Buccaneer And TSR-2 | The British Nuclear Capable Aircraft | A Historical Documentary

A documentary about the Blackburn Buccaneer, the cancelled BAC TSR-2 and the british nuclear capable aircraft, such as the English Electric Canberra. The Blackburn Buccaneer is a British carrier-capable attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy (RN). Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough, it was later officially known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer when Blackburn became a part of the Hawker Siddeley Group, but this name is rarely used. The Buccaneer was originally designed in response to the Soviet Union’s Sverdlov-class cruiser construction programme. Instead of building a new fleet of its own, the Royal Navy could use the Buccaneer to attack these ships by approaching at low altitudes below the ship’s radar horizon. The Buccaneer could attack using a nuclear bomb, or conventional weapons. It was later intended to carry short-range anti-shipping missiles to improve its survivability against more modern ship-based anti-aircraft weapons. The Buccaneer entered Royal Navy service in 1962. The initial production aircraft suffered a series of accidents due to insufficient engine power, which was quickly addressed in the Buccaneer S.2, equipped with more powerful Rolls-Royce Spey jet engines. The Buccaneer was also offered as a possible solution for the Royal Air Force (RAF) requirement for a supersonic interdictor carrying nuclear weapons. It was rejected as not meeting the specification in favour of the much more advanced supersonic BAC TSR-2, but the cost of the TSR-2 programme led to its cancellation, only to be followed by the cancellation of its selected replacement, the General Dynamics F-111K. The RAF purchased Buccaneers and American Phantom IIs as TSR-2 substitutes, the Buccaneer entering service in 1969. The British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2 is a cancelled Cold War strike and reconnaissance aircraft developed by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The TSR-2 was designed around both conventional and nuclear weapons delivery: it was to penetrate well-defended frontline areas at low altitudes and very high speeds, and then attack high-value targets in rear areas. Another intended combat role was to provide high-altitude, high-speed stand-off, side-looking radar and photographic imagery and signals intelligence, aerial reconnaissance. Only one airframe flew and test flights and weight-rise during design indicated that the aircraft would be unableto meet its original stringent design specifications. The design specifications were reduced as the result of flight testing. The TSR-2 was the victim of ever-rising costs and inter-service squabbling over Britain’s future defence needs, which together led to the controversial decision in 1965 to scrap the programme. It was decided to order an adapted version of the General Dynamics F-111 instead, but that decision was later rescinded as costs and development times increased. The replacements included the Blackburn Buccaneer and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, both of which had previously been considered and rejected early in the TSR-2 procurement process. Eventually, the smaller swing-wing Panavia Tornado was developed and adopted by a European consortium to fulfil broadly similar requirements to the TSR-2. General characteristics Crew: 2 Length: 63 ft 5 in ( m) Wingspan: 44 ft (13 m) Height: 16 ft 3 in ( m) Wing area: 514 sq ft (47.8 m2) Empty weight: 30,000 lb (13,608 kg) Gross weight: 62,000 lb (28,123 kg) Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engines, 11,000 lbf (49 kN) thrust each Performance Maximum speed: 580 kn (670 mph, 1,070 km/h) at 200 ft (61 m) Maximum speed: Mach Range: 2,000 nmi (2,300 mi, 3,700 km) Service ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,000 m) Wing loading: 120.5 lb/sq ft (588 kg/m2) Thrust/weight: Armament Hardpoints: 4 × under-wing pylon stations for up to 12,000 lb (5,443 kg) of bombs, and 1 × internal rotating bomb bay with a capacity of 4,000 lb (1,814 kg), with provisions to carry combinations of: Rockets: 4 × Matra rocket pods with 18 × SNEB 68-mm rockets each Missiles: Either 2 × AIM-9 Sidewinders for self-defence, 3 × AS-37 Martel missiles, 2x AJ-168 TV Martel,or 3 × Sea Eagle missile Bombs: Various unguided bombs, laser-guided bombs, as well as either the Red Beard or tactical nuclear bombs Other: AN/ALQ-101 ECM protection pod, AN/AVQ-23 Pave Spike laser designator pod, buddy refuelling pack or drop tanks for extended range/loitering time Avionics Blue Parrot ASV search/attack radar #aircraft #bomber #buccaneer