The most significant aircraft
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IMO the most significant aircraft to the UK post 1945
Initially thought Chipmunk due to how many people were trained on it or had AEF, but then I thought about it...
The Harrier FRS1.
It was instrumental in winning the Falklands War, without it we would have lost. Although other aircraft such as the sole surviving Chinook BN did amazing work, they were not essential. All the other aircraft I have seen in the thread so far were just the type in service at the time, ie: Tornado. If we had another type in the same role (Phantom, F-16, Mirage 2000, F-15, etc.) the result would have been the same, but nothing else could have done what the little puffer jet did.
Initially thought Chipmunk due to how many people were trained on it or had AEF, but then I thought about it...
The Harrier FRS1.
It was instrumental in winning the Falklands War, without it we would have lost. Although other aircraft such as the sole surviving Chinook BN did amazing work, they were not essential. All the other aircraft I have seen in the thread so far were just the type in service at the time, ie: Tornado. If we had another type in the same role (Phantom, F-16, Mirage 2000, F-15, etc.) the result would have been the same, but nothing else could have done what the little puffer jet did.
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Don't call it a fighter though, even if that is what it is... Because newt won't like it 
Without the Harrier, the UK would have been obliged to retain a proper carrier or two, and the Falklands would have been won easily, or never started.
Most significant aircraft were the ones that ensured the Cold War stayed Cold - Vulcan and Phantom, latterly Tornado.
Even more significant was the level of effort by the personnel - all Ranks, Trades and Branches, to ensure readiness. All those Tacevals were worth it, as post-Soviet analysis of WarPac readiness/capability is showing. NATO would have won.
Most significant aircraft were the ones that ensured the Cold War stayed Cold - Vulcan and Phantom, latterly Tornado.
Even more significant was the level of effort by the personnel - all Ranks, Trades and Branches, to ensure readiness. All those Tacevals were worth it, as post-Soviet analysis of WarPac readiness/capability is showing. NATO would have won.
Victor B1a
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Hard Question.
Mosquito and Canberra for essentially all the same reasons.
All the 'Vs" kept things cool when it mattered.
I wish the TSR 2 had reached fruition.
Bucc, Frightning, Hunter, Harrier and the beloved trainers - Chippy, JP 3&5 and the Gnat.
Take your pick.
All the 'Vs" kept things cool when it mattered.
I wish the TSR 2 had reached fruition.
Bucc, Frightning, Hunter, Harrier and the beloved trainers - Chippy, JP 3&5 and the Gnat.
Take your pick.
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B Bob, BN was not essential in winning the Falklands War, it made it 'easier'/quicker but assets would have been moved by other SH ... eventually!
F3WMB, I would suggest that without the Harrier we would have had no aircraft to protect the Fleet, as experience proved other AD methods were not capable of protecting the Fleet adequately. AFAIK the Government decided UK conventional Carriers were going regardless and the RN were lucky to slip the Harrier through the system.
Your point re personnel is spot on, but we would have made the most of any platform that had been purchased and there were a number of other possibilities.
I think many posters may be naming their favorite aircraft rather than answering the OPs thread title.
F3WMB, I would suggest that without the Harrier we would have had no aircraft to protect the Fleet, as experience proved other AD methods were not capable of protecting the Fleet adequately. AFAIK the Government decided UK conventional Carriers were going regardless and the RN were lucky to slip the Harrier through the system.
Your point re personnel is spot on, but we would have made the most of any platform that had been purchased and there were a number of other possibilities.
I think many posters may be naming their favorite aircraft rather than answering the OPs thread title.
Whilst the through-deck cruisers are often portrayed as being 'sneaked through', I present the following facts
1963 - first trials of P1127 and Kestrel on RN ships - First Lord of the Admiralty was Peter Carington
1972 - HMS Eagle claimed too expensive to operate and scrapped - Sec Def. Peter Carington
1973 - first through-Deck cruiser officially ordered - Sec Def. Peter Carington
1982 - FCO cock-ups lead to Falklands War - Foreign Sec. Peter Carington resigns
He knew very well that the through deck-cruisers were a replacement for proper carriers, and that in a strategic sense scrapping them had been a failure.
p.s. Once had a senior USAF Officer tell me "If you guys had our aircraft, we'd still be a colony"
1963 - first trials of P1127 and Kestrel on RN ships - First Lord of the Admiralty was Peter Carington
1972 - HMS Eagle claimed too expensive to operate and scrapped - Sec Def. Peter Carington
1973 - first through-Deck cruiser officially ordered - Sec Def. Peter Carington
1982 - FCO cock-ups lead to Falklands War - Foreign Sec. Peter Carington resigns
He knew very well that the through deck-cruisers were a replacement for proper carriers, and that in a strategic sense scrapping them had been a failure.
p.s. Once had a senior USAF Officer tell me "If you guys had our aircraft, we'd still be a colony"
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I know it straddles '45 but isn't the Meteor or even the Vampire in the mix?
They saw in the jet age after all.
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They saw in the jet age after all.
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Meteor or even the Vampire
For the amount that it had done in peacetime and combat operations since the late 1960s, can only be the C-130.
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Second Rate before they entered service (compared with the ME 262).
The OP did ask 'what was the most significant a/c', not 'what was the best'.
The change from piston engines to turbine affected just about every aspect of military a/c.
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All,
My 2p worth, from a ground based perspective:
Overall the most significant has to be the Falklands era Harrier of the two types which were instrumental in delivering a strategic victory.
As an aside on 'through deck cruisers', I always saw them as ideally sized escort carriers, which if the cold war had gone pear shaped, would have been vital in getting supplies to these islands and hence the right ships for our then priorities.
As to rotary, I agree the wessex was the workhorse that kept giving. WRT to CH47 there were simply too few to really matter and against that is the black mark of causing the single biggest casualty bill of the 38 years of Op BANNER.
Interestingly, I asked a civvie, with no service experience, what he thought and his reply was the SAR Sea King which has given sterling service for decades and everyone here has overlooked.
EG
My 2p worth, from a ground based perspective:
Overall the most significant has to be the Falklands era Harrier of the two types which were instrumental in delivering a strategic victory.
As an aside on 'through deck cruisers', I always saw them as ideally sized escort carriers, which if the cold war had gone pear shaped, would have been vital in getting supplies to these islands and hence the right ships for our then priorities.
As to rotary, I agree the wessex was the workhorse that kept giving. WRT to CH47 there were simply too few to really matter and against that is the black mark of causing the single biggest casualty bill of the 38 years of Op BANNER.
Interestingly, I asked a civvie, with no service experience, what he thought and his reply was the SAR Sea King which has given sterling service for decades and everyone here has overlooked.
EG
Last edited by ExGrunt; 29th Oct 2014 at 11:22. Reason: spelling
Quote:
I'm stunned that a person calling himself "Sharpend" can't name a "Helo"...
The two entities of the RAF that can truly state that they are at the "sharp end" and in the most danger are the Raf Regiment and Support Helicopters. Certainly, on today's battlefield the jet jockeys are, comparatively, far from danger.'
Well of course I can name a helo, lots of them.... But unlike some, I don't comment on things I know nothing about
I'm stunned that a person calling himself "Sharpend" can't name a "Helo"...
The two entities of the RAF that can truly state that they are at the "sharp end" and in the most danger are the Raf Regiment and Support Helicopters. Certainly, on today's battlefield the jet jockeys are, comparatively, far from danger.'
Well of course I can name a helo, lots of them.... But unlike some, I don't comment on things I know nothing about
