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Martel missiles and Buccaneer's


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Im looking for info as far as colors ? Were they white always ? Or did they get painted grey or green at some point ? I have seen photo's in museums of the green/grey.  Also when did the RAF start carrying the Radar guided Martel  and TV guided Martel ? When they carried the TV guided Martel i know it used a datalink pod, does anyone have specs for the datalink pod ? Any help is appreciated ? Thank you in advance. 

 

Dennis

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1 hour ago, Julien said:

There used to be a great site on the web for all Bucc armament options but I lost the url when my last computer died :( 

 

Thanks i will try to google it ? I think i found it is this the one you were thinking in post #6. 

 

 

If so its defunct.  😕

Edited by Corsairfoxfouruncle
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8 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

 

Thanks i will try to google it ? I think i found it is this the one you were thinking in post #6. 

 

 

If so its defunct.  😕

The wayback machine has records from 2017 that may unclude the info you need.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20170810130415/http://www.blackburn-buccaneer.co.uk/Contents.html

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1 hour ago, CT7567 said:

The wayback machine has records from 2017 that may unclude the info you need.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20170810130415/http://www.blackburn-buccaneer.co.uk/Contents.html

Many thanks the link had some good info, however nothing on the colors or schematic of the datalink pod. Sadly some of the pages didn't load. But i have bookmarked the page for future reference. Im thinking i may just leave the pylons empty for future use. A couple of rocket pods and or bombs would be a good option if i had any. 

 

Dennis

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The painting instructions for the Czech Master RAF S.2B Kit which now seems to be one of the dead links on the Wayback site show it as being overall gloss white.

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Hi

I remember asking one time when i was in the line hut off 12 sqn at Lossie why the 700's had TV or RAD in dayglo tape on the front covers, was told that it was that the a/c was only wired up for TV or Rad and not both, I do remember quite a few times the grews used to come back in to 12 sqn Flying clothing where i worked and would say they had to cancell the trip as the kite had gone tit's up and no TV or RAD kite was spare to use.

Some one who serviced the Bucc might have more details ref this.

Paul

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11 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Many thanks the link had some good info, however nothing on the colors or schematic of the datalink pod. Sadly some of the pages didn't load. But i have bookmarked the page for future reference. Im thinking i may just leave the pylons empty for future use. A couple of rocket pods and or bombs would be a good option if i had any. 

 

Dennis

The Aeroguide should have a bit on Martels, but it would probably primarily cover mid 80s stuff as the booklet was released then - available on boxartden as pdf, but the page won't load for me, otherwise I'd have posted a link.

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One thing I never understood with the TV Martel data pod, why it could be fitted either way round?

Note in Juliens post that the pod appears to be mounted different ways, with slender cone facing fwd in the flying shot, and aft in the ground shot.

 

 

Edit, answered my own Q, second one is the radar Martel training pod.

Edited by 71chally
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The Martel started out white in colour. Later on, green examples appeared, but there is no definite timeline for the change in colour.

This photo shows a trial fit for the Vulcans during the Falklands war and the missile is a mixture.

https://defenceoftherealm.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/vulcan-martel-examiner.jpg.

 

The data link pod is the one in the top photo of Julian's post. It was fitted that way round as it would transmit to the missile as the Bucc "bravely ran away".

The lower photo is a TVAT pod, used to give the nav training in guiding the anti-ship TV Martel during its flight. It was a data link pod with different internals, including the TV camera, fitted the other way round.

 

Note that both the data link and TVAT pods used a special pylon that is angled in the opposite way to the normal "universal" pylon.

 

Rob.

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8 hours ago, Phone Phixer said:

The Martel started out white in colour. Later on, green examples appeared, but there is no definite timeline for the change in colour.

This photo shows a trial fit for the Vulcans during the Falklands war and the missile is a mixture.

https://defenceoftherealm.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/vulcan-martel-examiner.jpg.

 

The data link pod is the one in the top photo of Julian's post. It was fitted that way round as it would transmit to the missile as the Bucc "bravely ran away".

The lower photo is a TVAT pod, used to give the nav training in guiding the anti-ship TV Martel during its flight. It was a data link pod with different internals, including the TV camera, fitted the other way round.

 

Note that both the data link and TVAT pods used a special pylon that is angled in the opposite way to the normal "universal" pylon.

 

Rob.

The round in the vulcan picture is a trial missile,  not an operational round.

Martels would have gone overall  green in the mid 1970's with the introduction of wrap around camoflage schemes on  tactical aircraft. Its no use having wrap around camoflage on your Bucc with big white missiles on , it defeats the objective  of the camoflage! 

 

Selwyn

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On 6/8/2019 at 12:35 AM, Phone Phixer said:

Nah, wouldn't spoil the camo. The only things lower than a Buccaneer on a maritime sortie are fish!!

There was one well publicised complaint made by the Captain of a McBraynes ferry somewhere out among the Western Isles about a pair of Buccaneers bracketing his ship below bridge level.

 

But they were not too shy over land either with the T-Shirt slogan that appeared following Buccaneer show-of-force flights during Operation Pulsator that 'Buccaneers fly THROUGH Beirut not over it'.      While on a visit to ATC at Leuchars about twenty years ago one of the longer serving controllers described an airfield attack that had been requested by Buccaneers from Lossie who were duly given clearance and started to call out their distance to run with growing consternation in the tower with no visual sightings and nothing on radar even as they called airfield in sight until they appeared climbing over the trees around the north edge of the airfield and passed either side of the tower at window height as all within dived for the floor.

Just now, Des said:

 

 

Edited by Des
Oops hit button twice
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excellents shots John, I would say of the same Bucc carrying TV and radar guided Martels.

Be warned for modelling though, I think the first shot is reversed as the data pod was generally fitted to the stb'd inner pylon, as in the flying shot.

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7 hours ago, 71chally said:

excellents shots John, I would say of the same Bucc carrying TV and radar guided Martels.

Be warned for modelling though, I think the first shot is reversed as the data pod was generally fitted to the stb'd inner pylon, as in the flying shot.

That was my initial thought too, but note the IFR and pitot are in the correct positions.

 

Mark.

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2 hours ago, canberra kid said:

And this one has nothing to do with anything, but it's a cracking photo!

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John

 

It is indeed , thanks for sharing.

Edited by Des
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They are all great photo's John @canberra kid and some great stories there @Des. My own Buccaneer story happened when I was 17 on a geography field trip in Wales. We had climbed a small hill to sit on some rocks at the top for lunch. Two Buccaneers came hurtling up the valley below us and as the nearest one passed what seemed like not very far below us, banking around our hill, I could clearly see the back seater looking up at us as they passed!  Great memories of a great aircraft.

 

Terry

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13 hours ago, canberra kid said:

It looks like they do come in green too?

 

And this one has nothing to do with anything, but it's a cracking photo!

 

 

John

The top shot is of XW527 at St Mawgan mid 1980s with a training pod fitted, and yes they got camo'd with the missiles.

 

I love that full colour gloss finish, that's how an RAF Buccaneer should look to me!

 

 

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