霍克薛利“猎迷”反潜巡逻机

{{Infobox aircraft
|name=霍克薛利“猎迷”反潜巡逻机
|image=British Aerospace Nimrod MR.2, United Kingdom - Royal Air Force (RAF) JP506967.jpg
| image_size = 300px
|caption=猎迷 MR2
|type=反潜机, 电子情报侦察机, 空中预警机
|manufacturer=（也譯作霍克·西德利公司）
英国宇航系统
|designer=
|first flight=1967年5月23日
|introduced=1969年10月2日
|retired=2011年6月28日最后的型号研制（此机作为其衍生型且耗费了大量工程，将引擎替换为涡轮扇发动机劳斯莱斯BR700系列使其燃油效率与航程翻倍，由于发动机体积过大，甚至重建了整个机翼，尤其是将引擎进气口改为圆形，将其并且将飞行甲板转换为数字玻璃驾驶舱将简化控制操作，并减少机组人员的要求。）由于严重预算透支、尚有700多飞安问题无钱彻底解决，最终于2010年强行销毁所有试验样机。

1970年代，英国皇家空军还以“猎迷”为基础研制了海上侦察机、电子情报侦察机（其中使用了三架用作訊號情報（ELINT），原本產量有4架，其中一架在事故中毀損）、空中预警机（即预警机）。但也是由于大量飞安问题无经费解决，全部于1986年終止，並改為引進7架E-3空中預警機取代。所有“猎迷”均于2011年6月退役。

研发
in July 1981]]

MR1
On 4 June 1964, the British Government issued Air Staff Requirement 381, which sought a replacement for the aging Avro Shackleton maritime patrol aircraft of the Royal Air Force (RAF). Such a replacement had been necessitated by the rapidly-approaching fatigue life limitations accumulated across the Shackleton fleet. A great deal of interest in the requirement was received from both British and foreign manufacturers, offered aircraft including the Lockheed P-3 Orion, the Breguet Atlantic and derivatives of the Hawker Siddeley Trident, BAC One-Eleven, Vickers VC10 and de Havilland Comet. On 2 February 1965, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson announced the intention to order Hawker Siddeley's maritime patrol version of the Comet, the HS.801.{{refn|Following evaluation testing by the RAF, the Vickers VC10 had been identified as highly suitable for the task; however an initial version of Comet-based Nimrod could be in service within five years, a more capable Nimrod equipped with the envisioned avionics would follow. The first example (XV230) entered service in October 1969.

R1
Three Nimrod aircraft were adapted for the signals intelligence role, replacing the Comet C2s and Canberras of No. 51 Squadron in May 1974. The R1 was visually distinguished from the MR2 by the lack of a MAD boom. It was fitted with an array of rotating dish aerials in the aircraft's bomb bay, with further dish aerials in the tailcone and at the front of the wing-mounted fuel tanks. It had a flight crew of four (two pilots, a flight engineer and one navigator) and up to 25 crew operating the SIGINT equipment.

Only since the end of the Cold War has the role of the aircraft been officially acknowledged; they were once described as "radar calibration aircraft". The R1s have not suffered the same rate of fatigue and corrosion as the MR2s. One R1 was lost in a flying accident since the type's introduction; this occurred in May 1995 during a flight test after major servicing, at RAF Kinloss. To replace this aircraft an MR2 was selected for conversion to R1 standard, and entered service in December 1996.

The Nimrod R1 was based initially at RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire, and later at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, England, and flown by 51 Sqn. The two remaining Nimrod R1s were originally planned to be retired at the end of March 2011, but operational requirements forced the RAF to deploy one to RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus on 16 March in support of Operation Ellamy. The last flight of the type was on 28 June 2011 from RAF Waddington, in the presence of the Chief of the Air Staff, ACM Sir Stephen Dalton. XV 249, the former MR2, is now on display at the RAF Museum Cosford, West Midlands. The R1 was replaced by three Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft, acquired under the Airseeker project; the first aircraft was delivered in late 2013.

