A RETIRED Cold War jet has been added to the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection (BDAC).

A Jaguar XX145 arrived at Old Sarum Airfield late last month, having come from RAF Cosford.

Boscombe Down Aviation Collection are always on the lookout for new exhibits – this particular aircraft is most relevant to the collection

The Jaguar XX145 first flew on May 1974 and was delivered to the RAF operational conversion unit squadron 226 in June 1974, and later was converted to a T.2A standard before being delivered to Boscombe Down in 1988.

The XX145 was used by the Empire Test Pilots School and retired from flying in 2006. It was then moved to RAF Cranwell for ground instructional use.

Ultimately arriving at RAF Cosford, the aircraft was put up for disposal. Working closely with RAF Heritage BDAC secured this historic aircraft for the collection.

It is within the agreement that it was BDAC’s responsibility to dismantle the aircraft and move by road to Old Sarum - a sizable task.

This required considerable planning. A team from BDAC journey to RAF Cosford and over a three-day period dismantled the aircraft ready for transport. BDAC’s business neighbour Guyatts, who are always on hand to help organised all the transport arrangements. The operation ran smoothly and the aircraft arrived at Old Sarum Airfield

The two-seat Jaguar XX145 arrived with BDAC at Old Sarum Airfield in late August 2023. Nearly 50 years since her first flight. Much of the last 17 years being outdoors.

BDAC is now fundraising to help fund the recovery and restoration of the jet.

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