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Buccaneer aircraft in action, launching a co-ordinated attack with Sea Eagle anti-ship sea-skimming missiles.
Nightmare scenario. Dusk over an empty sea. With lights out and in radio silence, three Buccaneers, each armed with 4 Sea-Eagle missiles, prepare to attack a Surface Action Group still beyond radar range. 150 miles away, three more Buccaneers are approaching the same target in a pincer attack timed to hit the target at exactly the same time. The first warning that the target will receive of the attack is when all 24 missile radar seekers switch on at close range for the final phase of the attack. Whilst the Buccaneers escape unseen, the defences will be swamped with their worst nightmare - two volleys of missiles approaching without warning, at wave-top height, at 180 degrees to each other.
Michael Rondot's painting captures the moment when the leader of the first element (call sign 'Blue'), achieves his firing solution and initiates the ripple launch of his formation's missiles by breaking radio silence with the traditional 208 Squadron radio call of "Blue Fire!"
Designed for high-speed, deep-penetration attacks at ultra lowlevel, the Buccaneer has always been immensely popular with its aircrews. The design may be old, but the concept was brilliant, and the Buccaneer still retains a unique combination of range, warload and speed, unmatched by any other aircraft in RAF service. Pressed into service at short notice during the Gulf War, Buccaneers finally proved in the most spectacular manner what many had known for years - that the only suitable replacement aircraft for the Buccaneer is another Buccaneer.
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