MR2
Starting in 1975, 35 aircraft were upgraded to MR2 standard, being re-delivered from August 1979. The upgrade included extensive modernisation of the aircraft's electronic suite. Changes included the replacement of the obsolete ASV Mk 21 radar used by the Shackleton and Nimrod MR1 with the new EMI Searchwater radar, a new acoustic processor (GEC-Marconi AQS-901) capable of handling more modern sonobouys, a new mission data recorder (Hanbush) and a new Electronic Support Measures (Yellow Gate) which included new pods on the wingtips.

Provision for in-flight refuelling was introduced during the Falklands War (as the MR2P), as well as hardpoints to allow the Nimrod to carry the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile to counter enemy Argentine Air Force maritime surveillance aircraft. In preparation for operations in the Gulf War theatre, several MR2s were fitted with new communications and ECM equipment to deal with anticipated threats; at the time these modified aircraft were given the designation MR2P(GM) (Gulf Mod). The last official flight of a Nimrod MR2 took place on 26 May 2010, with XV229 flying from RAF Kinloss to Kent International Airport to be used as an evacuation training airframe at the nearby MOD Defence Fire Training and Development Centre.

AEW3
]]

In the mid-1970s a modified Nimrod was proposed for the Airborne Early Warning (AEW) mission – again as a replacement for the Lancaster-derived, piston-engined Shackleton AEW.2. Eleven existing Nimrod airframes were to be converted by British Aerospace at the former Avro plant at Woodford to house the GEC Marconi radars in a bulbous nose and tail. The Nimrod AEW3 project was plagued by cost over-runs and problems with the GEC 4080M computer used. Eventually, the MoD recognised that the cost of developing the radar system to achieve the required level of performance was prohibitive and the probability of success very uncertain, and in December 1986 the project was cancelled. The RAF eventually received seven Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft instead. The MRA4 was cancelled in 2010 as a result of the Strategic Defence and Security Review at which point it was £789 million over-budget and nine years late; the development airframes were also scrapped. Some functions were dispersed to other assets, with Hercules transport aircraft and Sentry Airborne Early Warning aircraft given some tasks, but the cancellation of the MRA4 resulted in a significant gap in long-range maritime patrol and search-and rescue capability.

In July 2016, the Ministry of Defence announced the purchase of nine Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft for the RAF, restoring a dedicated long-range maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft (MPRA) capability for the United Kingdom. These aircraft will arrive in the 2019/2020 time frame and will be based at RAF Lossiemouth.

设计
概述
The Nimrod was the first jet-powered maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) to enter service, being powered by the Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engine. Aircraft in this role had been commonly propelled by piston or turboprop powerplants instead to maximise fuel economy and enable maximum patrol time on station; advantages of the Nimrod's turbofan engines included greater speed and altitude capabilities, it was also more capable of evading detection methods by submarines, whereas propeller-driven aircraft are more detectable underwater to standard acoustic sensors. Inflight, the Nimrods had a flight endurance of ten hours without aerial refuelling; the MR2s were later fitted to receive mid-air refuelling in response to demands in the Falklands War. Similarly, the two hydraulic systems on board were designed to be powered by the two inner engines that would always be running. A significant proportion of the onboard sensor equipment was housed outside the pressure shell inside the Nimrod's distinctive pannier lower fuselage. The Nimrod and its detection capabilities was an important component of Britain's military defence during the height of the Cold War.

The Nimrod's navigational functions were computerised, and were managed from a central tactical compartment housed in the forward cabin; various aircraft functions such as weapons control and information from sensors such as the large forward doppler radar were displayed and controlled at the tactical station. The flight systems and autopilot could be directly controlled by navigator's stations in the tactical compartment, giving the navigator nearly complete aircraft control.

