Hawker Siddeley Nimrod

The Hawker Siddeley Nimrod is a retired British maritime patrol aircraft, built as an extensive modification of the de Havilland Comet, the first operational jet airliner. Hawker Siddeley designed it to replace the Royal Air Force fleet of Avro Shackletons, and the Comet Avon turbojets gave way to Rolls-Royce Spey turbofans, which burned less fuel at the low altitudes patrol work needs. It was the first jet-powered maritime patrol aircraft in service. The MR1 and MR2 versions hunted submarines and watched surface shipping, and three R1 aircraft gathered electronic intelligence. A replacement, the Nimrod MRA4, was abandoned in 2010, and every Nimrod had left service by mid-2011.