The Enduring Legacy of Blackburn Buccaneer

This book constitutes an attempt to reappraise the significance of the British NA.39 naval bomber, known in service as the Buccaneer, for Naval Aviation, in particular, and Cold War History, in general. We strongly believe that, overall, the NA.39 proved to be a very successful aircraft design and a tribute to the skills of British engineering, despite the limited funds allocated to its development, compared to the US or even the USSR. It was a relatively cheap delivery platform of conventional as well as nuclear weapons, which proved extremely adaptive to satisfy evolving needs, roles and requirements, either operating from above the waves or being land-based. Originally designed for the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm, it served it with distinction from 1962 till late 1978. As an irony of fate, it was also used by the Royal Air Force (which had originally rejected it) from 1969 till 1994.