by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), it was claimed that two Buccaneer 2* could do the job of one General Dynamics F-111, for less than half the unit cost. The Buccaneer

3534-535: The Buccaneer or the Canberra bomber. SAAF Buccaneers saw active service in the 1970s and 1980s during the South Africa Border War , frequently flying over Angola and Namibia , launching attacks upon SWAPO guerilla camps. During a ground offensive, Buccaneers would often fly close air support (CAS) missions armed with anti-personnel rockets, as well as performing bombardment operations. Buccaneers played

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3648-518: The Buccaneer was cleared for nuclear weapons delivery in 1965; weapons deployed included Red Beard and WE.177 free-fall bombs, which were carried internally on a rotating bomb-bay door. Two FAA operational squadrons, and a training unit were equipped with the Buccaneer S.1. The aircraft was well liked by Navy aircrew for its strength and flying qualities, and the BLC system gave them slower landing speeds than they were accustomed to. The Buccaneers were painted dark sea grey on top, and anti-flash white on

3762-457: The Buccaneer was designed using the area rule technique, which had the effect of reducing aerodynamic drag while travelling at transonic speeds, and gave rise to the characteristic curvy " Coke bottle " shape of the fuselage. The majority of the airframe and fuselage was machined from solid castings to give the required strength to endure the stress of low-level operations. Considerable effort went into ensuring that metal fatigue would not be

3876-468: The English Electric Canberra. Red Beard had an explosive yield in the 10 to 20 kiloton range; and was mounted on a special bomb bay door, into which it nested neatly to reduce aerodynamic buffet on the launch aircraft. At low levels and high speeds, traditional bomb bay doors could not be opened safely into the air stream; therefore, Blackburn developed a revolving bomb bay which turned about

3990-646: The German " pocket battleships " during the Second World War, these new Soviet cruisers presented a serious threat to the merchant fleets in the Atlantic. To counter this threat, the Royal Navy decided not to use a new ship class of its own, but instead introduce a specialised strike aircraft employing conventional or nuclear weapons. Operating from the Navy's fleet carriers , and attacking at high speed and low level, it would offer

4104-629: The Martel ASM with the Sea Eagle missile . Further developments beyond the Buccaneer S.2 were put forward by Hawker Siddeley in the 1960s and 1970s; however none would be pursued through to production by either the Royal Navy or the Royal Air Force. One such effort was designated as Buccaneer 2* , which was presented as a cost-effective alternative to the TSR-2. The 2* would have featured newer equipment; such as head-up displays and onboard computers from

4218-540: The Martel anti-ship missile. Martel-capable FAA aircraft were later redesignated S.2D . The remaining aircraft became S.2C . RAF aircraft were given various upgrades. Self-defence was improved by the addition of the AN/ALQ-101 electronic countermeasures (ECM) pod (also found on RAF's SEPECAT Jaguar GR.3), chaff and flare dispensers, and AIM-9 Sidewinder capability. RAF low-level strike Buccaneers could carry out what

4332-502: The Navy released AW.319, calling for a version that could be launched from the Gannet, and later, the NA.39 aircraft. This was assigned the name Green Cheese. For the Gannet, it was envisioned the aircraft would drop Green Cheese from around 10,000 feet (3,000 m) altitude, with a required range of 10,000 yards (9,100 m), whereas the Valiant would drop it from high altitudes and it would have

4446-570: The RAF Buccaneer conversion unit, No. 237 Operational Conversion Unit RAF , forming at Honington in March 1971. The Buccaneer was seen as an interim solution, but delays in the Panavia Tornado programme would ensure that the 'interim' period would stretch out, and the Buccaneer would remain in RAF service for over two decades, long after the FAA had given up the type. With the phased withdrawal of

4560-698: The RAF Buccaneer force re-equipped with WE.177 nuclear weapons. At peak strength, Buccaneers equipped six RAF squadrons, although for only a year. A more sustained strength of five squadrons was made up of three squadrons (15 Squadron, 16 Squadron, 208 Squadron), plus No. 237 OCU (a war reserve or Shadow squadron ), all assigned to Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) for land strike duties in support of land forces opposing Warsaw Pact forces in continental Europe, plus one squadron (12 Squadron) assigned to Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) for maritime strike duties. Opportunities for Buccaneer squadrons to engage in realistic training were limited, and so when

