Harrier Takes her final Bow

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11996936

 

A sad day indeed!...one of the best British Aircraft of the 20th Century!

[RAF_Louvert 101]

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Hard to believe that flying wonder has been in service for 41 years. Time flys as well, and forever.

 

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[NS13Jarhead 6]

For what it's worth, the United States Marine Corps is still using the Harrier and will do so for the forseeable future.

 

Edited December 15, 2010 by NS13Jarhead

[+daddyairplanes 9,251]

whats sad is that didn't you guys just finish a major upgrade on the GR9's? the platforms were bought and paid for and could have provided CAS for your troops for years to come. unlike Typhoon or Tornado the Harrier was designed for that, although admittedly expecting to operate out of clearings while engaging Soviet armor. anyone who thinks they will save more money to axe a whole fleet of planes should look up this little american program............ i believe its called the B-52!

[macelena 1,070]

All the cuts in the British Armed Forces undertaken lately are, IMHO, a really big mistake. It should be debated wich kind of armed forces the UK is about to have, and the foreign and military policies wich are to be followed in the near future, considering what this is going to mean

[NS13Jarhead 6]

whats sad is that didn't you guys just finish a major upgrade on the GR9's? the platforms were bought and paid for and could have provided CAS for your troops for years to come. unlike Typhoon or Tornado the Harrier was designed for that, although admittedly expecting to operate out of clearings while engaging Soviet armor. anyone who thinks they will save more money to axe a whole fleet of planes should look up this little american program............ i believe its called the B-52!

 

I was at a symposium where an Air Force engineer said that they intend on upgrading the B-52 to delay its phase out until around 2040 or 2050. If you do the math, it would be 90 years +/- from initial design until phase out. Imagine that! It would be almost like using a Fokker D.VII or D.VIII as a figher aircraft today!

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Macelena?...it would appear that the UK's Armed Forces in the Future, will be run by the French!....

[+hgbn 91]

Defense cuttings while you are at war The world have turned MAD

[macelena 1,070]

Macelena?...it would appear that the UK's Armed Forces in the Future, will be run by the French!....

 

Well, there is nothing wrong withh sharing some responsabilities with the french. In example, we are working with the Portuguese in an air defence network and it´s working great. Even US and Canada play that game together, see NORAD.

 

However, disbanding you air arm while the status of the Type 45 is unclear, and the BS about disbanding the RAF...Like i have said many times in recent topics, i don´t think the economics in the UK are much worse than here in Spain, and while we got some restraints, we are not abandoning capabilities,c´mon, we even have another operational carrier. The UK economy doen´t have to look after as many unemployed people as here is done, and the public healthcare is not as expensive. I really think this is a mad overkill, if you ask me.

 

 

[Cameljockey 3]

The new Princess-to-be needs the funds to remodel Buckingham Palace.

[Flyby PC 23]

I'm sad to see the Harrier's retired.

 

It's like Concorde. How can something be obsolete when there's nothing better replacing the lost capacity?

 

On the other hand, what do you call an aircraft carrier which won't have any aircraft for 10 years - obsolete or just stupid?

 

Harriers are iconic aircraft which did the business in the Falklands, and the Task Force would have been in deep trouble without them. Its a sad day to see them go, especially when you consider that Thatcher's mothballing of the Endurance was the spark which started the whole Falklands War. What are Britains enemies supposed to make of this latest policy? OK, all aircraft come to the end of their useful life, but that just doesn't fit with the Harrier.

[+daddyairplanes 9,251]

Macelena?...it would appear that the UK's Armed Forces in the Future, will be run by the French!....

 

 

guess the RN can't toast "damn the french " anymore:rofl:

seriously tho, some of our folks here accuse pres obama of working to destroy the country and the military . it seems your guys are much more up to the job for the UK! 12,000 jobs lost in middle of a recession, capable CAS aircraft lost when your troops are in combat, and by what i remember of one of your nuc subs, the drivers are getting certified online!

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

guess the RN can't toast "damn the french " anymore:rofl:

seriously tho, some of our folks here accuse pres obama of working to destroy the country and the military . it seems your guys are much more up to the job for the UK! 12,000 jobs lost in middle of a recession, capable CAS aircraft lost when your troops are in combat, and by what i remember of one of your nuc subs, the drivers are getting certified online!

 

Bloody Yanks

[Slartibartfast 153]

Sad to see that the UK Military has come to this what next we don't have enough money for bullets... oh sorry we have been there... All these cuts so we can provide foreign aid and make sure the dole dosser's keep getting their money for alcohol etc... its criminal at this rate they wont be able to fight a mouse armed with a slightly sharpened teaspoon...

 

As to the Harrier great Aircraft saved my hide on a couple of occasions to say the least...

[+daddyairplanes 9,251]

As to the Harrier great Aircraft saved my hide on a couple of occasions to say the least...

 

 

remember seeing it overhead at kandaher every day for the first half of my year there, you guys didn't fly then as low and obnoxiously as the Marines did when they took over. course almost took a Marine AV-8 out with a flashlight but thats a story for another day......

