The de Havilland Nimrod is a maritime patrol aircraft developed by the British Empire. It is an extensive modification of the de Havilland Comet, the world's first operational jet airliner.
Designed in response to a requirement issued by the Royal Air Force (RAF) Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) to replace its fleet of ageing Avro Shackletons and the Canadair CP-107 Argus of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
The De-Havilland Comet was chosen over the larger and preferred Vickers VC-7 and the Bristol 200, Hawker Siddeley Trident and Vickers VC.10.
Its first flight was on the 23rd of April 1964 and entered service on the 2nd of October 1966, the Hawker-Siddeley Nimrod R.1 entered service on 21st of October 1966.
The Nimrod MR.1/MR.2s were primarily fixed-wing aerial platforms for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations; secondary roles included maritime surveillance and anti-surface warfare. The original models were replaced by the Nimrod MRA.4 in 2010.
In addition to the three Maritime Reconnaissance variants, two further Nimrod types were developed: the Nimrod R1, an electronic intelligence gathering (ELINT) variant, and the Nimrod AEW.3, a dedicated airborne early warning platform.
