Serial - XW542 C/n - B3-03-71 |
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| First Flown | ----- |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Date Delivered | 24/12/1971 |
To Royal Air Force |
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11/01/1972 |
Issued to 15 Sqn., RAFG Laarbruch, West Germany |
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14/02/1973 |
Transferred to 16 Sqn., RAFG Laarbruch, West Germany |
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By 1977 |
Transferred to 15 Sqn., RAFG Laarbruch, West Germany - coded 'J' |
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01/07/1979 |
Transferred to 216 Sqn., RAF Honington |
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Feb. 1980 |
Buccaneer fleet grounded for six months following crash of XV345 at Nellis AFB, Nevada, USA during Exercise 'Red Flag 80' |
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12/09/1980 |
To No.19 MU St. Athan for wing transplant |
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01/05/1981 |
Issued to 12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded '542' |
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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 |
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01/07/1983 |
Transferred to 208 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded '542' |
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31/08/1984 |
To MoD(PE) |
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1985 |
Mod's 1724 to 1727 completed - Sea Eagle 'Anti-Ship' missile capability (1 of 20 airframes modified Pre-ASR1012 (Avionics Upgrade Programme) | ||
14/05/1986 |
Issued to 12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded '542' |
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27/10/1986 |
Transferred to 237 OCU, RAF Lossiemouth - coded '542' |
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| Date Received | 16/12/1988 |
To BAe Woodford - ASR1012 (Set No.036) Avionics Upgrade Programme (AUP) - 31wks cycle |
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| Date Delivered | 20/07/1989 |
'AUP' completed - returned to 'Operational Status' |
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Jul. 1989 |
Re-Issued to 237 OCU, RAF Lossiemouth - coded '542' |
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Oct. 1989 |
Transferred to 208 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded '542' |
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| Date (exact) Between .gif){kind=small} |
(unknown) Aug.1989 Oct.1992 |
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) |
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----- |
Withdrawn from service |
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Feb. 1994 |
Scrapped - Lossiemouth |
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| 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) Wings of Fame - volume 14 (Aerospace Publishing Ltd) (see Reference Library page for full details) |
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 |