4674-510: The RAF was forced to look for a replacement that was available and affordable, and reluctantly selected the Buccaneer. The first RAF unit to receive the Buccaneer was 12 Squadron at RAF Honington in October 1969, in the maritime strike role, at first equipped with ex-Royal Navy Buccaneer S.2As. This was to remain a key station for the type, as 15 Squadron equipped with the Buccaneer the following year, before moving to RAF Laarbruch in 1971, and

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4788-477: The RAF's fleet was reduced to 60 aircraft while the rest were withdrawn. The ending of the Cold War in the 1990s led to military cutbacks that accelerated the retirement of Britain's remaining Buccaneers; the last of the RAF's Buccaneers were retired in March 1994 in favour of the more modern Panavia Tornado . The South African Air Force (SAAF) was the only export customer for the type. Buccaneers saw combat action in

4902-436: The RAF; as being firmly subsonic, and incapable of meeting the RAF's range requirements; while the B.108, which retained Gyron Junior engines while being 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) heavier than the S.1, would have been severely underpowered, giving poor short-take off performance. The BAC TSR-2 was eventually selected in 1959. After the cancellation of the TSR-2, and then the substitute American General Dynamics F-111K ,

5016-407: The Royal Air Force still required a replacement for its Canberras in the low-level strike role, while the planned retirement for the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers meant that the RAF would also need to add a maritime strike capability. It was therefore decided in 1968 that the RAF would adopt the Buccaneer, both by the purchase of new-build aircraft, and by taking over the Fleet Air Arm's Buccaneers as

5130-599: The Royal Navy's carrier fleet during the 1970s, the Fleet Air Arm's Buccaneers were transferred to the RAF, which had taken over the maritime strike role. 62 of the 84 S.2 aircraft were eventually transferred, redesignated S.2A ; some of these were later upgraded to S.2B standard. Ex-FAA aircraft equipped 16 Squadron , joining 15 Squadron at RAF Laarbruch, and 208 Squadron at Honington; the last ex-FAA aircraft went to 216 Squadron shortly before its disbandment. From 1970, with 12 Squadron initially, followed by 15 Squadron, 16 Squadron, No. 237 OCU, 208 Squadron, and 216 Squadron,

5244-617: The SADF destroyed the important bridge across the Cuito River using a Raptor glide bomb , following on from a less successful attempt on 12 December 1987. Only five aircraft remained operational by the time the Buccaneer was retired from service in 1991. Early in the Buccaneer programme, the US Navy had expressed mild interest in the aircraft, but quickly moved on to the development of its comparable Grumman A-6 Intruder . The West German Navy showed

5358-482: The Spey, and the wing required minor aerodynamic modifications as a result. Hawker Siddeley announced the production order for the S.2 in January 1962. All Royal Navy squadrons had converted to the improved S.2 by the end of 1966. However, 736 Naval Air Squadron also used eight S.1 aircraft taken from storage to meet an extra training demand for RAF crews until December 1970. In October 1962, 16 aircraft were ordered by

5472-539: The US began its Red Flag military exercises at Nellis Air Force Base in 1975, the RAF became keenly interested. The first Red Flag in which RAF aircraft were involved was in 1977, with 10 Buccaneers and two Avro Vulcan bombers participating. Buccaneers would be involved in later Red Flags through to 1983, and in 1979, also participated in the similar Maple Flag exercise over Canada. The Buccaneer proved successful with its fast low-level attacks, which were highly accurate despite

5586-516: The USN's Gearing - and Forrest Sherman -class destroyers, lacked the armour, range and speed required to counter the Sverdlovs. In 1954 Sverdlov class construction was cancelled by Khrushchev after 14 hulls had been completed. Two additional hulls were scrapped on the slip, and four partially complete Sverdlov s launched in 1954 were scrapped in 1959. Sverdlov class ships remained in service through

5700-525: The Wyvern with a jet-powered design, NA.39 , were advancing. This would leave a gap where the Wyvern would be removed and the jet not yet introduced. To fill this gap, the Fairey Gannet was selected, a much larger and slower aircraft than the Wyvern. It was felt that Red Angel's range would not be enough to keep it safe from the ship-board guns. Through this same period, the Royal Air Force had been developing

