1/48 Airfix Blackburn Buccaneer XW533

Miss Jolly Roger

Royal Air Force Desert Storm 1991

by Derek Derks

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Buccaneer S.Mk 2B

It is 1991,and the Buccaneer has been in operational service for nearly 30 years, but still had a vital part to play in the Gulf War.  Initially it flew to support the Tornado force as a target designator, but also later dropped Laser Guided Bombs (LGB) in the brief campaign.  Like many aircraft in this war,  the aged Buccaneer was fighting its last campaign.

History XW533

This model depicts XW533.  Handed over factory fresh to the RAF on the 26th of February,  1971.  It served at the RAF Bases Laarbruch (Germany) and RAF Honington/Lossiemouth (UK).  In January 1991, the aircraft was prepared for Operation "Granby", the British code name for the Allied participation in "Desert Storm".  It was painted Desert "ARTF" (Alkali Removable Temporary Finish) and was coded "A" (See tail on model).

On the 27th of January, it flew directly from RAF Lossiemouth, to Muharraq Air Base, Bahrain.  Flight time:  8 hours 50 minutes. In-flight refuelling was provided by RAF tanker-aircraft. (See photo above showing the in-flight fuel probe)

The "Nose Art" was added during the campaign "Miss Jolly Roger/Fiona/Glenfarclas".  By the end of the campaign, eleven mission symbols were displayed on the starboard side, below the cockpit (See large photo further below).

On the 17th of March, 1991, it returned to RAF Lossiemouth, in the UK, on a direct flight (8 hours 30 minutes).

In September, 1992, it was scrapped  -  Elgin, Moray,  Scotland. 

Full history, even on the actual bombing missions can be found on the website www.blackburn-buccaneer.co.uk from webmaster Andy White.

Click on images below to see larger images

Photo 03 Photo 04

THE AIRFIX KIT

As mentioned in my article from 11 July 2006, I built two models simultaneously. They required a  lot of attention, especially the upper and the lower halves.  Most of the actual construction of the main frame has been done on the inside with "Evergreen" strip.  The wings are folded, for two reasons;  it saves a lot of space in the glass display case and it shows that the model has a real Naval background. The kit contains all the necessary items for its participation in "Desert Storm". To spruce it up,  I used some commercial add ons that will be mentioned at the end of this article.

I constructed the airbrakes in "Full Brake" position.  Interesting to mention,  that these brakes could be deployed under all conditions during flight.

From the spares box, I constructed the typical laser guided bomb (LGB) MK13/18 from the British Royal Ordnance Factory.   The bomb contains three parts: 1000LBS  center section "Royal Ordnance" and the front/tail section from the Paveway II family.  Morale from the ground crew was extremely high and this was reflected in the text on the bombs, so I also added some text. (See 04.jpg.)

Dust covers on intake and exhaust pipes were made from Evergreen. These were highly necessary during parking on the tarmac in Bahrain (See 03.jpg).  The "Remove Before Flight"  tags were constructed from "Evergreen" strips. .(See large photo below).

Cockpit detail from above. The Martin Baker Ejection seats are enhanced with Eduard seatbelts.   Clearly visible the middle windscreen. This kept the navigator  "out of the wind"  during bail out procedures  (See03.jpg).

The Airfix company deserves a "thumbs up" for this model and their service department.

Diorama

XW533, is parked on the tarmac from the Muharraq Air base, in Bahrain.  It is armed with the MK13/18 1000LBS laser guided bombs. The date is 24-02-1991,  and the attack destination,  after take off,  will be the POL facilities (Petrol Oil Lubricants) of Tallil Airfield in Iraq.  (See large photo at the beginning of this article).

To complete this mission,  the aircraft has the following underwing stores:

Starboard wing (right)

outer wing pylon:  Westinghouse AN/ALQ 101,  Electronic Counter Measure Pod (ECM).

to provide powerful radar jamming capability over a broad band of frequencies (See 05.jpg).

Inner wing pylon:

Slipper tank for extra endurance. Not always carried during missions in Iraq.  (Fuel tank partly visible on 05.jpg).

Port wing (left)

Inner wing pylon:

Pave Spike AN/ANQ-23E.  Daylight only laser-designator (See06.jpg).

Outer wing pylon:

The Royal Ordnance MK13/18 1000LBS Laser Guided Bomb with additional text.. (See 04.jpg)

 

Add Ons:

  • Air waves Wingfold set              (AC-48-101)
  • Air Waves Break detail Set       (AC48-072)
  • Eduard Interior Set                    (E48-132)
  • Xtra Decal Set                           (X025-48 / Excellent quality.)
  • Xtra colour paints                      (Several)
  • Evergreen Pastics                     (Several)
  • Verlinden                                   (Text on LGB)

Resources:

  • Several reviews on ARC Gallery.
  • www.blackburn-buccaneer.co.uk  from webmaster Andy White.
  • Personal contact with Andy White
  • Personal contact with master modeler Ted Taylor
  • Gulf War Air Debrief from World Air Power / General Editor Stan Morse/ISBN 1 880588 00 5

Derek

Click on images below to see larger images

Photo 05 Photo 06

Photos and text © by Derek Derks