(Image: Martin Henderson; Tornado GR1 ZA409 in September 1988)
Urban Ghosts is sorry to report that two grounded Panavia Tornado GR1 airframes, which were previously understood to be in storage at RAF Lossiemouth, have been scrapped. The aircraft, ZA409 and ZA474, were scrapped at a yard in Stirling, Scotland, in April 2005.
According to a Freedom of Information request, the Tornados were disposed of to the DSA’s then-specialist scrap contractor, John Graham (Metals) Ltd, and were presumably broken up soon after. However, it’s likely that any useful parts were removed from the airframes before recycling, leaving only gaunt, empty hulks (similar to those below).
Tornado ZA409 was a twin stick trainer version of the formidable Panavia strike jet, which first flew in February 1983 and was delivered to the RAF two months later.
ZA474, meanwhile, was converted to GR1B standard in the early 1990s, replacing the venerable Blackburn Buccaneer in the maritime attack role until the short-lived Tornado GR1B variant was withdrawn from use.
(Image: via Tornado-Data.com; scenes from St Athan: another Tornado GR1B (ZA471) was little more than a carcass bearing the markings of No. 617 Sqn when scrapped. Alongside is former Tornado Weapons Conversion Unit machine ZA590)
ZA474 was delivered to the RAF in January 1984, having made her maiden flight late the previous years. The aircraft was retired at RAF Lossiemouth in 2002 and issued the maintenance serial 9312M. The strike jet had been earmarked for preservation at the Moray air base, but was towed into storage when another grounded GR1B – Gulf War veteran ZA475 – took up gate guardian duties instead.
It’s uncertain whether the airframes were used for ground training or simply mothballed in the back of a hangar during their down time at Lossiemouth. But by April 2005, Tornado ZA474 and GR1T ZA409 had been disposed of as scrap metal, making their final journey to Stirling on the back of a lorry.
(Images: Bing Maps; Google Maps; J Graham Metals, where Panavia Tornado GR1s ZA409 & ZA474 are understood to have been scrapped)
Related – Derelict Tornado GR1 Carcasses (ZA322, ZA361 & ZA375) on Marham Dump
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