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Sea Harrier Over The Falklands


Daniel Cox

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Hi All,

I've just bought the book Sea Harrier Over The Falklands by Commander 'Sharkey' Ward and am now up to Chapter 3. I was just wondering if anyone on here has read this book and knows much about what he covers and would share their opinions about it with me.

I was 11 at the time of the Falklands War and know very little about it aside from limited memories of seeing news reports on the tele and hearing some stories from when I was in Infantry from a CSM who was there as a young chap carrying a GPMG with 2 Para.

When I was 10 in 1981 I made a bet against a couple of my English cousins (when they were over for a visit) that Australia was certain to get the Invincible, they were certain Australia wouldn't. Following what happened in 1982 they were right and I ended up losing the bet!

I didn't know that it was such a battle to get Sea Harriers operating by night etc is there more to the story about all this? Are there other books worth reading on the subject, is the above mentioned book a recommended read?

Cheers,

Daniel.

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Lot of questions... A few responses, no special order.

Yes, Sharkey Ward's book is very readable - I bought my copy some years ago and have read it more than once. Problem with such books is that they immediately attract lots of bitching that seems OTT - many people cannot read something that conflicts with their own preconceived ideas. A lot of people seem to have slagged off this book. But unlike many such, Ward's book is very readable and carries conviction; some accuse him of anti-RAF bias, but he seems to me to play fair with the RAF people he encountered and, indeed, who flew with him in 801 Squadron such as Paul Barton, who gained one of the earliest air-to-air kills.

Other books by RAF combatants are at least equally anti-Navy - though still worth reading. David Morgan's "Hostile Skies" is a bit wet in places and not as well written as Ward's; Jerry Pook's "RAF Harrier Ground Attack Falklands" gives a useful account of the GR3 operations, and is virulently hostile to the Navy!

I'm the same age as those Harrier pilots, and if I hadn't failed the eyesight tests (RAF AND Navy...) in the late '60s who knows, I might have been one of them... So when our little war was going on I was a passionately interested spectator from afar. And I've read a reasonable amount - though genuinely good books about the Falklands War are few and far between, especially re air operations. I'd recommend getting hold of "Falklands - The Air War" by Burden et al, an indispensable guide to the aircraft types involved and their detailed operation. And Salvador Mafe Huertas did an excellent thin softback on the Dassault Mirage with two very good chapters on Argentine Mirages in Falklands operations, also recommended.

Maybe others will add their reading recommendations, in which case I too will be interested to see what I might have missed.

Regards, Tony

Afterthoughts - there's a large format Ian Allan book on the Harrier that includes combat accounts from the Falklands by e.g. Ward and Morgan; this also provides good background on Harrier development, including mods that were in progress but which, very frustratingly, did not quite arrive in time for the Falklands War. I think of the larger external fuel tanks, the Sea Eagle fit (just think, Sea Harriers launched in a carrier strike against Veinte Cinco de Mayo...) and the quad Sidewinder fit. Any or all of these would have made a significant difference.

Edited by corporate
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All three books - by Sharkey Ward, Dave Morgan and Gerry Pook - are good reads and all provide valid and personal accounts of the three authors' very different experiences of the war, their success, losses and their lives at that time. For one I know that writing the book was a very cathartic and life-enhancing experience. If you ever get the chance to listen to Dave, Gerry or Bob Iveson talk of their experiences at an event near you - go!

As you summise Daniel there is a lot we'll never know and yes there were a lot of operating difficulties that had to be overcome and tried in theatre first.

The Ian Allan book referred to by Corporate is Dr Alfred Price's 'Harrier at War' book. It also picks up the Blue Eric ECM fit that some GR3s had and hints at the Shrike trials the GR3s undertook.

With Jeffrey Ethell he also wrote 'Air War South Atlantic' very soon after the event. Burden et al's book is the best in terms of the detail for both sides' participating aircraft, again written when the actions were not a distant memory.

Covering the whole war day by day and people's experiences of it, the best book has to be 'The Falklands War Then and Now' edited by Gordon Ramsey for After the Battle publications.

More info on the SHARs involved and the GR3s can be found in the members' area on the Harrier SIG's website: http://www.harriersig.org.uk/

Please ask if you have any more questions.

Happy reading!

Nick

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Hi Tony,

Thanks for all the book recommendations I appreciate it and wasn't aware of them. I am now up to Chapter 14 so I have happily pressed on.

