S.2B XX889 at Kemble, 17th August 2007; Nigel Goodall/Blackburn Buccaneer Society	S.2B XX894 at Bruntingthorpe, 30th April 2005; Buccaneer Society

Another Granby veteran, XX889. Owned by Gary Spoors and Dave Prive but on loan to the Jet Age Museum at Gloucestershire (Staverton) Airport. XX889's front cockpit is fairly complete, but the rear cockpit refit will take time with over 90% of instrumentation missing. Work by Buccaneer Engineering began in April 2003 and quite a lot of instrumentation was re-installed. To make life easier for the team the rear ejection seat was removed (the front one being in store elsewhere at this time). The aircraft was repainted in her current scheme for static display at RIAT 2003 at RAF Fairford - part of the '100 years of flight' exhibition. She then moved to storage at Staverton while the Jet Age Museum looked for another home, but as this has yet to happen, she was moved once again, in April 2007, to Kemble and the care of the Buccaneer Society. Work continues to reassemble her and you can keep up with progress here. Information current as of 30/08/2007.

This Bucc is XX894 and it was being restored at Kemble by the Buccaneer Supporters Club. The naval paint scheme was applied shortly before she left RAF service as part of a commemoration of the aircraft's various users, and it's nice to see that they've kept it that way. Work had come along nicely with XX894 (including a successful application of electrical power) but unfortunately the aircraft's owners decided to move her to Farnborough, which rather left the Club in the lurch. After a brief stay there, the aircraft was sold, and new owner Guy Hulme has had her moved to Bruntingthorpe. Now named 'Spirit of Roy Boot' after the Buccaneer's designer, Guy intended to return her to ground running condition and his team are making fantastic progress towards this aim - the aircraft's engines can now be run, and with recent work on the brakes she had her first taxi runs in July 2007. You can keep up to date with progress here. Information current as of 30/08/2007.

S.2B XX895 at an undisclosed location near Bicester, January 2003; via Martin Forster	S.2B XX897 at Hurn, September 2005; Nigel Goodall/Blackburn Buccaneer Society

Once mounted on the bar at the Planets leisure complex in Woking, XX895, a Gulf veteran as you can see, has had happier times. The fin was cut off to clear the roof, the undercarriage doors and pitot were removed and it was adorned with various drinks advertisements. While it had survived the smoky atmosphere of a bar, sadly the place changed hands and the new owners had the aircraft removed - in pieces. The new owner has used what remains of the airframe (which was tail-less to fit into the bar) for spares for another aircraft and will soon scrap most of it, keeping only the nose.

The unusual nose on this reclusive Buccaneer was fitted because it was used to trial the Foxhunter radar used on the Tornado ADV. Sold on retirement to a private buyer, she was delivered to Hurn and sat there for a long time before disappearing inside a hangar where rumour had it that her engines were removed for use to power a speedboat - some sort of record attempt. Stories vary but it seems that Quicksilver don't immediately need both Speys and they've had XX897 repainted in European Maintenance's colours (European's engineers look after her), and put on display at the Bournemouth Aviation Museum for the time being. She's seen her carrying out an engine run. Information current as of 09/2005.

S.2B XX900 at Bruntingthorpe, 4th October 2003; author	S.2B XX901 at the Yorkshire Air Museum, 4th May 2005; Andrew Steer

Above is a 'living' Buccaneer - XX900 at Bruntingthorpe makes regular fast taxi runs. During early 1998 her paintwork was given a touch-up too, with her old OCU markings being put back on. She's seen here carrying out a practice taxi run in the gloom of an Autumn afternoon the day before she performed for her public at a Bruntingthorpe Cold War Jets Open Day.

Going back to the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington and their second Buccaneer, we find XX901, another Granby veteran, and also an Operation Pulsator veteran too (the flag-flying operations over Beirut in 1983). Since coming under the museum's care she has been repainted in her gulf war scheme (though as it's a fresh paint job, it looks way too clean and consistent; and the fin flash is the wrong colour, naughty people). The original artist who did the nose-art for XX901 during the war even came back to do it again, so Kathryn, the Flying Mermaid lives once more! Information current as of 04/05/2005.

S.2B ZU-AVI at Cape Town, October 2000; Hugh Trevor	S.2B ZU-BCR at Cape Town, May 1997; Louis Vosloo

XW988 arrived in Cape Town in 1996 and after a flight on May 6th of that year lay dormant until her sister XW987 arrived. Mike was soon was granted an operator's licence by the South African CAA and now ZU-AVI tears up the skies of Cape Town regularly, and appears at airshows in South Africa. If only we could see a Buccaneer fly in the UK, and not as a prelude to leaving the country!

Mike Beachyhead's Classic Jets operate XW987 (ZU-BCR). She used to wear an odd yellow, green and black paint scheme while in service with the RAE at West Freugh which was specially designed to show up on photographs of the weapons trials conducted. Losing that for a more common raspberry ripple scheme, she's now in an overall gloss black sheme, retaining RAF roundels. XW987 arrived from the UK on May 2nd 1997.

S.2B ZU-NIP at Kemble, 29th March 2002; author	S.2C XV344 at Farnborough, 22nd March 2003; Tom McGhee

XW986 is an ex-RAE aircraft (hence the paintscheme) and was bought by Delta Jets when it left service. At the time of sale, the aircraft was not in great condition with the tailplane removed and other parts missing. It lived at Wellesbourne Mountford next to Vulcan XM655 for a while, but when Delta moved to Kemble in 1996, XW986 went with them, and was restored to near-perfect condition. Efforts to fly it in the UK were frustrated by the CAA for a long time and just when there seemed a glimmer of hope for the aircraft she was sold to Ian Pringle in South Africa. Permission was granted for some test flights here in the UK and on Friday 29th March 2002 she flew for the first time in 9 years. She sadly departed these shores a few weeks later and is now based at Mike Beachy Head's Thunder City operation.

'Nightbird' had a long and productive life carrying out various trials work, among her last duties being the trialling of Night Vision Goggles hence her name. Retired in the early 1990s she has ended up on permanent display at the Qinetiq complex at Farnborough - sadly out of public view. Information current as of 21/07/2003.