XV231

XV231 was built as a Nimrod MR.1 and delivered to RAF St Mawgan on 29 October 1969. It joined 203 Squadron, based at Luqa in Malta from the early 1970s. A former crew member recalls a spell at Akrotiri and Sigonella after UK forces were ordered off Malta, before the squadron returned.

After British forces left Malta in 1979 the aircraft was queued for conversion to MR.2 standard. It then served with 42 Squadron at St Mawgan and later at RAF Kinloss. The museum credits it with operations over the Falklands, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Its final flight was from Kinloss to Manchester Airport on 21 April 2010. It was among the first aircraft airborne when the Icelandic ash-cloud flight ban lifted. On a remote stand it was drained of fuel, brake and hydraulic fluids, and sensitive equipment was removed.

Around 25 people towed it 2,200 yards to the visitor park overnight in late May 2010. It was placed opposite Concorde and beside the Trident. A period of neglect followed. Under new park management, volunteers restored the external lights and hydraulics; by February 2024 the flaps, bomb-bay doors and flight controls worked, and the galley was back in use.

Parked opposite the Concorde hangar at the Runway Visitor Park. Volunteers demonstrate its flaps, bomb-bay doors and lights on event days; interior tours run on selected dates only.