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During the 1982 Falklands War, Operations Black Buck 1 to Black Buck 7 were a series of seven extremely long-range ground attack missions by Royal Air Force Vulcan bombers of the RAF Waddington Wing, comprising aircraft from 44 Squadron, 50 Squadron, 101 Squadron planned against Argentine positions in the Falkland Islands, of which five missions actually completed attacks on the Falklands. The objectives of all missions were to attack Port Stanley airfield and its associated defences. The Operation Black Buck raids were staged from RAF Ascension Island, close to the equator. The aircraft carried either twenty-one 1,000 lb bombs internally or, two or four Shrike anti-radar missiles externally. The overall effect of the raids on the war is difficult to determine. The raids did minimal damage to the runway and damage to radars was quickly repaired. Commonly dismissed as post-war propaganda,〔"Propaganda was, of course, used later to try to justify these missions: 'The Mirage IIIs were redrawn from Southern Argentina to Buenos Aires to add to the defences there following the Vulcan raids on the islands.' Apparently the logic behind this statement was that if the Vulcan could hit Port Stanley, the Buenos Aires was well within range as well and was vulnerable to similar attacks. I never went along with that baloney. A lone Vulcan or two running in to attack Buenos Aires without fighter support would have been shot to hell in quick time."-"Mirage IIIs were in evidence near the islands on several occasions during the conflict, either escorting the Neptune reconnaissance missions or on 'interference' flights that attempted to draw CAP attention away from air-to-ground attacks."-"Suffice it to say that you didn't need more than one or two Mirage IIIs to intercept a Vulcan attack on Buenos Aires"-"It would have taken much more than a lone Vulcan raid to upset Buenos Aires" Ward (1992), pp. 247-48.〕 Argentine sources originally claimed that the Vulcan raids influenced Argentina to withdraw some of their Dassault Mirage III fighter aircraft from the Southern Argentina Defence Zone to the Buenos Aires Defence Zone.〔() "As a result of these heavy losses...it was decided to pull the Mirage III's back to the mainland to stand alert for a possible Vulcan attack."〕〔() "Finally, the bombing raids caused the Argentines to fear an air attack on the mainland, causing them to retain some Mirage aircraft and Roland missiles for defence."〕〔() La familia Mirage, Aeroespacio, Fuerza Aérea Argentina, ISSN 0001-9127, ''"Los M III debían defender el territorio continental argentino de posibles ataques de los bombarderos Vulcan de la RAF, brindar escolta a los cazabombarderos de la FAA, e impedir los ataques de aviones de la Royal Navy y de la RAF sobre las Malvinas."'' ("The M III would defend the Argentine mainland against possible attacks by Vulcan bombers from the RAF, providing escort of fighter bombers to the FAA, and to prevent attacks by aircraft of the Royal Navy and RAF on the Falklands.")〕 This dissuasive effect was however watered down when British officials made clear that there would be no strikes on air bases in Argentina.〔()"Unfortunately the British Secretary of State for Defence announced sometime later that Britain would not bomb targets on the Argentine mainland. This statement was undoubtedly welcomed by the Argentine military command because it permitted the very limited number of Roland SAM's to be deployed around the airfield at Stanley."〕 It has been suggested that the Black Buck raids were pressed home by the Royal Air Force〔Lawrence Freedman: Official History of the Falklands Campaign, 2005〕 because the British armed forces had been cut in the late seventies and the RAF may have desired a greater role in the conflict to prevent further cuts.〔A.C.G.Welburn: The Application of False Principles and the Misapplication of Valid Principles page 25 in 'Australian Defence Force Journal No. 124 May/June 1997'〕 A single crater was produced on the runway, rendering it impossible for the airfield to be used by fast jets.〔Hastings and Jenkins: ''The Battle for the Falklands'', p. 144〕 Argentine ground crew repaired the runway〔Edward Fursdon: Falklands Aftermath, "The Argentines had temporarily backfilled the five large craters, enabling them to continue to fly in C-130 Hercules transports" - the other craters were from Harrier raids; note that C-130 Hercules aircraft are designed to land on very rough semi-prepared airstrips.〕 within twenty-four hours,〔"And what was achieved? A crater in the runway that was filled in within twenty-four hours, and possibly a 30 mm gun radar knocked out." Ward (1992), p. 247.〕 to a level of quality suitable for the C-130 Hercules and Aermacchi MB-339 light attack jets.〔Hastings and Jenkins: ''The Battle for the Falklands'', p. 203: "Meanwhile, a single Aeromacchi() - almost certainly the first Fleet Air Arm() (Argentine COAN) reconnaissance aircraft flying from Port Stanley - attacked the...."〕 Many sources claim that fake craters confounded British damage assessment; however, the British were well aware that the runway remained in use by C-130 military transport aircraft and IA 58 Pucará ground-attack aircraft.