Nimrod XV241 arriving at East Fortune
Nimrod XV241 was decomissioned at RAF Kinloss in 2010 and after
being dismantled on 7th February 2011 the front fuselage arrived at
National Museum of Flight on the 10th.
Nimrod history
The Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR1/MR2 was developed and built in
the United Kingdom. It was an extensive modification of the de
Havilland Comet, the world's first jet
airliner, an example of which is on display at the National Museum
of Flight.
The Nimrod was a Royal Air Force maritime patrol
aircraft, with anti-submarine warfare, maritime surveillance
and anti-surface warfare capabilities. It served with the
RAF from the early 1970s until March 2010.
Nimrods played an important role in search and support for ships
lost or in difficulty at sea. Many high profile disasters received
support from Nimrods including the Fastnet yacht race disaster in
1979 and the Piper Alpha oil rig disaster in 1988.
With a 40 year association with Scotland, the Nimrod is an
important type to be represented in the collections of the National
Museum of Flight. The Nimrod operated from RAF Kinloss during the
Cold War, during times of national crisis and in an international
role.
Nimrod XV241 at RAF Kinloss in 206 Squadron anniversary colours
September 1999 © Joop de Groot.
MR1
The development of the Nimrod patrol aircraft began in 1964 as a
project to replace the Avro Shackleton. The design was based on the
Comet 4 civil airliner. The Comet's turbojet engines were then
replaced with Rolls-Royce Spey turbofans for better fuel
efficiency.
Major fuselage changes were made, including an internal weapons
bay, an extended nose for radar, a new tail with electronic warfare
(ESM) sensors mounted in a bulky fairing, and a MAD (Magnetic
anomaly detector) boom.
After the first flight in May 1967, the RAF ordered 46 Nimrod
MR1s. The first example (XV230) entered service in October 1969.
Five squadrons were eventually equipped with the MR1.
MR2
Starting in 1975, 32 aircraft were upgraded to MR2 standard,
including modernisation of the electronic suite and provision for
in-flight refuelling and additional ESM pods on the wingtips. The
in-flight refuelling capability was introduced during the Falklands
War, as well as hardpoints to allow several Nimrods to carry the
AIM-9 Sidewinder missile.
The Nimrod MR2 carried out three main roles: Anti-Submarine
Warfare (ASW), Anti-Surface Unit Warfare (ASUW) and Search and
Rescue (SAR). Its extended range enabled the crew to monitor
maritime areas far to the north of Iceland and up to 4,000 km out
into the Western Atlantic. With Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR), range
and endurance was greatly extended.
The MR2 was a submarine killer carrying up-to-date sensors and
data processing equipment linked to the weapon systems. In addition
to weapons and sonobuoys, a searchlight was mounted in the
starboard wing pod for Search and Rescue (SAR) operations.
Crew
The crew consisted of two pilots and one flight engineer, two
navigators (one tactical navigator and a routine navigator), one
Air Electronics Officer (AEO), the sonobuoy sensor team of two
Weapon System Operators (WSOp ACO) and four Weapon System Operators
(WSOp EW) to manage passive and active electronic warfare systems.
Two of the WSOps were used as observers positioned at the port and
starboard beam lookout windows when flying in dense air traffic.
The MR2 had the longest bomb bay of any NATO aircraft.
RAF Kinloss
The Nimrod MR2 was based at RAF Kinloss in Scotland from 1970 to
2010 and flown by 120, 201, 206 and 42(R) Squadrons. First
maintenance of the MR2 was carried out by the Nimrod Line Sqn.
Software support for the MR2 was carried out by the Nimrod Software
Team also based at RAF Kinloss.
Withdrawl from service
The Nimrod MR2 aircraft was withdrawn on 31 March 2010, a year
earlier than planned, for financial reasons.The last official
flight of the MR2 Nimrod took place on 26 May 2010, with XV229
flying from RAF Kinloss to Kent International Airport, Manston in
Kent, where it will be used by the nearby MOD Defence Fire Training
and Development Centre as an evacuation training
airframe.