Fairey Gannet - Survivor XP226
AEW.3 XP226 - Newark Air Museum, Winthorpe, Nottinghamshire
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Gannet AEW.3 XP226 at Newark Air Museum, 25th April 2023; Damien Burke
Built and first flown in 1962, XP226 served with 849 NAS in whose colours she is presented - albeit now badly faded. Retired in 1978, she was put on display at HMS Dryad (at Southwick near Portsmouth) as a gate guard until 1982, when she was disposed of.
The Newark Air Museum acquired her, and she was transported to the museum's site in November 1982. She remained on external display until 2009, when a new hangar was completed, and she was moved indoors. By this time, her paint was suffering badly, with the topside extra dark sea grey fading to a turquoise sort of colour. It was hoped that moving indoors would be followed by a repaint to keep her looking better.
Unfortunately, she was soon moved back outdoors, battling the elements once again, and has remained outside ever since. Newark do have an active rolling repaint programme, and by early 2023 that had reached XP226 - she is currently undergoing a basic cosmetic restoration that is seeing the topside EDSG being repainted, with a fuller repaint to follow.
The Newark Air Museum acquired her, and she was transported to the museum's site in November 1982. She remained on external display until 2009, when a new hangar was completed, and she was moved indoors. By this time, her paint was suffering badly, with the topside extra dark sea grey fading to a turquoise sort of colour. It was hoped that moving indoors would be followed by a repaint to keep her looking better.
Unfortunately, she was soon moved back outdoors, battling the elements once again, and has remained outside ever since. Newark do have an active rolling repaint programme, and by early 2023 that had reached XP226 - she is currently undergoing a basic cosmetic restoration that is seeing the topside EDSG being repainted, with a fuller repaint to follow.
Information on this page current as of 15/05/2023, last updated by Damien |
Find other photos of XP226 on the following sites:
Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net