(© DM Parody (www.dotcom.gi/photos; Panavia Tornado ZA367 at RAF Gibraltar)
Tucked away in the back of a hangar at RAF Gibraltar, Panavia Tornado GR4 ZA367 was photographed undergoing repairs following a nose wheel malfunction. The strike jet, which still wears the distinctive markings and tail code (KC-N) of the famous 617 ‘Dambusters’ Squadron, was one of several 12 Squadron machines deployed from the UK to the Mediterranean base in April 2012, affording crews the experience of clear skies during a weekend training exercise.
The deployment would also be something of a swansong for ZA367, which was withdrawn from use and scrapped just three months later. Wearing the tail code 002, the aircraft was one of the oldest in the fleet, and the second production Tornado to go through the Mid-Life Upgrade programme to GR4 standard.
Tornado ZA367 first flew on July 29, 1982 and was delivered to the RAF the following September. Almost two decades later, the aircraft was flown to BAE Systems at Warton in February 2000 for conversion to GR4, returning to front-line service in November of that year. ZA367 soldiered on in the GR4 role for more than a decade, before retiring to RAF Leeming for RTP in July 2012. Once there, all reusable spare parts were removed and the jet’s empty shell recycled.
No. 12 (Bomber) Squadron RAF boasts an illustrious history, founded as a Royal Flying Corps unit in 1915 and earning a number of Victoria Crosses during World War Two. In 1993 the squadron equipped with the Panavia Tornado GR1 strike jet and continues in that role to this day, operating updated GR4 airframes.
(Images: Sergeant Ross Tilly; an armed Tornado GR4 taxis out at Kandahar Airport)
In June 2009, 12 Squadron deployed eight Tornado GR4s to Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan in support of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), providing close air support to NATO troops on the ground. The unit again saw action in Afghanistan during Operation Herrick in 2011, and the same year played a key role in Operation Ellamy, the UK’s contribution to the military intervention in Libya.
Having disbanded at Lossiemouth on March 31, 2014, the decorated bomber squadron reformed early the following year at RAF Marham in Suffolk, where it took over a batch of former 2 Squadron GR4s under Wing Commander Nikki Thomas, the first female officer to command an RAF fast jet squadron.
Related – GR4 Scrapped: Mortal Remains of Panavia Tornado ZD844
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