Yorkshire Air Museum
Mirage IV plus Night Shoot, Elvington
February 23, 2023
|
| A brief photo-report of the Yorkshire Air Museum (YAM) Mirage IV night-shoot plus, restored Dragonfly, Mirage III, CT-133 Silver Star and re-painted Buccaneer. |
| Left to right: The night shoot exhibits; Mirage IIIE (538 '3-QH') and Mirage IVA (45 'BR') with CT-133 Silver Star (133417 '12417'), Buccaneer S.2 (XN974) and Dragonfly HR.5 (WH991). |
| Left to right: Dassault Mirage IVA (45 'BR') arrived at the museum on March 30, 2017, following more than twelve years of negotiations to get around Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty protocols in order to allow the 51-year-old nuclear bomber to transfer to Elvington’s Allied Air Forces Memorial, as a gift from the French government. Elvington had hosted two French units of Bomber Command, 346 ‘Guyenne’ and 347 ‘Tunisie’ Squadrons during World War Two. No.45 is the only Mirage IV exhibited outside France, it had previously been on display at the Citée des Sciences Museum in Paris. Of the 62 plus 4 prototypes built, less than 20 appear to have been preserved. |
| Left to right: Mirage IVA (45 'BR'). |
| Left to right: Mirage IVA (45 'BR'). |
| Left to right: Mirage IIIE (538 '3-QH'). Built 1968 it is preserved in the markings of EC.3/3 'Ardennes' at BA 133 Nancy – Ochey Air Base, Armée de l' Air. Arriving at the museum in 1993 it is the only Mirage III in the UK. |
| Left to right: Mirage IIIE (538 '3-QH'). |
| Left to right: Mirage IIIE (538 '3-QH'). |
| Left to right: Buccaneer S.2 (XN974) was the first production S.2 taking to the air for the first time in 1964. XN974 was initially used for trials at the Royal Aeronautical Establishment at Bedford, before sea trials on HMS Eagle and hot weather trials in the USA.Taken on charge by the museum in 1991. |
| Left to right: Buccaneer S.2 (XN974). |
| Left to right: Westland Dragonfly HR.5 (WH991). The first helicopter produced by Westland, the Dragonfly was built under licence from Sikorsky and used by the Royal Navy for Search and Rescue. WH991 first flew in 1953 as an HR.3 but converted to HR.5 standard in 1958. It operated on a number of ships including trials with Indian Navy aboard INS Vikrant. It was struck off charge in 1970. From 1976 it spent years with the Lincolnshire Aviation Museum at Tattershall Thorpe before ending up in a scrapyard by 1988. From 1994 it was acquired and restored by the Yorkshire Helicopter Preservation Group and donated to the Yorkshire Air Museum. WH991 is one of 15 Dragonfly survivors worldwide. |
| Left to right: Dragonfly HR.5 (WH991). |
| Left to right: Lockheed Canadair CT-133 Silver Star (133417 '12417'). |
