Final bow as Nimrod flies in to Yorkshire - VIDEO

The Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington is now thought to be the only venue with a "live" example of the iconic aircraft after Nimrod MR2 XV250 made its final flight from RAF Kinloss in Scotland.

The aircraft touched down at Elvington Airfield and will now stand as a permanent tribute at the neighbouring museum to the Armed Forces personnel who were killed when Nimrod XV230 crashed near Kandahar on September 2, 2006.

The Yorkshire Air Museum's director, Ian Reed, said: "We have been working closely with our colleagues in the RAF for over a year on this project.

"The Yorkshire Air Museum is probably the only major museum in Europe capable of operating large jets of this type and in this way.

"It is also very appropriate that, as the Allied Air Forces Memorial, we are able to make a significant contribution to the memory of those servicemen in Afghanistan and Iraq who have lost their lives and those who daily risk their lives in the service of our country."

Named after the "mighty hunter" in the Book of Genesis, the Nimrod fleet has been used during the last 30 years and has supported overseas operations in conflicts including the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Nimrod MR2 has been described as the world's largest fighter, with the capability to carry Sidewinder air to air missiles. The aircraft's "submarine hunting" role has developed into strategic military intelligence gathering, utilising state-of-the-art equipment.

Nimrod was developed from the De Havilland Comet, itself a revolutionary design which was the world's first jet airliner. Much of the development work for the Nimrod programme was undertaken at BAE Systems at Brough in East Yorkshire.

XV250 will now take part in the Yorkshire Air Museum's regular Thunder Days events alongside the huge Victor V-Bomber and Blackburn Buccaneer Strike aircraft. The Buccaneer was also developed at Brough.