I served at Marham from the late 80's to early 90's....these along with the Victor & Canberra Sqns will always be in my memory. Fantastic aircraft, all of them
@Hammer 001 it's hard to know with this and other governments I think the next problem is China we are very under prepared so hard ware like these should be kept
@Hammer 001 Forget about China and Russia folks, it may be the European wide force we have to start to worry about. Although thinking about it, us Brexiting ( If it bloody happens) is what will hopefully scupper that. Not a bad idea to be moving back towards the USA. Don't forget, Rump' won't be around after a maximum of 6 more years , and we have a lot of history with more noble Americans. Maybe Mueller will get him much sooner than that anyway.
For the first 8 years of my life, the Tornado was an important part of it, as My dad was an engineer and ground grew for the Tornado in the RAF, I was born in Elgin Moray Scotland 1996, not far from RAF Lossiemouth, then moved to Bruggen in 1998, spent the last 3 years of Bruggen's life as an RAF station, before closing in 2001 and relocated to RAF Marham where I again spend 3 years having to constantly listen to roar of its 2 engines and loving every minute of it!! Really sad the Tornado is no longer flying in the Royal AIr Force.😥
Tornado i Salute you.... ever since i was a kid ive been in love with you, IMO you are as famous to the RAF as the mighty Spitfire. you have served this country beyond your expectations and i will miss the Goose bumps i get everytime i see you, if you were a car you would be the Ferrari F40....The best out there without all the technical Bollocks. very sad to see you go.
It was one of the most technologically advanced aircraft in the world when it entered service mate ? It is still a highly sophisticated aircraft today.
We lost the F3s in Leuchars. They used our cottage as a marker apparently and we had some fantastic low fly-past. We even had a bit of a free air display one day while doing the garden. All gone now and we really missed them.
What a wondrful story,we used to do the annual trip to Leuchars to see all the girls! All three of my children did ear defenders from birth to adulthood,haha,both my daughters bought homes near airfields,- I guess they mssed the noise😬
I've lived under the Marham circuit for the past decade and remember them launching against Libya in March 2011 - I used to stand in the garden listening to them leave and hoping they all got back safely. Going to miss these noisy beasts.
There are 3 types of aircraft that I was always happy to see when I was in the service. 1 the B1 , 2, the A10 and 3 the GR1 tornado. these are 3 don't fuck with us aircraft. I am glad are on our side
growing up in the 90's this was my idol. I remember the model shop where I lived (beaties sheffield) had a GR4 with all it's attributes glued on, man I converted that model. I got to sit in one at a airshow when I was 10.. probably one of the best days of my life.
This brings back memories. The rubble in the foreground was the site of the Avon engine test bed. We had a bit of a fuel spill while testing and Harry Staish turned up for a cheeky visit just as we'd finished mopping up. I was trying to stall him as long as possible and answering his questions about the 'water residue' as I knew the Sgt was about to come out of the control hut still wearing his cowboy hat and smoking his cuban. It worked as I did hear a shout of "holy sh!t" above the jet noise. We also had a game of finding how high and how long we could hover a soccer ball in the upward directed gas stream of the detuner exhaust. Much clapping and thumbs up were given by the crew of Tonkas taxiing past! Good times
That's an unexpected bit of nostalgia. I set up the Pilots' Briefing Facility for 617 Sqn in Feb '83 when the Tornadoes first arrived. I was waiting to start my Victor OCU. Where did 36 years go?
Thank you for your service... It was always a pleasure coming to Base and seeing these jets of beauty.. My the next fleet be just as powerful and useful as these... God bless and fairwell...
Such an iconic and special aircraft, absolutely loved every second watching the fly from RAF Lossiemouth every year when we visit from Hampshire, we will miss you xxx
I remember them from desert storm can't believe it's been almost 30 years when I was there seems like yesterday.jaguar, f-111f ,f-117,f-4 wildweasle,f-14,ef-111, harrier,KC -135a,e,q, and more miss them all
Great sounding aircraft! I was working at RAF Marham when the first plane was delivered, I feel very old now! In the good old days they’d have returned, at 0 feet down the centre line of the runway, shoved it on its tail and hit full reheat until it climbed out of sight, I’m assuming we either can’t afford that sort of thing anymore or it’s frowned upon incase it upsets the locals!
