Panavia Tornado F3, ZE982 / AS122, Royal Air Force
This picture is © Martin Laycock and may not be used or published without permission.
Registration: ZE982
Construction Number: AS122
Code Number: DM
Military Unit: 11 Squadron
Model Panavia Tornado F3
Operator: Royal Air Force
Airport: RAF Mildenhall (MHZ / EGUN), UK - England
Airshow: Mildenhall - Air Fete - 1992
Photographer: Martin Laycock
Date Taken: 23/05/1992
Date Submitted: 25/05/2010
Photographed from the press enclosure just after completing her display at Air Fete 92. This F3 made her first flight on the 1st June 1990 and was delivered to the RAF on the 28th August. She was a veteran of Operation Granby (codename for British military operations during the Gulf War in 1991) being one of eighteen F3s deployed to Dhahran in Saudia Arabia. This F3 was involved in a fatal crash on the 2nd July 2009 during a training sortie from RAF Leuchars while allocated to 43 Squadron. The aim of the sortie was to conduct medium and low level intercepts with an E3D Sentry AWACS aircraft. Using callsign 'Blacksmith 1', ZE982 was the lead aircraft in a two-ship of F3s, the aircraft crashed on the northern slope of Glen Kinglas in Scotland tragically killing both crew members.
Picture ID:1233353