I served for many years in the British Merchant Navy, many of those years, way back when, sailing the Northern, North Atlantic between the UK and Canada. On numerous occasions, over a thousand miles from the nearest land, we would be subjected to a ghostly flypast of a RAF Nimrod, appearing like magic, just above the wave tops. They would give us a gentle wave of wing, then, opening up, soar up into the blue yonder. It always left us with a feeling of great warmth, knowing, should we get in difficulties, far from land in those inhospitable ocean climes, those RAF maritime crews would be on call to offer a helping hand - and, as proven on many occasions, mariners of many flags in such difficulties, had reason to thank their maker for the superb qualities of the Nimrod and its dedicated crews'. Alas, common sense and humanitarian needs, play little part in political decisions. I live 2 miles from BAe Warton near Preston in Lancashire. I have seen many of Britain's aviation success stories flying in the skies over my house, sadly, some, after much research and development, consigned to the scrap yard, their only crime ( the aircraft), to be subjected to an irrational decision, and, the stroke of a politician's pen. An act that would be considered treasonable if called by you, or I - the Great British public. The tragic tale of the TSR2 and the Nimrod, to name but a few, comes to mind.
Thanks, Bob. I have heard of that tragic tale. I shall, indeed, give it a look up - though it's certainly not a tale for those with a soft heart, easy to upset. Kindest regards, Bill.
Eh, national pride is a double edged sword. It tends to do more harm than good when a population is manipulated into a strong sense of patriotism, just to mask domestic problems. It's kind of sad when you look through history and see just how often, and how easily, this is achieved. You can be proud without being blinded. It's actually nice to see when national pride is set aside for the right goals or products. The USMC wanted the Harrier because it suited their needs better than anything else. Congress didn't want to buy a foreign aircraft. The Marines won out. I'd say setting aside national pride for that was a good call. You also won't hear me complaining that the deeply flawed Nimrod AEW3 was cancelled and we just bought a significantly upgraded E-3 instead. It only sucks when political dealings are used to kill one project in favour of another, inferior one. Be that cancelling a good domestic project for a cheaper foreign one OR cancelling a foreign order for an inferior home-grown alternative.
I was in Toronto visiting friends when the accident happened. I didn't see it but my flight was parked close to the Nimrod on arrival at Pearson. A terrible loss.
I was highly privileged to be a guest on an RAF Nimrod flight op when I was a 15 year-old Air Cadet (1855 Sqn.). Much older now!). St.Mawgan, Cornwall up to Scotland and the North Sea, a full day. Russian intel-gathering observations, fake fishing boats, Russian aircraft - the lot!. Even flew over the Cornish China clay pits on the return leg, while Star Wars was being filmed there! Truly one of the highlights of my life. Thank you so much, R + crew. 👍🏼 I did eventually get to complete my PPL, by the way - still flying; and hope you got my thank-you letter! PS - contrary to vicious rumours - the rations were awesome!
Likewise. As an Air Cadet in 128 Squadron I flew on a mission from RAF Kinloss in late 70s. Got to drop sonobuoys while hunting Russian subs. I also loved the rations - guess it depends on what you're used to. Also got to sit in the pilot's seat for a while as we cruised over the Atlantic - an experience one could never buy.
Trip down memory lane. I flew on duty on Nimrod twice whilst based at St Mawgan. I used to be based in SCAF and procured parts for the aircraft when they were serviced. Spent 4 years there, 1977-1981
i was in the us navy for a time and i was stationed at nas jacksonville. we had nimrods coming over alot to train with the us navy. i can say the RAF crews were some of the best sub hunters and aviators that are out there. it was a real pleasure to get to serve with the brave men and women with the RAF.
DEEREMEYER1 You have to remember Britan is a small island nation. Therefore we can use the coastal based aircraft for patrolling the waters that surround us. BTW personnel of different nations do serve with other countries forces, that's the whole idea of NATO. By the way you comment it would seem that you have never served in any branch of any military.
NAS Jax was probably my favourite detachment (toss up with Homestead) - US MPA crews were always very professional, but to be honest MPA crews throughout NATO usually got on very well with each other - especially if beer was involved.
