Hawker Siddeley Harrier: Difference between revisions

Hawker Siddeley Harrier
File:Harrier.gr7.750pix.jpg RAF Harrier GR7
Description
Role	Close-support and reconnaissance
Crew
First flight
Entered service	1969
Manufacturer	Hawker Siddeley/BAe
Dimensions
Length	ft in	13.90 m
Wingspan	ft in	7.70 m
Height	ft in	3.45 m
Wing area	ft²	m²
Weights
Empty	lb	5530 kg
Loaded	lb	7830 kg
Maximum takeoff	lb	11,500 kg
Capacity
Powerplant
Engines	1 Rolls-Royce Bristol Pegasus 101 turbofan
Thrust	19,000 lbf	85 kN
Performance
Maximum speed	mph	1185 km/h
Combat range	mile	km
Ferry range	miles	km
Service ceiling	ft	15,000 m
Rate of climb	ft/min	m/min
Wing loading	lb/ft²	kg/m²
Thrust/weight
Power/mass	hp/lb	kW/kg
Avionics
Avionics
Armament
Guns	2 x 30 mm Aden external cannon pods
Bombs	various
Missiles	Martel or AIM-9D guided missiles
Rockets
Other	Reconnaissance pod or fuel tanks

See also BAE Sea Harrier

The Hawker-Siddeley Harrier and the AV-8A are the first generation of the Harrier series, a successful close-support and reconnaissance fighter aircraft with V/STOL capabilities. The Harrier continues to serve today as the Harrier GR.Mk 7 and GR.Mk 9 and AV-8B which are built by BAE Systems and Boeing. Ironically, the current operational British Harriers (GR.Mk 7 and GR.Mk 9) are license-built versions of the McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) version, respectively the AV-8B Harrier II and AV-8B+ Harrier II Plus.

Variants

Hawker P.1127

The Harrier family was started with the Hawker P.1127. Design began in 1957 by Sir Sidney Camm, Ralph Hooper of Hawker Aviation and Stanley Hooker of the Bristol Engine Company. Rather than using rotors or a direct jet thrust the P.1127 had an innovative vectored thrust turbofan engine and the first vertical take-off was on October 21, 1960. Six prototypes were built in total, one of which was lost at an air display.

Kestrel F.(GA) Mk 1

The P.1127 was renamed Kestrel after Hawker Siddeley Aviation was created. The Kestrel was an evaluation aircraft, and nine were produced, the first flying on March 7, 1964. The Kestrel had fully swept wings and a larger tail than the P.1127, and the fusaelage was modified to take the larger 15,000 lb Pegasus engine. Due to interest from the US and Germany the Tri-partite Evaluation Squadron was formed, staffed by military test pilots from Britain, the US and West Germany. After testing at RAF West Raynham, the eight surviving evaluation aircraft were transferred to the USA for evaluation by the Army, Air Force and Navy (including USMC) as the XV-6A. After Tri-Service evaluation they were passed to the USAF for further evaluation at Edwards AFB.

An order for 60 aircraft was received from the RAF in 1966, and the first pre-production Harriers were flying by mid-1967.

Harrier GR.1

The Harrier GR Mk.1 was the first production model taken from the Kestrel, it first flew on December 28, 1967, and entered service with the RAF on April 1, 1969. Construction took place at factories in Kingston-upon-Thames in southwest London and at Dunsfold, Surrey. The latter adjoined an airfield used for flight testing; both factories have since closed. The ski-jump technique for STOL use by Harriers launched from Royal Navy aircraft carriers was tested at the Royal Navy's airfield at Yeovilton, Somerset. Their flight decks were designed with an upward curve to the bow following the successful conclusion of those tests. The air combat technique of vectoring in forward flight, or viffing, was evolved in the Harrier to outmaneuver a hostile aircraft or other inbound weapon.

Harrier GR.1A

The GR.Mk 1A was an upgraded version of the GR.Mk 1, the main difference being the uprated Pegasus Mk 102. 58 GR.Mk 1As entered RAF service, 17 GR.Mk 1As were produced and a further 41 GR.Mk 1s were upgraded.

