page_title: Blackburn Buccaneer
section_title: Royal Air Force
hierarchical_section_title: Blackburn Buccaneer / Operational history / Royal Air Force
caption_attribution_description: A Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer S.2B of No. 12 Squadron, Royal Air Force, performing a touch and go landing at the U.S. Navy Naval Weapons Center at China Lake, California (USA), during an air show of USN test and evaluation squadron VX-5 on 16 September 1981.
context_page_description: The Blackburn Buccaneer is a British carrier-capable attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy. 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.
context_section_description: After the General Dynamics F-111K was cancelled in early 1968, due to the programme suffering serious cost escalation and delays, 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 the RAF Buccaneer conversion unit, 237 OCU, 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 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.
  From 1970, with 12 Squadron initially, followed by 15 Squadron, 16 Squadron, No. 237 OCU, 208 Squadron, and 216 Squadron, 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 land 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 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 impressive with its fast low-level attacks, which were highly accurate despite the aircraft's lack of terrain-following radar and other modern avionics. They were able to penetrate adversary defences, and were credited with 'kills' on defending fighters using AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.
  During the 1980 Red Flag exercises, one of the participating Buccaneers lost a wing in 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; 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, 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 Squad
caption: Buccaneer S.2B of No. 12 Squadron RAF at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, United States, in 1981
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