Military fast jet (Not a phantom) in Weston Airport

rab!dmonkey

I was poking around on Google Maps the other day when I came across what appears to be an F-4 Phantom II parked up at Weston Airport. I've done a little bit of searching for information about it and found nothing. Does anyone here know anything about it, how it got there and what it's doing there? Does Ireland have a secret superhero vigilante fighter pilot living anonymously in west Dublin, ready to single-handedly save us all from annihilation when the Tu-95s drone overhead and the Air Corps' Pilatuses fail us?

https://www.google.com/maps/place/53°20'55.5"N+6°30'15.8"W/@53.3487518,-6.5049443,252m/

HTCOne

Looks more like a Buccaneer to me.

Deagol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118263808#Comment_118263808

It is a Buccaneer. You can see a photo of it on Google Earth. https://earth.google.com/web/search/Weston+Airport,+County+Dublin/@53.35637295,-6.4910308,51.41062889a,600.10478068d,35y,0h,45t,0r/data=CogBGl4SWAolMHg0ODY3NzIyNjQwMjVjYThiOjB4MTJiMjU5ODg4MDI3MWYyMxkNTX4wla1KQCEK7qyCvfYZwCodV2VzdG9uIEFpcnBvcnQsIENvdW50eSBEdWJsaW4YAyABIiYKJAnGwLApjyZKQBHKIfAgyyVKQBlF-NOr5I0bwCHtgZxF3ZMbwCgC

jasonb

Yeah, it's a Buccaneer, flew in the 1st Gulf War, has been there for years, was there when I did some lessons back in 2012.

Capt'n Midnight

How much does it cost a pirate to get their ears pierced ?

A Buccaneer !

rab!dmonkey

Interesting. Nice to see it's in good nick, at least when the Google Earth pic was taken.

EchoIndia

Plenty of photos available: https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=xv863%20weston

jorry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058221046/f-4-phantom-ii-in-weston-airport

Well your going to cream your pants when you stumble upon Dolly's Grove... 🤩

Lorddrakul

Indeed, it is a Buccaneer in desert pink. I got a few shots of it myself a few years back.

However, check this out:

https://www.google.com/maps/search/central%2Bair%2Bforce%2Bmuseum%2Bmoscow/%4055.8328174%2C38.1814302%2C461m/data%3D%213m1%211e3

The Central Airforce Museum, Moscow.

deadlybuzzman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118292782#Comment_118292782

Ah now, please tell us what happened there

rab!dmonkey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118354450#Comment_118354450

Presuming you're asking about the airstrip, the Indo has an interesting article about it. I've seen it mentioned on Twitter and apparently all the visible aircraft in the satellite view are on static display. Dolly's Grove is a private airstrip, not open to the public, but I think the aircraft might be visible from the road. I'll be riding my bike that way soon, hoping I can peek over the hedge.

If you're asking about Jorry's pants, I don't think there's any information in the public domain. 😉

EchoIndia

Any chance this thread could be retitled, given that there is no Phantom at Weston?

kyote00

It’s to confuse the Russians….

Lorddrakul

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118358899#Comment_118358899

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118523867#Comment_118523867

I'm not sure which would scare them more: an undercover Buccaneer or a phantom Phantom.

Terrifying.

EchoIndia

In any case the Buccaneer has been disposed of and I believe it's been removed, likely for scrapping.

emo72

Did the buccaneer fly in to Weston and never leave?

EchoIndia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118528899#Comment_118528899

https://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/buccaneer/survivor.php?id=99

old snoopy

I was involved in the production at Weston Airfield of "The Red Baron" as an extra with other colleagues & pilots from the Irish

Air Corps. The star was John Philip Law There were 3 films made with personnel from the Air Corps :-

The Blue Max, The Red Baron,& Darling Lilly. George Peppard & Ursula Andress were the stars

When Peppards character flew his plane under a bridge an Air Corps pilot possibly resulting from betting with fellow

officers flew a Vampire jet under the same bridge & because a passing motorist saw the feat reported the incident to the

ministry which resulted in him been grounded for 2 years. more stories later

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118552378#Comment_118552378

They put sheep near the bridge to prove it was real. But by the time it came to filming the sheep weren't frightened anymore.

If we had a Buccaneer in the Air Corps it might give some navies pause to think. Unless you have airborne radar there's a non-zero chance it would get with missile range. Look at how the Skyhawks did during the Falklands War despite being obsolete.