Hawker Siddeley Harrier and better equipped for air defence, to replace their AV-8S Harriers; this investigation did not progress to a purchase. The last first-generation Harriers were retired by Thailand in 2006. Hawker Siddeley Harrier The Hawker Siddeley Harrier, developed in the 1960s, is the first of the Harrier Jump Jet series of aircraft. It was the first operational close-support and reconnaissance fighter aircraft with vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) capabilities and the only truly successful V/STOL design of the many that arose in that era. The Harrier was developed directly from the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel prototype aircraft, following the cancellation of a
1956 Hawker Hunter multiple aircraft accident 1956 Hawker Hunter multiple aircraft accident On 8 February 1956 the Royal Air Force lost six Hawker Hunter jet fighters in a multiple aircraft accident. Eight aircraft from RAF West Raynham had been carrying out a 4x4 dogfight exercise at . Upon completion of the exercise the eight Hunters diverted to RAF Marham but due to bad weather six of the aircraft were lost including one fatality. The eight Hunter F1s from the Day Fighter Leader Squadron of the Central Fighter Establishment departed RAF West Raynham, Norfolk, England at 10:50 to carry out the exercise at in the local area.