Price: £65.00

Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR3

During 1957 the Hawker aircraft company turned it's attention to the VTOL concept. It was during that year, Dr Stanley Hooker the technical director of Bristol aero engines and Sir Sydney Camm discussed the idea of vectoring the thrust of a jet engine using rotatable nozzles. A research prototype the Hawker P1127 made it's first "tethered" hover flown by Hawker test pilot Bill Bedford on 21st October 1960. The P1127 very quickly established the principle of the vectored thrust engine and the Hawker design team schemed the definitive VTOL supersonic jet fighter the P1154. Meanwhile The P1127 was continually developed as the power of the Bristol Siddeley Pegasus engine came on in leaps and bounds. A developed form of the P1127 which was known as the Kestrel and was capable of limited service use was evaluated by a tri-national evaluation squadron consisting of British, German and American service pilots. It was found that aside from its VTOL capabilities the Kestrel had a remarkable rate of climb due to its impressive power/weight ratio and was unnervingly manouverable due to a technique known as "Viffing" where the vectored thrust was used in sharp turns and climbs.

Unfortunateley the P1154 was cancelled along with the TSR2 in the Labour budget of 1964 causing great damage to the British aircraft industry. Hawker's however proposed a definitive version of the Kestrel, (the development costs of which had been already paid for) which incorporated increased power from the Rolls Royce Pegasus engine, (Bristols had by now been incorporated into Rolls Royce), and the ability to carry underwing weapons stores. And so the Harrier GR1, the last in a long line of Hawker fighters entered service with No1 Squadron at Wittering in 1969. The Harrier GR1 went on to equip 1,3,4 and 20 Squadrons of the RAF and also the United States Marine Corps.

The Harrier GR3 represented the first substantial advance on the original operational requirement and remained in service for fourteen years. It introduced the Laser Ranging and Marked Target Seeking system integrated with a Ferranti 541 inertial navigation attack system. The laser was fitted ito lengthened "dolphin" nose. The GR3 also introduced a Radar Warning Reciever. The high point of the Harrier GR3's career was during the Falklands war in 1982 where Harrier GR3's operated very successfully alongside Sea Harrier's from Royal Navy aircraft carriers.

 

Specification: Harrier GR3

Top Speed: 740 mph at sea level and 0.98M at altitude
Ceiling: 51,200 ft
Range: 2,340 miles
Armament: Provision for various rockets and bombs on four wing hardpoints and one hardpoint on the fuselage centreline. Also two ADEN 30mm cannon in pods underneath the fuselage.