Cracking vid, soundtrack is ‘interesting’!!

That starter would give away anything in a hide!!

The sad Sabre in “Gunslingers” and G-ATBF look to be one and the same to me as well. There is the same green staining on the grey front starboard fuselage and the JA-120 lettering has flaked in exactly the same places.

Looks as if one of life’s little mysteries has been solved!

Indeed. Although maybe she still lurks somewhere in the US….

Over on AiX, a post suggests that some sort of Harrier Heritage Centre is taking shape at Wittering including:

Here’s the thread LINK See Post #97

XV279 is NOT a GR1 – it’s a pre-production P1127(RAF) Development Batch aircraft. Unique in the UK as it still has it’s original intakes/side panels which diiffered from the production aircraft. The one presereved in Germany is also like that. XV277 at East Fortune has production ones.

I think ZD318/9/20 are still held by BAe at Warton.

Weren’t there a few Pumas that were taken, no idea if they would have been used or ended up as hangar queens? Or did they all get destroyed?

The ex-Argentine Coastguard Puma was eventually rebuilt as an HC1 as ZE449, and joined the RAF in 2001 (after being used as a ground instruction airframe for several years). Served in Iraq amongst other places. Badly damaged in a crash in 2009.

The ex-Argentine Chinook was also used for ground instruction purposes (Loadmaster training was one IIRC) before rear parts of it were used in the rebuild of ZA704. (It had been given an RAF serial (ZH257) in anticipation of a full rebuild at one stage.) IIRC the fuselage is still used at Odiham for GI.

In addition to the ex-Argentine A109s used for 25 years by the AAC, a couple of other ex-Argentine aircraft were then ‘reused’ for various purposes (which also fit into the ‘thread about ex-Museum airframes being re-used).

The comopsite MB339 at one stage at Yeovilton was given to Rolls Royce for intergration trials as part of the submission for the US JPATS contest. It’s authentic colour scheme was replaced by a red and white one. I beleive RR Heritage Trust at Derby has it now.

Huey AE-406 is used as a ground trainer at Valley, having been at MAF at Middle Wallop at one stage. Never seen a pic of it since it left MW.

As most will know a certain well known collector of aircraft and engines is now assisting the government in creating mail bags and doing stationary.

For those of us who don’t, any clue? If it’s public information, I see no harm in naming names.

Interesting – in the first link to the B&W photo, the outriggers are retracted and there is no damage on the spine near the wing root.

In the second link to the colour photo, the outriggers are down and there appears to be damage – or a panel removed – on the spine at the wing root.

Flap configuration is different as well…..

No conspiracy theories – just observing.

Ken

Watson attempted to retract the u/c when the SHar started to roll backwards, hence the outriggers being retracted.

The colour photo shows the preparation for removing the aircraft from the freighter – the ‘missing’ section is I’m sure where the wing attachment points and/or lifting ponts are. Presumably also disconnected the hydralics and locked the control surfaces.

How can I put this? You’re wrong, the RAF website is correct, when the F-4J (UK) entered service in the early 1980s at least some official paperwork described them as the Phantom F3 – unless you think the Scopie bible the AP3440 is not official enough for you. The F2 (ADV) Tornado had not even entered service at this point, so no-one worrying about the F3 designation at the time. Subsequently the nomenclature was changed to F-4J(UK), but that’s irrelevant, for a while they were Phantom F3s, though as I’ve previously said all RAF F-4s were known as Alpha through to Delta fits in the Air-defence world.

Excuse me if this sounds a little tetchy but I was there, and rather like the thread on the F1-11 the ‘experts’ seem to to know better than those of us who were.

I suppose it depends on what is ultimately in the Release to Service – I’d imagine some of the Technical Manuals would have been written befor ethe final decision was made. I do recall initial reference being made to ‘F.3’ or ‘expected to be called Phantom F.3’ but this was later changed to F4J(UK)

The Tornado F2 was delivered to the RAF a couple of months later, and the F3 was known about well in advance.