I’m continuing my small series of small-scale British jets. This time, it was time for Buccaneer.

Historical background

The Blackburn Buccaneer was a British attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy (RN). Designed and initially manufactured by Blackburn Aircraft in Brough, it was later officially known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer when Blackburn became part of the Hawker Siddeley Group, but the name is rarely used.

The Buccaneer made its maiden flight in April 1958 and entered service with the Royal Navy in July 1962.

Buccaneer was originally designed in response to the Soviet Union’s introduction of Sverdlov-class light cruisers. Rather than build a new class of its own cruisers, the Royal Navy decided it could address the threat with low-altitude attacks by Buccaneers to take advantage of the ship’s relatively high radar horizon and minimize the possibility of detection and countermeasures. The Buccaneer could attack using nuclear weapons or conventional munitions. In service, it was modified to carry anti-ship missiles, enabling it to attack surface targets from long distances, increasing its survivability against modern naval anti-aircraft weapons.

Initial production aircraft succumbed to a series of accidents, mainly due to insufficient engine power; this shortfall was quickly resolved with the introduction of the Buccaneer S.2, equipped with more powerful Rolls-Royce Spey jet engines, in 1965. The Buccaneer S.2 was the first Fleet Air Arm (FAA) aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean without a stopover and without refueling.

After the closure of the TSR.2 program, the Buccaneer was purchased as its ad hoc replacement by the RAF and entered Air Force service in October 1969, commendably distinguishing itself during Desert Storm, among other events.

In October 1962, the South African Air Force (SAAF) ordered 16 Buccaneer S.50s, which were S.2 aircraft with additional Bristol Siddeley BS.605 rocket engines to provide additional thrust on “hot and high” African airfields. The S.50 was also equipped with reinforced landing gear and higher-performance wheel brakes, as well as manually folding wings. The SAAF Buccaneer entered service in 1965. Among other things, they were equipped with French Nord AS-30 guided air-to-ground missiles. Due to the need to patrol the extensive coastline, an in-air refueling system was also designed, and under-wing tanks with a capacity of 430 US gallons (1,600 l) were installed. After entering service, the BS.605’s additional string of rocket engines was deemed unnecessary and was eventually removed from all aircraft. South Africa later tried to acquire more Buccaneers, but the British government blocked further orders due to a voluntary arms embargo on the country.

Buccaneer aircraft in SAAF colors were on active duty during the Southwest African border war, most notably at Cassinga in 1978. In the 1970s and 1980s, they flew over Angola and Namibia, attacking SWAPO guerrilla camps with rockets and bombs. It is worth noting that the Nord AS-30s did not perform well.

The kit

The kit did not cause any major problems during construction. Pleasant to work with plastic and a good fit (except for the air intakes to the engines and the joint of the rear part of the fuselage with the middle one).

I added the end of the refueling probe and Pitot tubes from Master (this machine had two). In the cockpit and undercarriage wells, photo-etched additions from Eduard. Wheels from Eduard. In addition, resin Nord AS-30 missiles from PJ Production (very poor). I also made imitations of rivets.

Painted mainly with MRP paints.

I hope you like it.