XW547 - S.Mk.2B Production

Aircraft History

XW547 - Buccaneer S.Mk.2B

'Guinness Girl/Pauline/The MacAllan' - 'R' - 208 Sqn. Muharraq, Bahrain, Gulf War, 1991

Note: This aircraft never required the smaller wingtips used to extend airframe flying hours by
reducing wing-loading (unlike most other 'Post-AUP' airframes - including the rest of the 'Gulf War' Buccaneers)

Serial - XW547C/n - B3-08-71
First Flown	-----
Date Delivered	31/10/1972	To Royal Air Force
	01/11/1972	Issued to 15 Sqn., RAFG Laarbruch, West Germany
	09/12/1974	Transferred to 12 Sqn., RAF Honington
	29/09/1976	Transferred to 237 OCU, RAF Honington
	01/06/1978	Transferred to 12 Sqn., RAF Honington
	27/06/1979	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'
	23/10/1980	To BAe Bitteswell for wing transplant
	28/04/1981	Re-issued to 12 Sqn., RAF Honington
	20/04/1982	To No.19 MU St. Athan for overhaul
	Sep. 1982	Issued to 208 Sqn., RAF Honington - coded '547'
	By 03/1983	Serving with 12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded '547'
	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
	By 1985	Serving with 208 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded 'JS'
	By 1986	Mod's 1724 to 1727 completed - Sea Eagle 'Anti-Ship' missile capability (1 of 20 airframes modified Pre-ASR1012 (Avionics Upgrade Programme)
	Apr. 1986	Transferred to 237 OCU, RAF Lossiemouth
	May 1986	Transferred to 12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth
Date Received	04/09/1987	To BAe Woodford - ASR1012 (Set No.014) Avionics Upgrade Programme (AUP) - 33wks cycle
Date Delivered	19/04/1988	'AUP' completed - returned to 'Operational Status'
	20/04/1988	To 'Station Flight', RAF Lossiemouth
	Apr. 1988	Re-issued to 12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded '547'
	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
	Jan. 1991	Prepared for Operation 'Granby' - painted Desert 'ARTF' (Alkali Removable Temporary Finish) - coded 'R'
	27/01/1991	Direct Transit to Muharraq Air Base, Bahrain - with In-Flight Re-Fuelling 1^st six aircraft: XX899/ P XX892/ I XW547/ R XW533/ A XX889/ T XW530/ E 'Nose Art' added during the campaign - 'Guinness Girl/Pauline/The MacAllan' By the end of campaign, eleven mission symbols displayed on starboard nose below cockpit canopy
	17/03/1991	Returned to RAF Lossiemouth form the Gulf
	Mar. 1991	Re-joined 12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth
	1993	Withdrawn from service - allocated 'Maintenance Airframe' number 9169M
	20/01/1993	To RAF Cosford - museum exhibit
	-----	To RAF Museum, Hendon Current position - museum exhibit (date currency at 23/02/2006)

Gulf War History of XW547 - "R" Guinness Girl/Pauline/The MacAllan
Date:		Additional Information:
27/01/1991	Transit from RAF Lossiemouth to Muharraq Air Base, Bahrain	Direct flight - (8 hrs 50 mins)
Date:	Target:	Additional Information:
02/02/1991	As Samawah — Highway bridge
03/02/1991	Muftul Wadam — Railway bridge
04/02/1991	An Nasiriyah — Bridge
05/02/1991	Al Kut — Bridge & Dam
06/02/1991	Albu Salih — Bridge
07/02/1991	Ar Ramadi — Road/Rail bridge
08/02/1991	Ar Ramadi — Highway bridge
08/02/1991	Al Rumaylah — Bridge & Oil Pipeline
09/02/1991	Bayji Production South — Tanks
09/02/1991	An Nasiriyah — By-pass bridge
10/02/1991	As Samawah — Pontoon bridge (east)
11/02/1991	Qal'at Salih — Highway bridge & Pontoon
12/02/1991	*Al Asad Airfield — HAS sites**	*Hardened Aircraft Shelter
13/02/1991	Al Fallujah — Railway bridge
15/02/1991	Tallil Airfield — Fascilities
16/02/1991	Qal'at Salih Airfield
18/02/1991	Jalibah South East Airfield — HAS sites & Pilot's Briefing Fascility	DNCO (Duty Not Carried Out) - weather
19/02/1991	Ubaydah Bin Al Jarrah Airfield — Surfaces
20/02/1991	Kut Al Hayy East Airfield	DNCO - weather
21/02/1991	Kut Al Hayy East Airfield
21/02/1991	Qal'at Salih Airfield
22/02/1991	Kut Al Hayy East Airfield
23/02/1991	Al Amara New Airfield
25/02/1991	Shayka Mazhar Airfield	DNCO - weather
Date:		Additional Information:
17/03/1991	Transit from Muharraq Air Base, Bahrain to RAF Lossiemouth	Direct flight - (8 hrs 45 mins)

Note: Gulf War records obtained from photocopy entries of both the crews' logbooks and actual Authorisation Sheets
- 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) Buccaneer the last British Bomber - DD Video, Impact Image (1994) (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' Airframe British Aviation Review - Vol.36 No.4 Bill Spidle: Participating Aircraft - Operation Western Fox, 1983 'MODEL ALLIANCE' decals UK - No.MA-72100