Blackburn/BAE Buccaneer Owners' Workshop Manual: All marks (1958-94) - Insights into the design, operation and preservation of the iconic Cold War ... and overland strike jet (Haynes Manuals)

Although I've largely weaned myself from my Haynes addiction, due largely to their recent decision to cut back on the amount of technical material in their books, they still manage to publish some quality publications from time to time. Being an extremely British publisher, they've introduced me to some very unique and fascinating British warplanes, including the Westland Lysander, Vickers Wellington, and now with this book, the Blackburn Buccaneer.Considering that only about 200 Buccaneers were built, how specialized the aircraft's role was, and the relatively high page count, Keith Wilson has a lot of breathing room this time around. A greater than usual percentage of this book is devoted to the design and development of the type, each of the RAF, SAAF, and RN squadrons that operated it, and the Buccaneer's role in the Persian Gulf War and a number of South African conflicts. Much of the book is written by former Buccaneer pilots, along with a navigator, rigger, electrician, and mechanic, providing a great deal of insight into the day to day operations of the aircraft. There's also a chapter on Buccaneers in ground-running condition, and appendixes on Buccaneer production figures, surviving aircraft, and TBAG (The Buccaneer Aviation Group).Where this "manual" falls a little short is on the technical side of things, an issue I've had with Haynes for the last couple of years. Although the first-hand accounts are extremely informative, the relative lack of diagrams, close-up photographs, step-by-step procedures, etc. is somewhat disappointing. The Buccaneer had a number of unique features, such as a variable-incidence tailplane, boundary-layer control, and a rotating weapons bay, which are related only in rather sketchy terms. Considering how many former Buccaneer personnel were involved in writing this book, I'm surprised the technical element isn't a bit beefier.Although it suffers from Haynes' increasingly vague definition of exactly what constitutes a "workshop manual," this is another good, if not exactly outstanding, entry into the series. Although there's very little in the way of fluff, some additional technical data would have gone a long way.

Very informative.

I have always had a high regard for the Buccaneer from when I first came upon it in the pages of my 'Flight' magazine. There was something about it, the name, the distinctive shape, the concept of a anti-shipping strike aircraft, whatever. I was therefore very pleased to see that Haynes and Keith Wilson have produced what for me is possibly the definitive book on the subject. This book follows the usual pattern of well chosen, excellent, evocative and illuminating photographs of both exterior and interior viewpoints, well written and informative commentary and a lot of insights into what it was like to fly and maintain this remarkable aircraft. The book thoroughly covers the development and history of the Buccaneer from conception to retirement from active service and beyond. There is an interesting chapter on its usage by the South African Air Force. The weaponry associated with the Buccaneer is covered and includes the Martel, Pave Spike, WE177 etc. I found the chapter on the first Gulf War (Operation Granby) of particular interest, some myths are examined as well as very good descriptions of the operational activities. There are also excellent accounts of flying and navigating the Buccaneer from Sq/Ldr Phillips, Gp/Capt Finn and Flt/Lt Suckling which together give a good 'hands on' account of flying the aircraft. Other eye-witness accounts by Pete Osborn, Peter Wright-Gardner and Francis Wallace give a good introduction into maintenance. Overall this is a very good addition to the Haynes Owners' Workshop series.

First off, I love the solid Buccaneer, so was initially delighted to add this book to my collection of Haynes aircraft manuals. That said, this book compares poorly to the many other books I've read in the series. My feedback can be summarised as:1. The development of the type starts the book off well. However, the technical anatomy section is way too small - at just 16 pages out of a 185 page book.2. The following sections give way too much detail on the squadrons that flew it. There are four chapters over 55 pages dedicated to RN, RAF and SAAC service, and general ops. Information on where squadrons were assigned, with which aircraft and what personnel are far more suited to a historical reference book than a (primarily) technical manual.3. The amount of repetition is ridiculous, often within a few pages in the one chapter. The first half of the book feels like a random collection of documents thrown together. Better editing is sorely needed.4. Opportunities are missed - for example in the squadron histories, accidents are mentioned but root causes and resultant technical changes as a result are scantly covered.5. While there are many photographs from the author, it sometimes feels excessive - and bulks up the operational chapters. That said, the book has an overall excellent cross section of pictures.6. The section on the Gulf War was interesting, but short - and suffers from repetition.7. The second half of the book, covering the flying and mainteance side, gets back on track. The sections on flying and maintaining the aircraft are very well written and are fascinating - a real highlight.8. The last chapter is about the surviving airframes, which runs to 18 pages - more than the anatomy section! However, the accompanying pictures are excellent.So, all in all, this is one of the weaker Haynes manuals. For me, it needs contraction of the service sections and an expansion of the technical sections - with a review of the photographs supporting this. It needs significantly better editing. Only then will the book do the aircraft proud.

I enjoy this book a lot, like all the other titles of this series in my possession. Great detail and a great reference book for everyone who loves the Buccaneer 🏴‍☠️.I also have the 707, Tornado, DC-3, Phantom 2 and others ... these books are a joy to read and search for reference in it. You will revisit this book many times as a guide after reading it the first time.Worst every penny.

I used to work on these brilliant aircraft and this book captures its essence very well. Magic stuff!

thankyou haynes a veritable bible of information models don;t build one without this book top class guys .service amazing quick