Clearly the author has a very high opinion of himself and his team which I readily accept as being his perspective on things which is fine from that point of view. However I am now curious as to the experience of others and their perspectives on the events as well, not to discount his story but simply to understand more about it.

As to inter-service and inter-unit rivalries I am not surprised from my own experience with different services and units from when I wore a uniform, that kind of thing can sometimes be just part of the furniture.

Hi Nick

Thanks also for the book recommendations plus the mention of talks by those who were there I hadn't even considered that as a n option for finding out more. I've been thinking about getting the Then and Now Book (which I was aware of) sight unseen as I have a few other Then and Now books myself so expect it will be okay. These reading lark can certainly get expensive though.

As to there being a lot we'll never know I'm sure of that being the case from my own experience with that kind of thing.

Since I have an interest in Harriers GR 1,3 and FRS 1 (the GR 5 and FA 2 are too modern for my tastes), I'll have to wander over to the Harrier SIG website as well although I fear I won't be able to contribute much except ask questions!

Plus I've never heard of the Blue Eric ECM fit.

Cheers,

Daniel.

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Hi Daniel,

It's amazing what asking questions contributes to the SIG in the amount of info it unearths that people can tap into. So, please ask away!

The Blue Eric ECM fit on some of the Falklands GR3s took some kit from Sky Shadow mixed in some other bits and put it all into the starboard gunpod to produce a quickly deployable jamming device. Of course, the stbd gun pod could not be used for a gun as well!

Also highly recommended is Jamie Hunter's book - Sea Harrier the Last All British Fighter.

You may find the FA2 too modern but, if you decide to make a model of an FRS1, Kagero's Topshot book on the SHAR FA2 is crammed with excellent walkaround photos; 92% of which you can use on the FRS1; those you cannot being those of: the radome, the rear fuselage plug, the fin mounted probe and instrument panel. The Kagero book is also available to download as an e-book I believe.

Happy reading!

Cheers,

Nick

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Clearly the author has a very high opinion of himself and his team which I readily accept as being his perspective on things which is fine from that point of view. ...

Cheers,

Daniel.

He is a fighter pilot after all! I've met a few and they tended to be a bit, how shall I say, completely egocentric. Although most are normal, just with damn good jobs.

I've read those books and they are good reads. Martin Middlebrook wrote one from the Argentine side (in English) about all combatants' experiences (Army, Navy & Air Force). Can't quite remember what it was called I'm afraid - something like Fight for the Malvinas or something.

Not directly about the Falklands War, Sea Harriers or fighter pilots, is the book 'Age of Invincible' by Nick Childs. An insightful read about the Invincible class.

Also, Nick Richardson wrote a book about being shot down in a Sea Harrier in Bos, and Rowland White wrote about the buccaneer flight from HMS Ark Royal to Belize. Both interesting reads.

Nb. How do you know if a fighter pilot is in the room?

They'll tell you.

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... Martin Middlebrook wrote one from the Argentine side (in English) about all combatants' experiences (Army, Navy & Air Force). Can't quite remember what it was called I'm afraid - something like Fight for the Malvinas or something.

...

Yes, well worth reading as background, one of the better Falklands War books. It's important to note that Middlebrook's book isn't "from the Argentine side" in the sense of supporting their cause: he went to Argentina and interviewed lots of combatants, and wrote about their experience of the war. Very good it is, too. There's a link with the Sharkey Ward volume, in that there's an account by an Argentine officer who was in the Stanley airfield control tower when those 21 one thousand pounders from the first Vulcan raid hit; it's graphic, and gives a clear impression of the psychological & physical effect of the raid, helping to explain why the Argentines thought there was a real possibility of Vulcan raids against the mainland. All this contradicts interestingly Ward's own feelings as expressed in his book about Black Buck, i.e. that they were a complete waste of time and just grandstanding by the RAF to claim a share of the action.

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Some information on the modifications introduced during the Falklands war (and of course on the various missions) is also contained in Davies & Thornborough "The Harrier Story".

Not sure what the true Harrier experts here think, but I found this book very interesting and has a lot of information on the first generation Harriers. Not that it forgets the second generation ones, but it's not recent enough to include much on these.

Regarding Ward's views, I'd say that a lot of criticism is due to what he wrote after the book. Some of the stuff he published recently is very questionable.

