Designed to mount high speed maritime strike operations from the decks of Britains relatively small aircraft carriers, the Blackburn Buccaneer was a real brute of an aeroplane, built like a brick outhouse and the most capable aircraft of its type in the world it also happened to be the heaviest aircraft the Royal Navy had ever operated. Perhaps nothing illustrates the rugged, no nonsense approach to the aircrafts design philosophy than its manufacture and flight testing procedure.
Constructed at Blackburns Brough facility, each completed Buccaneer was transported by road, on its own undercarriage, to the companys Holme-on-Spalding Moor airfield for flight testing, a towed journey on normal roads of around 16 miles. Although developed as a naval aeroplane, the Buccaneer was also offered to the Royal Air Force as a capable strike and reconnaissance aircraft, however, at that time, they only had eyes for the BAC TSR-2 and dismissed the Buccaneer almost out of hand. Cancellation of the TSR.2 project and a later decision not to purchase the American built General Dynamics F-111 jet led the RAF to rather reluctantly accept the Buccaneer as a Canberra replacement, with the aircraft entering squadron service some seven years after it entered service with the Navy. A subsequent order for new Buccaneers was placed for the RAF and it was decided that they would also inherit former Royal Navy aircraft, as their larger aircraft carriers were retired.
- Item Length - Without Packaging (cm): 26.8
- Item Height - Without Packaging (cm): 6.88
- Item Width - Without Packaging (cm): 18.6
- How many pieces will be found in the box opened by the customer?: 141
- Item Scale: 1:72
- License line: BAE SYSTEMS is a registered trade mark of BAE Systems plc.
- Contents (what's in the box) sets: Sprues & decals
- Finish: Plastic
- Number of Scheme options: 2
- Skill Level: 3
- Flying Hours: 3
- Wingspan (mm): 186
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