Nimrod makes last ever flight and lands at Manston

After protecting the country for 40 years, the last of the Royal Air Force’s fleet of Nimrods took its final flight from its base in Scotland before landing at Manston, Kent’s international airport.

The Nimrod MR2, which undertook its maiden flight in 09/05/69, has been retired from service after an alternative use has been found for it at the nearby MOD Defence Fire Training and Development Centre (DFTDC) at Manston.

The aircraft, a veteran of the Falklands War, was the first to fly with air-to-air refuelling capabilities and carry Sidewinder missiles which improved its defence capabilities during the conflict in the southern hemisphere in 1982. During their time in service, the fleet of Nimrods were involved in anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, long range search and rescue, as well as anti-piracy operations.

After landing at Manston, the Nimrod will be defuelled and have its hi-tech equipment removed before it is moved intact later this summer to the DFTDC.

The DFTDC utilises a range of surplus military aircraft as training aids in teaching MOD firefighters on a variety of crash rescue techniques. This Nimrod airframe will become a ground instruction airframe, primarily used as a crash rescue training tool.