FrangibleCover
commented
1 year ago @PygmalionOfCyprus this should have the CWDB label too, it's relevant to the 60s/70s GR.1 as well. If I get around to it I'll try and split this entry into task lines, as discussed.
DB Selector
Both
Affected DBID(s)
All Harrier GR.1/GR.3, probably also T.2/T.4/T.4A
Summary of Changes
Copies
All DB3k
Yeah, I'm asking for three different Harriers representing the aircraft in the same year. The current 1982 Harrier in the DB is a good representation for general Harrier operations 1982-1990ish, incorporating the modifications that spread across the Harrier fleet such as Sidewinder and AN/ALE-40. The first new 1982 Harrier specifically represents the aircraft that were initially sent south, six airframes with the Task Force and three on Ascension doing local air defence. These aircraft carried old style RN 2" rockets instead of the usual 68mm SNEB due to concerns that the SNEB was not cleared for the intense electromagnetic environment of a carrier deck and the rockets may be set off in the pods, with disasterous results. The second new 1982 Harrier is a classic example of a British bodge capability, the four attrition replacement Harriers (and some others that never arrived) carried the dismembered guts of a Tornado's Skyshadow pod in their starboard cannon fairing instead of an ADEN. 'Blue Eric' is a false rainbow code (in the style of Orange Crop and Blue Fox), used because the man who came up with the idea was called Eric.
Avionics and Mounts
All aircraft should have a single fixed F95 camera, facing port, in the nose. I'd actually suggest from the position that it may be a port-forward only camera.
[ ] GR.1
[ ] GR.1A
[ ] GR.3 CWDB
[ ] GR.3 DB3k
[ ] GR.3 1982
All GR.1s should have the RWR removed, it was added with GR.3.
[ ] GR.1
[ ] GR.1A
Changes for the new aircraft
[ ] The GR.3 in the CWDB should have the Ferranti LRMTS added (copy DB3k Sensor Group 6874).
[ ] The Blue Eric GR.3 should be like the GR.3C, but it should have only a single ADEN mount (Weapon 1080) and gain a mount carrying the ARI.23353/1 Blue Eric DECM system, which is a Sky Shadow in a direct mount instead of a pod (Sensor 135).
Loadouts
Harriers are currently badly underloaded in CMO. Unlike many aircraft, Harrier was envisaged to carry its max warload and no fuel tanks on most combat missions, the VTOL capabilities let it safely base close enough to the front line that it didn't need the fuel. Harrier GR used a 100Gal tank (CWDB Weapon 1482, DB3k Weapon 2658), not the 190Gal tank of the Sea Harrier. 1000lb bombs may be ballistic or retarded in all except cases for one, currently the Mk.13 and Mk.18 but see #3456. British doctrine heavily emphasised the low level attack with retarded bombs, but in the Falklands the Harriers ended up doing a lot of medium altitude or toss bombing to try and stay out of the AAA envelope around Stanley.
GR.1 (CWDB 1254):
GR.1A (CWDB 3056) Additions:
GR.3 (CWDB 1253) Additions:
GR.3 (DB3k 785):
GR.3 Post-Falklands (DB3k 787) Changes:
GR.3C Falklands Mod (new) Changes from DB3k 737:
GR.3 Blue Eric (new) Changes from GR.3C:
GR.3 (1988) (new) Changes from DB3k 787:
I'm surprised to see the IBL.755 isn't on any aircraft in the database, but I'll tackle that later.
Ready Times UK Harrier should probably have even better ready times than are represented in game. I know that generally speaking this isn't done, but note the first source below on Harrier ops in Germany: During peacetime exercise flying, 8-5 working hours, six aircraft could generate 36-40 sorties. This is probably with extremely short sorties but it still represents each aircraft going from take-off to the next take-off in forty minutes on average. Assuming a twenty five minute sortie for ease, that would be 6x sorties on 15 minute Quick Turnarounds with 2.5hrs flying. American Harriers have this already: 3x 15 minute Quick Turnarounds with 4hrs flying for dumb weapons on the AV-8A and AV-8B models, I think it would probably be fair enough to set the UK Harriers to this rate.
If you're feeling spicy, there is also the second source which talks about 40 minute sorties and 10-12 sorties per day being usual, which I have to assume involved violating the flying hours limitation rather than representing 8 hours of flying and 11 consecutive five minute turnarounds.
Sources
https://web.archive.org/web/20041205094549fw_/http://harrier.hyperlinx.cz/FAQ-falklandwar.htm https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235056895-harrier-gr3-ascension-island/ https://www.airvectors.net/avav8_2.html https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234923307-harrier-gr3-sidewinders-falklands-era/ https://www.key.aero/forum/modern-military-aviation/84397-harrier-gr-3-and-the-paveway-ii https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/20027-unknown-pod/ https://www.key.aero/article/raf-harrier-gr3-falklands-war-diary https://www.key.aero/article/harrier-gr3s-frontline-raf-germany-cold-war-ops - Ready Times https://www.fourfax.co.uk/11/history/field-deployments-by-al-holman - Ready Times https://youtu.be/3L31oISUyWY
Harrier at Ascension with the big tanks
2" rocket pods