I was based at Kinloss from 1988 until 1997. I worked on NLS South and the NMSU amongst other roles. I loved my time working and living up there and met some fantastic people. Per Ardua 🇬🇧
Sadly, i saw a Nimrod crash in Toronto Ontario Canada in 1994, it was at a air show at the Canadian National Exhibition. The airplane was doing its second demonstration and the plane was doing a evasive maneuver where it flies level then it dips down towards the water then it pulls back and flies up towards the sky at a sharp angle and shoots a flare in the opposite direction. However the plane didn’t have enough speed to continue to climb and it just fell out of the sky and landed in the water. It was incredible how fast the emergency response was with every helicopter plane and ship searching that area for survivors. They searched for hours in vain. Sadly they lost 7 crew members. I’ll never forget how sad people were that day.
I was stationed at Kinloss in the 80s. Enjoyed a couple of flights on Fishops patrols. Gutted when they were grounded. Excellent aircraft flown by superb crews.
Despite my name I live in Missouri...now you chaps were huge leaders and innovators in aviation, some over here (few) do know that, if it hadn't been bad luck with the Comet ( square windows ) the Boeing 707, which was at the right place at the right time, wouldn't have had such a huge lead, plus your pols and our pols were/ are nincompoop! I will always luv you guys/ gals!
The Comet Disaster was not bad luck... it was the worst engineering disaster in commercial aviation history and was the direct result of engineering incompetence and criminal negligence. The Boeing 707 was the world's first successful, airworthy jet airliner and this pioneering design completely revolutionized air travel and the aviation industry. all modern jet airliners are based on the 707..
I have been out of the Mob since 03 and had forgotten what the good old days of the RAF were like, then this pops up and I remember, it was the days when we had an RAF, with capabilities to do most tasks ourselves, not relying on foreign airforces or aircraft manufacturers, and remember why I left after 24 wonderful years.
@@shooter591 The fact remained, that Cameron never bothered to think of a replacement. In general, that guy cut a lot of the services near enough to the bone, but still expected our forces to do a sterling job with what little they had left.
@@dannycochrane4330 The MRA4 was an unmitigated disaster... the y cost twice as much as brand new aircraft with better capabilities and were not even airworthy... BAE Systems made a proper bodge job of it and was just fleecing the government..
@@KnowYoutheDukeofArgyll1841 Britain's aircraft industry was doomed after the country's defeat in WW2, by the time Nimrod was built things had already gone from terrible to complete collapse..
A marvellous and beautiful aircraft that paid the price for being innovative which finished it as an airliner but its more than salvaged its reputation by its record as a Nimrod. My best friends father was very much involved with the design and testing of the electronics systems, he worked for Plessey, I don't know exactly what instruments he was involved with but his son and I got lots of 12v relays and diodes from scrapped test pieces that we used on our model railway control system. Happy memories thanks for this upload.
The De Havilland Comet was an unmitigated disaster, a shameful and humiliating tragedy that could have been easily prevented if d-H had simply followed well know and understood industry standards in all metal pressurized aircraft. The Hawker Siddeley HS.801 is not a Comet, it is a completely new aircraft designed by a different company decades later, they share no major parts or assemblies in common..
Love Nimrods - nice video. Also, great B roll showing inside the bunkers at Northwood and Pitreavie Castle.... very rare footage indeed. Notice how many blue shirts there are in Pitreavie. Not long after this film was made in 1970, they would change to white shirts - Navy staff responsible for the Polaris boats. They became the reserve command post, ready to order a counterstrike in the event that London was destroyed in a nuclear attack.
I live right next to Woodford Bae where the Nimrod was made and destroyed and I used to have them doing low flybys over my house growing up around them and watching new ones fly out was an amazing experience its such a shame that the Government thought otherwise
Ah yes, the Nimrod in much happier times. Oh yes, the RAF Changi Association has a model of a Nimrod in memory of RAF Changi there because an RAF Nimrod did visit Changi in Singapore (late 60s I believe). Glad the Mighty Hunter got to visit the tiny island nation here.
