Nimrod Questions
 

I am trying to confirm the following specific Nimrod questions for the ongoing reference project:

1. MRA4 visits to Kinloss ISK on 26th March 2010, having thought the aircraft was grounded at that time, does anybody know if ZJ514 A visited Kinloss in March 2010 ?
2. Nimrod AEW3 XZ287 - did the Secretary of State George Younger fly on this aircraft to review the systems just before the AEW project was cancelled ?
3. The Brown Nimrod XV246 - does anyone have a decent image of this while in this state ?

Many thanks
XV148

XV148
 

The answer to No1 is most definitely yes, MRA4 did visit Kinloss on that day. We stayed fo for around 4 hrs, to let everyone have a good butchers. We departed back to Warton just before theMR2 flypast. Little did I know it would be the last time I flew her.

Thanks, I had 514 as the following:
The aircraft was delivered to Warton on March 11th spending one hour in the Warton circuit upon arrival. Following an inspection by the MoD, the aircraft was grounded until September while the faults were rectified.
It appears from your feedback that the aircraft was at least flying until 26th of March when it visited ISK (the weather looked pretty bad!!). Any ideas when the MOD inspection and subsequent grounding took place, must have been soon after this ?

XV148:ok:
I have images of ZJ514 at ISK on the said day, I also have images on XV246 as the brown bomber, and yes the weather was rubbish

If you email me at home...I can send them to you

JIMS

It would be interesting to get the timeline for 514 after she left ISK ie any subsequent flights and the date of the MOD inspection, does anyone have this ?

SFO - ZJ514 AKA PA4?

XV148 - PM me, I may know some-one who can answer the questions on later flights OR go to/join Facebook "Nimrod Rise and Fall" group and post your questions on there. The person I'm thinking of is also a member of that group.

I may post my copy of the Brown Bomber picture on there - If it's not there already.

I don't have the full info you require but the final flight for 514 was from Woodford to Warton on 09 Sept 2010, she was subsequently scrapped in Feb 2011.

PA4 performed a fly-past at RAF Kinloss in September 2010. Little did we know as we watched her climb into the clouds and disappear. This may well have been a detour on the flight noted in the post above,

Yes you are correct, it was PA4's last flight and Kinloss was included as well as Jersey and Guernsey.

XV229 - The Bahama Mama incident, does anybody have an exact date ? Also the XV229 tow truck incident in the Gulf, any ideas on a date ?

XV 246
 

Have a look at this link

RAF Kinloss Memories | Jim Simpson Aircraft Images

XV148
 

Got your PM. Will get back to you next week, promise!

OK, I'll bite...what you up to XV148? And, more importantly, how can we help?

FWIW I think everything to do with the AEW is in public record somewhere. There were some heavy duty audits after that Nimrod AEW fiasco which resulted in change (lol) to how the MOD did procurement.

If this is serious research you are on, I would wade into the National Audit Office and see what they have on it. They might not have been around circa 1980, but they might be able to give you a steer. There was also a Panorama documentary on the AEW (back in the day when Panorama had some credibility).

I watched that Panorama programme on Nimrod AEW at the Civil Service Staff College whilst a student at the Joint Services PR Course - so must have been about 84 - also in the room was the then DPR (RAF), Air Commodore, later AVM, Bobbie Robson. He chuckled and muttered his way through the programme - "Surely not", "Did I really say that?"! Clearly the Panorama teams had been fed some lines of investigation, which they had followed quite well

Rise and Fall
 

Some of the answers are in Tony's book - Rise and Fall. I found it interesting anyway!

What I found most intersting with the Nimrod programme is how the lowest hour airfames were taken for the AEW, then Aneka (249 to replace 66) then the MR4. they all finished up cut up behind screens to keep this from the public. I did manage to rob some spare O2 bits from the AEW for the R but that was it. I think we got new chairs or perhaps just seat covers.

I was a young man at the time but strength of feeling in the RAF regards AEW was always leaning towards E3 AWACS. Not sure if PPRuNe was around back then but I don't honestly belive the MoD take any real notice of opinion on here.

Certainly recall folks playing with funny colours and wash off paint.

229's towing mishap would have been September 2001, watched it happen, good of MT to provide some light hearted relief after the horrors a few days previous.

Might have a photo somewhere, will have a dig.

Attaching key events and activities to specific aircraft histories in an attempt to provide the full documented study (I published a similar book on the DH Comet with Air Britain back in 2002). Aiming to provide a data and fact reference on the subject.
Anything you may have or can assist with to ensure the stories are recorded would be great, thanks.
XV148

Great, thanks for the date, can put this in right order now.

#4, XV246 as the Brown Bomber. In 1976 a one hit wonder combo called Typically Tropical sang of flying to Barbados on Coconut Airways. I believe the brown bomber made a brief appearance at Kinloss adorned with Coconut Airways in white on the brown fuselage.

Brown Bomber
 

My crew picked the Brown Bomber up from Kinloss on 1st March 1977 and ferried under cover of darkness to St Mawgan where it stayed for several weeks on loan from Kinloss. As we taxied in to the line ATC caught sight in the lights and were clearly impressed.

I think that Kinloss were very happy to hand the embarrassment to 3rd Div South. When driving in to work at St Mawgan from Truro the "BB" was clearly visible from Carland Cross (about 7 miles from St Mawgan).