RAF Harrier Ground Attack: Falklands

By Jerry Pook

During the Falklands war Jerry Pook, a pilot in No. 1(F) Squadron RAF, flew air interdiction, armed reccon, close-air-support and airfield attack as well as pure photo-reccon missions. Most weapons were delivered from extreme low-level attacks because of the lack of navigation aids and in the absence of Smart weapons. The only way he could achieve results was to get low down and close-in to the targets and, if necessary, carry out re-attacks to destroy high-value targets.

Apart from brief carrier trials carried out many years previously there had been no RAF Harriers deployed at sea. The RAF pilots were treated with ill-disguised contempt by their naval masters, their professional opinions ignored in spite of the fact that the RN knew next to nothing about ground-attack and reccon operations. Very soon after starting operations from the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes the squadron realized that they were considered as more or less expendable ordnance.

The Harriers lacked the most basic self-protection aids and were up against 10,000 well-armed troops who put up an impressive weight of fire whenever attacked.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen and Sword
• Release date: Jun 15, 2008
• ISBN: 9781783031573

Reviews for RAF Harrier Ground Attack

[davidmullen_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ideally this book needs to be read alongside ward's book and also airwar south Atlantic or whatever it was called. Pook thought that all the Naval officers were over rated thoroughly incompetent and incapable of delegating decisions to someone who knew what they were doing. He says that orders were given and to be obeyed regardless of futility impossibility or hazard that any attempt to point out problems was treated as insubordination. The chief problem was that they did not understand how in detail to use the aircraft they wouldn't learn and they would still insist on giving the orders. This was not just during the war Pook complains that the admiral aboard HMS Illustrious was giving orders that could have come from British Battler. He also makes similar complaints about the RAF when told to be ready for deployment as replacements for casualties he arranged extra training, only to be told he was trying it on and they only got the practice slots which were being reserved for Tornados, not deployed to the Falklands, after a certain amount of arguing.