The Harrier is one of the legends in military aviation history. This short takeoff and vertical
landing, shortly STOVL, combat aircraft has eliminated the necessity of long runways for
the air forces and catapults and arresting hooks for the navies. It successfully fought
and changed the course of a major war. Now, we are investigating the family of the Harrier
jump jet, a story of a brilliant success. Please don't forget to subscribe to our channel,
before we start and give us a thumbs up if you like our video. To be notified of our
new video, please click the bell button. Also, you can now click the join button to support
our channel. The Harrier had a high accident ratio, low
combat load, and subsonic speed. Still, this little bird of prey proved its value and managed
to be indispensable. The Harrier family had two generations. In this video, we are focusing
on the first generation. The second generation, the Harrier II, will
be the subject of our next video. When the First Cold War arose, everyone knew
that all airbases near the front of both sides would be destroyed in a matter of hours, in
a possible Third World War. So, the USA had begun work on vertical take-off
and landing aircraft as early as the early 1950s to solve this problem. The UK quickly
realized the importance of this new type of aircraft and began to develop an experimental
aircraft, called SC.1, in 1953. In the next decade, many other Western European
countries and the USSR would follow the USA and the UK in this field.
In those years, one of the most expensive parts of a jet fighter was the engine. Generally,
the designers worked on aircraft, which had separate lift engines and cruise engines.
This design was making the platform highly expensive. Also, more engines meant higher
empty weight, which decreased the payload. Besides, it caused a nightmarish workload
for maintenance. So, by the mid-1960s, all western countries
terminated their vertical take-off and landing aircraft programmes one by one, except for
the UK. The Brits had followed a different path. A
Bristol Engine Company engineer, Gordon Lewis, had begun to apply Michel Wibault's vectored
thrust for vertical takeoff and landing idea on the jet engines in 1956. This work led
to the development of the Pegasus engine. The next step was to build an aircraft around
this engine. In the same year, the British aviation company
Hawker Aircraft had begun to work on P.1121 to replace the Hawker Hunter jets. But, in
1958, this project was terminated. So, the company decided to study a new aircraft
with the Pegasus engine, which would compete for NATO's new Light Tactical Support Fighter
programme to replace the Fiat G.91. In 1959, the UK decided to support the project
and ordered new aircraft, called P.1127, for the trials. Different from other projected
vertical take-off and landing aircraft in the world, the P.1127 had a single-engine.
It made its first hover flight on October 21, 1960. One year later, the aircraft vertically
took off and horizontally flew. These were tremendous achievements, so Germany and the
USA decided to join this programme. Now, three countries were working on the new
model called Kestrel. The Kestrel made its first flight on March 7, 1964. Yet, the air
force staff of these three countries were not satisfied with the aircraft's subsonic
speed and low payload capacity. So, Hawker, now called Hawker Siddeley Aircraft,
began to work on a new supersonic variant, called P.1154. But, Germany and the USA did
not support this new project, and the UK could not afford the costs single-handedly. So,
in 1965, the P.1154 programme was terminated. Following the termination, the Royal Air Force
began considering a simple upgrade of the existing Kestrel and ordered six pre-production
aircraft. The new aircraft made its first flight on August 31, 1966.
The results were satisfactory, and the UK ordered 60 production aircraft, now called
Harrier. In 1969, it was introduced to the Royal Air Force's service.
We will not mention the aircraft's design features to avoid extending our time.
The Royal Air Force acquired 61 Harrier GR.1s. This variant had an 84.7 kiloNewton Rolls-Royce
Pegasus Mk 101 turbofan. The lengthened two-seat training version of
the GR.1 was Harrier T.2. The GR.1A variant had a 91.4 kiloNewton Pegasus
Mk 102 turbofan. Hawker Siddeley Aircraft produced 17 new-built GR.1As. A further 41
GR.1s were upgraded to GR.1A configuration. All Harrier T.2As were upgraded versions of
the T2s with the Pegasus Mk 102s. A common mistake is to suppose that the GR.3
is a variant of the Harrier equipped with the Laser Rangefinder & Marked Target Seeker,
shortly LRMTS. But actually, having the 95.9 kiloNewton Pegasus Mk 103 made the GR.3 a
new variant. This model also had a radar warning receiver
on the fin and tail boom. Yet, we should add that the increased engine
power allowed the integration of the LRMTS. So, the first assumption is not wrong to some
degree. 40 new built GR.3s were produced, and about 60 converted from GR.1/GR.1As.