The equipaments shown may be surprising for young people. But few years ago, there were no led displays, cel phones, mouses, digital life, but only analogic. The cameras had film inside, not a chip. The records were made in tapes. No GPS or small computers with many gigabytes and processor.
NATO had to remind the UK Gov that they had a requirement to patrol the north Atlantic.. we now use a Herc...... with a dinghy in the back. We need to remember when this film was made we had over 90,000 people RAF alone. Just because an aircraft is old does not mean it's obsolete new is not always best.
Skip to now,and we had to go 'cap in hand' to NATO allies when we knew a Russian Sub was active off Scotland!The U.K. An ISLAND nation had no Maritime patrol/ Anti Sub assets,we were defenceless! Well done M.O.D. Millions lost on useless project and Overspends and we are left with the ghost of an Air Force,with the Russian Bear growling as loud as ever( Tu95's over Cornwall this week)!
Does anyone remember the RAFGSA Fulmar Gliding Club at Kinloss? I used to fly the K8 and the Pilatus B4 from Kinloss every weekend in the 1970´s. Append a reply if you remember gliding at Kinloss, I would like to hear from you.
MANY years ago, I met the crew of a P2V Neptune, they flew out of U.K., was at 24k, ran into a North Atlantic storm, the plane became inverted 3 times, they thought, surely die, but they got control of the plane, at 16hundred feet over the ocean, they said they REALLY needed a change of clothing., as you recall it was replaced by P 3 ORION.
So sad they didn't think it isn' t necessary to replace it. Maybe these days of renewed tension on the world stage will make decision makers in your government think twice and allow the Royal Air Force and Navy to reinstall this vital part of Europ's defence at sea... I know ; sattelites but those don't engage to destroy potential danger. Belgian Air Force also flies on "vapor"... Hopefully we see some swift action from politicians here too...
The RAF's been operating Poseidon MRA1's (P-8's) since 2020. Though personally, I always thought we should have bought into Japan's purpose built Kawasaki P-1, rather than the 737-based Boeing P-8
The MR2 fleet were responsible during the “Desert Shield” phase of “Desert Storm” for enforcing nearly 95% of the Arms Embargo, policing shipping passing through the Persian Gulf, Straits of Hormuz & Gulf of Oman. During Desert Storm these aircraft operated in a high air risk environment for such a relatively large patrol aircraft operating at low to medium level. The MR2 was extremely successful in “Assisted Kills” whereby Iraqi naval ships were detected, identified, reported on & subsequently on the receiving end of Coalition aircraft being vectored to attack the Iraqi naval vessels. One crew, from 42 (Torpedo Bomber) Squadron achieved the highest “Assisted Kills” - 8 in total. This crew flew “Battlestar 42” as shown in the book “Thunder & Lightning” and were very lucky to escape an Iraqi Mig pursuit NB On a subsequent night, same area a US SF C130 was shot down. This RAF St Mawgan crew were awarded in around March 1991 the Arthur Barratt Memorial Trophy for their “Aviation Professionalism in Peace & War”. A truly effective ISTAR aircraft over land or sea with well trained crews able to adapt as required - from hunting subs, tracking warships, policing drugs or piracy, overland ISTAR for “Green Army” or SF or “bog standard” Direct Support to a Naval Task Group - and of course SAROPs.
Great plane but it really should have been filled by a longer range turboprop. Much like the U S P3 Orion. Always there is an adversary’s sub. The Russians loved to annoy the west. Though we did the same or just got behind them and followed them. I don’t know but I still think this goes on.
The Nimrod had about double the range of the P3 Orion, which also translated into much longer loiter times on station. The Nimrods size let it carry a huge amount of fuel, whilst carrying more weapons and being able to get where it needed to go in less than half the time. The main advantage of the Orion, or similar turboprop, was that it would be much cheaper to operate, as well as some better low speed handling qualities.
@@BrySkyeActually it did not have double the range. The P-3 had a ferry range of 4,800 nautical miles and the Nimrod had a range of 4,500 to 5,000 nautical miles. The P-3 had a combat range of 1,345 nautical miles with 3 hours on station. The P-3 could also stay on station longer. The British were the only ones to use the Nimrod where the P-3 was used by about 20 different countries. I was at a Nimrod base in SW England in the mid 1970s and us P-3 guys and Nimrod guys talked about things like this in a pub over a beer.
