The Harrier Field Force was a revolutionary concept for the Cold War RAF, yet despite its birth pangs, it soon evolved into an unrivalled capability. We spoke to the man who, more than anyone else, made it so
“I was with the then station commander, handing over to me in January 1972, in his office to sign the paperwork when there was this almighty bloody bang and a Harrier went straight into a German village, killing the pilot. That was not a good start.”
AVM George Black was being deliberately understated. When he took over as officer commanding RAF Wildenrath, the Harrier GR1 had only been in RAF service for some three years, and the V/STOL jet was still in its relative infancy. So was the concept of operating it in the field, the arena in which it was meant to excel — and why it was deployed to Germany in the first place. Even this enormously experienced fighter pilot had a great deal to learn.
“I had been on Lightnings”, Black told the author, “and the fighter side, for most of the time, and was always complaining that I’d never had a tour in Germany. The then Air Secretary said, in their wisdom, ‘You can go and command Wildenrath in German…