5814-500: The adoption of desert camouflage, and additional equipment, and departed from Lossiemouth for the Middle Eastern theatre early on 26 January 1991. In theatre, it became common for each attack formation to comprise four Tornados and two Buccaneers; each Buccaneer carried a single laser designator pod, and acted as backup to the other in the event of an equipment malfunction. The first combat mission took place on 2 February, operating at

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5928-453: The adoption of wing-mounted electronic warfare and laser designator pods. A similar underwing configuration was latterly adopted by the SAAF. Upon its entry into service, the Buccaneer was capable of carrying practically all munitions then in use by Royal Navy aircraft. It was intended for a pack with twin 30 mm (1.2 in) ADEN cannons to be developed for the Buccaneer, but the effort

6042-484: The advance of Coalition ground forces into Iraq , the Buccaneers switched to airfield bombing missions, targeting bunkers, runways, and any aircraft sighted; following the guidance of the Tornado's laser-guided ordnance, the Buccaneers would commonly conduct dive-bombing runs upon remaining targets of opportunity in the vicinity. In one incident on 21 February 1991, a pair of Buccaneers destroyed two Iraqi transport aircraft on

6156-523: The air wings operating from their carriers around the Phantom , Buccaneer, and the Fairey Gannet aircraft. A total of six FAA squadrons were equipped with the Buccaneer: 700B/700Z (intensive flying trials unit), 736 (training), 800 , 801, 803 and 809 Naval Air Squadrons. Buccaneers were embarked on HMS Victorious , Eagle , HMS Ark Royal , and Hermes . The Buccaneer was retired from FAA service with

6270-456: The air wings operating from their carriers around the Buccaneer, Phantom , and the Fairey Gannet . The Buccaneer was also offered as a possible solution for the Royal Air Force (RAF) requirement for a supersonic interdictor carrying nuclear weapons. It was rejected as not meeting the specification in favour of the more advanced BAC TSR-2 bomber, but this aircraft would be cancelled largely due to its high cost, then its selected replacement,

6384-417: The airstream to quickly decelerate the aircraft. The style of air brake chosen by Blackburn was highly effective in the dive-attack profile that the Buccaneer was intended to perform, as well as effectively balancing out induced drag from operating the BLC system. It featured a variable incidence tailplane that could be trimmed to suit the particular requirements of low-speed handling, or high-speed flight;

6498-474: The blown air goes over the flaps and ailerons, which are in a drooped position. Off an aircraft carrier, the minimum launch speed was around 120 knots (220 km/h; 140 mph) at 43,000 pounds (20,000 kg); from an airfield , the Buccaneer took off in 3,000 feet (900 m) at 144 knots (267 km/h; 166 mph) with blown air. The figures become 3,700 feet (1,100 m) at 175 knots (325 km/h; 200 mph) without blown air. The fuselage of

6612-421: The cancelled Hawker Siddeley P.1154 VTOL aircraft, it would have also adopted the same radar system as that being developed for the TSR-2. An even more extensively upgraded model, the Buccaneer 2** was also mooted, which would have been furnished with more sophisticated land-strike capabilities derived from the TSR-2 again. According to Denis Healey , defence minister 1964–1970, the RAF had been hostile to

6726-405: The carriers were retired. A total of 46 new-build aircraft for the RAF were built by Blackburn's successor, Hawker Siddeley, designated S.2B . These had RAF-type communications and avionics equipment, Martel air-to-surface missile capability, and could be equipped with a bulged bomb-bay door containing an extra fuel tank. Some Fleet Air Arm Buccaneers were modified in-service to also carry

6840-518: The class, to be supported by the Stalingrad -class battlecruisers and various aircraft carriers . Stalin, along with the leadership of the Soviet Navy, wanted a ship that followed a naval doctrine focused on three priorities: Secondary missions envisioned for this class of ship were commerce raiding and political presence in the Third World , but they were considered obsolete for the missile age (in which defensive and anti-submarine resources were

