Retired aircraft will go on show in the Falklands
TWO Royal Navy aircraft are to become centrepieces of a new museum exhibit in the Falklands after completing the long journey by sea.
A retired Sea Harrier jump jet and Lynx helicopter are being transferred 8,000-miles to the South Atlantic as islanders create an exhibition dedicated to the men and women who liberated the Falklands from Argentina in 1982.
The museum in the capital Stanley has an existing gallery recounting the story of the conflict, but is expanding and adding a new hall for larger exhibits – including the two veteran aircraft.
Neither are able to fly to the Falklands so sea travel is the only option.
The Joint Aircraft Recovery and Transportation Squadron (JARTS), a combined RN-RAF unit at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, was called in by RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset to disassemble the Harrier and transport the special load.
Overseeing the move for JARTS is Chief Petty Officer Stewart Wright – a former Harrier engineer who maintained the aircraft at sea and on land, including tours of duty in Afghanistan.
“I began my carrier on Harriers so the aircraft means a lot to me and I’m just glad to be able to deliver this one back to the Falklands where it means so much to them,” he said.
“We went to the Falklands to prepare the move and it’s evident how passionate the islanders are and how much the Sea Harrier means to them – it’s a symbol of their freedom, so they are really keen to have one on display.”
Watching CPO Wright’s team prepare the Harrier for moving by lowloader in a process which took nearly 12 hours was former jump jet pilot Lieutenant Commander Jason Flintham, commander of 727 Naval Air Squadron.
“It’s amazing – and right – that there should be a Harrier in the Falklands. It will serve as a testament to those who flew it and a memorial to those who did not return,” he said.
“The Harrier is of huge historical importance to the islands and I’m proud that this one is going down there for all to see.”
The final Sea Harriers were retired by the Royal Navy in 2006 after more than a quarter of a century’s service.
Of the two aircraft selected for the museum, only the Lynx saw actual service in the 1982 campaign. The Sea Harrier, ZH801, was delivered to the Fleet Air Arm after the war and served until 2004 since when it has acted as a ‘hangar guardian’ on display at RAF Cottesmore and more recently back at Yeovilton.
Before being shipped, the Harrier was given a thorough makeover. Chris Hodson, an engineer who built the very same aircraft at BAE’s Dunsfold works in Surrey, made the trip to Somerset to fit the pilot’s ejector seat.
And the Fly Harrier Trust and Horizon Aircraft Services from St Athan provided various parts and sections which had gone missing during the ZH801’s two decades of inactivity.
The Lynx XZ725 saw action in the Falklands and served with distinction until the end of her active life. Operating from frigate HMS Brilliant, she attacked and damaged the Argentine submarine Santa Fe in
South Georgia during the opening moves of Britain’s efforts to liberate its South Atlantic territory.
The helicopter was constantly upgraded and overhauled, evolving into a Lynx Mk8 which last flew from the deck of frigate HMS Iron Duke before being transferred to HMS Sultan in Gosport to serve as a training aid for air engineers.
From Boscombe Down both aircraft were moved by JARTS to Marchwood Military Port in Southampton Water for loading on to a Falklands-bound supply ship which sails this month.
They are due to arrive in the Falklands in time for liberation day events in June and will be kept in storage while the new exhibition hall is completed. Its due to open to the public in the spring of 2025.
Despite a population on the islands of under 3,000 – and most of those centred in the capital – the Falklands’ museum attracts 80,000 visitors a year, expected to rise to around 100,000 thanks to growing trade from cruise liners.