By Ben Dunnell
News
As the Newark Air Museum celebrated the 50th anniversary of its inaugural opening during mid-April, there came news that its restoration manager had signed off the start of work on Fairey Gannet AEW3 XP226.
This much-needed effort had been planned for 2022, but was delayed by the major repaint required on Vulcan B2 XM594. In recent weeks some surface preparation has been carried out on the Gannet, and with warming temperatures the first primer was applied to the fuselage spine.
The 1962-vintage aircraft served with 849 Naval Air Squadron in the airborne early warning role, and carries 849’s markings. XP226 was retired by the Royal Navy in 1978 and disposed of four years later.
