One of the most successful British close air support aircraft of the last many years has been the Harrier. Developed to allow operation from places where there was no runway or at least a very short space, the Harrier evolved with the input of McDonnell/Douglas into the even more potent Harrier II. While in the US, this has produced the AV-8B family of aircraft for the US Marines, in the UK, it produced the GR.5/7/9 group. Each development improved the capabilities of the aircraft, making it even more potent. With the removal of the Sea Harrier from operational service (due to defense cutbacks more than anything else), it was left to the RAF's Harrier II to carry on the mission.

However, the road for the Harrier II was one that also ended early, and also due to defense cut-backs. Told that they would have to eliminate either the Harrier II or the Tornado, the politicians decided on the Harrier II as the one to go. Personally, I love it how it is left up to those who do not operate the aircraft to make decisions like this. The end result is that in December of 2010, the last RAF/RN Harrier II was flown to storage, seven years early, and probably fated for destruction.

As with their first book, the authors concentrate on the type's operations since 2000. What this means is the the majority of the book is dedicated to the GR.9 and T.12 variants. These planes were operated by 1 Sq, 4(R) Sq, 20(R) Sq RAF and 41(R) Sq RAF as well as by 800 NAS. Now the (R) after a unit number basically means that some sort of training or test unit was provided a squadron number just to keep those numbers 'alive'. The Harrier II was also operated by BAE Systems and by the usual temporary operational units while deployed; in this case to Afghanistan.

A full history of the type is provided in the introductory section. This also includes information on the units involved during the time period of the book. We are then provided with some superlative photographs of the various unit's aircraft. In fact, I should say that it is the photographs that makes this such an outstanding book. All of them are superbly done, many are in flight and we get to look at all the 'farewell' schemes carried by these planes.

The bulk of the book consists of detailed closeup images of both the GR.9 and the T.12. No nook or cranny is overlooked and we not only get to gaze at the various airframe bits and pieces, but we also have the opportunity to see all the various weapons that the Harrier II was capable of carrying. A full load out diagram is provided that shows how this changed over time. Especially nice are the charts showing what was used during their deployment to Afghanistan. Also provided are four views showing the camouflage schemes the aircraft carried. As an added bonus, the book comes with a huge foldout that shows 4 views of both the GR.9 and T.12 in 1/48 scale. This is a real boon to the modeler. Actually, the whole book is designed as much for the scale modeler as it is for the Harrier enthusiast. It is an excellent follow-on to their first book and is one that I can easily give my highest recommendation.

May 2015

My thanks to www.wingmanmodels.com for the review book. You can find this one at this link. e

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