RAF Harrier ground attack - Falklands

273 Pages·2011·4.21 MB·English

by  Pook

To Dad

Warrant Officer Sydney James Pook
RN 1923-46 and Reserve Fleet Devonport 1951-55

First published in Great Britain in 2007 by
PEN & SWORD AVIATION
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS

Copyright © Jerry Pook, 2007
9781783031573

The right of Jerry Pook to be identified as Author of this Work
has been asserted by him in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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available from the British Library.

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Table of Contents
Dedication
Title Page
Copyright Page
Author’s Preface
Acknowledgements
Foreword
CHAPTER ONE - In at the Deep End
CHAPTER Two - Ascension
CHAPTER THREE - A South Atlantic Cruise
CHAPTER FOUR - Hermes
CHAPTER FIVE - First Operation – Fox Bay
CHAPTER SIX - Invasion - 21 May
CHAPTER SEVEN - Four-ship Attack on Goose Green
CHAPTER EIGHT - Sea Harrier Night Raid
CHAPTER NINE - The Counter Air Programme
CHAPTER TEN - Blue on Blue
CHAPTER ELEVEN - Exocet Attack
CHAPTER TWELVE - Routine Operations
CHAPTER THIRTEEN - En-route Tactics
CHAPTER FOURTEEN - Goose Green FAC Shambles
CHAPTER FIFTEEN - Dusk Strike at Goose Green
CHAPTER SIXTEEN - My Luck Runs Out
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - More Navy Cockups
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - Bad Weather Sets In
CHAPTER NINETEEN - Yet More Navy Cockups
CHAPTER TWENTY - A Crash on the Strip
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - SAM Kill
CHAPTER TWENTY – TWO - LGBS on Target
CHAPTER TWENTY – THREE - ENDEX – 14 June
CHAPTER TWENTY – FOUR - Dry Land at Last
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - Jeff Comes Back
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - 1(F) Squadron Returns to the Falklands
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - Afterthoughts
Conclusions
APPENDIX 1 - Harrier GR3 Technical Details
APPENDIX 2 - Single-seat Low Flying
APPENDIX 3 - Fighter Ground Attack Weapons
APPENDIX 4 - Bombing Techniques
APPENDIX 5 - Rocket-firing Techniques
APPENDIX SIX - Strafing Techniques
APPENDIX SEVEN - Forward Air Control Techniques
APPENDIX EIGHT - Air Combat
APPENDIX NINE - Maps
Notes
Index
Author’s Preface
Black Death - Muerta Negra - was the name given by Argentine troops to the
Fighter Ground Attack Harriers that brought death and destruction from the air
during the Falklands war. Most of these missions were flown by a small group of
eight1 RAF pilots of No. 1 Fighter Squadron, flying RAF GR3 Harriers from
HMS Hermes – though the Royal Navy was not keen to admit as much at the
time. Until now there has been no adequate coverage of these difficult and
dangerous missions.
This is their story, a belated tribute to their courage, skill and determination
in the most daunting circumstances.
This personal account of the war was put together shortly after my return from
the South Atlantic, my memory of events still fresh. The opinions and views
expressed are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent those of
Her Majesty’s Government, the MoD or the RAF. At the time, my overriding
emotion was seething anger at the way we had been misused and abused by RN
Senior Officers, in spite of our carrying out the vast majority of the most
dangerous missions in theatre. As professional Ground Attack pilots we were
glad to do our part and sought no advertisement; however, in the childish PR
frenzy that followed the war the Navy continued to attempt to play down the
RAF’s contribution. As a result I became determined to write my own account of
the operations we were involved in so that there would be at least some record of
the shabby treatment 1(F) Squadron pilots had received at the hands of RN
Senior Officers. My comments on the manner in which those Senior Officers
directed our Ground Attack and Recce operations are uncompromising and, I
believe, still representative of the views of my RAF colleagues who took part in
the shooting war.
The war made huge demands on our experience of European Cold War
preparation and training. All of us in the RAF Harrier Force had trained hard in
the extremely demanding Low Level Ground Attack and Recce roles. At the
same time we also carried out a lot of Air Combat training, including Air
Interception using ground radar direction and the Mk 1 eyeball to find targets -
just as the Sea Harrier pilots were to do in the Great South Atlantic Turkey