Blackburn Buccaneer S.2B
Find out about this low level, ship-based nuclear airstrike
aircraft on display at National Museum of Flight, East Fortune.
Ship-based nuclear strike aircraft
The last design by Blackburn Aviation in a long line of naval
aircraft, the NA 39 was a low-level, carrier-based nuclear
attack aircraft, first flying in 1958. Named 'Buccaneer' in 1960,
the type was characterised by its 'area rule' or 'coke bottle'
waisted fuselage designed to improved airflow over the airframe at
high speed. With the cancellation of the BAC TSR.2 in 1965,
the Buccaneer was eventually selected to replace the Canberra
bomber with the RAF.
Extensive service
XT288 was built for the Royal Navy as an S.2 but was modified to
S.2B by the removal of the internal weapons bay and the
installation of a bulged fuel tank; all weapons were carried
externally. RAF Buccaneers entered squadron level in 1969.
Buccaneers went to war in 1991 in the Persian Gulf and with the
South African Air Force in locak skirmishes. XT288 was brought by
the Museum from an Elgin based scrap merchant in 1994.