Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR.2 - RAF Kinloss Wing - 2009 (1:144)

The Hawker Siddeley Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft is derived from the De Havilland Comet, the world�s first jet airliner (also available as a Corgi model). It is unique in being the only dedicated land-based, jet-powered maritime patrol aircraft in service today. (Other jet-powered maritime patrol aircraft are primarily deployed from aircraft carriers, or simply civil types with added electronics.)The Nimrod serves the RAF in two variants: the R1 variant in a reconnaissance and electronic intelligence gathering capacity (officially, these were once coyly described as �radar calibration aircraft�), and the MR2 variant in the maritime reconnaissance role. The R1 is recognizable by the fact it doesn�t have a MAD (Magnetic Anomaly Detector) boom like the MR2. Nimrod development began in 1964 as a project to replace the elderly Avro Shackleton. Like many other successful maritime patrol aircraft, it was based on a civil airliner which had reached the end of its market life � in this case, the Comet 4. The first two RAF aircraft were unfinished Comet 4 airliners. The Comet�s turbojet engines were replaced with Rolls Royce Spey turbofans for better fuel efficiency, particularly at the low altitudes required for maritime patrol), and major changes made to the fuselage, including an internal weapons bay, an extended nose for radar, and a new tail with ESM sensors mounted in a bulky fairing , and a MAD boom. After a first flight in May 1967 the RAF ordered 46 Nimrod MR.1s, and the first example entered service in October 1969. Five squadrons were eventually equipped with the MR1. Three Nimrod aircraft were adapted to the SIGINT (signals intelligence) role, replacing the Comet C2s and Canberra�s of N0.51 Squadron in May 1974. Only since the end of the Cold War has the role of the aircraft been officially acknowledged. The R1s have not suffered the same rate of fatigue and corrosion of the MR2s and will continue in service long after the MR2 is replaced by the MRA4. Starting in 1975, 32 aircraft were upgraded to MR2 standard, involving modernization of the electronic suite and (as the MR2P) provision for in-flight refueling and additional ESM pods in the wingtips. The in-flight refueling capability was introduced during the Falklands War, as well as hard points to allow the Nimrod to carry the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile. Eventually all MR2s gained refueling probes and the �p� designation was dropped. In the mid-1970, the Nimrod�s duties were expanded to include AEW (Airborne Early warning), as a replacement for the Lancaster-derived, piston-engined Shakleton which, astonishingly, was still in service in that role. Following modification of trial aircraft, the radar fit proved unsatisfactory and this variant was abandoned in favor of the American Boeing E-3 Sentry (also available as a Corgi model). The latest Nimrod variant is the upgraded MRA.4 which is about to enter service as a replacement for the current MR.2s in service. XV240 is one of the original Nimrod MR.1 production, being built at Woodford and delivered to the RAF in late 1969 and it was rotated between the five Nimrod squadrons stationed at RAF St.Mawgan, Cornwall, and RAF Kinloss in Scotland. It was upgraded to a MR.Mk.2 around 1983 and is currently still in service with No.201 Squadron at RAF Kinloss.