Hawker Siddeley Harrier / AV-8A

History of the Hawke Sidley Harrier / AV-8A

The British Harrier subsonic jump jet became the world's first practical VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft after perfecting its vector thrust turbofan engine. While other aircraft manufacturers at the time tried in vain to offer similar systems, the Harrier was the only attempt to escape the man-hours and millions of dollars spent on such research during the Cold War.

The Harrier fought relatively successful operations with the British Air Force in the upcoming Falklands War and subsequently became one of the most recognizable aircraft in the world. Its vertical and horizontal capabilities have been a marvel for many airshow enthusiasts for decades, and it remains so four decades after its founding.

While the type has improved significantly with refinements, the Harrier line is entering its twilight years as more modern and more powerful systems enter the front lines (like the Lockheed F-35 Lightning II joint venture). Regardless, the Harrier family has gone down in history, further proof of the ingenuity and innovation of British aircraft engineers.

The Harrier is considered one of the most dangerous aircraft in flight due to the unique nature of the Harrier's flight control system, which requires extensive training and effort from the pilot, a statement supported by many non-combatant reports by the U.S. and Indian Harrier groups Accidents are reported.

Harrier family tree breakdown

The Harrier range consists of four main versions including the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, British Aerospace (BAe) Sea Harrier, Boeing/BAe AV-8B Harrier II and BAe Systems/Boeing Harrier II Each model differs from the others in some way Way. The original production model and the start of the Harrier series was the Hawker Siddeley Harrier.

The Sea Harrier (as the name suggests) became a dedicated naval version of the Base Harrier, used primarily for air defense and secondarily for ground attack. The Sea Harrier also uses the powerful Blue Fox radar, a direct development of the ground-based RAF Harrier GR.

3. The Boeing/BAe AV-8B Harrier II became a "second generation" Harrier, a heavily modified version of the original Harrier used by the USMC, while the BAe Harrier II was a British modified strike version of the USMC Harrier II. /p]

Hawker Aircraft Limited was acquired by the Hawker Siddeley Group in the late 1950s and renamed British Aerospace (BAe) in 1977.

This article is about the original first generation hawker Sidley Harrier. Other models are discussed elsewhere on this site under their respective manufacturers.

Background

Short take-off and landing (also known as "STOL") proved to be a central part of the modern battlefield, and it changed significantly with the end of World War II. The helicopter made its debut in the Korean War and cemented its role in the Vietnam War conflict, where it became an unprecedented dedicated weapons platform. The ability of aircraft to take off in the shortest amount of time, using the shortest runway distance, became an inherent advantage in dealing with the first round of enemy attacksespecially during the Cold War.

The idea of ??an aircraft that can achieve horizontal flight and convert that power into full vertical performance is tantalizing, to say the least, and offers war planners an option that decades ago would have been considered science fiction.

Development

French engineer Michel Henry Marie Joseph Wibault developed the V/STOL flight concept through his revision of the Brisol BE. 25 Orion turboprops. The engine uses a centrifugal compressor to drive thrust through two nozzles on the sides of the plane's fuselage. Further modifications eventually led him to propose the use of four such vector nozzles for vertical balance.

Although this was a complex move, it proved to be a promising solution to sustained V/STOL flights coveted by the military at the time. Wibault calls his creation a "ground attack gyroplane."

Wibault integrated his engine design into a simplified fuselage with a single-seat cockpit, single vertical stabilizer, swept wings, and a solid fuselage. The weapon was conceived as a pair of internal cannons supported by a retractable belly compartment capable of mounting 18 x unguided rockets. He pitched the idea to the French and US governments, but was opposed.

In 1956 he approached NATO, a concept that caught the imagination of American Colonel John Driscoll, who put Webb in touch with the folks at Bristol Aero Engines.

Engineers at Bristol were concerned about the inherent complexity of the engine out of curiosity about the concept. After some modifications of their own, they came up with the idea that one axial fan with a reduction gear could replace the four compressors. Bristol has already researched such fans in their Olympus 21 series engines.

The idea of ??equipping Olympus with an Orion engine and the resulting solution will achieve the desired effect. The new Wibault design comes under the Bristol company name BE. 48. The Orion engine was subsequently abandoned in favor of the low pressure Orpheus type.

The Orpheus itself has high fuel consumption, but it proved to be a lighter and more promising arrangement in the long run. The Wibualt's ground attack Gryoptere airframe design has been modified for the new engine.

Despite addressing some issues, the Wibualt design lacks a balancing solution through its dual vector nozzles.

By 1957, the engine had evolved into the Bristol BE. 53 and can generate up to 11,300 pounds of force. With the engine in place, Bristol now only needs a fuselage to attach it. The hunt eventually brought Stanley Hook of Bristol into contact with Sidney Cam of Hawke.

Camm is intrigued by the prospect of BE. 53. The Hawker and Bristol teams are now joining forces on the initial development of the P. 1127 "High Speed ??Helicopter". Hawke suggested using two extra nozzles to solve the problem of balancing the plane. Backed by the U.S.