The Comet 4C actually. The first two prototypes were actually modified from the final two Comet 4C's being built. But the modifications are incredibly extensive, so its fair to call it a separate aircraft.
@@wrongtrack6095 The Hawker Siddeley is often wrongly identified as a Comet, which is incorrect. The HS 801 is a completely new aircraft designed decades later by a different company, there are no major parts or assemblies shared in common. The Nimrod is a completely new aircraft design.
I served for many years in the British Merchant Navy, many of those years, way back when, sailing the Northern, North Atlantic between the UK and Canada. On numerous occasions, over a thousand miles from the nearest land, we would be subjected to a ghostly flypast of a RAF Nimrod, appearing like magic, just above the wave tops. They would give us a gentle wave of wing, then, opening up, soar up into the blue yonder. It always left us with a feeling of great warmth, knowing, should we get in difficulties, far from land in those inhospitable ocean climes, those RAF maritime crews would be on call to offer a helping hand - and, as proven on many occasions, mariners of many flags in such difficulties, had reason to thank their maker for the superb qualities of the Nimrod and its dedicated crews'. Alas, common sense and humanitarian needs, play little part in political decisions. I live 2 miles from BAe Warton near Preston in Lancashire. I have seen many of Britain's aviation success stories flying in the skies over my house, sadly, some, after much research and development, consigned to the scrap yard, their only crime ( the aircraft), to be subjected to an irrational decision, and, the stroke of a politician's pen. An act that would be considered treasonable if called by you, or I - the Great British public. The tragic tale of the TSR2 and the Nimrod, to name but a few, comes to mind.
Thanks, Bob. I have heard of that tragic tale. I shall, indeed, give it a look up - though it's certainly not a tale for those with a soft heart, easy to upset. Kindest regards, Bill.
Eh, national pride is a double edged sword. It tends to do more harm than good when a population is manipulated into a strong sense of patriotism, just to mask domestic problems. It's kind of sad when you look through history and see just how often, and how easily, this is achieved.
You can be proud without being blinded.
It's actually nice to see when national pride is set aside for the right goals or products.
The USMC wanted the Harrier because it suited their needs better than anything else.
Congress didn't want to buy a foreign aircraft.
The Marines won out. I'd say setting aside national pride for that was a good call.
You also won't hear me complaining that the deeply flawed Nimrod AEW3 was cancelled and we just bought a significantly upgraded E-3 instead.
It only sucks when political dealings are used to kill one project in favour of another, inferior one.
Be that cancelling a good domestic project for a cheaper foreign one OR cancelling a foreign order for an inferior home-grown alternative.
Man, it's a good thing the P-8 Poseidon isn't a modified 737 or something.
...
Oh.
@@BrySkye + Times change, P-8 is a world leader, glad HM Gov have come to their senses and bought it.
I was in Toronto visiting friends when the accident happened. I didn't see it but my flight was parked close to the Nimrod on arrival at Pearson. A terrible loss.
I was highly privileged to be a guest on an RAF Nimrod flight op when I was a 15 year-old Air Cadet (1855 Sqn.). Much older now!). St.Mawgan, Cornwall up to Scotland and the North Sea, a full day. Russian intel-gathering observations, fake fishing boats, Russian aircraft - the lot!. Even flew over the Cornish China clay pits on the return leg, while Star Wars was being filmed there! Truly one of the highlights of my life. Thank you so much, R + crew. 👍🏼 I did eventually get to complete my PPL, by the way - still flying; and hope you got my thank-you letter! PS - contrary to vicious rumours - the rations were awesome!
Phillip that's awesome man! Thanx.
Likewise. As an Air Cadet in 128 Squadron I flew on a mission from RAF Kinloss in late 70s. Got to drop sonobuoys while hunting Russian subs. I also loved the rations - guess it depends on what you're used to. Also got to sit in the pilot's seat for a while as we cruised over the Atlantic - an experience one could never buy.