6954-413: The contract with their Fairey Project 7. The weapon would be produced in two versions, one with fixed wings to be carried externally on the Valiant and designed to hit the ships above the waterline, and a second with flip-out fins for the Gannet and NA.39, designed to hit the ship under the waterline as with the earlier rockets. To do this, the missile would hit the water about 150 feet (46 m) short of

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7068-414: The cover of land-based aircraft. Their secondary mission, operating on their own as commerce raiders, was also compromised as they would be extremely vulnerable, in good weather, to USN carrier battle groups equipped with modern strike aircraft and to the remaining Baltimore - and Des Moines -class cruisers equipped with 8-inch guns. The Royal Navy's last Fiji - and Tiger -class gun cruisers, and

7182-738: The cruisers had thirty-two 37 mm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns in sixteen twin mounts and were also equipped with ten 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes in two mountings of five each. The Sverdlov s had 100 mm (4 in) belt armor and had a 50 mm (2 in) armored deck . The turrets were shielded by 175 mm (7 in) armor and the conning tower by 150 mm (5.9 in) armor. The cruisers' ultimate radar suite included one 'Big Net' or 'Top Trough' air search radar, one 'High Sieve' or 'Low Sieve' air search radar, one 'Knife Rest' air search radar, and one 'Slim Net' air search radar. For navigational radar, they had one 'Don-2' or 'Neptune' model. For fire control purposes,

7296-450: The decommissioning in February 1979 of the Ark Royal , the last of the navy's fleet carriers. Their retirement was part of a larger foreign policy agenda that was implemented throughout the 1970s. Measures such as the withdrawal of most British military forces stationed East of Suez were viewed as reducing the need for aircraft carriers, and fixed-wing naval aviation in general. The decision

7410-759: The early 1980s. Today, only one of the ships remains, the Mikhail Kutuzov . It is a museum ship in Novorossiysk . The Sverdlov -class cruisers were improved and slightly enlarged versions of the Chapayev class. They had the same main armament, machinery, and side protection as the earlier ships. Improvements included increased fuel capacity for more range, an all-welded hull, improved underwater security, and increased anti-aircraft artillery and radar. The Sverdlov class displaced 13,600 tons standard and 16,640 tons at full load. They were 210 m (690 ft) long overall and 205 m (673 ft) long at

7524-457: The entire missile installation was above the armored deck and the missile itself, based on the S-75 Dvina (SA-2 "Guideline"), was liquid-fueled (acid/ kerosene ), it would have represented a serious hazard to the ship in action. Zhdanov and Senyavin were converted to command ships in 1971 by replacing the "X" turret with extra accommodation and electronics, four twin 30 mm AK-230 guns, and

7638-461: The event of conflict. The Buccaneer stood down from its reserve nuclear delivery duties in 1991. The Buccaneer took part in combat operations during the 1991 Gulf War . It had been anticipated that Buccaneers might need to perform in the target designation role, although early on, this had been thought to be "unlikely". Following a short-notice decision to deploy, the first batch of six aircraft were readied to deploy in under 72 hours, including

7752-526: The first Gulf War of 1991, and the lengthy South African Border War . Following the end of the Second World War , the Royal Navy soon needed to respond to the threat posed by the rapid expansion of the Soviet Navy . Chief amongst Soviet naval developments in the early 1950s was the Sverdlov -class cruiser ; these vessels were classifiable as light cruisers , being fast, effectively armed, and numerous. Like

7866-439: The first FAA aircraft to make a non-stop, unrefuelled crossing of the Atlantic Ocean . On 28 March 1967, Buccaneers from RNAS Lossiemouth bombed the shipwrecked supertanker Torrey Canyon off the western coast of Cornwall to make the oil burn in an attempt to avoid an environmental disaster . In 1972, Buccaneers of 809 Naval Air Squadron operating from Ark Royal took part in a 1,500-mile (2,400 km) mission to show

7980-541: The ground at Shayka Mazhar airfield. The Buccaneers flew 218 missions during the Gulf War, in which they designated targets for other aircraft, and dropped 48 laser-guided bombs . It had originally been planned for the Buccaneer to remain in service until the end of the 1990s, having been extensively modernized in a process lasting up to 1989; the end of the Cold War stimulated major changes in British defence policy, many aircraft being deemed to be surplus to requirements. It