Department of Defense, NATO provides financial support to support 75 percent of the engine production work, while Bristol handles the rest as a private company. A new and improved engine resurfaced in September 1959 when the 11,300-pound thruster was named "Pegasus".

Around this time, Hawker Aircraft Group became part of Hawke Sidley Airways and Bristol Aero Engines became Bristol Sidley Engines (the former eventually became British Aerospace (BAe), The latter eventually became part of Rolls-Royce aircraft engines).

In 1960, the British Department of Aviation ordered two prototypes for evaluation, plus four development aircraft based on the P.1127 concept. Hawker Siddeley also began developing a supersonic version for the RAF and Royal Navy, codenamed P.1154. The first controlled flight took place under tether guidance on October 20, 1960, and included simple hover exercises to test the effectiveness of engine and airframe pairings.

From March 13, 1961, flight tests were added and performed in unrestricted hover. Forward flight testing began on September 12, 1961, culminating in a joint order for the Class 9 P by the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany. 1127 (now known as "Kestrel") under the name Kestrel F (GA).

Mk 1. The first Kestrel took off on March 7, 1964.

The evaluation model was sent in 1965 to an international test squadron of British, American and German pilots (collectively known as the Tripartite Evaluation Squadron), which flew on S.1127 at RAF West Raynham. The U.K. ordered six more development aircraft, while the U.S. brought six original evaluation aircraft to the U.S. for further testing with a view to serving their Marines (one U.S. test plane was later lost). Germany refused to buy Kestrel, essentially cancelling the Kestrel project entirely.

The first pre-production Harrier made its maiden flight at Dunsfall on 31 August 1966. Tropical climate testing was carried out with a pre-production Harrier shipped to Sicily and operated by the Andrea Doria helicopter carrier.

Although Project P. 1154 (essentially a larger supersonic version of Kestrel) was cancelled by New Labour in 1964, Project Kestrel continued. Six pre-production P. 1127s were ordered in 1965, with Harrier GRs. The Mk 1 was not designated until 1967.

The RAF adopted a supersonic solution when it purchased the McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II equipped with Rolls-Royce Spey engines. At the same time, development of the Pegasus engine was underway, producing an engine with transonic vanes and increased airflow, which required larger air intakes in the Harrier's fuselage.

As a result, the blow valves (small controllable square openings mounted on either side of the air intake) have been increased from six to eight. While the development of the new Mk 103 engine was delayed for a while, the first production runs used the makeshift Mk 102 engine - essentially a "pimped" powerplant operating above its rating.

132 were initially ordered for the RAF (including two R.2 trainer derivatives). Twenty-seven grams. The Mk 1s rolled off the assembly line soon following the pre-production series. The first GR. was sponsored by the RAF. The Mk 1 was airborne on 28 December 1967, deliveries to 1st Squadron RAF Wittering began on 1 April 1969, and it entered service in October of the same year.

The 3rd, 4th and 20th Squadrons based in Germany will soon follow. Production of GR. 1s was sent to Kingston upon Thames.

Armed with such weapons of war, the Harriers would form a vital counter-strike force across Europe when the Soviet Union called. Instead of operating at forward bases where they could be wiped out on the ground by the expected "first round" Soviet airstrikes, the Harriers were left in camouflaged positions away from these airfields and were asked to Deployed to rugged airstrips in minutes. In this way alone, the West has maintained a unique advantage in using this unique (and highly flexible) tool of warfare. By contrast, the enemy deploys high-speed jet fighters and bombers, some of which tend to overtake targets at such high speeds, while others take several kilometers to turn.

Harrier beats them on both counts, as it is a subsonic aircraft with great vertical capability, ready to deliver powerful ammunition.

The Royal Navy later showed interest in the aircraft as a dedicated naval variant and successfully landed the Harrier on the deck of the HMS Ark Royal in early form in February 1963. The Harrier later evolved into the Sea Harrier series, which was later based on the GR. Mk 3 land-based form. Several key changes between the product and the land-based product include a completely redesigned forward fuselage with radar systems, applicable naval avionics and a special form of the Rolls-Royce Pegasus Mk 104 series turbofan engine.

These additions make the Sea Harrier more of a "true" fighter than an attack aircraft.

The U.S. Marine Corps was convinced of the Harrier's capabilities and was in the market for a fixed-wing aircraft capable of supporting advancing forces. At the time, the US Marine Corps was about to purchase the McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II for its fixed-wing needs. The Harrier's advantage is that it can operate near the front line without having to travel to a hot zone from a nearby airfield or an offshore naval vessel. However, the U.S.

Marine Corps took an interest in Harrier in 1967 and began field observations of it in 1968. Two US Marine Corps pilots were sent to the UK to test the new beast.

The US Marine Corps pilots, with only a few remaining, were traded to the Harriers, and the US Navy began to procure 12 Harriers designated AV-8A by the US for their naval counterparts. The AV-8A was named Mk 50 by Hawke and was delivered by Dozen GR. Mk 1s state.

The Marine Corps has ordered a total of 110 AV-8As, a total of 102 attack models and eight two-seater trainers known as the TAV-8A (or Mk 54 in Hawke's inventory).