Trip down memory lane. I flew on duty on Nimrod twice whilst based at St Mawgan. I used to be based in SCAF and procured parts for the aircraft when they were serviced. Spent 4 years there, 1977-1981
i was in the us navy for a time and i was stationed at nas jacksonville. we had nimrods coming over alot to train with the us navy. i can say the RAF crews were some of the best sub hunters and aviators that are out there. it was a real pleasure to get to serve with the brave men and women with the RAF.
DEEREMEYER1 You have to remember Britan is a small island nation. Therefore we can use the coastal based aircraft for patrolling the waters that surround us. BTW personnel of different nations do serve with other countries forces, that's the whole idea of NATO. By the way you comment it would seem that you have never served in any branch of any military.
Don't worry about him, Shannmeister. He just occasionally likes to troll these videos every so often. A special blend of arrogance and ignorance.
NAS Jax was probably my favourite detachment (toss up with Homestead) - US MPA crews were always very professional, but to be honest MPA crews throughout NATO usually got on very well with each other - especially if beer was involved.
I was based at Kinloss from 1988 until 1997. I worked on NLS South and the NMSU amongst other roles. I loved my time working and living up there and met some fantastic people. Per Ardua 🇬🇧
Sadly, i saw a Nimrod crash in Toronto Ontario Canada in 1994, it was at a air show at the Canadian National Exhibition. The airplane was doing its second demonstration and the plane was doing a evasive maneuver where it flies level then it dips down towards the water then it pulls back and flies up towards the sky at a sharp angle and shoots a flare in the opposite direction. However the plane didn’t have enough speed to continue to climb and it just fell out of the sky and landed in the water. It was incredible how fast the emergency response was with every helicopter plane and ship searching that area for survivors. They searched for hours in vain. Sadly they lost 7 crew members. I’ll never forget how sad people were that day.
I was stationed at Kinloss in the 80s. Enjoyed a couple of flights on Fishops patrols. Gutted when they were grounded. Excellent aircraft flown by superb crews.
Despite my name I live in Missouri...now you chaps were huge leaders and innovators in aviation, some over here (few) do know that, if it hadn't been bad luck with the Comet ( square windows ) the Boeing 707, which was at the right place at the right time, wouldn't have had such a huge lead, plus your pols and our pols were/ are nincompoop! I will always luv you guys/ gals!
It's great that you see that 👍 unfortunately our governments stopped investing in its own people and sold everything we were to Boeing and Airbus
The Comet Disaster was not bad luck... it was the worst engineering disaster in commercial aviation history and was the direct result of engineering incompetence and criminal negligence.
The Boeing 707 was the world's first successful, airworthy jet airliner and this pioneering design completely revolutionized air travel and the aviation industry.
all modern jet airliners are based on the 707..
I have been out of the Mob since 03 and had forgotten what the good old days of the RAF were like, then this pops up and I remember, it was the days when we had an RAF, with capabilities to do most tasks ourselves, not relying on foreign airforces or aircraft manufacturers, and remember why I left after 24 wonderful years.
Yeah, for RAF read USAF, same training same Kit.
After Britain's defeat in WW2 its aircraft industry was doomed... today it no longer exists
With the scrapping of the Nimrod fleet we have lost a valuable capability...................thanks very much Mr Cameron!
They were coming to the end of their useful airframe time
@@shooter591 The fact remained, that Cameron never bothered to think of a replacement. In general, that guy cut a lot of the services near enough to the bone, but still expected our forces to do a sterling job with what little they had left.
@@shooter591He cancelled the MR4, which would have had a full airframe and systems life.
@@dannycochrane4330 The MRA4 was an unmitigated disaster... the y cost twice as much as brand new aircraft with better capabilities and were not even airworthy... BAE Systems made a proper bodge job of it and was just fleecing the government..
@@KnowYoutheDukeofArgyll1841 Britain's aircraft industry was doomed after the country's defeat in WW2, by the time Nimrod was built things had already gone from terrible to complete collapse..
