Sydney Camm went into service, serving with the Royal Navy from 1947 to 1955. After the Second World War, Camm created many jet-powered designs which would become important aircraft in the Cold War era. Notable among Camm's post-war work is his contribution to the design of the Hawker Siddeley P.1127 / Kestrel FGA.1, the progenitor of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier. The Harrier is a well-known vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft designed at Hawker Siddeley, which would later merge into British Aerospace, now known as BAE Systems. The Harrier was one of the radical aircraft which took shape in postwar Britain, which
Hawker Siddeley Harrier that the aircraft were highly effective in combat. These operations also demonstrated that "Harrier Carriers" provided a powerful presence at sea without the expense of big deck carriers. Following the display of Harrier operations from small carriers, the navies of Spain and later Thailand bought the Harrier for use as their main carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft. Spain's purchase of Harriers was complicated by long-standing political friction between the British and Spanish governments of the era; even though the Harriers were manufactured in the UK they were sold to Spain with the US acting as an intermediary. During tests in November 1972,