Shortly before the M55 was due for completion, arrangements were made in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence, and the British Aircraft Corporation, for a Jaguar G R Mark 1(XX109) aircraft, from the Warton (Lancashire) Aerodrome, to land on the afternoon of Saturday, 26 April, 1975, on the road base of a section of carriageway near Weeton. After fitting four of the RAF's latest cluster bombs on the plane, it then took off from the motorway. The purpose was to demonstrate the Jaguar's ability to land and take off in short distances.
