A new Tornado GR4 Gate Guardian has been installed at RAF Lossiemouth honouring the memory of 4 aircrew involved in a mid-air collision over the Moray Firth in July 2012, three of whom sadly lost their lives. The names of all three personnel have been displayed on the on the airframe - tail number ZA463 - in a privilege usually reserved for the Station Commander.
A formal ceremony to unveil the new Gate Guardian will take place in July at an intimate ceremony with the families of those involved in attendance.
Gate Guardians are a static display of equipment, often a decommissioned aircraft previously based at the location, which are placed near to and forming a symbolic display of ‘guarding’ the main entrance to a military site. The previous RAF Lossiemouth Gate Guardian was also a Tornado aircraft - tail number ZA475 – but due to extensive signs of aging and corrosion the decision was made to source a replacement. This airframe has now been transported to RAF Spadeadam where it will play a role in electronic warfare target training.
In a complex engineering and preparation operation taking many months in the planning, the new Gate Guardian was manoeuvred from IX(B) Squadron, to its final position near the main gate.
Working closely with the RAF Heritage team and the Joint Aircraft Recovery and Transportation Squadron (JARTS) to complete this activity, Team Lossie also seized the opportunity to transport a second Tornado airframe to II(AC) Squadron where it will be worked on by volunteers before being installed outside the Squadron facilities.