Upon its introduction to service, the Nimrod was hailed as possessing advanced electronic equipment such as onboard digital computers; the increased capability of these electronic systems allowed the RAF's fleet of 46 Nimrod aircraft to provide equal coverage to that of the larger fleet of retiring Avro Shackletons. After a mission, gathered information could be extracted for review purposes and for further analysis.

装备与设备
The Nimrod featured a sizeable bomb bay in which, in addition to armaments such as torpedoes and missiles, could be housed a wide variety of specialist equipment for many purposes, such as up to 150 sonobuoys for ASW purposes or multiple air-deployed dinghies and droppable survival packs such as Lindholme Gear for SAR missions; additional fuel tanks and cargo could also be carried in the bomb bay during ferrying flights.

Various new ECMs and electronic support systems were retrofitted onto the Nimrod fleet in response to new challenges and to increase the type's defensive capabilities; additional equipment also provided more effective means of identification and communication. A number of modifications were introduced during the 1991 Gulf War; a small number of MR2s were fitted with improved Link 11 datalinks, new defensive ECM equipment including the first operational use of a towed radar decoy, and a forward looking infrared turret under the starboard wing. The majority of the Nimrod fleet operated from RAF Kinloss.

Operationally, each active Nimrod would form a single piece of a complex submarine detection and monitoring mission. An emphasis on real-time intelligence sharing was paramount to these operations; upon detecting a submarine, Nimrod aircrews would inform Royal Navy frigates and other NATO-aligned vessels to pursuit in an effort to continuously monitor Soviet submarines. The safeguarding of the Royal Navy's Resolution-class ballistic missile submarines, which were the launch platform for Britain's nuclear deterrent, was viewed as being of the utmost priority.

福克兰群岛战争（马岛战争）
Nimrods were first deployed to Wideawake airfield on Ascension Island on 5 April 1982, the type at first being used to fly local patrols around Ascension to guard against potential Argentine attacks, and to escort the British Task Force as it sailed south towards the Falklands, with Nimrods also being used to provide search and rescue as well as communications relay support of the Operation Black Buck bombing raids by Avro Vulcans. As the Task Force neared what would become the combat theatre and the threat from Argentine submarines rose, the more capable Nimrod MR2s took on operations initially performed by older Nimrod MR1s. Aviation author Chris Chant has claimed that the Nimrod R1 also conducted electronic intelligence missions operating from Punta Arenas in neutral Chile.

The addition of air-to-air refuelling probes allowed operations to be carried out in the vicinity of the Falklands, while the aircraft's armament was supplemented by the addition of 1,000 lb (450 kg) general purpose bombs, BL755 cluster bombs and AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. The use of air-to-air refuelling allowed extremely long reconnaissance missions to be mounted, one example being a 19-hour 15-minute patrol conducted on 15 May 1982, which passed within 60 miles (97 km) of the Argentine coast to confirm that Argentine surface vessels were not at sea. Another long-range flight was carried out by an MR2 on the night of 20/21 May, covering a total of 8,453 miles (13,609 km), the longest distance flight carried out during the Falklands War. In all, Nimrods flew 111 missions from Ascension in support of British operations during the Falklands War.

海湾战争
A detachment of three Nimrod MR2s was deployed to Seeb in Oman in August 1990 as a result of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, carrying out patrols over the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf. Due to the level of threats present in the Gulf theatre, operational Nimrods were quickly retrofitted with a Marconi-towed active decoy. Once hostilities commenced, the Nimrod detachment, by now increased to five aircraft, concentrated on night patrols, with daylight patrols carried out by US Navy Lockheed P-3 Orions. Nimrods were used to guide Westland Lynx helicopters and Grumman A-6 Intruder attack aircraft against Iraqi patrol vessels, being credited with assisting in sinking or damaging 16 Iraqi vessels.