A marvellous and beautiful aircraft that paid the price for being innovative which finished it as an airliner but its more than salvaged its reputation by its record as a Nimrod. My best friends father was very much involved with the design and testing of the electronics systems, he worked for Plessey, I don't know exactly what instruments he was involved with but his son and I got lots of 12v relays and diodes from scrapped test pieces that we used on our model railway control system. Happy memories thanks for this upload.
The De Havilland Comet was an unmitigated disaster, a shameful and humiliating tragedy that could have been easily prevented if d-H had simply followed well know and understood industry standards in all metal pressurized aircraft.
The Hawker Siddeley HS.801 is not a Comet, it is a completely new aircraft designed by a different company decades later, they share no major parts or assemblies in common..
Love Nimrods - nice video. Also, great B roll showing inside the bunkers at Northwood and Pitreavie Castle.... very rare footage indeed. Notice how many blue shirts there are in Pitreavie. Not long after this film was made in 1970, they would change to white shirts - Navy staff responsible for the Polaris boats. They became the reserve command post, ready to order a counterstrike in the event that London was destroyed in a nuclear attack.
I can't believe after 35 years or so I watch this and can instantly recognise 'Moose' waving the marshalling bats on the line....... happy days!
there's few things I miss in my life, working on NLS at Kinloss is one thing I do miss
Me too. Were you there when we split into the farcical north and south line?
I live right next to Woodford Bae where the Nimrod was made and destroyed and I used to have them doing low flybys over my house growing up around them and watching new ones fly out was an amazing experience its such a shame that the Government thought otherwise
Ah yes, the Nimrod in much happier times. Oh yes, the RAF Changi Association has a model of a Nimrod in memory of RAF Changi there because an RAF Nimrod did visit Changi in Singapore (late 60s I believe). Glad the Mighty Hunter got to visit the tiny island nation here.
Thanks for uploading, first aircraft I ever flew in :-)
I wish i could have flown in one. What a great plane.
The equipaments shown may be surprising for young people. But few years ago, there were no led displays, cel phones, mouses, digital life, but only analogic. The cameras had film inside, not a chip. The records were made in tapes. No GPS or small computers with many gigabytes and processor.
Ah, the nostalgia!
NATO had to remind the UK Gov that they had a requirement to patrol the north Atlantic.. we now use a Herc...... with a dinghy in the back. We need to remember when this film was made we had over 90,000 people RAF alone. Just because an aircraft is old does not mean it's obsolete new is not always best.
Skip to now,and we had to go 'cap in hand' to NATO allies when we knew a Russian Sub was active off Scotland!The U.K. An ISLAND nation had no Maritime patrol/ Anti Sub assets,we were defenceless! Well done M.O.D. Millions lost on useless project and Overspends and we are left with the ghost of an Air Force,with the Russian Bear growling as loud as ever( Tu95's over Cornwall this week)!
grassfuse At least we can still send foreign aid.
To countries that have space programs.
+Al Gilmore. Even Russia has received UK aid. What tf is that all about? We'll be sending it to the US next.
@@tjp353 Lol!!!
I've only seen this jet in action in AC5.
War is Not blood ands guts for the British..
It's a never ending chess game ♟️
Does anyone remember the RAFGSA Fulmar Gliding Club at Kinloss? I used to fly the K8 and the Pilatus B4 from Kinloss every weekend in the 1970´s. Append a reply if you remember gliding at Kinloss, I would like to hear from you.
Hi,
I was there 1980, for 5 years. Like you, every weekend up early on Sat until last light on Sun. Great times! Bill Macgregor
Every time I watch this I can't help thinking that this is directed at the officers, also the AEO comes across as a right knob.
MANY years ago, I met the crew of a P2V Neptune, they flew out of U.K., was at 24k, ran into a North Atlantic storm, the plane became inverted 3 times, they thought, surely die, but they got control of the plane, at 16hundred feet over the ocean, they said they REALLY needed a change of clothing., as you recall it was replaced by P 3 ORION.
13:08 and 14:13 Its kind of patronising when a fresh, baby faced, 18 year old Officer is giving out advice on other peoples personal problems.
So sad they didn't think it isn' t necessary to replace it. Maybe these days of renewed tension on the world stage will make decision makers in your government think twice and allow the Royal Air Force and Navy to reinstall this vital part of Europ's defence at sea... I know ; sattelites but those don't engage to destroy potential danger.