8094-485: The lack of terrain-following radar and other modern avionics. During the 1980 Red Flag exercises, one of the participating Buccaneers lost a wing mid-flight due to a fatigue-induced crack and crashed, killing its crew. The entire RAF Buccaneer fleet was grounded in February 1980; subsequent investigation discovered serious metal fatigue problems to be present on numerous aircraft. A total of 60 aircraft were selected to receive new spar rings , while others were scrapped;

8208-423: The land strike duties were mostly reassigned to the Tornado aircraft then entering service, and two Buccaneer squadrons remaining (12 Squadron, and 208 Squadron) were then assigned to SACLANT for maritime strike duties. Only the 'Shadow Squadron', No. 237 OCU, remained assigned to the role of land strike on long term assignment to SACEUR, No. 237 was also to operate as a designator for Jaguar ground strike aircraft in

8322-546: The last conventional gun cruisers built for the Soviet Navy . They were built in the 1950s and were based on Soviet, German, and Italian designs and concepts developed before the Second World War . They were modified to improve their sea capabilities, allowing them to operate at high speeds in the rough waters of the North Atlantic . The design carried an extensive suite of modern radar equipment and anti-aircraft artillery . The Soviets originally planned to build 40 ships in

8436-445: The long axis of the aircraft, exposing the weapon load mounted on what was effectively the inside of the single bomb bay door and allowing it to be released quickly without creating a massive increase in drag; this feature also proved convenient in providing ground-level access and unintentionally improved the aircraft's stealth capability by not generating a large increase in the radar cross section. The bomb bay could also accommodate

8550-542: The loss of an engine during take-off, or landing at full load, when the aircraft was dependent on flap blowing , could be catastrophic. The long-term solution to the underpowered S.1 was the development of the Buccaneer S.2 , fitted with the Rolls-Royce Spey engine, which provided 40% more thrust. The turbofan Spey also had significantly lower fuel consumption than the pure-jet Gyron, which provided improved range. The engine nacelles had to be enlarged to accommodate

8664-648: The nascent 216 Squadron was subsequently disbanded due to a resulting reduction in aircraft numbers. Later the same year, the UK-based Buccaneer squadrons moved to RAF Lossiemouth in order to free space at Honington for the Tornado. In 1983, six Buccaneer S.2s were sent to Cyprus to support British peacekeepers in Lebanon as a part of Operation Pulsator . On 11 September 1983, two of these aircraft flew low over Beirut , their presence intended to intimidate insurgents, rather than inflict damage directly. After 1983,

8778-463: The need to patrol the vast coastline, they also specified aerial refueling, and larger 430-US-gallon (1,600 L; 360 imp gal) underwing tanks. Once in service, the extra thrust of the BS.605 rocket engines proved to be unnecessary, and they were eventually removed from all aircraft. South Africa later sought to procure further Buccaneers, but the British government blocked further orders, because of

8892-518: The new wings proved to be too small to reach the desired range. The initial idea was the add a tapered tail to reduce drag, but this led to less internal room for the electronics, which were in the tail. Instead, they added a small rocket motor , a short section of the Smokey Joe motor from the Thunderbird surface-to-air missile , giving it the desired 30 degree flight path. These changes also had

9006-401: The operation succeeded. These ships were outclassed as surface combatants due to their lack of an anti-ship cruise missile capability. The limited modernization of those ships still in service in the 1970s relegated them to benefit as naval gunfire support platforms. The standard Soviet practice was to pass the cruisers in and out of reserve status. Most were relegated to reserve status by

9120-490: The performance required to approach and attack Sverdlov -class ships at ultra-low level, using toss bombing attacks to deliver nuclear ordnance, while remaining outside the 5 km effective range of the Soviet 100 mm (3.9 in) and 37 mm (1.5 in) guns. When the building program was cut back, and the battlecruisers and carriers were cancelled, the Sverdlov s were left dangerously unprotected when operating in areas outside

9234-465: The pilot's head-up display and Airstream Direction Detector, for example, and the observer's navigation systems and fire control radar. The Buccaneer was one of the largest aircraft to operate from British aircraft carriers, and continued operating from them until the last conventional carrier was withdrawn in February 1979. During its service, the Buccaneer was the backbone of the Navy's ground strike operations, including nuclear strike. The majority of

