Editing Hawker Siddeley Harrier (section)

===United States Marine Corps===
{{Quote box|align=right|width=25%|quote="In my mind the AV-8A Harrier was like the helicopter in Korea. [It] had limited capability, but that's how the first-generation automobile, boat, or other major systems evolved... it brought us into the world of flexible basing and the Marine Corps into the concept of vertical development"|source= Major General [[Joseph T. Anderson|Joe Anderson]].<ref name= Nordeen_38>Nordeen 2006, p. 38.</ref>}}

The United States Marine Corps began showing a significant interest in the aircraft around the time the first RAF Harrier squadron was established in 1969, and this motivated Hawker Siddeley to further develop the aircraft to encourage a purchase.<ref>Wilson, Michael. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%202773.html "Designing the Pegasus".] ''Flight International'', 19 October 1972, p. 531. Retrieved 31 July 2011.</ref> Although there were concerns in Congress about multiple coinciding projects in the close air support role,{{refn|These other projects were the [[Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne]] and the [[Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II]].<ref name= Nordeen_29>Nordeen 2006, p. 29.</ref>|group=N}} the Marine Corps were enthusiastic about the Harrier and managed to overcome efforts to obstruct its procurement.<ref>Nordeen 2006, pp. 29–30.</ref>

The Marine Corps accepted its first AV-8A on 6 January 1971, at Dunsfold Aerodrome, England and began testing it at [[Naval Air Station Patuxent River]] on 26 January.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Patton |first=John M. |date=February 1972|title= 1971 Naval Aviation Review: Year of Change|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/Naval%20Aviation%20News/1970/pdf/feb72.pdf |magazine=Naval Aviation News |location=Washington D.C. |publisher=Naval Historical Center |page= 12 |access-date=2021-08-01}}</ref>  The AV-8A entered service with the Marine Corps in 1971, replacing other aircraft in the Marines' attack squadrons.<ref>Nordeen 2006, pp. 30–32.</ref> The service became interested in performing ship-borne operations with the Harrier. Admiral [[Elmo Zumwalt]] promoted the concept of a [[Sea Control Ship]], a 15,000-ton light carrier equipped with Harriers and helicopters, to supplement the larger aircraft carriers of the [[US Navy]]. An amphibious assault ship, {{USS|Guam|LPH-9|6}}, was converted into the ''Interim Sea Control Ship'' and operated as such between 1971 and 1973 with the purpose of studying the limits and possible obstacles for operating such a vessel.<ref name= Nordeen_33>Nordeen 2006, p. 33.</ref><ref>Baitis, A. E. and Dennis A. Woolaver. [http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA032198 "Trial Results of Ship Motions and Their Influence on Aircraft Operations for ISCS Guam".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427005956/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA032198 |date=27 April 2014 }} ''David W. Taylor Naval Ship Research and Development Center, Bethesda, Maryland,'' December 1975. Retrieved 31 July 2011.</ref> Since then the Sea Control Ship concept has been subject to periodic re-examinations and studies, often in the light of budget cuts and questions over the use of [[supercarrier]]s.<ref>Canaday, John L. [http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA227420 "The Small Aircraft Carrier: A Re-Evaluation of the Sea Control Ship".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426235015/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA227420 |date=26 April 2014 }} ''Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth,'' 1 June 1990. Retrieved 31 July 2011.</ref><ref>Cruz, Yniol A. [http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA483634 "CV or Not to Be? Alternatives to U.S. Sea-Based Air Power".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426234615/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA483634 |date=26 April 2014 }} ''Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California,'' June 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2011.</ref>{{refn|Spain would adapt the American [[Sea Control Ship]] concept with the addition of a ski jump, launching the vessel as the {{ship|Spanish aircraft carrier|Principe de Asturias||2}}, which carried AV-8S Matador Harriers.<ref>Friedman 1983, p. 357.</ref>|group=N}}

[[File:AV-8As VMA-513 in flight 1974.JPEG|thumb|A pair of USMC AV-8A from ''VMA-513'' in formation flight in 1974|alt=Two Harriers flying]]
Other exercises were performed to demonstrate the AV-8A's suitability for operating from various amphibious assault ships and aircraft carriers, including a deployment of 14 Harriers aboard {{USS|Franklin D. Roosevelt|CV-42|6}} for six months in 1976.<ref name= Nordeen_33/> The tests showed, amongst other things, that the Harrier was capable of performing in weather where conventional carrier aircraft could not.<ref name= Nordeen_33/> In support of naval operations, the USMC devised and studied several methods to further integrate the Harrier. One result was ''Arapaho'', a stand-by system to rapidly convert civilian cargo ships into seagoing platforms for operating and maintaining a handful of Harriers, to be used to augment the number of available ships to deploy upon.<ref>Miller and Miller 1986, p. 71.</ref>{{refn|Arapaho would have been operationally similar to the British container ship {{SS|Atlantic Conveyor||2}}, which not only transported Harriers but was modified to enable crude flight operations as well.|group=N}}