The two-seat training version of the GR.3 was the Harrier T.4A. The Harrier T.4 had
the same engine as the GR.3 but lacked the LRMTS.
The AV-8A Harrier was simply the US Marine Corps variant of the GR.1. But, it could also
carry air to air missiles. Its Pegasus 11 turbofan was produced by Pratt & Whiney and
designated F102-RR-402. The first 59 aircraft had the FE451 navigation/attack system. But,
this highly sophisticated system made maintenance complex. So, later AV-8As were equipped with
the simplified I/WAC navigation/attack system. Later, the previous aircraft were also reequipped
with I/WAC. In 1979, the US Marine Corp upgraded AV-8As
to the AV-8C configuration to extend their useful service lives and improve STOVL performance.
The TAV-8A Harrier was the two-seat training version.
The AV-8S Matador, also known as VA-1 Matador, was the version of the AV-8A produced for
the Spanish Navy. Its two-seat training version was the TAV-8S
Matador. Spain, Thailand, the UK, and the USA were
the former users of the first generation Harrier. The GR.3 version of the Harrier had a length
of 14.27 metres, a wingspan of 7.75 metres, and a height of 3.63 metres. Its wing area
was 18.68 square metres. The empty weight of the aircraft was about 6.140 kilograms,
while its maximum takeoff weight was about 11,430 kilograms. One Rolls-Royce Pegasus
Mk 103 turbofan engine provided a maximum speed of 1,176 kilometres per hour. The aircraft
could reach a range of 3,430 kilometres. The Harrier GR.3's combat radius was 670 kilometres.
Its service ceiling is 15,600 metres, in other words, 51,200 feet. The aircraft had two ADEN
guns in underbelly pods. It could carry different types of bombs and rocket pods. Later, the
Harrier GR.3s gained the capability of firing the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.
The naval variant of the first generation Harrier was the Sea Harrier.
Hawker Siddeley Aircraft had demonstrated the Kestrel's capabilities on HMS Ark Royal
in 1963. But, at that time, the Royal Navy had required
a twin-engine supersonic fighter, so it had acquired the F-4.
But, the CVA-01 programme was cancelled in 1966, and the HMS Ark Royal was decommissioned
in 1979. The naval version of the Harrier was the only
suitable aircraft for the new Invincible-class carriers. So, the Royal Navy ordered 24 Sea
Harrier in 1975. The aircraft was introduced to Fleet Air Arm's service in 1978.
Different from the Harriers of the Royal Air Force, the Sea Harrier had the I-band Blue
Fox radar, a bubble canopy, and the Pegasus Mk 106 turbofan. The engine had aluminium
alloy fans and casing to resist corrosion. The Sea Harrier also had minor differences
in size and weight. The first production variant was the Sea Harrier
FRS1. It had only the capability of firing AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.
Its two-seat training version was the Harrier T.4N, which had no radar.
In 1988, the FRS1s were upgraded to the F(A).2 standards. This variant had the Blue Vixen
radar, and it could fire the AIM-120 AMRAAM air to air missiles.
The Harrier T.4Ns were also reequipped with the F(A).2's avionics and renamed Harrier
T.8. The Sea Harrier FRS.51 was the Indian version
of the aircraft. But, they had R550 Magic missiles instead of the Sidewinders. Later,
India modernized its Sea Harriers and equipped them with the Elta EL/M-2032 radar and the
Derby missiles. The two-seat training versions of the Sea
Harrier FRS.51 were the Harrier T.4(I) and the Harrier T.60.