After the ground offensive against Iraqi forces had ended, Britain elected to maintain an RAF presence in the region through assets such as the Nimrod and other aircraft. Nimrod R1s operated from August 1990 to March 1991 from Cyprus, providing almost continuous flying operations from the start of the ground offensive. Each R1 was retrofitted with the same Marconi towed active decoy as well as under wing chaff/flare dispensers, reportedly sourced from the Tornado fleet.

阿富汗战争与伊拉克战争
Nimrods were again deployed to the Middle East as part of the British contribution to the US-led invasion of Afghanistan; missions in this theatre involved the Nimrods performing lengthy overland flights for intelligence-gathering purposes. On 2 September 2006, 12 RAF personnel were killed when a Nimrod MR2 was destroyed in a midair explosion following an onboard fire over Afghanistan, it was the single greatest loss of British life since the Falklands War. The outbreak of the Iraq War in March 2003 saw the RAF's Nimrods being used for operations over Iraq, using the aircraft's sensors to detect hostile forces and to direct attacks by friendly coalition forces.

搜索与营救
While the Nimrod MR1/MR2 was in service, one aircraft from each of the squadrons on rotation was available for search and rescue operations at one-hour standby. The standby aircraft carried two sets of Lindholme Gear in the weapons bay. Usually one other Nimrod airborne on a training mission would also carry a set of Lindholme Gear. As well as using the aircraft sensors to find aircraft or ships in trouble, it was used to find survivors in the water, with a capability to search areas of up to . The main role would normally be to act as on-scene rescue coordinator to control ships, fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters in the search area.

The Nimrod was most often featured in the media in relation to its search-and-rescue role, such as in the reporting of major rescue incidents. In August 1979, several Nimrods were involved in locating yachting competitors during the disaster-stricken 1979 Fastnet race and coordinated with helicopters in searches for survivors from lost vessels. In March 1980, the Alexander L. Kielland, a Norwegian semi-submersible drilling rig, capsized whilst working in the Ekofisk oil field killing 123 people; six different Nimrods searched for survivors and took turns to provide rescue co-ordination, involving the control of 80 surface ships and 20 British and Norwegian helicopters. In an example of the search capabilities, in September 1977 when an attempted crossing of the North Atlantic in a Zodiac inflatable dinghy went wrong, a Nimrod found the collapsed dinghy and directed a ship to it. The whole area was routinely patrolled; in addition to surveillance, the aircraft would communicate with all oil and gas platforms. In 1978, an airborne Nimrod arrested an illegal fishing vessel in the Western Approaches and made the vessel proceed to Milford Haven for further investigation. During the Icelandic Cod Wars of 1972 and 1975–1976, the Nimrod fleet closely cooperated with Royal Navy surface vessels to protect British civilian fishing ships.

型号
用户
;
*Royal Air Force
**42 Squadron – 1971–2010, converted to the MR.1 from the Shackleton MR.3 at RAF St Mawgan, England in 1971, converted to the MR.2 1983–84, withdrawn as an operational squadron in 1992 it became the Operational Conversion Unit for the Nimrod at RAF Kinloss. The squadron MR.2 aircraft were withdrawn in 2010 and the squadron prepared to train crews for the MRA.4, following the decision to scrap the MRA.4 the squadron disbanded in 2011.
**51 Squadron – 1971–2011, R.1s added to fleet in 1971 at RAF Wyton, England to supplement the Comet C.2(R) which were withdrawn in 1975. Moved to RAF Waddington in 1995, the R.1s were the last flying Nimrods when they were withdrawn in 2011.
**120 Squadron – 1970–2010, converted to MR.1 from the Shackleton MR.3 at RAF Kinloss, Scotland in 1970, converted to the MR.2 1981–82, disbanded in 2010 following the withdrawal of the MR.2 from service.
**201 Squadron – 1970–2010, converted to MR.1 from the Shackleton MR.3 at RAF Kinloss, Scotland in 1970, converted to the MR.2 1982–83, disbanded in 2010 following the withdrawal of the MR.2 from service.
**203 Squadron – 1971–77, converted to MR.1 from the Shackleton MR.3 at RAF Luqa, Malta in 1971, disbanded in 1977 following the decision to withdraw British forces from Malta.
**206 Squadron – 1971–2005, converted to MR.1 from the Shackleton MR.3 at RAF Kinloss, Scotland in 1970, converted to MR.2 1980–81, disbanded in 2005.
**Nimrod AEW Joint Trials Unit – 1984–1987, trials unit for the AEW.3 based at RAF Waddington.
**236 OCU – 1970–1992, formed from the Maritime Operational; Training Unit at RAF St Mawgan, England in 1970 with the MR.1, used the shadow designation of 38 (Reserve) Squadron, training role transferred to 42 (Reserve) Squadron in 1992

