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Newsletter 22
Autumn 2008
Updated on 11N2008
Published by the Hawker Association
for the Members.
Contents © Hawker Association

Contents
Editorial
BAE Systems Facts
Conrad Southey 'Peter' John
Dunsfold Development
Eggheads News
Forgotten Aircrew
Hawk News
Hawkers Build At Kingston
Hunter 'Flying Club'
Hunter News
Hurricane News
Joint Force Harrier
Lighter-Than-Air VTOL
Members
More about the P.1129
P.1127 to Harrier
Programme
RAF Club Camm Memorial
Red Arrows Petition
Sea fury News
Sopwith's First Designer
Wings & Wheels
The report in NL.21 on the Newbold award presentation to Ralph Hooper reminded Trevor Jordan of some interesting events in the P.1127/Harrier story that he witnessed and participated in...
    I count myself very lucky to have been a member of the Project Office on that day in June 1957 when I saw Sir Sydney Camm place the Bristol BE.53 brochure on the desk of the Head of the Project Office, RB (Bob) Marsh. This was the "discarded" brochure to which Ralph refers in his own account of events published in John Fozard's book 'Sydney Camm and the Hurricane', page 180.
    Some sixteen years later in early 1973, when the Harrier had been in RAF service for more than five years, two events related to P.1127/Harrier development took place.
P.1127 to Harrier

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    The first was in late January when a team of six engineers and technicians likely to be involved in the latest development, the Sea Harrier for which a Ministry of Defence contract was confidently soon expected, spent three days on the old HMS 'Ark Royal' getting acquainted with carrier operations. They were: John Apted who led the team, Richard Cannon, Charlie Cray, John Farrow, one other, and myself. By coincidence the date was just a week short of the tenth anniversary of the first ever jet V/STOL aircraft vertical landing on a carrier - the pilot was Bill Bedford; the date 8th February 1963, the ship Ark Royal.
    The second event was on 9th February when Jim Calkin and I gave lectures at the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield on V/STOL performance prediction and evaluation, respectively. For this I had prepared some notes which out of courtesy I submitted in advance to Ralph Hooper, now Executive Director and Chief Engineer, Kingston. In them I had stated, "Ralph Hooper was the Project Engineer assigned to investigate the application of the BE.53 engine to a V/STOL aircraft." Ralph deleted the words "...assigned to investigate..." and replaced them with "...who interested himself, out of curiosity, in..." This was one occasion when the 'cat' was not killed, fortunately for all of us.
    Well done Ralph - congratulations!