- Yes
- No
Introduction: The Tornado GR.1B is a dedicated anti-shipping variant of the of the Tornado GR.1 capable of carrying the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile, which is described in the forum post below.
Description: The Tornado GR.1B is a dedicated anti-shipping variant of the of the Tornado GR.1 capable of carrying the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile (described in the forum post below). The aircraft was essentially a standard GR.1 that was modified to include the equipment capable of operating and launching the missiles. In the rear cockpit, a control panel was added to handle the missile, taken from the Buccaneer. The software was also upgraded in order to launch the missiles. Despite a change in aircraft, it kept the same role as the Buccaneer; damage or destroy as many Soviet surface vessels as possible in the North Sea and GIUK Gap, support Royal Navy and allied naval operations, and prevent Soviet surface vessels from harassing allied vessels or convoys. At first, the aircraft was only capable of pointing and shooting the Sea Eagle, thus limiting them to lign-of-sight attacks. However, this was rectified as time wore on, and the aircraft became very capable ship-killers. Two squadron were equipped with the GR.1B, No.12 Squadron and No.617 Squadron, both based out of RAF Lossiemouth.
End of Service: As the GR.1 family was upgraded to the GR.4 standard, it was decided that a dedicated anti-ship variant was not needed. Thus, there was no GR.4B variant of the Tornado, as the GR.4 was intended to carry the Sea Eagle from the outset, though at this point the Sea Eagle was reaching the end of its useful service life, as well as the fact that the threat it was designed to counter almost completely disappeared overnight, with the end of the Cold War. Therefore, the GR.1B was retired.
Performance:
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| * Crew | * 2 |
|---|---|
| * Length | * 16.72 m (54 ft 10 in) |
| * Wingspan | * 13.91 m (45 ft 8 in) at 25° sweep |
- 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in) swept at 67° sweep|
|* Height|* 5.95 m (19 ft 6 in)|
|* Wing area|* 26.6 m2 (286 sq ft)|
|* Empty weight|* 13,890 kg (30,622 lb)|
|* Gross weight|* 20,240 kg (44,622 lb)|
|* Max take off weight||
|* Power plant|* 2 × Turbo-Union RB199-34R Mk 103 afterburning 3-spool turbofan, 43.8 kN (9,800 lbf) thrust each dry, 76.8 kN (17,300 lbf) with afterburner|
|* Maximum speed (Sea level)|* 1,482 km/h (921 mph; 800 kn) IAS near sea level|
|* Maximum speed (High altitude)|* Mach 2.2 (2,400 mk/h, 1,300 kn) at 9,000 m (30,000 ft)|
|* Combat radius|* 1,390 km (860 mi, 750 nmi)|
|* Ferry range|* 3,890 km (2,420 mi, 2,100 nmi)|
|* Service ceiling|* 15,240 m (50,000 ft)|
|* Rate of climb|* 76.7 m/s (15,100 ft/min)|
|* Wing loading|* 767 kg/m2 (157 lb/sq ft)|
|* Thrust/weight|* 0.77|
|* Design load factor||
|* Avionics|* – RAPTOR aerial reconnaissance pod - – Rafael LITENING targeting pod
- – TIALD laser designator pod
- – GEC Sky Shadow electronic countermeasure pod|
|* Armament|* – Guns: 2× 27 mm (1.06 in) Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon internally mounted under starboard side of fuselage with 180 rounds - – Hardpoints: 3 × under-fuselage and 4 × under-wing pylon stations with a capacity of 9,000 kg (19,800 lb)
- Main weapon: BAeD Sea Eagle|
Other armaments: same as on Tornado GR.1
Conclusion: I believe that this would be a very interesting addition to the game, bringing its own unique capability.
Sources:
Spoiler
AIRFIGHTERS.COM - Panavia Tornado GR1B Data and History
Panavia Tornado GR-1B - ZA468 (United Kingdom - Royal Air Force (RAF)) by Alain BRION | Pictaero
Panavia Tornado GR-1B - ZA468 (United Kingdom - Royal Air Force (RAF)) by Alain BRION | Pictaero
Tornado GR1: An Operational History - Michael Napier - Google Books