Thunder & Lightnings

Blackburn Buccaneer - Walkaround Photos

This page will be revamped in due course; rather than remove all these images I have left them in place for the time being, though many are of poor quality these days.

Cockpit

All but four of these pictures are of the cockpit of S.2B XW988, one of Mike Beachyhead's two South African-based Buccaneers. Kindly supplied by Louis Vosloo, they remain his copyright and if you want to use them for anything other than personal use you must contact him for his permission. XW988 (now ZU-AVI) was used by the RAE and as such its cockpit may differ from RAF-operated S.2Bs in some details. The other four pictures are my own and are of S.2B XT288 at East Fortune and two ejector seats.

Front ejector seat displayed next to XT288. The major visual difference between the front and rear seats is that the panels at the front have the top part bent outwards diagonally as shown here. The rear seat is bent out on a vertical line instead. In the background you can see the Buccaneer's radar set - the Ferranti Blue Parrot. XT288's pilots instrument panel (taken through the closed canopy). 288's cockpit is currently gutted; no joystick, many instruments missing, ejection seats unequipped etc. However this shot does show the canopy framing and gives you a better idea of the true colour of the cockpit area. Windshield and cockpit coaming. Shows the big windscreen wiper off to good effect. Pilots seat and cockpit. Pilots instrument panel and joystick. Note how the joystick comes straight out of the main instrument panel rather than being floor mounted. Predominant colour of all Buccaneer cockpits is mid-grey with black panels. Pilots instrument panel and side consoles, this time viewed from starboard. Throttle quadrant and throttles in center of picture. Pilots seat top along with navigator's blast shield and seat. Buccaneer rear ejector seat (on display in Edinburgh Castle). The seat itself is mostly the same colour as the cockpit, with very dark green cushions and an olive green neck cushion. XT288's rear cockpit. Unequipped ejector seat is very obvious and you can clearly see the rear bulkhead and ejector set rails. Navigator's blast shield. This was added to improve the environment for the crew in the canopy-off situation. With the canopy jettisoned or smashed open, the ride for both crew became intolerably violent at high speeds so sealing the navigator's position and adding this blast shield improved things so that the crew were actually capable of reaching the ejection handles in order to finish leaving a stricken aircraft. Navigator's seat and starboard console. Navigator's seat and port console. Both seats from above; shows where the sliding canopy stops when slid fully back. Doesn't leave much room for the navigator to get in! Similar shot, additionally showing the rear bulkhead with the ejector seat rails on it.

Nose

Coventry's Midland Air Museum has the nose of a Buccaneer S.2B XX899. This shot shows the top of the intakes. This area is overlooked on all the available model kits and looks smooth in them; in fact there are is a prominent hole and small fairing on each intake (port side similar). XW547's lower starboard nose, showing the well-weathered Operation Granby paint scheme. Fine view of XW547's nose again, lovely artwork! XV333's starboard nose, this time showing the wealth of detail around the area of the radome fold line and nose gear. Coventry's Bucc again, showing the canopy windshield and refuelling probe angle. Coventry's Bucc again, showing that refuelling probe angle from dead ahead. XV333's port lower nose, showing the various aerials here. XW547's port nose. Close-up on the first stage of XV333's port Spey engine. While the intake interior was usually in white, the colour of the dome at the centre of the blades would start out white but turn a burnt brown colour over time, and wouldn't even necessarily match the colour on the other engine (XV333's starboard Spey is the burnt brown colour).

Fuselage

XX900 at Bruntingthorpe; port intake side showing the fire access hatch and the 12 Squadron 'fox' logo, along with the open engine access door. General view of XW547 from port rear quarter. Note the drooped flaps; they would usually be in this position when the aircraft was parked. The tail bumper is also usually down. Similar view but further back and zoomed in, showing the open airbrake. The small 'aerial' to the right of the tail bumper is a fuel dumping pipe. XV333's port exhaust. Jet pipe temperature probes very evident; note that these curve forward at their tips into the exhaust flow. Also note the small vent at 2 o'clock. This starts off as a fairing within the jet pipe but then goes through it to come out on the other side. XV333's fuel dump vent. The fairing is an aerofoil and ends with this oval plate which has <em>two</em> vent holes in it. Both are quite roughly finished. XV333's lower starboard nose, showing the small scoop intake below the main intake. That bulged panel on the fuselage side is a distinct Buccaneer trait and very noticeable. XW547's starboard rear fuselage. Note the prop holding the folded wing in place. This aircraft may be weathered, but it's very clean - Buccaneers soon built up a layer of soot on their rear fuselages. XV333's starboard jetpipe. Mirror image of the port one. Closer look at XV333's starboard jetpipe. You can clearly see the way the probes curve forward in this shot. XX900 at Brunty again, showing off the engine on the starboard side.

Wings

XW530's port wing; the RWR bullet has had the cap removed; the pitot probe (fairing visible on the right) is also missing. XV333's port wing underside. The big aileron actuating ram and the way the roundel is painted over and around the pitot probe fairing is noteworthy. XV333's port wing fold - forward XV333's port wing fold - center, rear XV333's port wing fold - extreme rear of the fold showing the angle the flap hangs at too. XW530's starboard wing. This side has a fully intact RWR bullet so you can see its distinctive shape here. XW547's starboard wing fold, complete with covers for the bits you don't want to get water in!

Undercarriage

High quality shot of the nose gear from slightly to starboard, looking aft. Gear legs are all light blue-grey. Nose gear from forward, looking aft. Also shows the positions and angles of the myriad of protusions in this area! Nose gear from port, looking starboard. Nose gear door interior, looking starboard and forward. Door interior is white, bay interior is mostly light aircraft grey with black and zinc chromate green bits. Port main gear viewed from directly ahead showing door angle. Port main gear wheel (outer side). Composite shot of the port main gear viewed from directly behind. The brace holding the door away from the leg is visible as is part of the gear bay. Top of the port main gear leg viewed from behind, looking slightly outboard. The main gear door insides are light aircraft grey, contrasting with the glossy light blue-grey of the gear legs. Port main gear door interior. Note the 'zap'! Looking forward and up into the forward part of the port main gear bay, with the gear leg on the left edge of the picture. The black area is covering the jetpipe and the copper coloured piping is part of the BLC system. Another view of port main gear bay, this time looking more towards the rear half. Final view of the rear portion of the port main gear bay, looking aft. Starboard main gear wheel (inner side). The starboard main gear and bay is basically a mirror image of the port one so I won't bother with many shots of this side. Looking up, back and out to the part of the main starboard gear bay that is in the wing as opposed to wrapped around the jetpipes. Gear door at bottom left.

Tail & Arrestor Hook

XX867 seen at the 1993 International Air Tattoo. In fact, the staining got so bad that it was difficult to make out the serial, which is why the last three digits are repeated on the fin. XV333's tail fin, forward edge, showing that large natural metal-finished aerial. XW547's open airbrake viewed from directly behind. This unusual split tailcone airbrake was in part designed as a useful space-saving measure for carrier operations. XV333 has her airbrake tightly closed; this is the bottom part of it showing how the two strakes along the bottom (similar strakes on top) meet. Much rivetting in evidence here! The white blob is a light just behind the chaff/flare dispenser mounting. Composite shot of XV333's lowered arrestor hook. Shape of the bay is noteworthy; fuel dump vent to the left, tail bumper in the background. Composite shot (please forgive the brightness variations!) of XV333's arrestor hook bay. Chaff/flare dispensers would have been mounted in the boxes at the top (either side of the small light). XV333's tail bumper viewed from the port side.