9348-501: The priority) by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and the General Staff , who grudgingly conceded only some cruisers for limited roles as flagships in strategic and tactical naval operations. Within the Soviet Navy in 1959, leading admirals still believed that more big cruisers would be helpful in the sort of operations planned in Cuba and in support of Indonesia. The Sverdlov s were also

9462-421: The radar on the missile, but this was abandoned as it was felt it would make the aircraft too visible. This was not a problem on Valiant, as the missiles were carried externally and would always be able to see the target. By March 1955 it was clear the project was in trouble, and it was officially cancelled in 1956 due in part to cost over-runs. By this point it had a reached a stage called Cockburn Cheese , after

9576-419: The rear fuselage's internal area was used to house electronics, such as elements of the radio, equipment supporting the aircraft's radar functionality, and the crew's liquid oxygen life support system; the whole compartment was actively cooled by ram air drawn from the tailfin. For redundancy, the Buccaneer featured dual busbars for electrical systems, and three independent hydraulic systems . The aircraft

9690-443: The same modification in 1979, and later, Mikhail Kutusov . These ships had four of their 37 mm twin mounts removed, and eight 30 mm AK-230 mounts were added. These ships were designated Project 68A . Blackburn Buccaneer The Blackburn Buccaneer is a British carrier -capable attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy (RN). Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough , it

9804-518: The ship's radar horizon to minimise the opportunity for being fired upon. The Buccaneer could attack using nuclear weapons or conventional munitions. During its service life, it would be modified to carry anti-ship missiles , allowing it to attack vessels from a stand-off distance and thus improve its survivability against modern ship-based anti-aircraft weapons. The Buccaneer performed its maiden flight in April 1958 and entered Royal Navy service during July 1962. Initial production aircraft suffered

9918-518: The ships a maximum speed of 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph). The cruisers had a range of 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). Sverdlov -class cruisers' main armament included twelve 152 mm (6 in)/57 caliber B-38 guns mounted in four triple Mk5- bis turrets. They also had twelve 100 mm (4 in)/56 cal Model 1934 guns in six twin SM-5-1 mounts. For anti-aircraft weaponry,

10032-523: The ships were equipped with two 'Sun Visor' radars, two 'Top Bow' 152 mm gun radars, and eight 'Egg Cup' gun radars. For electronic countermeasures , the ships were equipped with two 'Watch Dog' ECM systems. By the early 1960s, torpedo tubes were removed from all ships of the class. In 1957 the Admiral Nakhimov had a KSShch ( NATO reporting name : SS-N-1 "Scrubber") anti-ship missile launcher installed to replace "A" and "B" turrets. The modification

10146-531: The short term. Green Cheese was cancelled in 1956 and development of an even more powerful design for Buccaneer began. One of the earliest responses to the Sverdlov was the Red Angel anti-shipping rocket, essentially a greatly enlarged version of the armour-piercing RP-3 used during World War II . The intended aircraft was the Westland Wyvern strike aircraft , but as development dragged on, plans to replace

10260-431: The side effect of raising the weight from the desired 3,300 pounds (1,500 kg) to an estimated 3,800 pounds (1,700 kg), too heavy for the Gannet. There was also the issue that the radar seeker needed to be able to see forward prior to launch, which would require the missile to be extended below the aircraft, which would require some sort of new system to expose it. Eventually the decision to use Green Cheese on Gannet

10374-412: The tailplane had to be high mounted due to the positioning and functionality of the Buccaneer's air brake. The wing design of the Buccaneer was a compromise between two requirements: a low- aspect ratio for good gust response, and high-aspect ratio to give good range performance. The small wing was suited to high-speed flight at low altitude; however, a small wing did not generate sufficient lift that

10488-408: The target. The radome was designed to crush on impact with the water and expose an angled section that caused it to curve up and travel horizontally through the water. Arranging this to occur proved more difficult than initially imagined and was ultimately abandoned in favour of a traditional warhead, which had been the plan for the Valiant version all along. In testing, the glide performance even with