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Some information on the modifications introduced during the Falklands war (and of course on the various missions) is also contained in Davies & Thornborough "The Harrier Story"....

Thanks Giorgio - not a book I'd heard of but I shall investigate.

Regarding Ward's views, I'd say that a lot of criticism is due to what he wrote after the book. Some of the stuff he published recently is very questionable.

I don't follow this kind of thing, but what are you referring to here - further books, newspaper/magazine articles..? I'd be grateful for a reference or two.

Regards, Tony

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Clearly the author has a very high opinion of himself and his team which I readily accept as being his perspective on things which is fine from that point of view. However I am now curious as to the experience of others and their perspectives on the events as well, not to discount his story but simply to understand more about it.

I read Ward's book years ago having watched the Falklands War on the telly as a teenager, and I found his account of the amount of planning, training and sheer effort which went into operations absolutely fascinating. However, I did get the impression that he rather wished the rest of the Navy and the entire RAF had stayed at home or at least stopped getting in the way.

If you want some comment from people who were there, and some who weren't there but nevertheless know what they are talking about, log onto the mil aircrew forum on Pprune, type his name into the search and sit back for a couple of hours with a cup of tea. Of course, there are also people on there who weren't there and don't know what they're talking about but that's half the fun of the internet.

Other recommended reading:

Ewen Southby-Tailyour - " Reasons in Writing"

Mike Clapp & Ewen Southby-Tailyour - "Amphibious Assault - Falklands"

Sandy Woodward "One Hundred Days"

Woodward mentions in the introduction to one of the later editions that he wonders whether he was the 'Flag' Ward keeps referring to, and if he was, why Ward didn't mention something at the time or words to that effect. Conversely, Mike Clapp mentions that Woodward seemed unable or unwilling to grasp the fact that Clapp was in command of the amphibious phase.

Edited by stuartp
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I don't follow this kind of thing, but what are you referring to here - further books, newspaper/magazine articles..? I'd be grateful for a reference or two.

Regards, Tony

Tony,

I'm referring to articles, as I'm not aware of any other book he might have wrote. I'll dig into my magazines and let you have some reference on a couple of brief articles. There was also an internet article that was discussed here, maybe a search on the forum will find it.

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Hmmmmm , has anyone else noticed that on all the 'Hermes Returns' type film footage,

there is not an RAF uniform to be seen?

Were the RAF crews and GR3 maintenance staff forced to walk back home?

Rex

They might well have been flown back from Ascension.

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I don't follow this kind of thing, but what are you referring to here - further books, newspaper/magazine articles..? I'd be grateful for a reference or two.

Sorry, I missed that bit. He's got a blog:

http://www.sharkeysworld.com/search/label/1.%20Welcome

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Sorry, I missed that bit. He's got a blog:

http://www.sharkeysw...abel/1. Welcome

Stuart, well done for that revelation - it hadn't occurred to me to think SW might have a web presence... I looked at it and will see what he has to say from time to time. Interesting that he says he lived in Turkey for a while, and currently resides in Grenada... He has some opinions (no surprise there!) on the F-35 that might interest a number of people here.

Tony

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Hmmmmm , has anyone else noticed that on all the 'Hermes Returns' type film footage,

there is not an RAF uniform to be seen?

Were the RAF crews and GR3 maintenance staff forced to walk back home?

Rex

They flew back, or stayed down there as part of the post war detachments. The RAF elements all went ashore at various points after the San Carlos landings.

Dave Morgan was on Hermes when she returned, although he was on secondment to the FAA

Edited by Dave Fleming
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A very good read, with a look on the more humorous sides of the war, is the book "Don't cry for me, Sergeant Major" written by two war correspondents (Robert McGowan and Jeremy Hands) after the war. It sure gave me many good laughs.

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  • 5 years later...

davidmorganapril1982fleetairarmmuseum.jp

South Atlantic Star, my review of Hostile Skies by David Morgan, 2006
 

While I am building the Kinetic 1/48th scale FRS.1 (and my Airfix 1/72nd scale GR.3 is waiting in its box) I figured it worth sharing my review of David Morgan's book Hostile Skies. (I attended a talk & slide show he gave to my hang gliding club in August 2016 and it has taken me this long to write my book review.)

Edited by Lootenant Aloominum
Corrected link format (hopefully)
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How do you know if a fighter (harrier) pilot is in the room?

