It is RAF Marham's much-loved Gate Guardian: a familiar sight to air personnel and visitors.
%image(14639022, type="article-full", alt="Actor Kenneth Moore star of "The Battle of Britain" and "Reach for the Sky" played the role of a real-life flier when he joined the crew of a Victor tanker aircraft for a two and a-half hour training flight from RAF Marham. Picture: Archant")
But the Victor bomber that stands sentinel by the entrance to the west Norfolk base will soon be moving on.
Following a number of surveys it has been found that the plane needs extensive restoration work which the base cannot afford.
A spokesman for RAF Marham said: "Following recent structural integrity surveys it has been discovered that the Victor Gate Guardian at RAF Marham is suffering from structural weaknesses and would require urgent rectification work to prevent it breaking apart.
"The costs associated with the repairs are well beyond the financial provision allocated to Gate Guardian maintenance so the difficult decision has been made to offer the Victor to anyone that may wish to remove the aircraft and take on its restoration."
%image(14639023, type="article-full", alt="The Victor jet outside RAF Marham has been offered up for free. Picture: Ian Burt")
The Victor was the last V-bomber to be used by the RAF and was part of the country's airborne nuclear deterrent.
The planes were used from the late 1940s to 1969 when the nuclear deterrence effort was passed to the Royal Navy. Many of the planes were converted to aerial refuelling tankers and supported bombers through the Falklands War.
Marham said if the plane was not claimed then it would be broken down.
The spokesman added: "If no-one is able to take this on as a restoration project then unfortunately the aircraft will need to be scrapped.
%image(14639024, type="article-full", alt="The Victor jet outside RAF Marham has been offered up for free. Picture: RAF Marham. Picture: Ian Burt")
"If the aircraft is to be scrapped then RAF Marham plan to keep the tail of the Victor and mount it on a concrete plinth as a dedication to all the personnel that have worked on and flew in the Victor."
To claim the plane the bidder must be able to prove they have the funds and capability to take on the restoration. They must also remove the plane themselves.
An event will be held before the jet is removed for people to go and see it.
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