28/04/2010

Issued by Yorkshire Air Museum

The Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial will shortly become the proud caretaker of the remarkable Nimrod military reconnaissance aircraft, which remains in service in revised form for the foreseeable future. We will be the only museum in the world to have a live example on display.

Nimrod MR2, XV250 will be flown from RAF Kinloss into semi retirement here at Elvington on Tuesday 13th April, where it will be maintained in ground operational capacity. This will be the last ever flight of XV 250, named "The Maid of Moray". XV250 will take part in the Museum's regular "Thunder Days", alongside the huge Victor V-Bomber and Buccaneer Strike aircraft.

Most importantly however, the Nimrod will stand as a permanent tribute to the 14 British servicemen killed in Afghanistan when Nimrod XV230 crashed near Kandahar on 2nd September 2006. The Nimrod was developed from the De Havilland Comet, itself a revolutionary design which was the world's first jet airliner. Much of the development work for the Nimrod programme 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 Nimrod Fleet has continued to play an exceptional role in the defence of the British Isles and support in other operational theatres, such as the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan amongst others.  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!

The Nimrod will become a major attraction for Yorkshire and aviation enthusiasts are expected to flock to the Museum for the arrival on Tuesday 13th April, as it is a rarely seen aircraft.