Collection Item

Hawker Harrier GR.1

The Harrier was the first successful V/STOL (Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing) fighter. Capable of landing almost anywhere, V/STOL aircraft are ideally suited to operating from aircraft carriers. Harriers have served in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, as well as other foreign air forces — primarily the US Marine Corps. They played an important role in the Falklands and Gulf Wars and more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This aircraft, registration XV741, was one of the first to enter service with the RAF. It won the prize for the fastest crossing from London to New York in the 1969 Daily Mail Transatlantic Air Race by taking off from a disused coal yard near St Pancras Station and landing on a pier on the River Hudson. Squadron Leader Tom Lecky-Thompson made the crossing in 6 hours, 11 minutes and 57 seconds and received fuel from taker aircraft ten times on route.

After being used as a training airframe before leaving the RAF, XV741 has been extensively restored by Jetart Aviation.

Hawker Harrier arriving in New York during the Daily Mail Transatlantic Air Race

Hawker Harrier outside St Pancras during the Daily Mail Transatlantic Air Race

Hawker Harrier outside St Pancras during the Daily Mail Transatlantic Air Race

Hawker Harrier outside St Pancras during the Daily Mail Transatlantic Air Race