RAF Aircraft of the Cold War, 1970-1990: Air-To-Air Images by Tony Paxton

Author:Tony Paxton [Paxton, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781913295844
Google: RS2nzQEACAAJ
Publisher: Key Books
Published: 2020-06-11T21:00:00+00:00

In addition to the large, dedicated tanker aeroplanes, from the Royal Navy the RAF had inherited the capability to use Buccaneer aircraft as tankers. A small hose drum unit, known as a ‘buddy pack’, was mounted under the wing of the tanker Buccaneer and an extra fuel tank, carrying 2,000 litres, was fitted in the bomb bay. Such an aeroplane was used during a very unusual mission in 1983. In 1982, during the Falklands conflict, RAF Vulcans had carried out bombing missions on the airfield at Stanley, some 3,400nm from their base on Ascension Island, utilizing tanker support. The Vulcans were being replaced by the Tornado GR1, and a question was raised in parliament as to whether a Tornado could carry out a similar mission. IX Squadron, the first Tornado squadron, based at Honington in Suffolk, was tasked with proving it could. The representative target was the airfield at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, some 2,250nm from IX Squadron’s base. The attacking aircraft would depart from Honington and meet up with a tanker, which would take the Tornado across France and down into the Mediterranean. The second part of the journey was eastward across Sicily and then south of Crete. The Tornado would then descend to low level, take on fuel from a Buccaneer, and complete the attack run with an airfield attack at Akrotiri before returning to Honington, again with tanker support. The entire sortie would take about 12 hours and several training trips to prove the aircraft’s systems (oxygen and engine oil specifically) were carried out by circumnavigating the British Isles twice. On the day, the sortie went without a hitch and was deemed a great success; Britain’s politicians were satisfied. However, the attacking Tornado carried four external tanks (therefore, no weapons), and the Buccaneer had taken off from Akrotiri (the target airfield), returning there after having refuelled the Tornado.

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