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Subject: Hawker Siddeley Harrier
Date: 17 Aug 2016 22:48:26 -0700
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Siddeley_Harrier
The Hawker Siddeley Harrier, developed in the 1960s, was the first of the
Harrier Jump Jet series of aircraft. It was the first operational close-support
and reconnaissance fighter aircraft with vertical/short takeoff and landing
(V/STOL) capabilities and the only truly successful V/STOL design of the many
that arose in that era. The Harrier was developed directly from the Hawker
Siddeley Kestrel prototype aircraft, following the cancellation of a more
advanced supersonic aircraft, the Hawker Siddeley P.1154. The British Royal Air
Force (RAF) ordered the Harrier GR.1 and GR.3 variants in the late 1960s. It was
exported to the United States as the AV-8A, for use by the US Marine Corps
(USMC), in the 1970s.
In the 1970s the British Aerospace Sea Harrier was developed from the Harrier
for use by the Royal Navy (RN) on Invincible-class aircraft carriers. The Sea
Harrier and the Harrier fought in the 1982 Falklands War, in which the aircraft
proved to be crucial and versatile. The RN Sea Harriers provided fixed-wing air
defence while the RAF Harriers focused on ground-attack missions in support of
the advancing British land force. The Harrier was also extensively redesigned as
the AV-8B Harrier II and British Aerospace Harrier II by the team of McDonnell
Douglas and British Aerospace. The innovative Harrier family and its Rolls-Royce
Pegasus engines with thrust vectoring nozzles have generated long-term interest
in V/STOL aircraft. Similar V/STOL operational aircraft include the contemporary
Soviet Yakovlev Yak-38. The F-35B V/STOL variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35
Lightning II is under development.
Role
V/STOL ground-attack aircraft
National origin
United Kingdom
Manufacturer
Hawker Siddeley
First flight
Harrier: 28 December 1967
Introduction
1 April 1969
Status
Retired (2006)
Primary users
Royal Air Force (historical)
United States Marine Corps (historical)
Spanish Navy (historical)
Royal Thai Navy (historical)
Produced
Number built
278
Developed from
Hawker Siddeley P.1127/Kestrel
Developed into
British Aerospace Sea Harrier
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
British Aerospace Harrier II
The Harrier was typically used as a ground attack aircraft, though its
manoeuvrability also allows it to effectively engage other aircraft at short
ranges. The Harrier is powered by a single Pegasus turbofan engine mounted in
the fuselage. The engine is fitted with two air intakes and four vectoring
nozzles for directing the thrust generated: two for the bypass flow and two for
the jet exhaust. Several small reaction nozzles are also fitted, in the nose,
tail and wingtips, for the purpose of balancing during vertical flight. It has
two landing gear units on the fuselage and two outrigger landing gear units, one
near each wing tip. The Harrier is equipped with four wing and three fuselage
pylons for carrying a variety of weapons and external fuel tanks
The Harrier, while serving for many decades in various forms, has been
criticised on multiple issues; in particular a high accident rate, though
Nordeen notes that several conventional single-engine strike aircraft like the
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and LTV A-7 Corsair II had worse accident rates. The Los
Angeles Times reported in 2003 that the Harrier "...has amassed the highest
major accident rate of any military plane now in service. Forty-five Marines
have died in 148 noncombat accidents". Colonel Lee Buland of the USMC declared
the maintenance of a Harrier to be a "challenge"; the need to remove the wings
before performing most work upon the engine, including engine replacements,
meant the Harrier required considerable man-hours in maintenance, more than most
aircraft. Buland noted however that the maintenance difficulties were
unavoidable in order to create a V/STOL aircraft
Specifications (Harrier GR.3)
General characteristics
Crew: One
Length: 46 ft 10 in (14.27 m)
Wingspan: 25 ft 3 in (7.70 m)
Height: 11 ft 11 in (3.63 m)
Empty weight: 13,535 lb (6,140 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 25,200 lb (11,430 kg)
21,500 lbf (95.6 kN) Four vertical flight puffer jets use engine bleed air,
mounted in the nose, wingtips, and tail.
Performance
Maximum speed: 730 mph (635 knots, 1,176 km/h) at sea level
Combat radius: 230 mi (200 nmi, 370 km) lo-lo-lo with 4,400 lb (2,000 kg)
payload
Ferry range: 2,129 mi (1,850 nmi, 3,425 km)
Service ceiling: 51,200 ft (15,600 m)
Time to climb to 40,000 ft (12,200 m): 2 min 23 s
Armament
Bombs: A variety of unguided iron bombs, BL755 cluster bombs or laser-guided
bombs
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