Hawker Siddeley Harrier / BAe Sea Harrier

Updated: October 2026 – A combat jet that hovers over a meadow like a helicopter, slowly turns, takes a bow and then shoots off: this display has fascinated generations of airshow visitors. Hawker Siddeley’s Harrier was the first combat aircraft to master this trick not just in trials but in regular operational service. Its naval version, British Aerospace’s Sea Harrier, made history in the Falklands War. On this page you will learn how the concept came about, what versions there were, who flew the Jump Jet and where you can get the first generation in front of your camera today.

The Harrier in one sentence

The Harrier is a single-seat ground-attack and reconnaissance aircraft with a single engine whose thrust is vectored downward or rearward through four swiveling nozzles. That lets it take off and land vertically, lift off with a short run and hover in place. The advantage for the military: it doesn’t need a long concrete runway but gets by with forest clearings, road sections or small aircraft carriers.

The heart of the concept is the Pegasus engine, originally developed by Bristol and later built on under Rolls-Royce. The basic idea of a jet engine with vectored thrust goes back to the French adviser Michel Wibault; Bristol turned it into a smaller, lighter design. At Hawker, engineer Ralph Hooper laid down the basic layout of the aircraft, while chief designer Sydney Camm insisted on the greatest possible simplicity.

From the P.1127 to the Harrier: the long road

The story begins in the late 1950s. Bristol had an engine project with vectored thrust in the drawer, and Stanley Hooker of Bristol told Sydney Camm about it in 1957. Hawker built an experimental aircraft around this engine: the P.1127.

Six P.1127s were built and nine Kestrels. The evaluation squadron – in English the Tripartite Evaluation Squadron – is considered the first military unit ever equipped with V/STOL aircraft. West Germany was thus involved in the Harrier concept early on, but later did not procure the Harrier for the Bundeswehr (the German armed forces).

The first-generation versions

In total, 278 first-generation Harriers were built. The most important versions at a glance:

Version	Operator	Special feature
GR.1 / GR.1A	Royal Air Force	First production version, first flight 1967
GR.3	Royal Air Force	Laser rangefinder in lengthened nose, more powerful Pegasus 103
T.2 / T.4	Royal Air Force	Two-seater with stepped canopy for training
AV-8A / AV-8C	US Marine Corps	102 single-seaters, in service from 1971, retired by 1987
TAV-8A	US Marine Corps	Two-seater, 8 aircraft
AV-8S / TAV-8S Matador	Spanish Navy, later Thailand	Export via the US, in service from 1976

The GR.3 is the version most spotters picture when they think of an RAF Harrier. Its long, obliquely cut-off nose with the window for the laser target rangefinder makes it instantly recognizable. In addition came a radar warning receiver, improved electronics and the more powerful Pegasus 103 with about 96 kilonewtons of thrust.

The two-seaters T.2 and T.4 can be recognized by the long, stepped canopy and the lengthened fuselage. They retained full V/STOL capability, which was crucial for training: hovering was considered the most demanding phase in the Harrier cockpit.

Operational service: RAF, Marines, Spain, Thailand

Royal Air Force – and a lot of West Germany

For the RAF, the Harrier was the aircraft for the war in Central Europe. The idea: in a real conflict the big airfields would be destroyed, but Harriers could keep operating from hidden field sites. That is why the RAF based its Harrier squadrons in West Germany:

• RAF Wildenrath from June 1970 to April 1977 with Nos. 3, 4 and 20 Squadron
• RAF Gütersloh from January 1977 to April 1992 with Nos. 3 and 4 Squadron
• RAF Laarbruch near Weeze from 1992, then already with the Harrier II

Two to three times a year, parts of the squadrons deployed into the field. Engineers laid aluminum plates, the jets took off from makeshift strips about 230 meters long and landed on small pads of about 21 by 21 meters. Anyone who grew up in East Westphalia or on the Lower Rhine at the time knows the sound.

In 1969 the Harrier also delivered a famous publicity feat: in the Daily Mail Transatlantic Air Race, two RAF Harriers flew between London and New York, refueling in flight along the way. They took off and landed in the middle of the city – a first for jet aircraft. Aircraft XV741 won the westbound category and now stands in the Brooklands Museum.

The Harrier was also present in Belize: there it was the only RAF combat aircraft that could safely use the short runway. From 1988 the RAF then received the Harrier II as the GR.5 and GR.7, which replaced the GR.3 in the early 1990s.

US Marine Corps: AV-8A

The US Marine Corps was enthusiastic about the concept and bought a total of 102 AV-8As and 8 TAV-8As between 1971 and 1976. That made the Harrier one of the few foreign combat aircraft in US service. The Marines operated it from amphibious ships and improvised sites. By 1987 the AV-8A and the modernized AV-8C were retired, replaced by the AV-8B Harrier II, which McDonnell Douglas had developed from the Harrier.

Spain and Thailand: the Matador

In the early 1970s, Spain was not allowed to buy directly from Hawker for political reasons. The US government therefore acted as intermediary. From 1976 the Armada flew its AV-8S Matadors from Rota and from the carrier Dédalo. In 1998, seven single-seaters and two two-seaters went to the Royal Thai Navy, which used them for the light carrier Chakri Naruebet. In 2006 Thailand retired the last flyable first-generation Harrier.

