Panavia Tornado GR.1 – ZA585, 617 Sqn. Dambusters, RAF (With JP233 Munition pods)

Hobbymaster 1/72 scale HA6719: Panavia Tornado GR.1 ZA585 of 617 Dambusters Sqn, RAF. This is a UK exclusive model with JP 233 airfield denial pods on the underside.

Length 9.25 inches Wingspan 7.75 inches

Tornado ZA585 completed its first flight on December 17, 1981 and delivered to the RAF 8 days later. The aircraft spent the next 3 years at RAF Cosford as a ground instruction airframe. In June 1984 ZA585 was transferred to 27 Squadron, RAF Markham wearing 05 on the tail. Between January 30, 1998 and September 1998 the aircraft was sent to BAe at Warton for conversion to a GR.4. ZA585 was transferred to the 617 Dambusters at Marham on September 16, 1988. The aircraft retired in 2018 to be used for ground instruction.

The Panavia Tornado was a joint effort between the UK, West Germany and Italy to produce a two-seat, dual-engine aircraft with variable-sweep wings. The Tornado took its maiden flight on August 14, 1974 with the first aircraft being delivered to the German Air Force on July 27, 1979. There are three main variants of the Tornado, the IDS (interdictor/strike), ECR (electronic combat/reconnaissance) and ADV (air defence variant) interceptor. By the end of production in 1998 there had been 992 aircraft of all versions built of which 745 were IDS variants.