事故
Five Nimrods were lost in accidents during the type's service with the RAF:

*On 17 November 1980, a Nimrod MR2 XV256 crashed near RAF Kinloss after three engines failed following multiple birdstrikes. Both pilots were killed but the remaining crew survived.
*On 3 June 1984, a Nimrod MR2 XV257 stationed at RAF St Mawgan suffered extensive damage when a reconnaissance flare ignited in the bomb bay during flight. The aircraft successfully returned to base but was subsequently written-off due to fire damage. There were no casualties.
*On 16 May 1995, a Nimrod R1 XW666 ditched in the Moray Firth from Lossiemouth after an engine caught fire during a post-servicing test flight from RAF Kinloss. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) inquiry identified a number of technical issues as the cause. There were no casualties.
*On 2 September 1995, a Nimrod MR2 XV239 crashed into Lake Ontario while participating in the Canadian International Air Show, killing the seven crew members.
*On 2 September 2006, a Nimrod MR2 XV230 crashed near Kandahar in Afghanistan, killing all 14 servicemen on board – the largest loss of UK military personnel in a single event since the Falklands War. This was the first Nimrod to enter service, originally as an MR1 but upgraded to MR2 standard in the 1980s. On 23 February 2007, the Ministry of Defence grounded all Nimrod MR2s while fuel pumps were inspected, but stressed that the inspection was not necessarily related to this crash.

• On 5 November 2007, XV235 was involved in a midair incident over Afghanistan when the crew noticed a fuel leak during air-to-air refuelling. After transmitting a mayday call, the crew landed the aircraft successfully. The incident came only a month before the issue of the report of a Board of Enquiry into 2 September 2006 fatal accident to XV230 in (likely) similar circumstances. The RAF subsequently suspended air-to-air refuelling operations for this type.

技术规格
事故和事件
在英國皇家空軍服役期間，共有 5 架「獵迷」因事故損失：
*1980年11月17日，一架獵迷MR2XV256飛機機在金洛斯皇家空軍基地附近墜毀，原因是多次遭遇鳥擊，導致三個引擎失效。兩名飛行員全部罹難，但其餘機組人員倖存。
*1984年6月3日，駐紮在英國皇家空軍聖莫甘基地的一架獵迷MR2XV257飛機在飛行過程中因炸彈艙內偵察照明彈爆炸而嚴重受損。該飛機成功返回基地，但隨後因火災損壞而報廢。但所倖無人傷亡。

• - 1995年5月16日，一架獵迷R1XW666型飛機在金洛斯皇家空軍基地進行維修後試飛時，發動機起火，導致飛機在距洛西茅斯4.5英里（7.2公里）的馬裡灣迫降。國防部調查發現，事故原因為一系列技術問題。但所倖無人傷亡。
• - 1995年9月2日，一架獵迷MR2XV239在參加加拿大國際航空展時墜入安大略湖，機上七名機組人員全數罹難，原因為飛行員失誤。
• - 2006年9月2日，一架獵迷MR2XV230在阿富汗坎大哈附近墜毀，機上14名軍人全部遇難，這是自馬島戰爭以來英國軍人在單次事故中損失最慘重的一次。這是第一架投入使用的獵迷，最初是MR1，但在20世紀80年代升級為MR2標準。2007年2月23日，國防部停飛所有獵迷MR2，同時檢查燃油泵，但強調此次檢查與這起墜機事故沒有必然聯繫。

