brickhistory might want to refresh his screen regarding the Harrier's "stirling" history.
The stirling service of the Harrier? What, in bombing the end of its own runway? In failing to provide true air cover and support for the ground troops in the Falklands due to its woeful range? It is inept as a fighter, and as a bomber, except when it crashes, as many of them have.
The US Marines have lost 1/3 of the Harriers they started with, and in Desert storm, Harriers had a loss rate 3 times higher than real fighters.
An LA Times article details this awful tale at
http://foi.missouri.edu/terrorbkgd/farfrom1.html
"Over the last three decades, it has amassed the highest rate of major accidents of any Air Force, Navy, Army or Marine plane now in service. Forty-five Marines have died in 143 noncombat accidents since the corps bought the so-called jump jet from the British in 1971. More than a third of the fleet has been lost to accidents."
Other than that, SASless, is off base.....