The Buccaneer was an immensely strong and manoeuvrable aircraft. Its low-level speed, range and weapons-carrying ability proved better than those of the F-111 and the Tornado, the aircraft designed to replace it. At the height of the Cold War, the Soviets introduced their new “Sverdlov” class heavy cruiser. These new, heavily armed cruisers displaced a staggering 17,000 tons with a speed of 34 knots. This posed a serious threat to Britain’s Merchant-shipping lanes. To counter the new threat, the Royal Navy’s Air Warfare Division suggested the Fleet Air Arm be equipped with a new strike aircraft capable of carrying a nuclear weapon at high speed and ultra-low level.

In 1953, the Naval Staff Requirement NA.39 was issued. Blackburn Aircraft won the tender to produce the aircraft and began work on one of the most advanced naval strike aircraft ever designed. The first Buccaneer prototype flew on April 30, 1958. Carrier trials soon followed, and in January 1960, the Buccaneer made its first landing on HMS Victorious. One of the unique features of the Buccaneer was its revolving bomb bay. Weapons could be carried internally, thus eliminating the need for drag-inducing bomb-bay doors.

In 1966, the Labour Government cancelled the Navy’s carrier program. Ironically and fortunately for the Buccaneer, the RAF’s TRS.2 strike aircraft was also cancelled. Grudgingly the RAF adopted the Buccaneer. The Buccaneer proved itself one of the world’s finest low-level strike aircraft ever produced. During the Gulf War, 12 Buccaneers provided laser designation for Tornado bombers. Buccaneers flew 216 sorties, dropping forty eight laser-guided bombs.To the end, the Buccaneer remained a much loved and respected aircraft