What's this under 12 Sqdn Buccaneer Starboard wing

[David Womby]

I saw this in the video at

What is it?

David

[Muzz]

Maybe corrected here, but.............. It's the Datalink also known as 'D link' pod used to connect the jet to the tv guided Martel missiles!

[bigVern1966]

TV Martel Training pod based on the data link pod used with the live weapons, but with a Missile TV Tracker in the front. It allowed the Buccanner navigator to 'control' the final stages of a simulated TV Guided Martel attack by using the aircraft to simulate the missile. (look on youtube for the film 12 Sqn Buccaneers and at the end of the film there is footage from one of these pod's on a simulated attack on HMS Kent (the County class DDG one).

Edit in fact the video clip linked above is taken from said film.

Edited December 29, 2011 by bigVern1966

[David Womby]

Thanks - I couldn't figure out why it had a clear nose to it. So when this was fitted and no actual Martels would be carried?

David

TV Martel Training pod based on the data link pod used with the live weapons, but with a Missile TV Tracker in the front. It allowed the Buccanner navigator to 'control' the final stages of a simulated TV Guided Martel attack by using the aircraft to simulate the missile. (look on youtube for the film 12 Sqn Buccaneers and at the end of the film there is footage from one of these pod's on a simulated attack on HMS Kent (the County class DDG one).

Edit in fact the video clip linked above is taken from said film.

[Evalman]

Thanks - I couldn't figure out why it had a clear nose to it. So when this was fitted and no actual Martels would be carried?

David

Sometimes a Martel training round would be carried under the other wing. I think this photo is quite typical, one of 4 Buccaneers that arrived at St Mawgan during a training sortie (1985), all carried the TV pod on the starboard inner pylon, the other pylons carried a variety of stores (CBLS, AIM9 acquisition round, Drill Martel round and ECM Pod).

I have seen photos of Buccs with the TV pod, (was it called TVAT?) and 3 Martels, I'm not sure if this was typical.

[bigVern1966]

Thanks - I couldn't figure out why it had a clear nose to it. So when this was fitted and no actual Martels would be carried?

David

No need to carry real Martels unless your were going to fire them on a missile pratice camp or in time of war (and in the case of the MPC the firing aircraft would carry just one missile. Missile (and bombs to that matter) are lifed items that can only be carried for so long before items like fins and mounting lugs have to be replaced (and in the case of the Martel that carrage time was measured in low tens of hours, thus one of the reasons that they were not used in the Falklands by the Vulcan). In a real shooting war the Bucc would at max carry three Martels (though more likely the figure would two plus a Dash 10 ECM pod) and the data link pod (and more than likely one of those Martels would be the anti-radar version which was fire and forget). The aircraft would fire the AR Martel first, then the TV guided round and then do an immedite 180 turn away to allow the antenna on the D pod (which looked to the rear to of the aircraft) to link with the missile and allow it to be guided to the target by the Navigator as the Bucc ran for home. In the case of simulated attack using the TV Martel as should on the video, the Bucc wouldn't break away, but would fly the profile trajectory of the missile and allow the Nav to practice the acqusition of the target with tv tracker in the training pod and terminal guidance procedures used to tell the missile were to aim for had a real missile been fired. It also allowed the ship being attacked to practice their anti aircraft / missile defence drills.

Edited December 29, 2011 by bigVern1966

[bigVern1966]

Sometimes a Martel training round would be carried under the other wing. I think this photo is quite typical, one of 4 Buccaneers that arrived at St Mawgan during a training sortie (1985), all carried the TV pod on the starboard inner pylon, the other pylons carried a variety of stores (CBLS, AIM9 acquisition round, Drill Martel round and ECM Pod).

I have seen photos of Buccs with the TV pod, (was it called TVAT?) and 3 Martels, I'm not sure if this was typical.

Was indeed called the TVAT, which stood for Tele-Vision Airborne Trainer. The Drill Martel would have been an AR Martel Acquisition Round which just held the radar homing head of a real weapon and allowed the Nav to tune the missile head to the frequncy of the radar that he wished to attack.