Yes but what was the tail number of the Bucc at Tebay -now Dublin ??

The last Buccaneer to leave Ark Royal was XV863 on 27th Nov 1978. Pilot was Flt Lt R Philips and the observer was Lt Cdr KD MacKenzie. The aircraft eventually became Sea Witch and is the Buccaneer in question, now the last Buccaneer to leave Lossie.

Tail Number?
 

Lower Hanger

XV863

http://www.blackburn-buccaneer.co.uk...eer_Index.html

and

http://www.blackburn-buccaneer.co.uk..._S2_XV863.html

Pleased to be of service :ok: :ok:

As a totally pointless snippet of information, I trained with Ken McKenzie at RAF Finningley in 1973, when I was an ab initio Nav stude, and he and Keith Tatman were on exchange to the RAF, having already done tours as lookers in Sea Kings.

They were an absolute breath of fresh air to the staid training establishment that was Nav School. I learnt more about being an officer from Keith than I ever learned from equivalent RAF mates.

One incident stands out when the PMC (from memory, a W/C Admin, ex-pilot called M*j*r, as in Catch-22) noticed that at 7:01pm one evening, both RN chaps appeared to be out of dress order. Keith and Ken re-appeared 5 minutes later, dressed in No 5's which was apparently Red Sea Rig and told a bemused PMC that this was the correct rig for the time of day in the RN. Collapse of stout PMC and much chortling by many studes . . .

Ken went to Honnington for RAF Bucc training and Keith to Conningsby for F-4s, with me, and he eventually ended up on 31 Sqn at Bruggen, where the pilot he'd been crewed with on the OCU, managed to take off in more Naval Style than is deemed necessary, his wings folding as he rotated. The old adage "Don't Assume, Check" reared its ugly head at the BoI.

I believe Ken was also, as a secondary duty, a clearance diver.

Happy days!

jf

The original posters pics are available here (including afew of a partly dis-membered Tornado which slipped in somehow). There are 37 pics, all fairly large (so I had to place them on Photobucket, not my server):

[Last Buccaneer pics link]

Samples:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...Buccaneer1.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...uccaneer10.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...Buccaneer2.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...uccaneer28.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...uccaneer37.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...uccaneer24.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...uccaneer16.jpg

Many thanks all - brought back memories of many a happy day at Lossie working on Buccaneers :D

Some great pictures there.

Another useless piece of tat. The MoD Vs Ferranti golf trophy is constructed from a Blue Parrot radar component. I recall Ferranti tended to field a team of scratchers, but the last time it was played for MoD prevailed with help from the resident RAF team. Somewhere in MoD sits a fine trophy.......

Yes -thanks for all that good stuff- is that the AN/ALE 40 dispenser fitted aft of the hook ?? ( see piccies above)

AR

Yes - radome, maxi-skirt, canopy and fin removed hence the odd shape and the engines must be out to account for the extreme nose-down attitude.

Click on the blue "Buccaneer pics link" link in my post #26 and you'll see more of the Tornado.