(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 Scotland, ending the storied units’ tenure as Panavia Tornado GR4 operators. To mark No. 12′s finale, Tornado ZA395 received a specially painted tail fin, and is pictured here during its last flight through the ‘Mach Loop‘ in Wales en route from Lossiemouth to the RTP crews at Leeming in Yorkshire, where the aircraft, with all reusable parts removed, will be dumped on the scrapheap for recycling.
While some jets from the disbanded units remain in service with the last operational Tornado squadrons, ZA395 was already a high-hours airframe by the time No. 12 disbanded, and thus its days were numbered. Not long after receiving the commemorative tail treatment, 395, which first flew in October 1982, was struck of charge. And with 12 Squadron disbanded a week or two prior, the aircraft is operated here by XV Squadron, the Tornado GR4 training unit, during its final flight. RTP!
Keep reading – Beautifully Restored ‘Dambusters’ Squadron Tornado GR1 ZA399
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