Kagero Publishing Hawker Siddeley (BAe), McDonnell-Douglas/Boeing Harrier AV-8S/TAV-8S & AV-8B/B+/TAV-8B - Monographs #70

[Mike]

Hawker Siddeley (BAe), McDonnell-Douglas/Boeing Harrier AV-8S/TAV-8S & AV-8B/B+/TAV-8B - Monographs #70 (9788366148833)

In the Spanish Navy

Kagero Publishing via Casemate UK

 

 

The Harrier began life in the 50s as the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel, which was the proof of concept that led to the Harrier with the collaboration of McDonnel Douglas, working together to create the first GR.1 and AV-8 that was put into service with the RAF and the US Marines respectively, with subsequent upgrades eventually leading to the Harrier II and AV-8B with composite materials, an improved Pegasus engine and avionics, although it is renowned for having one of the highest pilot workloads in aviation, especially during hover.  From the 1980s the Spanish Navy began taking on AV-8Bs from McDonnell Douglas’ factories in the US, with a total of 12 forming the day attack squadron and another tranche of the AV-8B+ with the night attack capability, plus a two-seat trainer aircraft that made them self-sufficient in the training of new pilots alongside simulators.

 

 

 

 

The Book

This is number 70 in the Monographs 3D edition from Kagero, with English used throughout.  It is perfect-bound in a card cover and 138 pages in colour and black & white, and is written by Salvador Mafé Huertas.  The book is packed with text interspersed with many pictures and their accompanying captions, mostly in colour, most of which is contemporary and some current.  The last 7 pages plus the rear cover are devoted to some general arrangement drawings and a page of handsome side profiles of various airframes, with more on the rear colour.  The chapters break down as follows:

 

• Acknowledgements
• The Origins
• First Generation Harriers in the Spanish Navy
  • Landing at Gibraltar
• Royal Thai Navy AV-8S and TAV-8S Harriers
• Novena Escuadrilla, second generation Harriers
• Upgrading the Legacy Harriers
  • Rover
  • Constant Updates
• Upgrading the USMC Harriers
• The Two-Seat TAV-8B
  • Air-to-Air combat with the “Radar” (AV-8B Plus)
  • Air-Air Gunnery Exercise
• Carrier Pilot
  • Training in Spain
  • Third Plan
  • Green Deck
  • Night Vision Goggles
  • Vertical Landing on Aircraft Carriers
• Anonymous Professionals: Maintenance of the Harrier
  • Preventative Maintenance
  • Phases
  • Private Industry
  • Commissions and Deployment
• Spanish Harriers in the Royal International Air Tattoo 2019
  • The best show in the world
• General Arrangement Drawings (6 pages)
• Side Profiles (1 page plus back cover)

 

 

 

There is a substantial amount of text in the book which gives a lot of detail on the development, entry into service with its various sub-variants.  The photographs are of great interest to anyone with a historical bent, and coupled with the captions there will be plenty of reading time after which you'll be a bit of an instant expert on the type in Spanish service, and ready to build some lesser seen Harriers.  There are even a few pages devoted to the performance of the Spanish Harriers at RIAT in 2019, which will have been an absolute treat for the British contingent in the audience, who have been starved of Harrier displays for a long time now.

 

 

 

Conclusion

There has been a lot written on the subject of the Harrier, but perhaps not that much on the aircraft’s Spanish service, which this book does much to rectify.  It is full to the brim of excellent photos, informative captions and text that will provide hours of entertainment for the reader, then serve as reference material for your builds.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of