10602-422: The total of 30 includes the five Chapayev s. The first three ships of the class were named after canceled ships of the Chapayev class. Following the death of Stalin in 1953, this order was cut to 21. Once the first 15 hulls were laid down, the Soviet Navy decided that the remaining six ships would be completed to a modified design (Project 68zif) with provisions for protection against nuclear fallout , but none

10716-485: The undersides. Deficiences in the Buccaneer S.1's Gyron Junior engines led to the type's career coming to an abrupt end in December 1970. On 1 December, an S.1 attempted to overshoot from a misjudged landing approach but one engine surged and produced no thrust, forcing the two crewmen to eject. On 8 December, an S.1 on a training flight suffered a massive uncontained engine failure. The pilot successfully ejected, but due to

10830-453: The waterline. They had a beam of 22 m (72 ft) and draft of 6.9 m (23 ft) and typically had a complement of 1,250. The hull was a completely welded new design, and the ships had a double bottom for over 75% of their length. The ship also had 23 watertight bulkheads . The Sverdlov s had six boilers providing steam to two geared steam turbines generating 118,100 shaft horsepower (88,100 kW) to their shafts. This gave

10944-449: The wing's leading edge was also introduced. The use of BLC allowed the use of slats to be entirely discarded in the design. Before landing, the pilot would open the BLC vents as well as lower the flaps to achieve slow, stable flight. A consequence of the blown wing was that the engines were required to run at high power for low-speed flight in order to generate sufficient compressor gas for blowing. Blackburn's solution to this situation

11058-407: Was a mid-wing, twin-engine aircraft. It had a crew of two in a tandem-seat arrangement with the observer seated higher and offset from the pilot to give a clear view forwards to enable him to assist in visual search. Its operational profile included cruising at altitude (for reduced fuel consumption) before descending, just outside the anticipated enemy radar detection range, to 100 feet (30 m) for

11172-408: Was abandoned and the type was never equipped with a gun. Early on in the Buccaneer's career, conventional anti-ship missions would have employed a mix of unguided bombs and rockets at close range. This tactic became increasingly impractical in the face of Soviet anti-aircraft missile advances; thus, later Buccaneers were adapted to make use of several missiles capable of striking enemy ships from

11286-442: Was abandoned, and it was moved entirely to the upcoming NA.39, soon to be known as the Blackburn Buccaneer . Moving to the new aircraft had the significant advantage that the aircraft's own targeting radar could be used to feed initial information to the missile, meaning that it would not have to be exposed prior to launch. There was also some consideration of using the aircraft's radar in a semi-automatic fashion, thereby simplifying

11400-430: Was added to improve this. This also increased the weight to 3,800 pounds (1,700 kg) from the planned 3,300 pounds (1,500 kg). Green Cheese was intended to arm two aircraft, the Fairey Gannet , and the still-under-development Blackburn Buccaneer . The rising weight made it too heavy for the existing Gannets, and the Buccaneer had enough performance to directly attack the ships with conventional bombs, at least in

11514-556: Was called BNA (Blackburn Naval Aircraft) or BANA (Blackburn Advanced Naval Aircraft) in documents, leading to the nickname of "Banana Jet". The first prototype made its maiden flight from RAE Bedford on 30 April 1958. The first production Buccaneer model, the Buccaneer S.1 , entered squadron service with the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) in January 1963. It was powered by a pair of de Havilland Gyron Junior turbojets, producing 7,100 pounds-force (32,000  N ) of thrust. This mark

11628-425: Was completed. Plans were developed, and drawings were created to upgrade the ships to support a cruise missile capability; however, these plans were dropped, and new construction was canceled in 1959. Incomplete ships except Admiral Kornilov (which became a hulk ) were scrapped by 1961. Reductions in cruiser force levels were contrary to the views of Soviet Navy leadership, which insisted cruisers still provided

11742-494: Was decided that a number of Tornado GR1s would be modified for compatibility with the Sea Eagle missile, and take over the RAF's maritime strike mission, and the Buccaneer would be retired early. Squadrons operating the Buccaneer were quickly re-equipped with the Tornado; by mid-1993, 208 Squadron was the sole remaining operator of the type. The last Buccaneers were withdrawn in March 1994, when 208 Squadron disbanded. South Africa