My Dad used be on the mighty 9 1X(B) sqd was i was a kid and also 617 sqd. I absolutely loved living at Marham hearing the jets flying day and night. Also had the privilege of living in Germany as well and I do miss hearing the sounds of jets flying over Kings Lynn since they decommissioned the Tornado ( or as me and dad like to call it the screaming arrow of death!!) But some are still being used for training for the up and coming RAF lads and laddies of the future.
I'm 49 years old and I remember when she first went into service. I thought she looked magnificent. Compact and beefy with great lines! An instant favorite! Testors produced a 1/72 version of the Tornado that was the best quality piece I ever assembled. She had a great career! She was hard nosed and bad ass. Her crews flew her to the limit in Desert storm! The toughest job went to the best fighter/bomber. I will miss her. You lads across the pond did a wonderful job with this one.
What an amazing jet, carries lot of munitions and been involved all around the world for many many years...Shall be sadly missed. You served us well. Salute Tornado! R.I.P
These beautiful old girls need to be retired to a suitable home better yet just put them into a territorial reserve instead of wasting their potential for emergencies !
One of the best fighters ever shame to see them retire I hope they do a farewell Flypast across whole of South West England, great video to mate also subbed you
@@54356776 I never met a pilot of one who'd call the GR4 a fighter. Not even the Tornado ADV was a fighter. It was a 'shoot from a distance on radar and run away ASAP ' aircraft as it couldn't dogfight and had a poor ceiling as well. It had a good radar though in the F3.
Am so going to miss these Panavia 200 Anglo/German/Italian beauties. Can remember seeing the first concepts in Flight Magazine many years ago. The saying If it looks right, it is right it applies here.
Great footage, fabulous aircraft. Proven in combat on multiple occasions. Loved her since I was a kid, and wanted to be a Tornado pilot - then found out I was colour blind. Still get that feeling in my stomach every time I see one. She will be missed greatly.
Also don't forget the good ole Hunter. Still like the Harrier thrust system better than the F-35. Two systems extra weight🤔🤔. I hope they haven't made a tactical mistake like in the 1950's. "Guns we don't need no stinking guns"😏. They believed in BVR at that time too. Kill before being spotted. The F-35 is more like the Tornado, TSR, F-105 and F-111 strike aircraft than a fighter☺️
@@1chish so am I but I can't be bothered to look up anymore, there just seems to be lots of noise and no excitement, it ain't like the good old days when planes would scream over fast and low.
I coincidentally just watched my 1995 RAF Leeming airshow on VHS last week and was amazed at just how agile the Tornado was tight turning around the perimeter of the airfield, not too far off an F16's capabilities in my view, considering its size. And then seeing it here, with the undercarriage resembling the glorious looking Jaguar, made me realise just how much I love the Tornado, just in time to really miss it - apparently.
Sad to see them go... I live near what was RAF At Athan and went to many open days as a lad cycling the 7 miles. I went in '68 and still have the 50th anniversary program. I'll never ever forget the Vulcan screaming down the runway at 200ft and climbing near vertical at the end. The roar from the flat-out 4 Olympus engines shaking my internal organs.... What a beautiful noise. The Gnats of the Red Arrows, Shackleton, Whirlwind's ...... All a memory now. My biggest regret in life? Not joining up to do avionics. RIP the G4.
I read an RAF article about these aircraft, they have recently been resprayed at Marham to commemorate the the different eras of the Tornado, there's a video on here possibly filmed on the same day of these aircraft flying through March Loop in Wales. An iconic aircraft, such a shame it will no longer grace our sky's after March.
Nope, they didn't go to the Loop on that day. Photo shoot session in the sky. They are banned from Low Lewes flight till retirement. This new camouflaged Tornado (first on the movie to showd up) was a debiut in the sky in new colour scheme that day.
