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1453 Flight Harrier GR3s


bobsyouruncle

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Thanks Dave, my Flickr account is set up but has some stage images in it which Never posted there. They are of a 1/48th Airfix FA2 - not mine! Spooky!

 

(I know someone on hotmail is using my ng899 tag, meaning my hotmail account has a different start.)

 

One small change - the last pic of XZ993 in the second set is via Tony Westwood.

 

Cheers

 

Nick

 

 

 

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Flickr is normally very good, it's easy to end up with multiple accounts though, usually through having to remember passwords etc.

 

Thank you for the cracking pictures, love the one third down in post #26.

Great to see XZ993 aswel, as I saved it from scrapping and owned the forward fuselage for a while, first time I've seen a pic of it in the Falklands.

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Thanks again for posting up all the information and pictures.

Like James says, that's a great shot (number two in post #26 above, with the four Harriers in close formation).

 

Nick, thanks again. I was looking at that last shot in post #26 of XZ993 - (the one via Tony Westwood) and wondered if that aircraft in the background might well be

a contender for the one which 'donated' the engine panel to XZ997 (looking at the reciprocal camouflage 'step' in demarcation on this engine panel)?

Plenty of information to work from now, so will crack on, thanks again all.

Cheers Bob.

 

 

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The promised photos of XZ993, a nice side view at RAF Stanley from Tony Westwood, note the application of sealant around the wing and fuselage panels and lack of fin code letter.

GR3-XZ993(4)

 

An inflight shot of XZ993, also uncoded.

GR3-XZ993-OverFalklands

 

As for the dates, this best I can say is that records show XZ993 was at RAF Stanley with the HarDet then 1453 Flight (established August 1983) from possibly Feb to mid-December 1983, when it returned to RAF Wittering.

 

Cheers for now

 

Nick

 

Edited by NG899
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It's interesting that in all the photo's bar 1 the Harriers are armed with AIM-9L Sidewinders. The picture of XV778/H in post #25 has it loaded with AIM-9G Sidewinders.

As that dates from the HARDET days before 1453 Flt, I'm guessing it's an availability/capability reason.

 

Rob.

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Bob, To answer your question, probably availability. The 9L gave head-on attack capability, the 9G has only side-on or astern  capability - to over-simplify things.
 

On availability... The carriers sailed south with very few 9Ls (-10 iirc) on them, more were airdropped to the fleet before the fighting began.

 

The GR3s which stayed on ‘QRA’ at Ascension carried 9Gs as did the SHARs on ‘hack the shad’ duties on Atlantic Conveyor.

 

Hypothesis... It’s probable that some sorties flown by HarDet GR3s may have carried 9Gs if they were training flights with little prospect of encountering a hostile. Calling anyone who was there to confirm...

 

James, yes 992 was lost to bird strike 29 Nov 84 near Port Stanley as yellow T of 1453 Flt.

 

Thanks

 

Nick

Edited by NG899
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On 8/11/2020 at 1:14 PM, 71chally said:

but avoid Photobucket like the plague, Flickr is a very good and easy to use host site.

Have to agree with James. Flickr all the way for me.

 

Really great and helpful thread here.

 

Terry

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18 hours ago, NG899 said:

Hypothesis... It’s probable that some sorties flown by HarDet GR3s may have carried 9Gs if they were training flights with little prospect of encountering a hostile. Calling anyone who was there to confirm...

Could possibly be true. I remember fitting 9Gs to newly arrived and assembled Aircraft for test flights.

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James, Re: XZ993 - As the movement card states 1453 Flt it may only have been there late Aug-83 to a few days before 20-Dec-83.

 

St George - Thanks for the information; it all helps!

 

Cheers

 

Nick

Edited by NG899
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Hi everyone,

 

Dave, an update on your picture of Lima in post #11 above... It's very likely XW763 which was with 1453 Flt from Nov-83 to Nov-84 and was coded L in May 1984 when Alfie was down there. The other 3 'VTOL' GR3s at that time were:

XV778/V (probably Oct-83 to Sep-84, TBC - incomplete movement card records for this period; it had previously been with HarDet with 1(F) and IV(AC) Sqns from Jul-82 to Jan-83.)

XV789/T (Oct-83 to Sep-84, the second of its three deployments at Stanley, it was back with 1453 Flt from Dec-84 to Jun-85 when the Flt disbanded.)

XV782/O (May-83 to Nov-84).

 

Very slowly starting to piece together the HARDET and 1453 GR3s...

 

Cheers

 

Nick

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  • 1 month later...

Although pre-dating the VTOL coding, I recorded the following at Stanley in early Mar 83: XV782 C with 4 Sqn markings; XV787 H (crashed 22 Mar 83); XV762 A; XV789 R; XZ132 D; XZ993 E; XZ130 T. I would need to dig out some photos to confirm what other markings were carried.  I also recall one airframe being airbridged out by C130 between Mar and Jul but unable to confirm which one.
 

Hope this helps.

 

Peter

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Just stumbled upon this thread, finding it very interesting and useful, especially the 1435 and 1453 clearup - it explains a lot re my 1435 Harrier search results!

 

 

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Peter, that's great info and plugs a gap in the list I'm trying to pull together of the HarDet/1453 Flt GR3s; many thanks for posting it.

Hopefully we can see the photos when you have found them.

Can you remember if they had started putting the HarDet shield insignia on the cockpit sides of H-T when you were there?

 

Cheers

 

Nick

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