Hawker Siddeley Nimrod - Photos & Video

Hawker Siddeley Nimrod
Country	UK
Role	Maritime patrol, ELINT, AEW
First flight	23 May 1967
Built	49+2

The Hawker Siddeley Nimrod was a maritime patrol aircraft developed and operated by the United Kingdom. It was an extensive modification of the de Havilland Comet, the world’s first operational jet airliner. It was originally designed by de Havilland’s successor firm, Hawker Siddeley; further development and maintenance work was undertaken by Hawker Siddeley’s own successor companies, British Aerospace and BAE Systems, respectively.

Source: Hawker Siddeley Nimrod on Wikipedia

Nimrod MR2
Photographer	Vladimir Yakubov
Localisation	Farnborough
Photos	27

Nimrod MR2 01

Nimrod MR2 02

Nimrod MR2 03

Nimrod MR2 04

Nimrod MR2 05

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Nimrod MR2 07

Nimrod MR2 08

Nimrod MR2 09

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The Comet’s Warrior Descendant

The Nimrod MR2 was the backbone of the Royal Air Force’s maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability for over 30 years. Derived from the de Havilland Comet—the world’s first jet airliner—the Nimrod swapped passengers for an array of sophisticated sensors and a cavernous internal weapons bay. During the Cold War, it patrolled the North Atlantic, tracking Soviet submarines with clinical precision, and later proved its versatility in search and rescue and electronic intelligence roles.

Attribute	Technical Specification (Nimrod MR2)
Role	Maritime Patrol & Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)
Crew	12-13 (2 Pilots, 1 Flight Engineer, 2 Navigators, 7-8 Sensor Ops)
First Flight (MR1)	May 23, 1967
Powerplant	4 × Rolls-Royce RB.168-20 Spey turbofans
Thrust	12,140 lbf (54 kN) per engine
Maximum Speed	575 mph (925 km/h)
Operational Range	5,000 to 6,000 miles (unrefueled)
Armament	2 × Sidewinder AAMs; Torpedoes (Mk 46/Stingray), Depth Charges, Harpoon missiles

Acoustic Mastery and “The Double Bubble”

The “Double Bubble” Fuselage: To accommodate a massive 48-foot internal weapons bay without weakening the original Comet structure, engineers added a second “hull” underneath the main fuselage. This gave the Nimrod its distinctive teardrop-shaped cross-section.
Acoustic Processor Upgrade: The transition from MR1 to MR2 in the late 70s introduced the AQS-901 acoustic system. This allowed the Nimrod to process data from 150 sonobuoys simultaneously, making it arguably the most capable submarine hunter of its era.
MAD Boom (The Tail Stinger): Extending from the tail is the Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) boom. It detects the minute disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by a large steel submarine hull deep underwater.
Engine Versatility: For long-endurance loitering over a search area, the Nimrod could shut down two of its four Spey engines to conserve fuel, extending its time “on station” significantly.

Falklands and the “Finest Hour”

The Longest Missions: During the 1982 Falklands War, Nimrods were rapidly fitted with air-to-air refueling probes. They flew record-breaking 19-hour missions from Ascension Island to the South Atlantic to provide surveillance for the British Task Force.
Search and Rescue (SAR): The Nimrod was often the first on the scene of maritime disasters (like the Piper Alpha oil rig fire), acting as an on-scene commander due to its extensive communication suite and ability to drop life rafts.
The MRA4 Tragedy: The planned successor, the MRA4, was canceled in 2010 after massive cost overruns and delays. This left the UK without a dedicated maritime patrol aircraft until the arrival of the American P-8 Poseidon years later.
Preservation: Several MR2s are preserved in the UK, most notably at the City of Norwich Aviation Museum and Yorkshire Air Museum, where some are still maintained in “ground-runnable” condition.