When the reactivation of the {{sclass|Iowa|battleship}}s was under consideration, a radical design for a battleship-carrier hybrid emerged that would have replaced the ship's rear turret with a flight deck, complete with a hangar and two ski jumps, for operating several Harriers. However, the USMC considered the need for [[naval gunfire support]] to be a greater priority than additional platforms for carrier operations, while the cost and delay associated with such elaborate conversions was significant, and the concept was dropped.<ref>Burr and Bull 2010, pp. 37–38, 40.</ref><ref name="Hybrid p159-163">Layman and McLaughlin 1991, pp. 159–163.</ref>

The Marines Corps' concept for deploying the Harriers in a land-based expeditionary role focused on aggressive speed. Harrier forward bases and light maintenance facilities were to be set up in under 24 hours on any prospective battle area. The forward bases, containing one to four aircraft, were to be located {{convert|20|mi|km}} from the forward edge of battle (FEBA), while a more established permanent airbase would be located around {{convert|50|mi|km}} from the FEBA.<ref name= 'bingham'/>{{refn|Dispersed forward bases were heavily reliant on effective transportation to refuel and rearm the Harriers; possessing a large fleet of air transports, helicopters or ground vehicles to support such operations was identified as crucial by USMC senior officers. It was planned that supplies would to be regularly ferried by [[Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion]]s from main bases to all forward bases.<ref name= 'bingham'/>|group=N}} The close proximity of forward bases allowed for a far greater sortie rate and reduced fuel consumption.<ref name= 'bingham'/>

[[File:KC-130R VMGR-252 refueling Harriers 1978.JPEG|thumb|A pair of USMC AV-8A Harriers refuelling from a [[Lockheed Martin KC-130]] tanker|alt=Harriers flying behind a tanker aircraft]]
The AV-8A's abilities in air-to-air combat were tested by the Marine Corps by conducting mock dogfights with McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs; these exercises trained pilots to use the vectoring-in-forward-flight (VIFF) capability to outmanoeuvre their opponents and showed that the Harriers could act as effective air-to-air fighters at close range.<ref name=Nordeen_33-4/> The success of Harrier operations countered scepticism of V/STOL aircraft, which had been judged to be expensive failures in the past.<ref>Congress 1979, pp. 8, 166, 236.</ref> Marine Corps officers became convinced of the military advantages of the Harrier and pursued extensive development of the aircraft.<ref>Gilliland, Woody F. [http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA058386 "The Continuing Requirement for V/STOL in the Close Air Support Role".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014175242/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA058386 |date=14 October 2013 }} ''oai.dtic.mil'', 9 June 1978. Retrieved 31 July 2011.</ref>

Starting in 1979, the USMC began upgrading their AV-8As to the AV-8C configuration—the work focused mainly on extending useful service lives and improving VTOL performance.<ref name= Nordeen_35>Nordeen 2006, p. 35.</ref> The AV-8C and the remaining AV-8A Harriers were retired by 1987.<ref>Jenkins 1998, p. 44.</ref> These were replaced by the Harrier II, designated as the AV-8B, which was introduced into service in 1985.<ref name= Nordeen_36>Nordeen 2006, pp. 36, 61.</ref> The performance of the Harrier in USMC service led to calls for the [[United States Air Force]] to procure Harrier IIs in addition to the USMC's own plans,<ref name= 'bingham'>Bingham, Price T. [http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1985/jan-feb/bingham.html "Improving Force Flexibility Through V/STOL".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100815062331/http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1985/jan-feb/bingham.html |date=15 August 2010 }} ''Air University Review'', January–February 1985. Retrieved 31 July 2011.</ref> but these never resulted in Air Force orders. Since the late 1990s, the AV-8B has been slated to be replaced by the F-35B variant of the [[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II]], a more modern V/STOL jet aircraft.<ref>Eden 2004, p.&nbsp;274.</ref>

Like the next generation AV-8Bs, nevertheless, the AV-8A/C Harriers suffered many accidents, with around 40 aircraft lost and some 30 pilots killed during the 1970s and 1980s.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-dec-17-na-wall17-story.html "More Than a Few Good Men."] ''<Los Angeles Times.'' Retrieved: 26 January 2016.</ref>