"Tangmere" is one of the "Battle of Britain" class locomotives named for the military airfield in Sussex, England. It was built at the Southern Railway’s Brighton works in September 1947 and initially carried the 21C167.
The locomotive is one of the famous Bulleid Pacific (4-6-2) designed by Southern Railway Chief Mechanical Engineer Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid. It is a lighter version of the famous "Merchant Navy" class which permitted use on a wider variety of routes than the heavier locomotives. It was a mixed-traffic design having very good performance and was adept at hauling both passenger and freight trains,
The design was characterized by the air-smoothed boiler cladding earning the locomotive the nickname "SPAM Can". It featured a unique chain driven valve gear which could be troublesome and was difficult to maintain.
Tangmere was withdrawn from service in 1963 having covered just 588,269 miles while in service. She survives today and is regularly operated on mainline excursions.