Belgian Air Force also flies on "vapor"... Hopefully we see some swift action from politicians here too...
The RAF's been operating Poseidon MRA1's (P-8's) since 2020. Though personally, I always thought we should have bought into Japan's purpose built Kawasaki P-1, rather than the 737-based Boeing P-8
The MR2 fleet were responsible during the “Desert Shield” phase of “Desert Storm” for enforcing nearly 95% of the Arms Embargo, policing shipping passing through the Persian Gulf, Straits of Hormuz & Gulf of Oman. During Desert Storm these aircraft operated in a high air risk environment for such a relatively large patrol aircraft operating at low to medium level.
The MR2 was extremely successful in “Assisted Kills” whereby Iraqi naval ships were detected, identified, reported on & subsequently on the receiving end of Coalition aircraft being vectored to attack the Iraqi naval vessels.
One crew, from 42 (Torpedo Bomber) Squadron achieved the highest “Assisted Kills” - 8 in total. This crew flew “Battlestar 42” as shown in the book “Thunder & Lightning” and were very lucky to escape an Iraqi Mig pursuit NB On a subsequent night, same area a US SF C130 was shot down. This RAF St Mawgan crew were awarded in around March 1991 the Arthur Barratt Memorial Trophy for their “Aviation Professionalism in Peace & War”.
A truly effective ISTAR aircraft over land or sea with well trained crews able to adapt as required - from hunting subs, tracking warships, policing drugs or piracy, overland ISTAR for “Green Army” or SF or “bog standard” Direct Support to a Naval Task Group - and of course SAROPs.
Passing port, now, now, now click!
Great plane but it really should have been filled by a longer range turboprop. Much like the U S P3 Orion. Always there is an adversary’s sub. The Russians loved to annoy the west. Though we did the same or just got behind them and followed them. I don’t know but I still think this goes on.
The Nimrod had about double the range of the P3 Orion, which also translated into much longer loiter times on station. The Nimrods size let it carry a huge amount of fuel, whilst carrying more weapons and being able to get where it needed to go in less than half the time.
The main advantage of the Orion, or similar turboprop, was that it would be much cheaper to operate, as well as some better low speed handling qualities.
@@BrySkyeActually it did not have double the range. The P-3 had a ferry range of 4,800 nautical miles and the Nimrod had a range of 4,500 to 5,000 nautical miles. The P-3 had a combat range of 1,345 nautical miles with 3 hours on station. The P-3 could also stay on station longer. The British were the only ones to use the Nimrod where the P-3 was used by about 20 different countries. I was at a Nimrod base in SW England in the mid 1970s and us P-3 guys and Nimrod guys talked about things like this in a pub over a beer.
still no cup holders for coffee cups!
Nimrod crew positions had cup holders for the paper cups supplied with in flight rations, just to cheer you up.
B Williams, Tea old boy Tea.
Was this aircraft a modified Comet III, ? looks kinda like one
The Comet 4C actually. The first two prototypes were actually modified from the final two Comet 4C's being built.
But the modifications are incredibly extensive, so its fair to call it a separate aircraft.
Thanks, I love the Comet, It's really a beautiful aircraft wish I could have see one flying.
@@wrongtrack6095 The Hawker Siddeley is often wrongly identified as a Comet, which is incorrect. The HS 801 is a completely new aircraft designed decades later by a different company, there are no major parts or assemblies shared in common.
The Nimrod is a completely new aircraft design.
Pip Pip Cheerio
Bob’s your Uncle
It was going to be called Orion, but Ford got there first.
Haircuts!
Yeah, I noticed that too being an old soldier !
Jesus Christ the ghost of yoke peter flies again.
The Hawker Siddeley HS.801 is not related to the Comet... its a completely new aircraft design developed decades later by a different company..
Looks like the Nimrod was based off of an old airliner.
+Gahlok12 It was based off the Comet.
TheNiceJackass That is what I was thinking of thank you for that.
The Nimrod is completely unrelated to the Comet.
I wonder usa kick british after get technology in 60s