Sad to see, but also tinged with pride as they are one of the many magnificent aircraft built in my home town. Canberra, Lightning, TSR2, Jaguar, Tornado, EAP, Typhoon...70years of service.
I was lucky enough to be in the RAF and stationed at Honington when we received the first Tonkas for TWCU followed by 9 squadron. We still had the bucks of 237 OCU and 208 squadron. I was a medic so didn’t get up to the airfield as often as I would have liked but loved it when I could. Such a shame that we won’t see them again. Why didn’t we keep a couple of them flying?
Im so going to miss this beauty😘enjoyed many fly passes at Leuchars air field in Scotland,you will have a special place in my heart alongside the legendary Typhoon❤️❤️❤️
Always sad to see airplanes retired. I hope one or two are preserved and possibly flown once in a while. As an American I would like to say, these tornado pilots are awesome. A lot of balls to see how low they fly.
Already missing them doing low level practice runs over RAF Tain or suddenly appearing at low level along the Cromarty Firth. It was the sound my kids grew up with. The new replacements are so high up that you barely hear them.
Another epic aircraft retires. Thank you for what you’ve done over the years. On another note ... Jesus they got some pics to edit 🥴🥴, little bit trigger happy there must have been a few hundred all the same as they travelled towards the camera 😖
I remember seeing the prototypes flying out of Manching, Germany back in 1978 while serving wit the Canadian NATO Forces in Lahr, West Germany, they would fly into Lahr every once in while.
I can only hope that some of them end up as museum pieces rather than being scrapped and left in an aircraft graveyard somewhere in the UK. living out its days slowly corroding in the Great British Outdoors.
The first GR4 came to Midland Air Museum (Coventry) long time ago. Those 18 left will be preserved for sure. A few in Cosford as instructional airframes, some in museums and maybe gate guards.
@@DickieDelouise one of your rich guys bought one of our Harriers when it came to the harriers turn to be put into retirement. I'm hoping the same thing happens at least for one GR4.
@@Rose.Of.Hizaki Art Nalls bought the Sea Harrier FA2. I met him a couple years ago and talked with him for a while. We discussed the Harrier and other things. He got her for relatively cheap. Including spares. I may be wrong, but I believe he has 3 Harriers now( FA2 and two(?) T. Mk.4(?))
Ive heard that a few will be retired to raf cosford alongside the jaguars already there for engineer training. They train by basicly taking the jets apart reassemble and perform system tests and taxi runs on the airfield. It's a shame to see the tonkas go but atleast they'll still be serving in a small way.
Canadian Bacon I get what you mean, but it was most likely Wharton, the final assembly was made there and there was a runway, there was no runway in Preston. The tornado has a glorious northern heritage
So sad when the Tonkas went.. didn't like them at first as used to the lightnings and Buccaneers but i learned to love them and do understand technology moves on in the typhoon.
Will miss seeing them flying low with their swipe wings n the amazing noise..good British aircraft..they did a good job in Desert Storm..Gov should keep them flying..they still have lots of potential ..
Are the RAF Tornadoes being replaced by F35Bs on a one to one basis or are we going to be left short just like the Royal Navy has when they sold off their entire Harrier fleet 5 years before the arrival of the first Navy F35Bs?
So we now have no double seater fast jets now! How can one man do the job of two in the typhoon as it's taken over from the tornado in ground atack!?? Help me out guys?
M E They were merely trainers, they were brought in as a physical trainer as an interim. They weren’t really needed they were bought in just in case, the majority of training now on the typhoon can be done on simulators as they are so good
Design of the age though? Fantastic, but looking old. I never had the feeling about the Harrier, but had it about the Lightning. Function v design though, impressive
The Panavia Tornado is an outstanding aircraft! It's a shame that they are retiring them. They should use them for demonstrations and other cool events.
The time has come to say goodbye to my personal favourite. Grew up watching g them in Lossiemouth and was extremely sad when they left there. It’s about time the old girl was put down though