Harrier GR.Mk 3

The Harrier GR.Mk 3 featured improved sensors, countermeasures and a further uprated Pegasus Mk 103. During the Falklands War the GR.Mk 3 performed attack sorties from the aircraft carriers Invincible and Hermes, and later from basic landing strips on the islands. The GR.Mk 3 was the ultimate development of the 1st generation Harrier.

Specification (GR1 data)

Dimensions

• Length: 13.90 m
• Height: 3.45 m
• Span: 7.70 m

Power plant

• 1 Rolls--Royce Bristol Pegasus 101 turbofan with four swivelling nozzles, generating 19,000 lb (85 kN) of thrust.

Armament

There was no internal armament. Two 30-mm Aden cannon pods could be fitted under the fuselage sides. There were an additional four underwing and one under-fuselage pylon hard-points to carry various loadouts, including bombs, unguided rocket pods, the Martel or AIM-9D guided missiles, reconnaissance pod or fuel tanks

The RAF ordered 118 of the GR Mk.1 to 3 series Harrier. The AV-8A for the USMC and the Spanish airforce was very similar and 113 craft were ordered.

• 1st generation Harriers
  • Hawker P.1127 (1960)
  • Hawker Siddeley Kestrel (1964)
  • Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR Mk.1 (1966)
  • Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR Mk.1/1A (1969)
  • Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR Mk.3/3A
  • British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS Mk.1 (1979)
  • British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS Mk.51 (1983)
  • British Aerospace Sea Harrier FA.Mk 2 (1988)
  • Hawker Siddeley Harrier T Mk.2/2A (1970)
  • Hawker Siddeley Harrier T Mk.4/4A
  • British Aerospace Harrier T.Mk 8 (1994)
  • Hawker Siddeley AV-8A Harrier (USMC version, 1970)
  • Hawker Siddeley AV-8S Matador (for Spain, 1983)
• 2nd generation (Harrier IIs)
  • McDonnell Douglas-BAe AV-8B Harrier II (1983)
  • British Aerospace-McDonnell Douglas Harrier GR Mk.5/5A (1985)
  • British Aerospace-McDonnell Douglas Harrier GR.Mk 7 (1992)
  • British Aerospace Harrier T Mk.10
  • McDonnell Douglas-BAe AV-8B Harrier II Plus (1992)

The later model Harriers are easily distinguished by their extended wingspan, the wings extending beyond the outrigger wheels that are at the wingtips of the earlier versions (including Kestrel prototypes and the Sea Harrier).

Military service

The Sea Harrier played a key role in the British victory in the Falklands War. A total of twenty Sea Harriers were deployed from HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible, and they inflicted serious losses on the Argentine air force destroying 23 aircraft in air-to-air combat. In all, three Sea Harriers were lost to ground fire, but none was lost to enemy aircraft.

The Sea Harrier also saw combat during the Bosnia conflict, with one aircraft being shot down by Serbian defences in 1994. During the Kosovo War, combat air patrols were flown, but no weapons were fired. The Sea Harrier also made operational patrols over Iraq during the 12 years of enforcing no-fly zones.

The RAF version of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier also saw combat during the Falklands War. They operated from Hermes and provided close air support to the ground forces. By the time the Harrier next saw combat, all the RAF Hawker Siddeley machines had been exchanged for the upgraded McDonnell Douglas derived Harrier II.

The Sea Harrier and Harrier GR.Mk 7 forces were merged to formed Joint Force Harrier in 2000. With the retirement of the Sea Harrier by 2006 the RAF and RN will share the upgraded GR.Mk 9 fleet until the introduction of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

RAF service

Squadrons

• No. 1 Squadron RAF
• No. 3 Squadron RAF
• No. IV Squadron RAF

Locations

• RAF Cottesmore
• RAF Wittering

Films

A two-seat version of the Harrier was seen in a James Bond movie The Living Daylights.

An AV-8B was featured in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie True Lies.

Variants
Hawker Siddeley Harrier - BAE Sea Harrier - RAF Harrier II - AV-8B Harrier II