HARRIER THREAD

Just something interesting I found. Everything below the line is quoted. I've only grabbed the relevant stuff.
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(This is for the guy that requested Harrier stats) Harrier performance statistics for Desert Storm July 1992

Figures compiled by and commentary by Arthur Hu, 1194 Fargate Circle San Jose CA 95131

(Most figures provided by Marine Corp Information Office, DC)

Number of aircraft in theater - 86 (more than any other USMC fixwing) including 26 operated from helo carrier
Sorties - 3,567 (most of any USMC type)
Combat loss: 5
Accident: 2
(I heard from one USMC witness of Harrier crashing on practice run, another crashing in moving from carrier to shore base)
Tons of bombs delivered: 6,000
Loss rate per 1000 sorties: 1.4 (Highest of any strike aircraft in any service, compare to F-16=0.37, A-10=0.69, F-15E=0.91)
Average sorties per day/aircraft 1 (total sorties/aircraft/40 days)
Loss rate per fleet: 5.81%
Average bomb load per sortie: 3,364 (heavier than F-18 = 2000, = to A-6)

Harriers were placed in forward bases or on helicopter carriers, so average sortie was only 1 hr, required no refueling, and carried as heavy a bomb load as the A-6, and could sortie as much as 3 per day, as opposed to only 1 for other types.
One unit lost 2 of 20 pilots, a 10% loss rate.
2 killed, 3 POW
Average aircraft/pilot logged 40-55 combat sorties
VMA-331 flew 72 sorties per day with 20 planes, 20 min to target.
Surge rate was 3.5 sorties per day.
Typical payload: 1 or no sidewinder, 6 rockeye cluster bomb or 6 mk82/500 or 4 mk83/100, plus ALQ-164 ECM pod, plus 25mm gatling gun.

Unlike the F-18, which suffered almost no losses despite 6 hits with I/R guided missles, every hit on a Harrier resulted in a shootdown, most likely due to the placement of exhaust nozzles along the sides of the aircraft, compare to the F-18, where the exhaust is at the rear, away from the tail surfaces.

File: AV-8A_of_VMA-231_on_USS_Nassau_(LHA-4)_in_1982.jpg (2MB, 2850x1880px) Image search: [Google] [Yandex] [Bing]

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Early Harriers makes the insides of me pants all tingly for some reason

File: Hawker_Siddeley_AV-8A_Harrier_ARMADA.jpg (420KB, 1920x1483px) Image search: [Google] [Yandex] [Bing]

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