XV333 - Buccaneer S.Mk.2B
Copyright © 2004 - 2006 |
Armed with 'Paveway' 1000lb High Explosive 'LGB' bomb
| Serial - XV333C/n - B3-11-66 |
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| First Flown | ----- |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Date Delivered | 27/01/1967 |
To Royal Navy |
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Issued to 809 NAS, RNAS Lossiemouth |
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| Date Delivered | 1971 |
To Royal Air Force |
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13/12/1971 |
Issued to 12 Sqn., RAF Honington - coded 'F' | ||
14/11/1972 |
Transferred to 237 OCU, RAF Honington |
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Jul. 1973 |
Transferred to 12 Sqn., RAF Honington |
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Feb. 1974 |
With 16 Sqn., RAFG Laarbruch, West Germany - coded 'YY' |
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| Date Delivered | Mar. 1974 |
To Royal Navy |
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Apr. 1974 |
To RNAY Sydenham, Belfast - upgraded avionics fitted including 'Martel' missile capability - Re-designated S.Mk.2D |
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24/11/1974 |
Issued to 809 NAS, (RN Unit), RAF Honington - coded '030/R' |
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06/04/1978 |
Embarked HMS Ark Royal (final tour of duty) - coded '030/R', 809 NAS |
15/12/1978 |
End of tour of duty for HMS Ark Royal - 809 NAS dis-embarked and disbanded |
| Date Delivered | 1979 |
To Royal Air Force |
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Upgraded to S.Mk.2B standard |
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Sep. 1979 |
Issued to 15 Sqn., RAFG Laarbruch, West Germany - coded 'I' |
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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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16/09/1980 |
To No.19 MU St. Athan store |
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14/10/1981 |
Re-issued to 12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded '333' |
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15/02/1982 |
Suffered nosewheel collapse |
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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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Apr. 1984 |
12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded 'DF' |
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Nov. 1985 |
Part of Sea Eagle 'Anti-Ship' missile upgrade programme |
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May 1986 |
Issued to 208 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth |
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| Date Received | 27/05/1988 |
To BAe Woodford - ASR1012 (Set No.026) Avionics Upgrade Programme (AUP) - 29wks cycle |
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| Date Delivered | 15/12/1988 |
'AUP' completed - returned to 'Operational Status' |
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16/12/1988 |
To 'Station Flight', RAF Lossiemouth |
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Dec. 1988 |
Re-Issued to 208 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded '333' |
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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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Nov. 1993 |
Held in reserve status - 208 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth - coded '333' |
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23/03/1994 |
To RNAS Yeovilton - Preservation |
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To Fleet Air Arm Museum, RNAS Yeovilton Current position - Carrier Exhibition, Museum Exhibit (date currency at 23/02/2006) |
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| Source - | Buccaneer: The story of the last all-British strike aircraft (Tim Laming) The Buccaneers (Air Commodore Graham Pitchfork) Hawker Siddeley/Blackburn Buccaneer (Paul Jackson & Peter Foster) Wings of Fame - volume 14 (Aerospace Publishing Ltd) (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 |