〔Morgan, David, ''Hostile Skies'', Orion Books Limited, London, 2006, ISBN 978-0-7538-2199-2〕 The Vulcan lacked the range to fly to the Falklands without refuelling several times, as it had been designed for medium-range stand-off nuclear missions in Europe. The RAF's tanker planes were mostly converted Handley Page Victor bombers with similar range, so they too had to be refuelled in the air. A total of 11 tankers were required for two Vulcans, a huge logistical effort as all aircraft had to use the same strip. The raids, at almost and 16 hours for the return journey, were the longest-ranged bombing raids in history at that time (surpassed in the Gulf War of 1991 by USAF Boeing B-52G Stratofortresses flying from the continental United States but using forward-positioned tankers). Of the five Black Buck raids flown to completion, three were against Stanley Airfield runway & operational facilities, the other two were anti-radar missions using Shrike anti-radiation missiles against defences in the Port Stanley area. ==Background== Without aircraft able to cover the long distance, activities in the South Atlantic would be carried out by the Royal Navy and the British Army. Plans were set in motion within the RAF to see if it could carry out any operations near the Falklands. The airfield nearest to the Falklands and usable for RAF operations was on Ascension Island, a British territory, with a single runway at Wideawake airfield which was leased to the US. Long-range operations were entirely dependent upon the RAF's tanker fleet and so fourteen Handley Page Victor tankers were transferred from RAF Marham to Ascension Island.〔Page 76 in Phil Buttler, Tony Buttler: ''Handley Page Victor: The Crescent-Winged V-Bomber'', 2009, AeroFax, ISBN 978-1-85780-311-2〕 The RAF tankers themselves were capable of being refuelled in flight, which meant that it was possible to set up relays of aircraft. At RAF Marham, the tanker force was set to planning refuelling operations to take one or more bombers to the Falklands and back. Initial long range operations by the RAF involved the use of Victor aircraft for photo reconnaissance of the region surrounding South Georgia; these missions demonstrated the capability of the Victor tanker fleet, flying out of Ascension, to support intelligence gathering and aggressive operations in the south Atlantic. The Avro Vulcan was the last of the British V bombers in operational use for bombing, but their squadrons were to be disbanded imminently. They were based in the UK and assigned to NATO for nuclear operations: neither air-to-air refuelling nor conventional bombing had been practised for several years. At RAF Waddington, the retraining of crews in conventional bombing and in-flight refuelling was begun. Aircraft were selected based upon their engines; only those with the more powerful Bristol Olympus 301 engines were considered suitable. One of the most challenging tasks was re-instating the refuelling system, which had been blocked off. Three 22-year-old Vulcan B2s were selected—XM597, XM598 and XM607—drawn from No. 44, 50 and No. 101 Squadron RAF. Each was powered by the more powerful Olympus 301 engines. After an initial delay of 1 day, the Vulcans were deployed to Wideawake, arriving on 28 April. Two further Vulcans, XM612 and XL391 were stationed at Wideawake as reserve aircraft in case of mechanical failures in the three primary aircraft.〔http://www.heritageandhistory.com/contents1a/2012/04/vulcan-xj823-falklands-conflict-veteran-in-cumbria/?doing_wp_cron=1405025173.1962320804595947265625〕 Squadron Leader Neil McDougall, Squadron Leader John Reeve, Squadron Leader Alastair 'Monty' Montgomery and Flight Lieutenant Martin Withers captained the Vulcans. To give improved electronic countermeasures (ECM) against Argentine defences, which were known to include Tigercat missile and radar-controlled anti-aircraft guns, Dash 10 pods from Blackburn Buccaneer aircraft at RAF Honington were fitted to the wings on improvised pylons. To navigate across the featureless seas, inertial guidance systems were borrowed from VC-10s and two installed in each Vulcan. The Vulcan fuel tanks could contain 9,200 gal (41,823 litres). Based upon estimates of the Vulcan's fuel need, eleven Victor tankers, including two reserve aircraft, were assigned to refuel the single Vulcan before and after its attack on the Falklands. The attacking Vulcan was refuelled four times on the outward journey and once on the return journey,〔http://studysupport.info/vulcanbomber/blackbuck.htm retrieved 8. November 2010〕 using over 220,000 gallons of aviation fuel during the mission. Two identically-armed Vulcans took off for each mission, the second returning to base, without refuelling, if no problems arose with the first, or assuming its role if the first could not continue. Each aircraft carried either twenty-one 1,000-pound (450 kg) bombs or four Shrike anti-radar missiles〔"armed with four Shrikes for another attack against the Falklands." page 67 in Peter R. March: ''The Vulcan Story'', 2006, Sutton Publishing/'Vulcan to the Sky' trust, ISBN 0-7509-4399-8〕 (Dash 10 pod) with three 1,000 gallon (4,546 litres) auxiliary fuel tanks in the bomb bay. The bombs were intended to cause damage to Argentine installations, especially Port Stanley Airport; it being hoped that the attacks would cause the defenders to switch on defensive radars, which would then be targetted by the missiles. The lighter Shrike-armed Vulcans could loiter in the area longer than the bomb-armed Vulcans. Fleet Air Arm officer and critic of the RAF, Nigel Ward unfavorably compared the amount of fuel consumed by the raids to that used in Sea Harrier bombing missions.〔"... to get twenty-one bombs to Port Stanley is going to take about one million, one hundred thousand pounds of fuel - equalled about 137,000 gallons. That was enough fuel to fly 260 Sea Harrier bombing missions over Port Stanley. Which in turn meant just over 1300 bombs. Interesting stuff!" Ward (1992), p. 186〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Operation Black Buck」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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