The Sea Harrier: Jump Jet for the Royal Navy

In the mid-1970s the Royal Navy needed a combat aircraft for its new, comparatively small carriers of the Invincible class. The solution was a naval version of the Harrier. It was built by British Aerospace, into which Hawker Siddeley had merged in 1977 – today the company is part of BAE Systems.

The Sea Harrier FRS.1 flew on August 20, 1978 at Dunsfold. The first front-line squadron, 800 Naval Air Squadron, was formed in March 1980. Compared with the RAF Harrier, the Sea Harrier had:

• a raised cockpit with bubble canopy for better all-round visibility
• the Blue Fox radar in the nose
• Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and navigation aids for carrier landings
• protection against corrosion from seawater

One important innovation was not in the aircraft but on the ship: the ski jump at the bow end of the carriers. With it the Sea Harrier could take off more heavily loaded than would have been possible from a flat deck.

Falklands War 1982

The Sea Harrier had its big moment in the Falklands War of 1982. From the carriers Hermes and Invincible, Sea Harriers were the only British fighters in the South Atlantic. They shot down 20 Argentine aircraft without losing one of their own in air combat. Losses came from ground fire and accidents. In addition, ten RAF Harrier GR.3s flew ground-attack missions from Hermes. In total the British lost six Sea Harriers and four GR.3s in the conflict.

FA2, India and the end

From 1988 the modernized Sea Harrier FA2 flew with the Blue Vixen radar and AMRAAM missiles; the first aircraft was delivered in 1993. Many FRS.1s were converted to this standard. In total, 98 Sea Harriers were built. The Royal Navy retired the last FA2s in March 2006.

The Indian Navy received 30 aircraft of the export version FRS.51, including five two-seaters. It flew the Sea Harriers from the carrier Viraat and retired them in March 2016 – ending the service life of the first Harrier generation worldwide.

How to identify the Harrier and Sea Harrier

In a museum the Harrier usually stands within reach, and wind and backlight play no role. The challenge lies more in identifying the version correctly. This quick ID helps you:

You can find more identification aids for European combat aircraft in the article Identifying fighter jets in Europe. And if you come across a Hawker Hunter in the same museum: it is the older stablemate from the same house.

Where to see Harriers today

Because the first generation is no longer in service anywhere, your route leads to a museum. The selection is pleasantly large, in Germany too. The serials come from the usual inventory lists; before your visit, check with the museum whether the aircraft is currently on display.

Location	Aircraft	Note
Military History Museum Berlin-Gatow	Harrier GR.1 XV278	Early RAF production version
Flugausstellung Hermeskeil	Harrier GR.3 XZ998	Large collection, many combat jets outdoors
Imperial War Museum Duxford	Harrier GR.3 XZ133, Sea Harrier FA2 ZA175	Harrier and Sea Harrier in one place
RAF Museum Cosford	Kestrel FGA.1 XS695	Predecessor from the tripartite evaluation
Brooklands Museum	P.1127 XP984, Harrier GR.1 XV741	XV741 is the winner of the 1969 Daily Mail race
National Museum of Flight East Fortune	Harrier GR.1 XV277	Scotland, near Edinburgh
Pima Air & Space Museum	Sea Harrier FA2 ZH810, XV-6A Kestrel	Tucson, Arizona
National Museum of the US Air Force	XV-6A Kestrel	Dayton, Ohio

More Sea Harriers stand, according to inventory lists, at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton (where there is also a P.1127), at the Midland Air Museum in Coventry, the Newark Air Museum and the Naval Aviation Museum in Goa. In Germany the lists also name a Harrier GR.3 at the Flugplatzmuseum Gütersloh – fitting for the former Harrier base. For an overview of German collections, see the article Aviation museums in Germany.

If you visit Duxford, you can combine it with an airshow – more in the article on the Duxford airshows. For an overview of the season’s big events, see Airshows in Europe for plane spotters, and at the Royal International Air Tattoo British aviation classics regularly turn up in the static display.

Photo tips for museum Harriers

A Harrier in a museum is not an easy subject: it is small, often stands tightly among other aircraft and in halls with mixed lighting.

In Planetrack you post your museum photo with type, serial and location and file it in your hangar. Variants you still lack – such as the Kestrel, T.4 or Sea Harrier FRS.51 – you note on your wish list. In the community you get likes and comments and chat with other fans of British military aviation. If you want to lend a hand yourself, the article Volunteering at aviation museums offers ideas.

Conclusion

The Harrier proved that a vertical-takeoff combat aircraft works not only in trials but in the daily routine of an air force. The P.1127 of 1960 became a jet that was used in West Germany, in Belize, on American and Spanish ships and in the South Atlantic. The Sea Harrier turned it into a carrier fighter, and the Harrier II carried the idea into the 21st century. Today you meet the first generation in museums – fortunately also in Berlin-Gatow and Hermeskeil.