Hawker Siddeley HS.801 Nimrod Outstanding in the Role (November 2026)

Outside of the Spitfire, the Nimrod was without doubt the RAF aircraft most familiar to the general public thanks to its role in maritime rescue co-ordination. But this was not the Nimrod’s primary role.

As the first jet-powered dedicated anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft, Nimrod was the result of several failed attempts to develop a replacement for the Avro Shackleton. On entering service Nimrod gave the RAF an exceptional ASW capability that, especially in its MR2 variant, was a quantum leap ahead of anything in the NATO order of battle.

The Nimrod MR1s entered service in 1969. Based in Moray, Cornwall and Malta, they could transit at high speed and altitude to a distant patrol area before descending to deploy their sensors to seek out submarines. The Nimrod MR1 had been a compromise on many levels and the intention had always been to upgrade the original specification. This arrived in the form of the Nimrod MR2 in 1982 which incorporated new radars, acoustic suite and weapons. Use of the MR2s in the South Atlantic led to operations in most of the conflict areas Britain’s armed forces found themselves including the Balkans, Persian Gulf and over the mountains of Afghanistan.

This book examines the operation and development of the Nimrod – the RAF’s mighty hunter – across four decades, recognised as one of the finest maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) ever developed. Illustrated throughout with photos and artworks, it includes potted histories of each Nimrod and its ultimate fate, details of the survivors and where they can be seen today.