*2007年11月5日，XV235在阿富汗上空發生空中事故，機組人員在空中加油時發現燃油外洩。機組人員發出求救訊號後，成功將飛機降落。這起事故發生前一個月，調查委員會發布了關於2006年9月2日XV230發生致命事故的報告，這可能與XV230的情況類似。英國皇家空軍隨後暫停了該機型的空中加油作業。

展出的飛機
;MR2
*XV226 –
*XV231 – 曼徹斯特機場航空觀景公園
*XV232 –
*XV244 – 摩拉維亞
*XV250 –
*XV255 –
;R1
*XV249 –
*XW664 –

参见
参考文献
注释
引用
书目

• Brown, David. The Royal Navy and the Falklands War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987. .
• Burden, Rodney A., Michael A. Draper, Douglas A. Rough, Colin A. Smith and David Wilton. Falklands: The Air War. Twickenham, UK: British Air Review Group, 1996. .
• Chant, Chris. Air War in the Falklands 1982. Osprey Publishing, 2001. .
• Chartres, John. BAe Nimrod (Modern Combat Aircraft 24). Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan, 1986. .
• Donald, David and Jon Lake. Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing, Single Volume Edition, 1996. .
• "A Face-Lift For The Nimrod". Air International, Volume 21, No 1, July 1981, pp. 7–16. ISSN 0306-5634.
• Fricker, John. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%200999.html?search=nimrod MR2 "Nimrod: ASW Specialist."] Flight International, 27 April 1972. pp. 593–594.
• Friedman, Norman. World Naval Weapons Systems, 1997–98. Naval Institute Press, 1997. .
• [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmdfence/110/110.pdf Future Maritime Surveillance: Fifth Report of Session 2012–13: Volume I, Report together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence] . House of Commons Defence Committee. London: HMSO, 5 September 2012.
• Haddon-Cave, Charles. [https://books.google.com/books?id=3ddbUjc_RvgC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false The Nimrod Review: An Independent Review into the Broader Issues Surrounding the Loss of the RAF Nimrod MR2 Aircraft XV230 in Afghanistan in 2006.] London: The Stationery Office, 2009. .
• Jefford, C.G (ed.). [http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/Research/RAF-Historical-Society-Journals/Journal-33-Seminar-Maritime-Operations.pdf "Seminar – Maritime Operations."] Royal Air Force Historical Society, 2005. ISSN 1361-4231.
• Lake, Jon. "Nimrod R.1: The RAF's SIGINT Platform Extraordinaire". Air International, Vol. 61, No. 1, July 2001, pp. 29–35. ISSN 0306-5634.
• Lake, Jon. "New Roles for the Mighty Hunter". Air International, Vol. 69, No. 3, September 2005, pp. 52–56. ISSN 0306-5634.
• Neal, Molly. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1970/1970%20-%200147.html "Nimrod: Systematic Sub Hunter"] . Flight International, Vol. 97, No. 3176, 22 January 1970, pp. 119–128.
• Rininger, Tyson V. Red Flag: Air Combat for the 21st Century. Zenith Imprint, 2006. .
• Wilson, Stewart. Combat Aircraft since 1945. London: Aerospace Publications, 2000. .

外部链接
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121214094519/http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/nimrodmr2.cfm Royal Air Force: Nimrod MR2]
*[http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/nimrod-was-actually-a-good-hunter-upgrading-britains-fleet-updated-02442/ Nimrod Was Actually a Fine Hunter: Britain’s MRA4 Program – Defense Industry Daily]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081201142908/http://www.dehavilland.ukf.net/_Nimrod%20prodn%20list.txt Nimrod production and conversion list]