NAVY NEWS, FEBRUARY 2011
23
● Last dawn... The Harriers are lined up on the standings at Cottesmore at fi rst light on December 15
the jump jet is over. Shortly after 2.30pm on Wednesday December 15 2010 16 Harriers touched down on the tarmac at Cottesmore in Rutland. They will fl y no more. After a decade of development, 41 years of service – more than 30 of those with the Fleet Air Arm – the fabled fi ghter/bomber is condemned to the history books.
AND so Britain’s 50-year love affair with
n d y
It means that today, for the fi rst time in nearly a century, there are no front-line fi xed-wing aircraft in the Royal Navy’s inventory. For a fi nal time 16 Harrier two-seat trainers and GR9s – drawn from 800 Naval Air Squadron and the RAF’s 1(F) and 4(F) Squadrons – fl ew in UK skies as operational aircraft before the axe of austerity, wielded by October’s Strategic Defence and Security Review, fell on Joint Force Harrier. The iconic aircraft, embodying the best of British aero engineering, began life in the early 1960s, entered service at the end of that decade, evolved into the Sea Harrier at the end of the ’70s, guaranteed Britain’s fi nest post-war hour in the skies of the Falklands and held the line in the skies of the Gulf and, latterly, Afghanistan. The jets had already nodded their farewells to HMS Ark Royal and RNAS Yeovilton, home to the Sea Harrier throughout its career in two incarnations, before taking a bow over central and eastern England. In a fi nal fl ight of one hour and 45 minutes, the jets
) na al
fl ew in formation at heights up to 30,000 ft, passing over ten RAF establishments, before landing back at Cottesmore.
When all 16 jets were safely on the ground and
taxied to their standings, the pilots were ‘serenaded’ down the tarmac by a pipe band as they walked away from their jets for the last time. “The last fl ight was a very poignant moment in what is a very poignant day,” said Cdr Dave ‘Tinsel’ Lindsay, the fi nal Commanding Offi cer of 800 NAS in its current incarnation.
“It has been an enormous personal privilege and honour to have been involved with this wonderful aircraft for nearly 20 years, at sea and over land, at peace and in confl ict.” “I will forever be immensely proud to be able to say I have been a Royal Navy Harrier squadron commander.” His comrade Capt Mike Carty RM added: “Britain can be proud of the legacy that the Harrier leaves behind. We feel very proud to have been part of that legacy.” For the past decade, his squadron has fallen under the umbrella of the combined Fleet Air Arm- RAF Joint Force Harrier. The Air Force, like the Navy, mourns its passing.
in
and h won an
b H
For the h have
“The Harrier is a true icon and stands testament to the innovation and excellence of British design and engineering, and the skill and courage of our airmen,” said Air Vice Marshal Greg Bagwell in command of No.1 Group – the RAF’s fast jet arm. “It has had a truly distinguished service with both the RAF and the Royal Navy, from the South Atlantic to the skies over Afghanistan. It now takes its place in history as one of aviation’s greats.” For now, all 79 remaining Harriers in Britain’s inventory go into storage as Whitehall seeks potential buyers.
As for the men who have crewed and maintained them, all the Harrier squadrons were disbanding at a formal ceremony at RAF Wittering – the Air Force’s home to the jump jet since it entered service in 1969 – as Navy News went to press.
● All 16 Harriers in formation over the skies of eastern England for the fi nal fl y past and (above) the last Commanding Offi cer of 800 NAS, Cdr Dave Lindsay, carries out checks before take-off in his fi nal time in a jump jet cockpit
Har H “B
n its “It
pictures: la(phot) luis holden, 800 nas, cpl al crowe, sac mark dixon, jamie hunter
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44