Nimrod MR2 for Yorkshire Air Museum
The Royal Air Force announced today that the Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial at Elvington, York is to receive an iconic Nimrod MR2.
Yorkshire Air Museum will soon 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 Tuesday 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”.
Details of arrival timings on Tuesday 13th April will be issued as soon as they are known.