• Каталог /
• Картинки /
• Robert Sullivan /

Описание: The Blackburn "Buccaneer" is a British carrier-borne attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy (RN). Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough, it 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's Sverdlov-class cruiser construction programme. Instead of building a new fleet of its own, the Royal Navy could use the "Buccaneer" to attack these ships by approaching at low altitudes below the ship's radar horizon. The "Buccaneer" could attack using a nuclear bomb, or conventional weapons. It was later intended to carry short-range anti-shipping missiles to improve its survivability against more modern ship-based anti-aircraft weapons. The "Buccaneer" entered Royal Navy service in 1962. The initial production aircraft suffered a series of accidents due to insufficient engine power, which was quickly addressed in the "Buccaneer" S.2, equipped with more powerful Rolls-Royce Spey jet engines. The "Buccaneer" was also offered as an entrant into a new Royal Air Force (RAF) contest for a new attack aircraft. It was initially rejected in favour of the much more advanced supersonic BAC "TSR-2", but the cost of the "TSR-2" programme led to its cancellation, only to be followed by the cancellation of its selected replacement, the General Dynamics F-111K. The "Buccaneer" was finally purchased by the RAF, entering service in 1969. The Royal Navy retired the last of its large aircraft carriers in 1978, moving their strike role to the British Aerospace "Sea Harrier", and passing their "Buccaneer's" to the RAF. After a crash in 1980 revealed metal fatigue problems, the RAF fleet was reduced to 60 aircraft, while the rest were scrapped. The ending of the Cold War led to a reduction in strength of the RAF, and the accelerated retirement of the remaining fleet, with the last "Buccaneer's" in RAF service being retired in 1994 in favour of the Panavia "Tornado". The South African Air Force (SAAF) also procured the type. "Buccaneer's" saw combat action in the first Gulf War of 1991, and the South African Border War. Development Royal Navy 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 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 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) 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 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 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 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 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. South African Air Force In October 1962, 16 aircraft were ordered by 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 the need to patrol the vast coastline, they also specified in-flight refuelling, 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 "Buccaneer's", but the British government blocked further orders, because of a voluntary arms embargo on that country. Royal Air Force Blackburn's first attempt to sell the "Buccaneer" to the Royal Air Force (RAF) occurred in 1957–58, 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 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 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, the Royal Air Force still required a replacement for its "Canberra's" 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 "Buccaneer's" as 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 "Buccaneer's" were modified in-service to also carry 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 "Buccaneer's" could carry out what 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 "Buccaneer's", "Jaguar's", and other strike aircraft. From 1986, No. 208 Squadron RAF, then No. 12 (B) Squadron, replaced the Martel ASM with the "Sea Eagle" missile. Proposed developments 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 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 the "Buccaneer" due to it being a naval aircraft; it has been further suggested that developing improved "Buccaneer's" 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. Design Overview The "Buccaneer" 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 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 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 carrier was withdrawn in 1978. During its service, the "Buccaneer" was the backbone of the Navy's ground strike operations, including nuclear strike. The majority of 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 was made easier to control and land via an integrated flight control computer that performed auto-stabilisation and auto pilot functions. Armament and equipment 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 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, doors were developed that rotated into the fuselage to expose the payload; this feature also proved convenient in providing ground-level access. The bomb bay could also accommodate 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 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 Aden 30 mm (1.2 in) cannons to be developed for the "Buccaneer", but the effort 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 iron bombs and rockets at close range. This tactic became increasingly impractical in the face of Soviet anti-aircraft missile advances; thus, later "Buccaneer's" were adapted to make use of several missiles capable of striking enemy ships from 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, 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.

Tags: