Hawker Siddeley Harrier Hawker Siddeley GR.1 / GR.3 and AV-8A - the aircraft from the first generation of the family of British fighter-bomber " ". It was the first attack aircraft with the possibility of vertical / short take-off and landing ( ) and the only truly successful V / STOL fighter out of many that appeared in that era. Harrier was developed on the basis of the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel prototype aircraft, after the development of the more supersonic aircraft was . Serial production started in 1967. The British Royal Air Force ordered the Harrier GR.1 and GR.3 variants in the late 1960s. The aircraft was exported to the United States under the AV-8A mark in the 1970s for use by the United States Marine Corps (USMC).
| Harrier GR.1 / GR.3 AV-8A / C / S Harrier | |
|---|---|
 Spain's Navy AV-8S Matador over Dédalo aircraft carrier | |
| Type of | fighter bomber |
| Developer | Hawker siddeley |
| Manufacturer |  Hawker siddeley  Northrop Aircraft (collaboration, manufacturing license) [1] [2] |
| First flight | August 13, 1966 |
| Start of operation | April 1, 1969 |
| Status | withdrawn from service |
| Operators | British Air Force US Navy |
| Years of production | 1967 - 1970s |
| Units produced | 278 [3] |
| Base model | Hawker P.1127 |
| Options | British aerospace sea harrier McDonnell Douglas AV-8 Harrier II |
It was in service with the United Kingdom (Royal Air Force), the United States (Marines), Spain, India and Thailand.
Further development of the aircraft are aircraft BAE Sea Harrier , BAE Harrier II , and AV-8B Harrier II , manufactured at the enterprises of British Aerospace (UK) and McDonnell Douglas (USA).
Design
Aircraft of vertical take-off and landing , single-seat all - metal high - wing of a normal aerodynamic design with a bicycle chassis . It is equipped with one Rolls-Royce Pegasus turbofan engine with four rotary nozzles located in pairs to the left and to the right of the fuselage, under the center section and in the aft part: the first create traction with cold compressed air from the engine primary circuit, the second with hot engine exhaust.
Aircraft Development
Origin
The prototype for Harrier was the Hawker P.1127 experimental aircraft. Prior to the development of the P.1127, Hawker Aircraft worked on the aircraft project, which was a replacement for the Hawker Hunter [4] . Project P.1121 was canceled after the publication of the British government, which advocated the transition from manned aircraft to guided missiles. This policy change led to the cessation of work on most aircraft projects, which at that time were developed for the British army [5] . Hawker quickly moved on to new projects and became interested in vertical take-off and landing aircraft (VTOL), which did not need runways [a] . According to senior air marshal Sir , this interest could have been triggered by the presence of the Air Staff Requirement 345, which requested the Royal Air Force either a vertical take-off fighter or a short take-off [7] .
Design work on P.1127 was officially launched in 1957 by Sir Sydney Camm , of the Hawker Aircraft, and Stanley Hooker of the [8] . The development was carried out by Hawker, which was engaged in the production of an airplane glider, and Bristol Engine, which built an engine for the aircraft. Project Design Engineer Gordon Lewis considered close collaboration between the companies as one of the key factors that allowed the continued development of the Harrier aircraft, despite technical obstacles and political setbacks [9] .
Instead of using rotors or a direct jet, the P.1127 used the innovative turbofan engine with deflected thrust. Pegasus I thrust was 9,000 pounds (or 40 kN ), and its first inclusion was made in September 1959 [10] . The contract for two prototype aircraft was signed in June 1960, and the first flight took place in October 1960 [10] . Of the six prototypes built, three crashed, including the case at the Paris air show in Le Bourget in 1963, when the rear nozzles spontaneously turned around the aircraft [11] .
Tripartite Assessment
In 1961, Great Britain, the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany entered into an agreement to purchase nine aircraft developed on the basis of P.1127 in order to assess the capabilities and potential of vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The aircraft were built by Hawker Siddeley , and they were given the British designation Kestrel FGA.1 [12] . Kestrel was a strictly experienced aircraft, and to save money, the development of the Pegasus 5 engine was carried out with restrictions, and its thrust was 15,000 pounds (67 kN) instead of the planned 18,200 (81 kN) [12] . The planes were handed over for evaluation tests to a specially formed air squad with a base in Norfolk County, which consisted of ten pilots - four each from the UK and the USA, and two from Germany [12] . The first flight took place on March 7, 1964 [13] .
In total, 960 sorties were made during the tests, including 1366 takeoffs and landings, and the tests themselves ended in November 1965 [14] [15] . One of the aircraft was lost during the test. Six aircraft, upon completion of the program in the UK, were handed over for US tests under the designation XV-6A Kestrel [16] [17] [18] . The two remaining aircraft were sent for further testing to the , and one of them was modified by installing a more powerful Pegasus 6 engine [19] .
P.1154
At the time of the development of the P.1127, Hawker and Bristol were also working hard to develop a supersonic version, Hawker Siddeley P.1154, to meet the requirements of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which requested such an aircraft [20] . Its design used a single Bristol Siddeley BS100 engine with four rotary nozzles, similar to P.1127, and it was necessary to use afterburner to achieve supersonic speeds [21] . P.1154 won the competition to meet this requirement, despite strong competition from other aircraft such as Dassault Aviation's Mirage IIIV . The French government did not make this decision and left the project; NATO's demand was soon withdrawn in 1965 [22] [b] .
The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy planned to develop and implement the supersonic P.1154 regardless of the abolition of NATO requirements. These ambitions were complicated by conflicting requirements of both departments - while the Air Force required low-flying supersonic attack aircraft, the Navy wanted a twin-engine air defense fighter [24] . Following the election of the Labor government in 1964, the development of P.1154 was canceled, since the Royal Navy had already begun purchasing the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II , and the Royal Air Force attached greater importance to the further development of the aircraft [24] . At the same time, work on some elements of the project, such as the Pegasus ultrasonic engine with PCBs, was continued with the intention to develop a future version of Harrier based on them [25] .
Production
After disrupting the development of R.1154, the Royal Air Force began to consider the possibility of simple modernization of the existing subsonic Kestrel and issued ASR 384 Requirement for an assault vertical take-off and landing aircraft [24] . In 1965, Hawker Siddeley received an order for six prototype aircraft designated P.1127 (RAF), the first of which completed its first flight on August 31, 1966 [26] . At the beginning of 1967, the Royal Air Force ordered 60 aircraft for arming, and they were assigned the designation Harrier GR.1 [27] [28] . The plane was given the English name of the moon family birds - Harrier .
The first flight of the Harrier GR.1 aircraft took place on December 28, 1967. He officially entered service with the Royal Air Force on April 18, 1969, when the Harrier Conversion Unit at the received its first aircraft. [29] The aircraft was built at two plants - in in southwest London and at in Surrey - and underwent preliminary tests at Dunsfold [30] . The for launching Harriers on jumps from aircraft carriers has been practiced at Air Base since 1977. After these tests, springboards have been installed since 1979 on the decks of all Royal Navy aircraft carriers, in preparation for the release of a new version of the aircraft for the fleet - Sea Harrier [31] [32] .
In the late 1960s, British and American governments negotiated Harrier production in the United States. Hawker Siddeley and McDonnell Douglas formed a partnership in 1969 to prepare for American production, but Congressman and decided that it would be cheaper to produce AV-8A on existing production lines in the UK, therefore, all of the AV-8A Harrier were purchased from Hawker Siddeley [33] .
Serial Edition
The first production series of aircraft was designated as Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.1 and was a direct development of the Kestrel prototype. Production was conducted at factories in the cities of Kingston upon Thames and Dunsfold, Surrey. The plane made its first flight on December 28, 1967, and in 1969 it entered into service with the British Air Force. In the early 1970s he entered service with the US Marine Corps and the British Navy.
The next modification of the aircraft was Harrier GR.3 with an improved laser target designation system and slightly increased engine power. This modification, with some modifications (two automatic 30-mm ADEN guns and two AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles were installed), was produced and exported under the designation AV-8A : 113 vehicles were produced for the US Marine Corps and the Spanish Navy. In total, more than 10 modifications of the first generation of the Harrier family were developed:
Harrier GR.1 , Harrier GR.1A , Harrier GR.3 , two-seater training options Harrier T.2 / Harrier T.2A / Harrier T4 ; export modifications for the USA: AV-8A Harrier / AV-8C , training double TAV-8A Harrier ; export modifications for Spain (and later Thailand): AV-8S Matador (designation in the Spanish fleet VA-1 Matador, internal designation of the developer Harrier Mk 53 and Mk 55).
Aircraft control and piloting technology
Being a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, Harrier is distinguished by a specific piloting technique inherent in this type of aircraft. Vertical take-off and landing modes, hover mode and transient flight modes are, in principle, absent in conventional planes and require Harrier pilot skills close to helicopter ones.
VTOL Harrier has two control loops, which (with rare exceptions) are absent in conventional aircraft: deviation of the engine thrust vector and jet control system. The engine thrust vector is deflected by turning four nozzles. The nozzle installation angle is adjustable in the range from zero degrees (nozzles are directed horizontally, strictly back towards the tail), up to 98 ° (several forward towards the nose). For strictly vertical take-off and landing, the nozzles are directed strictly downward at an angle of 90 °. The nozzle rotation is controlled by a handle located next to the gas sector. Since aerodynamic surfaces (ailerons, elevators and rudders) are ineffective in the hover mode and near-zero flight speeds, a jet (reactive) control system is used in these modes. It consists of several adjustable air nozzles located at the wingtips, as well as in the nose and tail of the aircraft. High pressure compressed air is taken from the primary circuit of the engine and routed through pipelines to the nozzles of this system. Management in hover mode using this system is carried out, as in horizontal flight mode, using the knobs and pedals.
Before performing vertical take-off, the aircraft is set up against the wind. The pilot, holding the plane on the brakes in the idle mode, turns the nozzles into a vertical position (90 °) and sets the take-off mode of the engine power sharply. The aircraft is vertically separated from the site: by setting the engine power, the desired height is selected. Acceleration of the aircraft to go into horizontal flight is made by gradually turning the nozzles back to a horizontal position. Vertical landing is performed in the reverse sequence of operations. Particular attention should be paid to the pilot in the direction of the wind during take-off and landing, since the lateral wind is especially dangerous for the aircraft in hovering mode. In this case, the aircraft may exceed the allowable angle of heel to the wing, and, due to the limited power of the reactive control system, sharply lose lift due to deviation of the engine thrust from the vertical. This situation can lead to loss of height and collision with the ground. In addition, during take-off and landing, the pilot must take into account the effect of the screen effect (gas cushion created by engine thrust and reflected from the surface).
When taking off with a short take-off, the nozzles are set to some intermediate position (less than 90 °). The nozzles are turned after the start of the take-off, upon reaching a speed of about 100 km / h.
The thrust vector rotation technique can also be used in horizontal flight, in particular during combat maneuvers in air combat.
An essential feature in the piloting technique is the limited (in some cases) engine operating time in hovering mode. In conditions of high external air temperature, the Pegasus turbofan engine, like all gas turbine engines, loses some power and, when operating in high gas mode, overheats. To compensate for these factors, water is injected into the engine (in the combustion chambers and on the turbine). If it is necessary to use such an injection, the hanging time is limited by the water supply in the on-board tank (227 liters) and, with a maximum water flow rate, is no more than 90 seconds. At the same time, during demonstration flights at various air shows, the aircraft repeatedly hovered for more than five minutes.
Operation
British Air Force Harrier GR.3 aircraft were first used in combat during the Falkland War with the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes (R12) (ten aircraft). They were mainly used for direct support of the British ground forces and for the bombing of Argentine positions and airfields. The decked version of the British Navy's Sea Harrier FRS.1 aircraft (28 vehicles) was also used during this war, usually for air defense of the naval forces. In total, during the fighting, four Harrier GR.3 planes were lost (both for military and non-combat reasons).
Performance Specifications
These specifications correspond to the modification of the AV-8A . Data Source: Standard Aircraft Characteristics [34]
- Specifications
- Crew : 1 (pilot)
- Length : 13.88 m
- Wing span : 7.7 m
- Height : 3.5 m
- Wing Area: 18.68 m²
- 1/4 chord sweep : 35.17 °
- Wing Elongation Ratio : 3.18
- Average aerodynamic chord : 2.57 m
- Chassis base : 3.48 m (between main racks)
- Track track : 6.76 m (between side racks)
- Empty weight: 5428 kg
- Curb weight: 5680 kg (without combat load)
- Maximum take-off weight :
- with take-off with a short take-off: 11,158 kg
- vertical take-off: 7938 kg
- Mass in battle: 8831 kg
- Maximum landing weight: 7666 kg (with vertical landing)
- Fuel mass in internal tanks: 2341 kg (+ 740 kg in PTB )
- Fuel capacity : 2869 L (+ 2 × 454 L PTB)
- Powerplant: 1 × turbofan engine Rolls-Royce F402-RR-401
- Thrust : 1 × 93.1 kN (take-off)
- maximum: 1 × 72.7 kN
- normal: 1 × 58.2 kN
- Engine length: 3.48 m
- Motor diameter: 1.22m
- Dry engine weight: 1657 kg
- Flight characteristics
- Maximum speed: 1102 km / h
- Cruising speed : 828 km / h
- Stall speed: 241 km / h (depending on weight)
- Combat radius: 348 km (with 3 × Mk.82 bombs and 2 × Mk.83 bombs without PTB)
- Practical range: 1524 km (without PTB without combat load)
- Ferry range: 1704 km (with PTB without combat load)
- with PTB discharge as fuel consumption : 1815 km
- Practical ceiling : 13,411 m
- Rate of climb : 104.6 m / s (without PTB without combat load with a full supply of fuel)
- Wing load: 429 kg / m² (no combat load)
- Thrust -weight ratio: 1,196 (at maximum take-off weight for vertical take-off)
- Take-off length: up to 329 m (take-off take-off)
- Maximum operational overload : + 7.5 g
- Armament
- Rifle-cannon: 2 × 30 mm Aden guns (removable)
- Pendant points: 5
- Combat load:
- under the fuselage and internal: 3 × 907 kg
- external: 2 × 454 kg
- Guided missiles:
- air-to-air missiles : 2 × AIM-9
- Unguided missiles :
- 16 (4 × 4) × 127 mm in LAU 10 blocks
- 28 (4 × 7) × 70 mm Hydra missiles in LAU 68 blocks
- 76 (4 × 19) × 70 mm Hydra missiles in LAU 69 blocks
- Bombs : Falling:
- high explosive :
- 5 × 119 kg Mk. 81 or 227 kg Mk. 82
- 2 × 460 kg Mk. 83
- incendiary : 5 × 340 kg Mk.77
- cassette :
- 4 × Mk.20
- 2 × CBU-24
- high explosive :
- Outboard fuel tanks : 2 × 454 L
Similar aircraft
- Yak-38
See also
- British aerospace sea harrier
- McDonnell Douglas AV-8 Harrier II
- BAE Harrier II
Notes
Comments
- ↑ The development of the V / STOL aircraft was not Hawker’s main goal, as it made a joint proposal with Avro for GOR.339 (which led to the development of the BAC TSR-2 ), but the application was unsuccessful. The inability to receive an order to develop conventional aircraft in a hostile political climate was probably the main motivation for the development of the Harrier aircraft [6] .
- ↑ Mirage IIIV was rejected mainly due to the excessive complexity of the design, which used nine engines compared to the single-engine P.1154 [23] .
Sources
- ↑ Hawker, Northrop Sign VTOL Contract . // Aviation Week & Space Technology , January 21, 1963, v. 78, no. 3, p. 38.
- ↑ Hawker / Northrop Agreement . // Flight International , 17 January 1963, v. 83, no. 2810, p. 68.
- ↑ Mason 1991, pp. 421-432.
- ↑ Davies and Thornborough, 1997 , pp. 12-13.
- ↑ Jefford, 2006 , p. eleven.
- ↑ Jefford, 2006 , pp. 11-12, 25.
- ↑ Jefford, 2006 , pp. 11–12.
- ↑ Jefford, 2006 , pp. 26–27.
- ↑ Jefford, 2006 , p. 23.
- ↑ 1 2 Jefford, 2006 , p. 24.
- ↑ Mason, 1991 , p. 413–416.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Jefford, 2006 , p. 39.
- ↑ Jefford, 2006 , p. 41.
- ↑ Spick, 2000 , p. 362.
- ↑ Jefford, 2006 , p. 47.
- ↑ Evans, A. American Harrier – Part One. (англ.) // Model Aircraft Monthly. - Vol. 8 , no. 4 . — P. 36–39 .
- ↑ Mason, Kenneth J. and Charles R. Rosburg. USAF Evaluation of the Harrier GR Mk 1. – AD0855032 (англ.) // Air Force Flight Test Center Edwards AFB. — 1969. — June. Архивировано 31 марта 2017 года.
- ↑ Jenkins, 1998 , p. sixteen.
- ↑ Mason, 1991 , p. 419–420.
- ↑ Jefford, 2006 , p. 12.
- ↑ Buttler, 2000 , p. 119–120.
- ↑ Jefford, 2006 , pp. 12–13.
- ↑ Jefford, 2006 , p. nineteen.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Jefford, 2006 , p. 13.
- ↑ Moxton, 1982 , p. 1633.
- ↑ Mason, 1986 , p. 78.
- ↑ Mason, 1986 , p. 81.
- ↑ VTOL Aircraft 1966 (англ.) . Flight International (26 May 1966). Date of treatment December 14, 2018.
- ↑ Evans, 1998 , pp. 21–22.
- ↑ Nordeen, 2006 , p. 66.
- ↑ Vann, 1990 , p. 23.
- ↑ Evans, 1998 , p. 60.
- ↑ Nordeen, 2006 , p. 28.
- ↑ Standard Aircraft Characteristics. Navy Model AV-8A Aircraft . — Published by Direction of The Commander of The Naval Air Systems Command, Novemder 1972. — (NAVAIR 00-110AV8-1).
Publications
- Davies, Peter E.; Thornborough, Anthony M. The Harrier story . — Annapolis, Md. : Naval Institute Press, 1997. — ISBN 9781557503572 .
- Jefford, CG The RAF Harrier story. : [ eng. ] . — England : Royal Air Force Historical Society, 2006. — 131 pages с. — ISBN 0953034526 .
- Mason, Francis K. Hawker aircraft since 1920 : [ eng. ] . — 3rd, rev. ed. — London : Putnam, 1991. — 657 с. — ISBN 0851778399 .
- Mason, Francis K. Harrier : [ eng. ] . — Fully updated, expanded ed. — Wellingborough : Stephens, 1986. — 240 с. — ISBN 085059801X .
- Buttler, Tony. British Secret Projects: Jet Fighters Since 1950. : [ eng. ] . — Earl Shilton [England] : Midland Pub., 2000. — 176 с. — ISBN 1857800958 .
- Moxton, Julian. Supersonic Harrier: One Step Closer (англ.) // Flight International. — 1982. — 4 December. — P. 1633–1635 .
- Evans, Andy. BAE/MvDonnell Douglas Harrier : [ eng. ] . — Ramsbury, Wiltshire, England : Crowood Press, 1998. — 191 с. — ISBN 1861261055 .
- Brown, Kevin. «The Plane That Makes Airfields Obsolete.» Popular Mechanics , 133(6), June 1970, pp. 80-83.
- Ellis, Ken. Wrecks & Relics, 21st edition . Manchester, UK: Crécy Publishing, 2008. ISBN 978-0-85979-134-2 .
- Gunston, Bill and Mike Spick. Modern Air Combat: The Aircraft, Tactics and Weapons Employed in Aerial Warfare Today . New York: Crescent Books, 1983. ISBN 0-517-41265-9 .
- Jenkins, Dennis R. Boeing/BAe Harrier : [ eng. ] . — North Branch, MN : Speciality Press, 1998. — 100 с. — ISBN 1580070140 .
- Nordeen, Lon O. Harrier II: Validating V/STOL : [ eng. ] . — Annapolis, Md. : Naval Institute Press, 2006. — 210 с. — ISBN 1591145368 .
- Polmar, Norman and Dana Bell. One Hundred Years of World Military Aircraft . Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2003. ISBN 1-59114-686-0 .
- Scott, Phil. «Updates». Air and Space , January, 2009, p. 12.
- Spick, Mike; Gunston, Bill. The Great Book of Modern Warplanes . — Osceola, Wis. : MBI Pub. Co, 2000. — 520 pages с. — ISBN 0760308934 .
- Sturtivant, Ray. RAF Flying Training and Support Units since 1912. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians), 2007. ISBN 0-85130-365-X .
- И. Алексеев. Истребители «Харриер». // «Зарубежное военное обозрение», № 1, 1980. стр.63-66.
- И. Куцев. Самолет «Си Харриер» для противолодочных авианосцев ВМС Великобритании // «Зарубежное военное обозрение», № 11, 1983. стр.61-65
- Кедров С. "Болотный лунь". О вертикально взлетающем истребителе-бомбардировщике «Харриер» (рус.) // Крылья Родины . — М. , 1999. — № 9 . — С. 14—17 . — ISSN 0130-2701 .