Fly Past

94 RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION BOMBERS

BAe/McDD HARRIER GR.5 TO 9

HARRIER GR.5 TO 9HARRIER GR.5 TO 9

BAe/McDD

1918 2018

granted to 1 Squadron at Wittering.

It was appropriate that the unit, still

at Wittering, also inaugurated the

second-generation Harrier, taking its

first examples in November 1988.

The Mk.5 was impressive but

advances in technology meant there

was much more that the Anglo-

American team could do. The result

was the GR.7, a huge advance in

capability from the GR.5 and a world

apart from the somewhat basic GR.1s

of 1969. (The early Harriers are

covered in our sister publication, RAF

Centenary Celebration Fighters.)

With the GR.7 the Harrier became a

Right

A pair of 1 Squadron

Harrier GR.5s on the

ramp at Wittering.

The aircraft in the

background, ZD351, was

built in 1988 and went

through the upgrade

programme all the way

to GR.9A status in 2010.

BRITISH AEROSPACE

1988 TO 2010

Right

A pair of 1 Squadron

Harrier GR.5s on the

ramp at Wittering.

The aircraft in the

background, ZD351, was

built in 1988 and went

through the upgrade

programme all the way

to GR.9A status in 2010.

BRITISH AEROSPACE

E

ven the weather was dismal

on December 15, 2010 as the

RAF paid off the incredible

Harrier. The Joint Force Harrier

was no more; its impending demise

announced weeks earlier on October

12 under the Strategic Defence and

Security Review. Most of the fleet

were transferred to Arizona for spares

consumption by the US Marine

Corps.

Since the ‘big-wing’ GR.5, the

Harrier had been a combined

programme with McDonnell Douglas

of the USA. The two talents had

created an awesome strike weapon,

which evolved to its final UK

iteration, the GR.9A.

With the ‘jump jet’s’ success,

British Aerospace and McDonnell

Douglas worked to create a second-

generation version, initially for the

US Marines Corps, as the AV-8B

Harrier II. While maintaining the

overall format of its forebears, this

machine was significantly different

with a new, larger wing. Nearly 30%

of the airframe was of composite

construction, the cockpit was enlarged

and there were seven weapons stations.

The prototype AV-8B had its maiden

flight in November 1978.

Development for the RAF did

not begin until the early 1980s and

it was April 30, 1985 before the

first GR.5 flew. In July 1969 the

honour of introducing the world’s

first operational V/STOL fighter was

true ‘night bird’, with forward-looking

infrared and night-vision goggles to

allow the pilot to carry out sorties in

the worst of weather, and in darkness.

The prototype Mk.7 first appeared

in 1990. As well as new-build

examples, GR.5s were also upgraded

to the new status. A two-seat

conversion trainer with combat

potential based on the GR.7 –

the T.10 – was also produced. The

first GR.7s were issued to 4 Squadron

at Gütersloh, Germany, in

September 1990.

The ultimate upgrade, the GR.9,

entered service in October 2006.

With the closure of Dunsfold, the

prototype had its first flight from

Warton, on May 30, 2003. The Fleet

Air Arm gave up its Sea Harrier FA.2s

in March 2006 and the GR.9 fleet

was pooled into Joint Force Harrier,

based at Cottesmore, before falling

victim to the 2010 defence review.

MUSEUM PIECE

Bedecked with special markings to

celebrate the Harrier’s service life,

1969 to 2010, the RAF Museum’s

GR.9A ZG477 is one of the youngest

exhibits at Cosford and never ceases

to draw the attention of visitors. It

was picked for display not just for its

unique colours, but because its RAF

career was so representative of the

Type: Single-seat V/STOL strike/reconnaissance

First fl ight: GR.5: April 30, 1985, entered service March 1989

Powerplant: One 21,750lb st (96.74kN) Bristol Siddeley Pegasus 107 vectored-thrust

turbofan

Dimensions: Span 30ft 4in (9.25m), Length 46ft 4in (14.12m)

Weights: Empty 12,500lb (5,700kg), All-up, conventional take-off 31,000lb

(8,595kg)

Max speed: 662mph (1m065km/h)

Range: 300 miles (556km)

Armament: Two 25mm ADEN cannon. Up to 8,000lb (3,650kg) of bombs, rockets

Replaced: Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.3 from 1988

Taken on charge: 96 – 62 new-build GR.5/GR.5A and 34 new-build GR.7

Replaced by: Taskings absorbed into the Tornado force 2010

BRITISH AEROSPACE/

MCDONNELL DOUGLAS HARRIER GR.7