Yorkshire Air Museum gifted Cold War bomber by French
- Published
The Dassault Mirage lVA had been on display at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie in Paris
A Cold War Nuclear bomber has been donated to a North Yorkshire museum by the French government.
The 31-tonne Dassault Mirage lVA was gifted to Yorkshire Air Museum, in Elvington, and is expected to go on display later this year.
Museum Director Ian Reed said negotiations to bring the plane to the museum began in 2007.
He said the 77ft-long (23m) aircraft will be the first of its kind to go on display in Britain.
The museum is already home to a number of Cold War-era aircraft, including a Mirage III, Victor and Nimrod jets.
Mr Reed said Elvington had maintained strong ties to France since World War Two, when it was home to France's only two heavy bomber squadrons.
"This is the first time that a strategic nuclear bomber has been gifted directly to an independent museum of a different nation, and reflects the reputation of the museum and its close connections with the French Air Force," he said.