Serial - XW530 C/n - B3-06-69 |
|||
| First Flown | ----- |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Delivered | 31/10/1970 |
To Royal Air Force |
|
12/01/1971 |
Issued to 15 Sqn., RAFG Laarbruch, West Germany |
||
19/02/1973 |
Transferred to 16 Sqn., RAFG Laarbruch, West Germany |
||
05/11/1979 |
Transferred to 216 Sqn., RAF Honington |
||
Feb. 1980 |
Buccaneer fleet grounded for six months following crash of XV345 at Nellis AFB, Nevada, USA during Exercise 'Red Flag 80' |
||
Sep. 1980 |
Transferred to 208 Sqn., RAF Honington |
||
Jun. 1981 |
Transferred to 12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded '530' |
||
Apr. 1983 |
Operation Western Fox - NAS Key West, Florida Keys, USA 12 Sqn. 'Live Firing' exercise of 'TV' & 'AR' Martel missiles against redundant naval vessels. Participating Aircraft: XN976, XN983, XV165, XV168, XV333, XW530, XW542, XW547, XX894, XX900 |
||
Sep. 1983 |
One of six aircraft deployed to RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus under Operation 'Pulsator' in support of British Army contingent of the UN peace-keeping force stationed in Lebanon - 12 Sqn.( XV359 XV361 XW530 ) & 208 Sqn.( XX885 XX901 XZ430 ) - coded '530' |
||
Nov. 1984 |
By now, 12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded 'HF' |
||
Late. 1986 |
12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded '530' |
||
| Date Received | 21/05/1987 |
To BAe Woodford - ASR1012 (Set No.011) Avionics Upgrade Programme (AUP) - 31wks cycle |
|
| Date Delivered | 24/12/1987 |
'AUP' completed - returned to 'Operational Status' — Sea Eagle 'Anti-Ship' missile capability |
|
27/12/1987 |
To 'Station Flight', RAF Lossiemouth |
||
Jan. 1988 |
12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded '530' |
||
Early 1990 |
12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth ended use of 'TV' Martel 'Anti-Ship' missile and replaced it with Sea Eagle 'Anti-Ship' missile - in line with 208 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth |
||
| Date (exact) Between .gif){kind=small} |
(unknown) Aug.1989 Jan. 1991 |
Mod.1736 'Modified' - Smaller Wingtips — Fitted to extend airframe flying hours by reducing wing-loading. Result of fatigue testing of XN982 at HS Brough, to determine cause of the crash of XV345 while participating in 'Red Flag 80' on 07/02/1980 - (Fatigue testing commenced Jun. 1982 - solution implimented to specific airframes from Aug.1989-onwards) |
|
Jan. 1991 |
Prepared for Operation 'Granby' - painted Desert 'ARTF' (Alkali Removable Temporary Finish) |
||
28/01/1991 |
Direct Transit to Muharraq Air Base, Bahrain - with In-Flight Re-Fuelling 1st six aircraft: XX899/ P XX892/ I XW547/ R XW533/ A XX889/ T XW530/ E Call Sign applied to tail fin after arrival at Muharraq Air Base - coded 'E' Note: No 'Nose Art' added during the campaign |
||
27/02/1991 |
Final day of Buccaneer flown missions during 'Gulf War' |
||
02/03/1991 |
By this date: Pirate Flag + Skull with 'Sunglasses' applied on port side, below cockpit |
||
08/03/1991 |
By this date: 'Sky Pirates' text added below cockpit on port side, behind Pirate Flag Note: Not until after 8th March was the Whisky brand name: 'Glenmorangie' and twelve mission symbols applied to the starboard nose below cockpit canopy |
||
17/03/1991 |
Returned to RAF Lossiemouth form the Gulf |
||
Mar. 1991 |
Re-joined 12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth |
||
1992 |
Desert 'ARTF' (Alkali Removable Temporary Finish) removed 12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded '530' |
||
31/10/1993 |
12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth disbanded |
||
----- |
Transferred to 208 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded '530' |
||
Feb. 1994 |
Withdrawn from service |
||
----- |
Buccaneer Service Station, Elgin, Scotland Current position - On display (date currency at 23/02/2006) |
||
| Gulf War History of XW530 - "E" Glenmorangie | ||
| Date: | Additional Information: | |
| 28/01/1991 | Transit from RAF Lossiemouth to Muharraq Air Base, Bahrain | Direct flight - (9 hrs) |
| Date: | Target: | Additional Information: |
| 02/02/1991 | Airborne spare | |
| 03/02/1991 | Muftul Wadam — Railway bridge | |
| 04/02/1991 | An Nasiriyah — Bridge | |
| 05/02/1991 | As Samawah — Road/Rail bridge | DNCO (Duty Not Carried Out) |
| 06/02/1991 | An Nasiriyah — Canal bridge | |
| 06/02/1991 | Details not known at this time | |
| 07/02/1991 | Ar Ramadi — Road/Rail bridge | |
| 07/02/1991 | Al Khidr — Highway bridge | |
| 09/02/1991 | As Samawah — Rail bridge Ad Diwaniyah — POL (Petrol, Oil, Lubricant) |
DNCO - weather |
| 09/02/1991 | An Nasiriyah — By-pass bridge | |
| 11/02/1991 | Qal'at Salih — Pontoon | |
| 13/02/1991 | Al Asad Airfield — HAS* sites | *Hardened Aircraft Shelter |
| 14/02/1991 | Al Taqaddum Airfield — HAS sites | |
| 15/02/1991 | Kut Al Hayy East Airfield — Bunker | |
| 16/02/1991 | Amara New Airfield — Surfaces | |
| 18/02/1991 | Tallil Airfield — Fascilities | |
| 19/02/1991 | Shaibah Airfield Shatt Al Arab — Highway |
|
| 19/02/1991 | Shaibah Airfield | |
| 20/02/1991 | Qal'at Salih Airfield | DNCO - weather |
| 21/02/1991 | Ar Rumaylah South West Airfield | DNCO - weather |
| 21/02/1991 | Kut Al Hayy East Airfield | |
| 22/02/1991 | Ar Rumaylah South West Airfield — Runway & Taxiway | |
| 23/02/1991 | Qal'at Salih Airfield | |
| 24/02/1991 | Jalibah South East Airfield | DNCO - smoke |
| 24/02/1991 | Jalibah South East Airfield — Surfaces | |
| 25/02/1991 | Al Asad Airfield | DNCO - weather |
| 27/02/1991 | Habbaniyah Airfield — Ammunition store | |
| Date: | Additional Information: | |
| 17/03/1991 | Transit from Muharraq Air Base, Bahrain to RAF Lossiemouth | Direct flight - (8 hrs 50 mins) |
- by courtesy of the 'Buccaneer Aircrew Association'
| Source - | Buccaneer: The story of the last all-British strike aircraft (Tim Laming) Hawker Siddeley/Blackburn Buccaneer (Paul Jackson & Peter Foster) RAF Buccaneer (Peter R. Foster) (see Reference Library page for full details) Survivor's current position - The Blackburn Buccaneer Society |
Additional Info. - | R. Kelley: Airframe C/n NJ. Roberson (Historian, Buccaneer Aircrew Association) for information on: ASR1012 'Avionics Upgrade Programme' + 'Modified'-Smaller 'Wingtip' Airframes British Aviation Review - Vol.36 No.4 Bill Spidle: Participating Aircraft - Operation Western Fox, 1983 |