India and the UK were the former users of the Sea Harrier.
Initially, the Royal Air Force had one operational conversion and four combat squadrons. The
No. 3, 4, and 20 squadrons were deployed in Gütersloh West Germany against a possible
Third World War. Later, the Harriers of the No. 20 Squadron were distributed to No. 3
and No. 4. In case of war, the aircraft of each squadron
would be distributed to six pre-determined air sites. A whole strike group could be transported
from one location to another in 5 to 6 hours under cover of darkness. But, this was not
an easy task. All squadrons had nearly 300 vehicles.
Yes, a Harrier could execute a new sortie in about 20 minutes after it turned from the
mission. But to change the engine, the wings had to
be removed. Under the chaos of the war, the Spetsnaz troop
could find and raid the sites. So, all personnel, including groundcrew, carried
firearms and performed guard duty. The No. 3 and No. 4 squadrons continuously
trained their crew for this mission in the woods. But, in reality, they would deploy
their Harriers in the urbanized area in the war.
The No. 1 Squadron was mobile, and it was organized to rapid deployment in the northern
and southern flanks of NATO in case of war. Until the 1980s, the Harriers of this squadron
joined many exercises in Greece and Turkey. But, with their white and green camouflages,
they became mediatic in Norway. The Harriers of the No. 1 Squadron protected
Belize against a possible Guatemalan invasion. But also, they fought against the actual Argentine
invasion of the Falklands. The Harriers of the No. 1 Squadron had been
occasionally deployed on the aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy since 1971. But, neither
the pilots nor the aircraft was really suitable for carrier operations.
When Argentina invaded the Falklands, the UK quickly began to modify the GR.3s. The
engineers added the shackles to the outriggers to allow aircraft to be tied down to the deck.
The GR.3s was equipped with an I-band transponder for the carrier approaching. Now, they had
the necessary wiring and switches for the Sidewinder missiles. The GR.3s were also fitted
with chaff flares. The Harrier GR.3 pilots were trained for air
to air combat with the Lightnings of the Royal Air Force and the Mirage IIIs of the French
Air Force. According to the initial plan, the Harrier
GR.3 would supplement the Sea Harriers for air combat duties over the Falklands. The
Royal Navy anticipated that it would lose a large number of aircraft.
But, the Sea Harriers made history. These subsonic combat aircraft with low payload
shot down 20 Argentine aircraft. So, the Harrier GR.3s were used for only ground
attack and reconnaissance roles. During the war, the UK lost six Sea Harriers
and four Harrier GR.3s. None of them was shot down by Argentine aircraft.
The biggest enemy of the Harriers in the Falklands was the ground-based air defence systems.
After the British victory, the Harrier continued to be deployed on the Port Stanley until 1985.
The Falklands War was the first and last battle of the Harrier GR.3s.
But, the Sea Harriers continued to fight over the Balkans during the 1990s. One of them
was shot down by Serbian MANPADS. The US Marine Corps experience on the Harriers
was relatively smooth. The aircraft never saw a battle. But, the high accident rate
was the main problem. In the early 1970s, the Pentagon approved
to test the Sea Control Ship concept of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt. It included using small escort
aircraft carriers, providing air support for convoys. So, the US Navy deployed the AV-8As
on USS Guam to test the concept. In 1972, the ship began extensive trials.
But later, this project was terminated. In 1976, an AV-8A squadron was deployed on the
aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. The squadron performed about 2,000 sorties
about a year without a loss. The US Navy also considered deploying AV-8A
on the Iowa-class battleships but later abandoned the plan.
The Indian, Spanish and Thai experiences were also smooth.
Today all first-generation Harrier variants were retired. But, its success paved the way
for the development of the second generation. We will investigate the second generation,
the Harrier II, in our next video. Thanks for watching our video. And please
don't forget to subscribe to our channel and give us a thumbs up if you liked our video.
To be notified of our new videos, please click the bell button. Also, you can now click the
join button to support our channel.