They'll tell you.........oh so true.😂😂😂

 

The thing that struck me down south was the effect of inter-service and inter-unit rivalry, the majority of the time used in a positive way, also used in a negative way. Especially mid to high ranking officers seem to be guilty of this. My personal experiance of working with the Royal Marines and the Army was positive, we had a job to do and we alway tried to get it done. Senior Rates (Royal Navy) and NCO's worked together to achieve this and it had a positive effect on us junior ranks.

 

The Sea Harrier squadrons in the FAA regarded themselves as 'a cut above' so it didnt suprise me to read Sharkey Wards opinions in his book. All I know is that the guys and girls, military and civilian, acted in a professional manner, a long way from home, with minimum or no kit after years of political cuts to the countries defence budgets. The British attitude of 'getting the job done' shone through, that's the way I saw it in 82.

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On 14-8-2012 at 10:46 PM, rich2010 said:

He is a fighter pilot after all! I've met a few and they tended to be a bit, how shall I say, completely egocentric.

 

The job tends to attract people with certain characteristics. After all, a lot of self doubt tends to be counterproductive in a fighter pilot. 

 

Surgeons, for instance, are in a lot of ways the same. You wouldn't want someone cutting in, for instance, your heart or brain to suddenly begin to think "er, wait a minute - I'm not sure I'm really up for this...". 

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

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Such an old topic, I'm wondering how I missed it in 2012.

 

I've read Sharkey's book back in the early 90's.

And in my French mind, it is one of the best, if not the best book written about air warfare at this time.

Pook's book is fine, but still one step behind, and Morgan's... well, he speaks too much about his personnal (love) affairs to my taste.

I wish other SHAR pilots will write down their memory one of these days.

 

Ewen Southby-Tailyour's are really fine, too.

I've yet to read Exocet Falklands.

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Exocet Falklands is a superb read, and the Martin Middlebrook book on the Argentine viewpoint is (ahem) The Argentine Fight For The Falklands.

 

Top of the pile for its pure research and detail is the long out of print Falklands: The Air War.

 

As regards Sharkey's book, it is a very good read and you can certainly not fault his abilities as a fighter pilot and a squadron commander. It is a shame that in more recent years he seems to have become very bitter and bangs his own drum without any concern for anybody else's ideas and views.

 

 

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On 13/08/2012 at 11:04 AM, Daniel Cox said:

Hi Tony,

 

Clearly the author has a very high opinion of himself and his team which I readily accept as being his perspective on things which is fine from that point of view.

He is a fighter pilot what do you expect? I don’t think he is unique. The same could be said for any fighter pilot in any branch of service and any nationality. They are continually told how good they are, how they have been selected from a cast of thousands etc. etc. I haven’t met one who wasn’t.

As Rich2010 says. Three pilots in the mess how do you know which one is a fighter pilot?

Answer: He’ll tell you.

The RAF and FAA/RNAS have always been rivals, ever since 1918. At squadron level this manifests as healthy banter, unfortunately as the more senior the officers become the more bitter this rivalry becomes. There are quite a lot of RAF officers who firmly believe that they and only they can operate aircraft. They are still smarting over the army getting the Apache.

 

Regards

 

MM

Edited by missile-monkey
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  • 4 weeks later...

Ewen S-T’s books are very good - Reasons In Writing was the first book I read that actually seemed to be about the war I experienced (I was a S/Lt in Fearless).

 

The best all-round book I have read about the war is Hugh Bicheno’s “Razor’s Edge”; it has the benefit of some distance (most of the books about it were written very soon afterwards), plus HB did a lot of research interviewing both sides.  I thought it was superb.

 

David Brown’s “The Royal Navy & the Falklands War” is excellent (though I haven’t read it for ages).  And chalk me up as another vote for the Then & Now book.

 

Sharkey is and always has been an arrogant PITA. That is not to say that everything he says is wrong, however.  But take much of it with a large pinch of salt.

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On 07/01/2018 at 9:31 PM, Truro Model Builder said:

 

 

Top of the pile for its pure research and detail is the long out of print Falklands: The Air War.

 

 

 

Even 30+ years later, the amount of information they obrtained is remarkable, especially so soon after the war. The individual aircraft/mission details  especially.

 

Not to say there couldn't be an update - much has come to the surface in the intervening time (Nimrod ops out of San Felix, the Gazelle shot down by a Sea dart etc)

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