[Javito1986 14]

I knew an Argentine who flew bombing runs on the Brit task force back in the Falklands. He has a boatload of respect for the Harrier, and rightly so. Those Argentines are some damn fine pilots, every history on the Falklands I've read mentions how skilled their attack runs were. The Harriers saved so many British lives, it's practically treasonous to dishonor them this way. Boo!

[Flyby PC 23]

I knew an Argentine who flew bombing runs on the Brit task force back in the Falklands. He has a boatload of respect for the Harrier, and rightly so. Those Argentines are some damn fine pilots, every history on the Falklands I've read mentions how skilled their attack runs were. The Harriers saved so many British lives, it's practically treasonous to dishonor them this way. Boo!

 

 

Totally agree. People forget how touch and go some of the operations were, and how vulnerable to air attack the UK forces were. Most of the Chinooks went down when the Atlantic Conveyor was hit by Exocets. This was a big blow to deploying the forces, concentrating men and ships in harms way longer than necessary. The airfields were all unsuitable for fast jets, and if my memory is correct, I was only 15, I remember a level of concern aired whether the Harrier was up to the job of fighting off much faster combat jets from the Argentine Air Force. I seem to recall the Rapier (was it?) air defence wasn't up to much, either defeated by the low flying tactics, or took too long to set up effective air cover. This all left a big hole in the sky, which the noble Harrier not only filled but for the most part dominated. It was he right kit, in the right place, at the right time. It's a legendary machine.

 

Sadly, nothing is sacred to the British Treasury, (not least the Scottish Regiments), but who am I to judge the man making this decision? Eventually somebody had to make the decision to axe the Spitfire, the Lancaster and the Mosquito. All stunning aircraft with an impeccable pedigree. Lets just hope and pray the UK never has occassion to feel the absence of the Hawker Harrier overhead.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Totally agree. People forget how touch and go some of the operations were, and how vulnerable to air attack the UK forces were. Most of the Chinooks went down when the Atlantic Conveyor was hit by Exocets. This was a big blow to deploying the forces, concentrating men and ships in harms way longer than necessary. The airfields were all unsuitable for fast jets, and if my memory is correct, I was only 15, I remember a level of concern aired whether the Harrier was up to the job of fighting off much faster combat jets from the Argentine Air Force. I seem to recall the Rapier (was it?) air defence wasn't up to much, either defeated by the low flying tactics, or took too long to set up effective air cover. This all left a big hole in the sky, which the noble Harrier not only filled but for the most part dominated. It was he right kit, in the right place, at the right time. It's a legendary machine.

 

Sadly, nothing is sacred to the British Treasury, (not least the Scottish Regiments), but who am I to judge the man making this decision? Eventually somebody had to make the decision to axe the Spitfire, the Lancaster and the Mosquito. All stunning aircraft with an impeccable pedigree. Lets just hope and pray the UK never has occassion to feel the absence of the Hawker Harrier overhead.

 

Indeed...and without getting too Political..this is what happens when the Liberal Democrats get a foot in the Door!!

[macelena 1,070]

Indeed...and without getting too Political..this is what happens when the Liberal Democrats get a foot in the Door!!

 

Well, they were conservatives when the Falklands. Trouble is that every politician messes with the armed forces. They are the only ones wich will shut up instead of whining.

[+Polovski 427]

It's Ok the Libs have have a master plan. We discuss with our enemies not to attack until 2020, which of course they will oblige! Also cunningly we will still arm the navy with little rocks which can be obtained very cheaply. As the new Brick-o-Carriers sail by an enemy a shout goes up "Heave!" and all the guys lob rocks at the enemy.

[Javito1986 14]

I always enjoy reading about the Falklands just because it's just about the only modern war of its kind. We have all these pretty fighter jets and navies these days but the ships just ferry people around and the jets spend 99.9% of their time engaging ground targets. People forget (or would rather forget maybe?) that the Falklands was a near thing for the British. Not just me saying so, Lord Craig himself who was Marshal of the RAF at the time said "six better fuses and we would have lost", referring to the fuses on the unguided bombs that weren't setting off because the Argentines were under such pressure from the air defenses (Harriers included) that they had to release their payload from too low of an altitude (guy I knew who flew for Argentina actually compared it to the Death Star trench run, with Harriers as TIE Fighters and much more accurate anti-air defenses!). It always amazes me how powerful those warships are yet they can be so excruciatingly vulnerable to air attack which I think is the big big lesson from the Falklands.

 

Man I love that Harrier though. I want to see it at a museum someday sitting right next to the Camels and Spitfires.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Javito1986

[NS13Jarhead 6]

Man I love that Harrier though. I want to see it at a museum someday sitting right next to the Camels and Spitfires.

 

One step ahead of you, Javito. No Camels or Spitfires, but we've got it hanging right next to a Curtiss JN-4 Jenny and a couple of F4U Corsairs. You can get so close you can almost touch it. All you have to do is come to the USMC Museum in Quantico, VA. You can also take a "virtual tour" right here.