Laarbruch – best posting I ever had! I was on 16 Sqn Buccs 81 – 83 Oh happy days! :diablo:
The hanger in the photo is the old XV shed. We have formed a 16 Sqn Buccaneer Groundcrew website and have a membership of around 115. We went back to Laarbruch a couple of years ago and had a mega ‘p1ss-up’ oops sorry ‘a function’ in ‘Kevs Bar’ in Weeze. It was such a trip down memory lane for all 60 of us who attended. Very strange wandering around the old ‘Q’ site – ‘would never ave append in my day laddie’ 😀

Any ex 16 or XV Bucc groundcrew out there from the ‘Laarparts’ days who may be interested the website address is – http://www.buccaneer.org.uk

Vickers Varsity – ATC camp RAF Oakington 1971.

The cockpit is at Bruntingthorpe. Pictures on the BuccSociety website in the ‘New arrivals at Bruntingthorpe’ post.

With regard to aircraft sent to Chile, admittedly well after the war, and gifted to the Pinochet regime. Whilst serving at HQSTC and running the Engineering Instruction Section I and my staff had to collect together, and copies made from our vast collection, all SI/STI/PWI instructions relevent to the Hunter as 6 aircraft were being given as a thank you for services rendered. This was around 89/90.

From personal experience whilst serving as an engine tech on 1312 flight (Herc Det) at RAF Port Stanley in 1985 we had them fitted to our tanker aircraft. They were also used for observation during fighter affiliation sorties against the F4 Phantom flight. I have on several occasions sat up there myself watching for the ‘b*ggers’ coming in for an attack (lots of flying opportunities, AAR, South Georgia, maritime recon – happy days)

Agree with everyone on this one – fantastic read! One reference in the book mentioned that the Buccaneers were considered but it was deemed that there was not enough oil in the engine system to get there and back. Being a former “Bucc Sooty” I find that statement a bit strange!

I was serving on 16 Squadron at Laarbruch at the time and remember that we “Sooties” were taken into a room and informed that what we were about to be told was classified as “Top Secret” We were informed that several 12 Sqn Buccs were coming to Laarbruch and that we would be fitting ferry tanks into the bomb bays. As this was during the “run-up” to the Task Force sailing it could be assumed that they had thought about dispatching the Martel equipped aircraft south.

Found it a bit of a come down after being sworn to secrecy when on going into the football club bar that very night that the main topic of conversation was the aircraft coming to have tanks fitted to fly to the Falklands!

Wot – No “Poacher” :confused:

(Nice collection though, I must have worked on the real version of some of them at sometime me thinks – used to get lots of visiting JP’s at “Cranners”)

Having worked on JP3 and 5 for five years on JPH at RAF Cranwell (2 seasons as “Poachers” groundcrew) I still have a soft spot for the old “JP”.
Since retiring from the RAF 10 years ago I have collected die-cast models of all the a/c that I worked on or had an engineering connection to – Buccaneer, Hunter, Hercules and Tornado. The one that is the most elusive is the Jet Provost of any mark. Does anyone know where I can source one?
I have tried trawling through the main model sites (there is a hand carved one, lots of dosh) but to no avail!

Here’s hoping!

George Dobie aka “BeefyBoy”