Hawker Siddeley BUCCANEER S.2B XX897
Wing span : 13.41 m / 44 ft
Length : 19,33 m / 63 ft 5 in
Max Weight : 28,123 kg / 62,000 Ib
Service Ceiling : 1038 kmh / 645 mph
Max speed (low level) :
Engines : Two 11,100 lb Rolls Royce Spey 101The design of the Buccaneer goes back almost 50 years when Blackburn Aircraft were working towards Royal Naval requirement NA.39 for a low level strike aircraft with a crew of two. For this role it had to be a very strong aircraft, capable of operating at high speeds under the range of enemy radar, with 1000 Ib bombs in an internal bomb bay.
In July 1955 an order was placed for an evaluation batch of twenty Blackburn Buccaneers with the first flying in April 1958. These served with a number of trials units, being powered by two 7000 Ib thrust de Havilland Gyron Junior turbojets, as were the production batch of forty Buccaneer S.l`s ordered in October 1959. First flown in January 1962, the S.I replaced the Supermarine Scimitar and went on to serve with three Royal Navy squadrons - 801 Squadron being the first, operating on HMS Ark Royal from January 1963. The original trials had shown that the Buccaneer was underpowered, and the design was modified to be powered by 11,100 lb thrust Rolls Royce Spey turbofan which greatly increased its performance Further aircraft were ordered as the Buccaneer S.2, entering service in October 1965. As well as aircraft for the Royal Navy, sixteen were supplied to South Africa in 1965 as the S.50. The bomb bay was unusual in that instead of the doors opening outwards, the whole door rotated inwards so that the airflow was not affected at high speeds. There were changes coming for the Buccanesr with Blackburn Aircraft becoming part of Hawker Siddeley Aviation, and the government announcing the withdrawal of Britain's aircraft carriers by the end of the 1970`s.
Originally the RAF had not been interested in the Buccaneer as a low level bomber, but with new aircraft due to be withdrawn from Navy service it was arranged tor them to be transferred to the RAF. 12 Squadron was the first to receive Buccaneers in October 1969, followed by 208 Squadron, with the aircraft now becoming S.2A's, followed by S.2B's which were equipped with underwing TV guided Martel missiles. Further new aircraft were ordered for the RAF to supplement the ex-Naval aircraft, and the RAF found that the Buccaneer was very useful as a low level strike and reconnaissance aircraft, especially in Germany. The RAF frequently took their Buccaneers to the USA to take part in 'Red Flag' exercises whch were based in desert areas, and their crews were often able to outperform the home based teams. The Buccaneer S.2 remained in RAF service until 1992, when it was replaced by the Tornado.
XX897 was built by Hawker Siddeley at Brough in 1975, and although flown in the spring it never saw service with the RAF, In May 1977 it was modified with a larger nose to become a trials aircraft for the new radar system being fitted in the Tornado. XX897 was operated by the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Bedford, where it remained until 1993. No longer required for trials it was sold to a private owner at Bournemouth, to where it was flown in August. The hope was to place it on the civil register and continue to fly it on the air show circuit, but CAA regulations prevented this, and so XX897 was sold on in September 1998. The new owners needed it as a Spey engine test bed for the Quicksilver water speed record attempt. The boat was powered by a Spey, and acquisition of the Buccaneer enabled there to be two fully ground tested engines, first tested in 1999. During the spring of 2001 the aircraft was painted in European Aviation colours - one of the sponsors of the record attempt, being housed in the Museum from May 2001, where it has been restored to live status, being able to taxy up and down the Airport's runway from time to time.
PRESS RELEASE
November 2001.Air museum helps water speed record attempt Bournemouth - Bluebird connection
Bournemouth’s own Aviation Museum is currently home to a plane with a secret.
Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer XX987 sits proudly outside the main museum hanger at Bournemouth International Airport looking just like any other example of this famous aeroplane.
Aircraft engines are designed to operate at 30,000+ feet but the power plants on this Buccaneer are needed for a different role!
One of its two Rolls Royce Spey engines will be operating at ground level when it’s fitted into the boat in which the Quicksilver team hopes to secure the world water speed record for this country.
The Buccaneer is being used as the test-bed for the engines and is in good hands as the Bournemouth Aviation Museum looks after it together with all its other exhibits.
General Manager Ken Bradley said "We’re always pleased to have famous planes like the Buccaneer here at the Aviation Museum and, as we’re open 7 days a week, the public are welcome to come along and have a closer look".
Buccaneer XX897 can be seen in the livery of owners European Aviation - one of the sponsors of the Quicksilver project. The Spey engines push the Buccaneer along at over 600 mph – one of them will have to power the Quicksilver boat across the Lake District's Coniston Water at more than 318 mph to grab the record back from the current Australian holders.
Donald Campbell held the record (at 276 mph) in 1964 – Quicksilver hopes to emulate his feat sometime during 2002.
And when the Quicksilver team wins the water speed record back for Britain, you’ll know where the engine had been put through its paces!
