Hawker Siddeley Nimrod - Survivors

MR.2 XV226 is handed over at Bruntingthorpe, 27th April 2010; Damien Burke

The Nimrod MR.2s that were still flying at retirement have, so far, survived relatively well. A number of airframes were disposed of to preservation and flown into museum sites, which got rid of the major stumbling block of road transport costs.

Sadly the abortive AEW.3 and MRA.4 variants fared less well - with only a single AEW.3 cockpit and assorted components in preservation, and similar for the MRA.4. Every single airframe of these two cancelled projects was scrapped. eBay was awash with brand new MRA.4 seats etc. for some months after the cancellation!

The military versions of the Comet airliner, while not qualifying to be included in this list, have also fared poorly - a scattering of nose sections exist, but there are no complete ex-RAF examples actually still in RAF colours. Both Cosford and East Fortune exhibit ex-RAF Comets that have been repainted into civilian schemes. Bruntingthorpe is home to Comet 4C XS235, an ex-Royal Aircraft Establishment aircraft which regularly taxied on the runway there until 2019.

This list is, as ever, a work in progress and updates are welcome via the comments form on each entry.