British Air Force fighter "Harrier" after 40 years of service was removed from service as a result of cuts in defense spending. The aircraft, which entered service in 1969, marked its retirement with a final flight over Cottesmore Airport. In these photos, we recall moments from the life of one of the British iconic jet fighters.
1. Hawker Siddley "Harrier" refueled in flight from the Royal Air Force Victor refueling tanker.
2.1969: Harrier takes off from Hawker Siddley Test Airfield at Dunsfold, Surrey
3. 1975: Harrier lands in a spray of spray on the British aircraft carrier Fairless, which is docked at Greenwich.
4. 1982: The Marines line up to test the guns on Her Majesty's aircraft carrier Hermes in the South Atlantic.
5. Margaret Thatcher inspects a Navy Harrier plane while visiting the British Aerospace factory in Dunsfold, Surrey in 1982.
6.1991: The Princess of Wales looks at Prince Harry. He sits in the cockpit of the Harrier GR5, while visiting the Wyterring Air Force Base.
7. Various models of British Air Force Harrier aircraft during flight.
8. Harrier aircraft in service during flight
9.1999: A British Air Force ground crew engineer repairs a Harrier plane. It was sheltered from the rain that postponed daytime flights from the Gioia del Colle airfield in southern Italy. The planes were part of NATO and took part in air raids on the former Yugoslavia and Kosovo.
10. Ground crew waves to a Harrier GR7 as it lands at its base in Kuwait during a mission in Iraq in 2003.
11.2003: Harrier stands behind a member of the ground crew at the base in Kuwait. Photo taken with a night view camera during a mission in Iraq.
12. Harrier GR9 boarding the decommissioned Royal Armed Forces aircraft carrier Ark.
13.2007: The Hound's plane stands at the Kandahar airfield in Afghanistan
14. Harrier jets take off from Cottesmore airfield in Okeme during the "last flight", after which they will be removed from service.
15. Parade marking the removal of the Harrier GR9 fighter aircraft from the Royal Air Force in Cottesmore.
16. Harrier pilots after the flight.
17. Two Harriers during a flight at the Cottesmore airfield. The air parade took place at 7 military bases, also in the centers of the cities of Okema, Stamford and Lincoln Cathedral.
18. Squadron Leader Simon Jessett waves from the Harrier cockpit after the last flight
19. Harriers in service during the last flight over the airfield Cottesmore.
