Buccaneer Low level
 

I remember growing up in the Welsh valleys as a child and watching streams of Jags, Vulcans, Phantoms and Buccaneers screaming up and down the valley at zero feet.

One thing I always wondered was just how quick a Bucc was on the deck - in the aviation mags of my youth the speed was always listed as "classified" or "highly subsonic" or "better than Mach 0.85".

Now the Bucc is sadly out of service perhaps someone could say just how quick could it go clean and how fast was it with 4 Sea Eagles under the wings?

Surely it can't still be classified?

had heard that on red flag the american aggressors couldn't track the Bucc at low level until they learnt to look for the dust trails.

The Buccaneer is one of my Favorite aircraft. Had to manually tue a TV the other night and had the old RAF recruiting video of Buccs deploying to Gibraltar with music by Vangelis on to give me a distinct programme for the video.

Once got a Bucc up to 605 kts but the limit in a pavespike fit was 540, due to deforming the underside of the wing, Boss read me my horoscope and otherwise no damage. 4 se fit was a similar ias limit, much better performer than a Tornado with 2. Flew both so can confirm the above.

I was refuelling my helicopter (VAS not qualified , what all that about then!!) when the last 2 Buccs "visited" Linton on Ouse, with one between hangar and tower I f.......g sha. myself and fuelled pi..ed out all over the place requiring a fire engine wash down. Would have enjoyed it if I knew it was coming, but didnt, and therefore got caught out large. Probably wasnt very fast, but made up for it in being very low and with lots of AOB on: Respect if the drivers are PPruners.

Duncan McC's correct(of course)-she would go very fast and 600kts was attainable but didn't turn too well.Collected the penultimate aircraft from H on S for 208 Sqn and the Waste of Space clean fit was" very impressive" said Ramjet my driver for the day.I didn't clock the actual max IAS on the long run back to Honington-busy completing the post manufacturers flight test and max speed required (from memory) was 540kts.By the time the RAF gingerbeers had "re-roled" the beast it never performed as well. Flew in the Warton tanker many years later and she went very fast,clean.

:ooh: :ooh: :ooh: Those were the days!

is the story of Bucc's flying under power lines in germany an urban myth?

Hi
Re- the Bucc going Low Level, There was some super film some years ago showing a Bucc on Red Flag, and the only way the Yanks could see him was by going outside from their radar shack and following the DUST TRAIL he was kicking up whilst he was nearing them, They don't get much lower than that and Not Land or Crash Land with wheels Up ????
:ok: :ok: :ouch:

There is a lot of good gen in Graham Pitchfork's book, 'The Buccaneers', published last year - apart from a photo of a very young SN - hmmm.

630KIAS rings a bell from my long distant past?

Back in the early 80s,1981 i think, as a very young liney doing his stuff out on the line, a very loud boom reverabated around Lossiemouth and the surrounding area. This was closely followed by a clean wing Buccaneer, on a post minor airtest,doing a very low and fast beat up,which must have started many miles out in the Moray Firth
Many years later ,much older and bolder liney doing his stuff on F3, in Q shed golf dispersal Akro. Glances up to see the whole end of the shed framing an equally low and fast Bucc , Which as it skims the roof causes 30 years worth of paint rust and bird poo to part company with the rafters. :ok: doesnt seem to happen much now in these noise sensitive times

Beagle

From which long and distant past would that be?

Remember being on Tain in the mid 80's clearing some ordanance. For some reason I was stood on top of the EOD van when a Bucc who thankfully had finished dropping live decided to do a final run. Bizarre seeing the TOP of the wing when he was S+L!!! I was like a rabbit caught in the headlights!

Many a time at Abingdon, Buccs were out on air test after maintenance & they came back f***ing low and fast to announce their arrival, really impressive..

Many moons ago was weekend loafing at Gibraltar with a Nimrod (Mk.1, the one that sort of worked...), plus a couple of Buccs (12 or 208). The Air Cdr decided he wanted a bit of aerial activity since Princess someone or other (one of the nice ones) was visiting. We got airborne for 4 hrs "training" (not worth putting your growbag on for anything less) and saline solution watching.
Came back and asked to hold at Bravo with our Bucc frinds, who had also gone "training" for something much less than 4 hrs. No.1 passed sometime doing barrel rolls round us.
No.1 then started his approach from the East, dumped his flaps, gear and hydraulics and called for the CHAG (errr, what....!!!). Apparently it was quite spectacular as he hauled "x" tons of anchor chain down the runway and the Met Office reported 20m vis in rust haze ...
Meanwhile, back at the ranch No.2 diverted to Tangiers, and we reported 20 min. endurance left to divert (ATC didn't believe we would actually run out of motion lotion). We filled up in Faro (not allowed to Tangier) and arrived back just in time to miss the Princess's cocktail party - she apparently had said that we shoudn't have gone to so much trouble just for her...
Saw Air Cdr on Monday morning, and he asked if we wouldn't mind "nipping' over to Tangiers on the way home to settle No.2's fuel bill with our carnet. "Errr, well there was a reason why we didn't go there on Saturday, sir.... perhaps the Adj can nip over on the ferry..."

i seem to remember in the dim and distant past the BBC doing a series 'fighter pilot' the one who completed fast jets went to buccaneers in germany as far as i remember.

Any piccies anyone of the Bucc LL ???


Nurse, the guys name - fictional?:confused: was John McCrea if memory serves.

Oggin

My favourite aircraft the Buc - got to taxi in one once. Amazed by the switches everywhere layout - very 50's. Great name, good lookes (to my twisted mind) and pretty competent too for its age. All the ingredients for a future classic.

Jeez, was that when we last had a proper airforce? Jag, Bucc, Phantom, Lightning, Tornado, Harrier and just retiring Vulcan... Hell, I am 29 and already its seems like a golden age. It'll be Tornado and Harrier only in 2 years time..!

Shame.

WWW

I vaguely remember being told that the max speed of the Buccaneer S2C and D was 630KIAS in RN service. That was when I was attempting to get through the totally dreadful organisation known as 237 OCU in 1976/7. Destructive criticism, thinly disguised hatred of students, this bunch of prima donnas managed to fly 100% of their allocated hours but only graduated 33% of their students....

I recall being subjected to a private aeros display by a pilot instructor including an attempted push up from the 45 deg point of a horizontal eight which nearly ended up as an inverted spin at low level...lots of buffet, no IAS and the negative G increasing. The RAF back seat staff crew members - I decline to refer to them as 'instructors' were without doubt the most unpleasant group of individuals it has ever been my misfortune to be associated with. However, most of the RN guys were much better - apart from a couple of utter poseurs....

No good memories of Bucc days; however, I will say that the professionalism of the 'firm but fair' hand of Bruce C*****e did teach us a lot.

Oh dear - where did that big chip come from?

reynoldsno1:

Princess Alexandra, 19 Jun 79

A fading Squadron Prints print of a 208 Squadron Bucc reminds me that I flew in one once. Great fun, fascinating role but just too frustrating. No chance for an over-enthusiastic, under-skilled journo/PPL to get his hands on one and see how it handled.