Buccaneer Spirit

One of the most spectacular displays of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations was the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Airforce air display over Buckingham Palace. Her Majesty the Queen’s enjoyment of the event was apparent for all to see, it was a moment of national pride in our Armed Forces.

You will remember the penultimate flypast was 15 Typhoon aircraft from RAF Coningsby and RAF Lossiemouth, shortly before the Red Arrows team blazed a trail of colour above The Mall. They formed a perfect ‘70 shape in honour of Her Majesty’s 70 years’ service.

What you may not know is that one of our Henfield residents, Digby Stephenson, was part of a similar display team for the Silver Jubilee back in 1977. Digby flew in a Buccaneer aircraft, forming part of the ‘R’ as part of a perfect ER formation!

At the time he was a Lieutenant based at RAF Honington and flying from HMS Ark Royal which was at the time based in Portsmouth. He was in service with the 809 Squadron of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, which operates on all the Royal Navy’s aircraft. FAA is a vital element for the varied roles undertaken by the Royal Navy, from humanitarian operations to securing the seas, fighting terrorism and landing troops on hostile shores.

During the early part of '77, Digby and the pilots of the other 10 Buccaneers practiced for three months to create the perfect display, his FAA logbook shows one entry 'Thursday 24, 11.20, Formation R'. The Buccaneer pilots created the straight loop and kick of the 'R' while the Phantoms created the straight lines of the 'E'.

However, the final display over The Mall for Her Majesty the Queen was not in store for Digby, but more exciting times were ahead. Just before June 1977, Digby was deployed on a US Navy exchange trip to San Diego to fly at the Naval Air Station Miramar, which any movie fan will know is the home of TOPGUN. Between 1977 and 1980, he flew A-6 Intruders with the US Navy and shared crucial information from his years of service flying Buccaneers for nuclear defence.

Digby’s experience as a pilot was honed during the early 1970s when he was one of 12 Buccaneer pilots on HMS Ark Royal taking part in active service off the west coast of Norway. During that time, the threat of nuclear war was sharply in focus and two tours of Buccaneers
(a day and a night team) would make training exercises each day, patrolling the area. The Buccaneer was able to fly at extremely low altitudes beneath radar, this, alongside the fighter Phantoms, formed a key role in the NATO alliance’s nuclear defence. HMS Ark Royal was decommissioned in 1980.

Digby is justifiably proud of his service with Royal Fleet Air Arm where he became Lieutenant Commander and takes part in the annual Remembrance parade as Parade Master. He now plays a huge voluntary role at the Henfield Haven, as Chairman of the Henfield Haven CIO Trustees, giving thousands of voluntary hours to the efficient day to day running of this dementia care centre in Henfield.

Digby shot a series of short films on a Super8 video camera in the early 70’s from the cockpits of his Buccaneer (Ark Royal) and US Navy A6. Subsequently, they were spliced into a 30 minute film that was then transferred to Betamax, then to VHS, then to DVD and finally online courtesy of Paul Crowe.

The full video shows various flying clips including launches and deck landings from HMS Ark Royal, air to air refuelling, low flying in Scotland (at about 550mph), practice bombing on a splash target, working with the US Navy teaching F4 pilots how to refuel and some shots of the Blue Angels practicing their routine in the California desert.

Emma Cole