11856-424: Was decided to build an improved version of the pre-war Chapayev -class cruiser (Project 68), the Sverdlov (Project 68B) instead of a wholly new design (Project 65). The design for the Sverdlov class was formally approved on 27 May 1947. Some sources state that 30 Sverdlov s were initially planned, with the order being cut by five in favor of the three Stalingrad -class battlecruisers, but others state that

11970-509: Was designated Project 68ER . This trial installation was unsuccessful, and the ship was decommissioned and used as a target ship in 1961. Dzerzhinsky had a surface-to-air missile (SAM) launcher for the M-2 Volkhov-M missile (SA-N-2 "Guideline"), which replaced the third or "X" main gun turret in 1960–62, with the designation Project 70E . This conversion was also considered to be unsuccessful and no further ships were converted. As

12084-480: Was essential for carrier operations. Therefore, BLC was used upon both the wing and tailplane, having the effect of energising and smoothing the boundary layer airflow, which significantly reduced airflow separation at the back of the wing, and therefore decreased stall speed, and increased effectiveness of trailing edge control surfaces, including flaps and ailerons . To extend the Buccanneer's operating life during

12198-475: Was highly controversial, particularly to those within the FAA. The Royal Navy would replace the naval strike capability of the Buccaneer with the smaller V/STOL -capable British Aerospace Sea Harrier , which were operated from their Invincible -class aircraft carriers . After the General Dynamics F-111K was cancelled in early 1968, due to the programme suffering serious cost escalation and delays,

12312-559: Was known as 'retard defence'; four 1,000-pound (450 kg) retarded bombs carried internally could be dropped to provide an effective deterrent against any following aircraft. In 1979, the RAF obtained the American AN/AVQ-23E Pave Spike laser designator pod for Paveway II laser-guided bombs; allowing the aircraft to act as target designators for further Buccaneers, Jaguars, and other strike aircraft. From 1986, No. 208 Squadron RAF , then No. 12 (B) Squadron, replaced

12426-653: Was later officially known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer when Blackburn became a part of the Hawker Siddeley Group , but this name is rarely used. The Buccaneer was originally designed in response to the Soviet Union introducing the Sverdlov class of light cruisers . Instead of building a new class of its own cruisers, the Royal Navy decided that it could address the threat posed via low-level attack runs performed by Buccaneers, so low as to exploit

12540-454: Was made easier to control and land via an integrated flight control computer that performed auto- stabilisation and auto pilot functions. The Buccaneer had been designed specifically as a maritime nuclear strike aircraft. Its intended weapon was a nuclear air-to-surface missile codenamed Green Cheese but this weapon's development was cancelled, and in its place was the unguided 2,000-pound (900 kg) Red Beard, which had been developed for

12654-553: Was required, including conventional bombs, the Red Beard free-fall nuclear bomb, or the Green Cheese anti-ship missile. Based on the requirement, the Ministry of Supply issued specification M.148T in August 1952, and the first responses were returned in February 1953. Blackburn's design by Barry P. Laight , Project B-103 , won the tender in July 1955. For reasons of secrecy, the aircraft

12768-418: Was somewhat underpowered, and as a consequence, could not achieve take off if fully laden with both fuel and armament. A temporary solution to this problem was the "buddy system": aircraft took off with a full load of weaponry and minimal fuel, and would subsequently rendezvous with a Supermarine Scimitar that would deliver the full load of fuel by aerial refuelling . The lack of power meant, however, that

12882-428: Was the adoption of a large air brake; this addition also allowed an overshooting aircraft to pull away more quickly during a failed landing attempt. The nose cone and radar antenna could also be swung around by 180 degrees to reduce the length of the aircraft in the carrier hangar. This feature was particularly important due to the small size of the aircraft carriers from which the Buccaneer typically operated. For

12996-629: Was the only country other than the UK to operate the Buccaneer, where it was in service with the SAAF from 1965 to 1991. In January 1963, even before the S.2 entered squadron service, South Africa had purchased 16 Spey-powered Buccaneers. The order was part of the Simonstown Agreement , in which the UK obtained use of the Simonstown naval base in South Africa, in exchange for maritime weapons. An order for

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