Here’s a big heads up and a shout out for everyone at The Yorkshire Air Museum. We’re doing quite a lot of photography and other work with them right now and we’ll be able to talk about all that shortly. But yesterday, they sent out the exciting press release that they’ve had to be so tight lipped about for so long.
On 13th April, they’re going to be getting their hands on a Nimrod MR2. Not only that, it’s NOT just going to be an empty shell, with no motors or interior, this one will be the full, operational, working aircraft. Here’s their press release:
Elvington will be the only Museum in the world to display a LIVE example of the remarkable Nimrod military reconnaissance aircraft.
Nimrod MR2, XV250 will be flown from RAF Kinloss into Elvington on April 13th where it will be maintained in full ground operational capacity as a ‘live’ aircraft.
From now XV250 will be part of the Museum’s world class collection, alongside the huge Victor V-Bomber and Buccaneer Strike aircraft and will stand as a permanent tribute to the 14 British servicemen killed in Afghanistan when Nimrod XV 230 crashed at Kandahar on 2nd September 2006.
The multi million pound Nimrod was developed from the Comet, itself a revolutionary design which was the world’s first jet airliner. Much of the development for the Nimrod was undertaken at BAe Systems at Brough, East Yorkshire, giving the aircraft a special local connection.
Nimrod, the ‘mighty hunter’ is found in the Book of Genesis, and for over 30 years the aircraft has continued to play an exceptional role in the defence of the British Isles and support in other operational theatres. The ‘submarine hunting’ role has developed into strategic military intelligence gathering, utilising state of the art equipment. The Nimrod MR2 has been described as the world’s largest fighter, with the capability to carry Sidewinder air to air missiles!
Museum Director, Ian Reed said, “We have been working closely with our colleagues in the RAF for over a year on this project and are delighted at the confirmation announced today. Yorkshire Air Museum is probably the only major Museum in Europe capable of operating large jets of this type and in this way. It is also very appropriate that, as the Allied Air Forces Memorial, we are able to make a significant contribution to the memory of those servicemen in Afghanistan and Iraq who have lost their lives and those who daily risk their lives in the service of our country”.
It’s a huge boost for the museum, as I imagine the plan is to let visitors look inside the aircraft and see what a fully operational Nimrod, recently working over Afghanistan, looks like up close. It’s sure to be a popular event and visitors will be welcome to see the arrival. If you’ve an ounce of passion in you for things mechanical, be there…
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They’ll be getting a MR2 – not a MR4 surely?! The MR4s are only just going into service (like 15 years late) to replace the MR2….
Quite right. Typo on my part – the press release says MR2 and not the Toyota kind…