Clik here to view.
Scrapping a Panavia Tornado – Luftwaffe Style
(All images (unless stated) by Jerry Gunner (website: Air Forces Monthly), cc-4.0) As the UK Tornado GR4 force winds down pending the eventual arrival of the F-35, the German air force is also...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tornado ‘Fleet Leader’ ZA547 to Leeming for Scrap
(Image: Ben Montgomery Aviation Photography, reproduced with permission) In January we reported that Panavia Tornado ZA547 had notched up 7,500 flying hours, making it the ‘fleet leader’ with more...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ZA399: Gulf War Veteran Tornado GR1 Preserved in Knutsford, Cheshire
(All images by mjjlive, reproduced with permission) One of the few surviving Panavia Tornado GR1 strike aircraft not to be reduced to produce (stripped for parts then scrapped), the beautifully...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Final Flight of Tornado ZA395 – Heading for Scrap
(Image: Tom Dean (website: uknature.com), reproduced with permission) In March 2014 the RAF’s No. 12 (Bomber) Squadron and No. 617 Squadron (The Dambusters) officially disbanded at RAF Lossiemouth in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Early Tornado GR1 Jets Meet Their End at St Athan
(All images (unless stated) by Chris Corkish, Tornado-Data.com, reproduced with permission) To date, we’ve covered the RAF’s incremental wind-down of its Panavia Tornado GR4 bomber force in various...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Preserving ‘Raspberry Ripple’ Tornado ZA326 at Bruntingthorpe
(Image: Tornado ZA326, reproduced with permission) Despite numerous special paint schemes across the fleet over the years, ZA326 is certainly the most colourful Panavia Tornado GR1 ever to fly. And...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Midland Air Museum’s ZA452 is Looking More Like a Tornado Again
(Image: Roland Turner (website: The Modeller’s Blog), cc-sa-4.0) Yesterday we featured the preservation of ZA326 – the last airworthy Tornado GR1 in the world when it retired in 2005. Today we thought...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Britain’s Ageing Tornado Bombers Return to Iraq
(Image: screenshot via Telegraph Video) Britain’s RAF Tornado force may be winding down, but the venerable warplane is once again back in action over the Middle East. Its numbers have dwindled...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tornado F2 ZA267: Rare Surviving Prototype of the RAF’s Air Defence Variant
(Image: Andy Purbrick via Fighter Control) The Panavia Tornado F2, the interim version of the Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV), was plagued with problems when it entered RAF service in the 1980s....
View ArticleClik here to view.
ZE934: Visit One of the RAF’s Last Surviving Tornado F3 Interceptors
(Image: Dutch Simba) In the world of post-war military fighter jets, the Tornado F3 is remembered as one of the less remarkable aircraft operated by the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force. Never...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Tarnish 21’:Tornado GR4A ZA373 Makes Final Flight Through the Mach Loop
(All images courtesy of Howard Sinclair) With the F-35’s introduction into RAF and Royal Navy service still several years away, ever more Panavia Tornado strike aircraft are being retired as the fleet...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reassembling ex-TTTE Tornado GR1 ZA361 at New York, Lincolnshire
(Image: Phantom OCU; Tornado GR1 ZA361 at New York, Lincolnshire) In addition to its role as a front-line Eurofighter Typhoon base and home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, RAF Coningsby...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Dramatic Final Takeoff of Panavia Tornado ZA365 at RAF Lossiemouth
(Image: Martyn Wraight; Panavia Tornado ZA365 blasts off from Lossiemouth for the last time) Tornado ZA365 isn’t a recent RTP, but we wanted to showcase these superb photographs by Martyn Wraight,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Patchwork Paint Scheme Makes Tornado ZD749 the RAF’s Most Untidy GR4
(Image: Nick Collins; Tornado ZD749, with its patchwork paint job, passes through the Mach Loop) As more and more airframes are withdrawn from service and cannibalised for spare parts to keep the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tornado GR4 Prototype XZ631 in Stunning New Paint Scheme at Elvington
(Image: Steve Tron; pre-production Panavia Tornado XZ631 after refurbishment at Elvington) By the second half of last year, the Yorkshire Air Museum’s Panavia Tornado GR4 was beginning to look rather...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Derelict Tornado GR1 Carcasses (ZA322, ZA361 & ZA375) on Marham Dump
(Image: Andy Purbrick; derelict Tornado airframes ZA322 (left) and ZA375) Until fairly recently, it was normal for a visit to an RAF airfield to include a pilgrimage along the fence line to a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Multi-Role Combat Aircraft: Panavia Tornado Prototypes & Pre-Production...
(Image: Shaun Connor; Panavia Tornado prototype XX947 (P.03) getting airborne with a full weapons load) After the controversial cancellation of the mighty TSR-2 in the 1960s, and the shelving of a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gulf Wars: 8 Abandoned Military Air Bases of Iraq
(Image: Pedmore; revisiting the abandoned airfields of Iraq) For quarter of a century under the brutal dictator Saddam Hussein, Iraq became a hotbed of military activity that saw the establishing of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
GR4 Scrapped: Mortal Remains of Panavia Tornado ZD844
(Image: Jonathan Irwin Photography; the gutted hulk of Tornado ZD844 in a scrap yard prior to recycling) Over the past year or so Urban Ghosts has documented the slow demise of the Panavia Tornado...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tornado ZA367 Undergoes Repairs at RAF Gibraltar in 2012
(© 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...
View Article