Weeze - RAF Germany museum

[Buccaneer S.2B]

Good evening,

At the RAF Germany museum at former RAF Laarbruch were noted Saturday the 3rd of July:

Outside
WH773 (8696M) EE Canberra PR7 c/n 71189

Inside
(WH849) EE Canberra T.4 (cockpit section) c/n 71295
(XV337) Buccaneer S.2B (cockpit section) c/n B3-12-66
(BGA2210) / 539 Slingsby Swallow T45 c/n 1494
XL578 Hawker Hunter T7 c/n 41H/693728

Wkr.,
Remco

[patrick dirksen]

Thanks for the log! One question, did you actually read off the c/n's ? The Buccaneer is in EMOOS as B3-15-66 (and some others don't have a c/n mentioned at all there).

[Buccaneer S.2B]

Hi Patrick,

No, none of the c/n's were actually read. I included them for the sake of completeness.

wkr.,
Remco

[patrick dirksen]

OK, thanks for clearing that up. One advice: put information you haven't actually read off between (brackets), that way there can't be a misunderstanding (as that information can be very important for people who update databases and such). But either way, thanks again for your logs!!

[ETNG83]

After my visit to the Laarbruch Museum on April 28, 2024, I noticed the Buccaneer Mk.2 with the alleged serial XV337 c/n B3-15-66. I had read the construction plate myself at the end of the cockpit section B3-12-66, according to which it must be the cockpit of the XV334. Can an expert perhaps confirm this?

[patrick dirksen]

That was one of the main reasons I posted my questioned in the first place. There seems to be something wrong with the commonly accepted Buccaneer construction numbers. I checked the one in Perth many years ago, and that one was also one digit "off" from the listings.
There is still no clear answer unfortunately to what should be right.

XV334 was scrapped more than 30 years ago according to UK serials (which is a very good website), so I guess the cockpit at Weeze is indeed XV337. But what that means for the construction number listing isn't clear to me yet.

[ETNG83]

One way to find out whether it was an error in the allocation at the time is to see whether more confirmed c/s are known, but they always deviate slightly from the known lists. It is of course possible that an error crept in earlier which has always been carried over since then.

[ETNG83]

And am I right that the XL578 now has the cockpit section of the XF321 and the tail belongs to the XG290? The original cockpit of the XL578 was discarded?

[Carlos Geurts]

And am I right that the XL578 now has the cockpit section of the XF321 and the tail belongs to the XG290? The original cockpit of the XL578 was discarded?

This is indeed correct.

Best regards,
Carlos Geurts