12/31/2007. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "This aircraft was originally built as a de Havilland DH.106 Comet Series 4, it was first flown on August 6, 1959 and delivered to BOAC on August 15, 1959. It had been leased to Kuwait Airways and Air Ceylon before it was sold to the Ministry of Supply on February 24, 1969. It had been used for test and research flight by the RAE at Bedford, before it was converted to a development aircraft for the Nimrod AEW.Mk.3 version.
The conversion was initiated by Hawker Siddeley at Woodford, Wiltshire, England. Hawker Siddeley became British Aerospace in April 1977, after the merger with British Aircraft Corporation and Scottish Aviation. Fitted with the Marconi radar in the nose the aircraft was first flown at Woodford, on June 28, 1977. Difficulties with the radar system eventually resulted in the Nimrod AEW.Mk.3 being cancelled in December 1986. The pictured aircraft was scrapped in April 1994."