Sea Harrier

Falklands War

Sea Harriers took part in the Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas) of 1982, flying from HMS Invincible and HMS Hermes. The Sea Harriers performed the primary air defence role with a secondary role of ground attack; the RAF Harrier GR3 provided the main ground attack force. A total of 28 Sea Harriers and 14 Harrier GR3s were deployed in the theatre. The Sea Harrier squadrons shot down 20 Argentine aircraft in air-to-air combat with no air-to-air losses, although two Sea Harriers were lost to ground fire and four to accidents. Out of the total Argentine air losses, 28% were shot down by Harriers. One Sea Harrier alone, flown by RAF Flight Lieutenant David Morgan, shot down two Skyhawks in a single encounter, another being Lieutenant Stephen Thomas shooting down 2 Argentine Air Force Mirage V "Daggers" with Sidewinder missiles on one mission on May 21, 1982.