Manual Ref* NFnrNOR185 Show 2 images 594
Title*

RAF Jaguar Spirit of Coltishall
County Norfolk   District Council Norwich City Council 
Civil Parish or equivalent Norwich  Town/Village* Norwich 
Road Martineau Lane 
Precise Location Behind main entrance to County Hall and Norfolk Record Office 
OS Grid Ref TG237070  Postcode NR14 
Previous location(s) Outside RAF Bruggen North Rhine Westpalia 1977-2001 then RAF Coltishall 2001-2006 
Setting Outside building  Access Public 
Artist/Maker Role Qualifier
SEPECAT  Other   

Commissioned by

 RAF 

Design & Constrn period

 1970 

Date of installing

 Apr-07 

Exact date of unveiling

 22 June 2007 by Air Vice-Marshall Christopher Harper 

Category
Abstract Animal Architectural
Commercial Commemorative Composite
Free Functional Funerary
Heraldic Military Natural
Non-Commemorative Performance Portable
Religious Roadside, Wayside Sculptural
Temporary, Mobile Other  

Object Type
Building Clock Tower Architectural
Coat of Arms Cross Fountain
Landscape Marker Medallion
Mural Panel Readymade
Relief Shaft Sculpture
Statue Street Furniture War Memorial
Other Object Sub Type: Jaguar aircraft

Subject Type
Allegorical Mythological Pictorial
Figurative Non-figurative Portrait
Still-life Symbolic Other

Subject Sub Type
Bust Equestrian Full-length
Group Head Reclining
Seated Standing Torso
Part Material Dimension
Jaguar  Probably titanium  L. 18 metres W. 10 metres 
Support  Steel  H.2 metres 
Base  Brick  H. 90 cms. W & L. 4 metres 

Work is
Extant Not Sited Lost

Owner/Custodian

 Norfolk County Council 

Listing status
Grade I Grade II* Grade II Don't Know Not Listed

Surface Condition
Corrosion, Deterioration Accretions
Bird Guano Abrasions, cracks, splits
Biological growth Spalling, crumbling
Metallic staining Previous treatments
Other  
Detail:

Structural Condition
Armature exposed Broken or missing parts
Replaced parts Loose elements
Cracks, splits, breaks, holes Spalling, crumbling
Water collection Other
Detail: Disarmed

Vandalism
Graffiti Structural damage Surface Damage
Detail:

Overall condition
Good Fair Poor

Risk
No Known Risk At Risk Immediate
Signatures/Marks Spirit of Coltishall XW 563 
Inscriptions Coat of arms ROYAL AIRFORCE STATION COLTISHALL/ AGGRESSIVE IN DEFENCE The station motto the badge is a stone tower surmounted by a mailed fist grasping three arrows. Plaque : JAGUAR GR1/ This gate guardian stands as a permanent/ memorial to those members of the Jaguar/ Force who have lost their lives during the/ course of their duties./ JAGUAR GR1 XW563 WAS ONE OF EIGHT PROTOTYPE AIRCRFT/ DEVELOPED JOINTLY BY THE BRITISH AIRCRAFT CORPORTION AND/ BREGUET OF FRANCE. XW 563 MADE ITS MAIDEN FLIGHT FROM THE BAC FACTORY AT WARTON ON 12 JUNE 1970 AND WAS THE FIRST TO/ FLY WITH THE EUROPEAN DESIGNED DIGITAL INERTIAL NAVIGATION/ SYSTEM./ A TOTLA OF EIGHT FRONT-LINE RAF SQUADRONS AND AN/ OPERATIONAL CONVERSION UNIT WERE EQUIPPED WITH THE JGUAR./ FIVE OF THE SQUADRONS WERE BASED IN GERMANY AND FOUR IN/ THE UK. RAF COLTISHAL HAS BEEN THE UK HOME OF THE/ FRONT-LINE JAGUAR SQUADRONS SINCE 1974 AND WITH THE ARRIVAL/ OF NO16(RESERVE) SQUADRON FROM RAF LOSSIEMOUTH DURING JUNE/ 2000 BECAME THE ONLY RAF STATION TO OPERATE THE AIRCRAT./ XW563 WAS THE GATE GUARDIAN AT RAF BRUGGEN FROM OCTOBER/ 1985 TO AUGUST 2001. FOLLOWING BRUGGENS CLOSURE THE/ AIRCRAFT WAS MOVED TO RAF COLTISHALL WHERE IT WAS/ UNVEILED ON 14 SEPTEMBER 2001 BY THE STATION COMMANDER/ GP CAPT CN HARPER MA FIMgt RAF Plaque 2. : This plaque was unveiled by/ Patrick T. Hacon, Norfolk County Council Chairman 2006/07/ Air Vice-Marshal C N Harper CBE MA FCMI RAF/ Air Officer Commanding no 1 Group/ on 22nd June 2007/ commemorating the formal presentation of Jaguar XW563 to/ Norfolk County Council in recognition of the close relationship between /Norfolk and the Royal Air Force  

Description (physical)

 The plane is set on a plinth facing the entrance to County Hall and the Norfolk Record Office. When viewed from behind it can be seen as about to launch an attack on County Hall an unfortunate example of mid 1960s architecture by Slater and Uren. 

Description (iconographical)

 RAF Coltishall was a Royal Air Force base at Scottow constructed on 450-500 acres of land between the Coltishall and Buxton roads in 1939 and operational in 1940. Although originally intended as a bomber base it was used exclusively for fighters and played a prominent part in the Battle of Britain. Virtually every fighter ace was based at Coltishall at some stage throughout the war. The first Anglo-French Jaguars – aircraft which at the time were said to cost £1.6 million each – arrived in 1974 and it was exclusively a Jaguar station from then on. The Jaguar was a one man ground attack aircraft used by the British French and Indian airforces. Spirit of Coltishall XW563 was a prototype which first flew in 1970 and was retired in 1977 when it was used as a marker first at Bruggen and then outside Coltishall The Ministry of Defence in the Delivering Security in a Changing World review announced that the station would close by December 2006. The future of the station was sealed once the Ministry of Defence announced that the Typhoon the Jaguar's replacement would not be based there. The last of the Jaguar squadrons left on 1 April 2006 and the station finally closed on 30 November 2006. The Spirit of Coltishall was moved to its present site in 2007 to mark the important role Coltishall and the Jaguars had played in the life of the County for over sixty years. 

Photographs

 Date taken:  12/5/2007
Date logged: 

Photographed by:
Sarah Cocke

On Site Inspection

 Date:  12/5/2007

Inspected by:
Richard Cocke

Sources and References

 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Coltishall/Jaguar accessed 14/05/07 www.edp24.co.uk/Content/ Features/Coltishall accessed 14/05/07 www.raf.mod.uk/news/index.cfm 08/08/07 

Database

 Date entered:  8/8/2007

Data inputter:
Richard Cocke