Corgi AA39901 BAe Sea Harrier FRS.Mk1 - ZA174, 801 Sqn, FAA & Bae Harrier GR3 - Xw767, No.1 Sqn RAF - HMS Hermes Diorama

This item has a limited edition certificate included. In time of war the Harrier was to be deployed away from established airfields, which were vulnerable to attack. Instead it was to be operated from short, rough strips of ground and hidden in camouflaged 'hides', from which it would attack the enemy's approaching armoured formations. These qualities came into their own during the Falklands War. RAF Harriers were deployed to the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, as part of the Task Force sent to recapture the Falklands Islands. The Harrier GR3 performed attack sorties from the aircraft carrier, and later from basic landing strips on the islands, often in conditions that would have grounded conventional aircraft. HMS Hermes sailed from Portsmouth for the Falkland Islands Total Exclusion Zone (TEZ) on 05.04.82 with five Sea Harriers (SHARs) of 800 NAS plus four SHARs from 899 NAS, which had in effect been absorbed into 800 NAS on 02.04.82. The original 800 NAS pilots were Lt Cdrs Andy Auld (CO), Mike Blissett and Rod Frederiksen, Lts Mike Hale, Simon Hargreaves, Andy McHarg, Clive Morrell, Dave Smith and Nick Taylor and Flt Lt Ted Ball. The 899 NAS pilots who joined them were Lt Cdrs Neil Thomas (CO), Tony Ogilvy and Gordon Batt, S/Lt Andy George, Flt Lts Dave Morgan and Robert Penfold.