There are some very creative and well considered posts here. But, sadly, not very well informed.
Originally Posted by Pontious Nav
Oh, I thought the RAF persuaded the RN they their GR 9 was better than their updated FA2, and then disbanded the JFH, so really it was the RAF that screwed the pooch.
I hope I haven't missed a tongue in cheek jokette again. Sorry if I have, but here's another side to that story.
The word came from the MoD that the SHAR was going to be scrapped. Even we landlubbers asked how the fleet was going to be provided with air defence cover. Much to our surprise, it transpired that we were going to provide it. In UK waters, not a problem - all my UK tours were on SACLANT assigned sqns so we had done that, assuming the ship didn't shoot us down.
When we asked (of our friends in the "Big House") what the hell was going on, it eventually transpired that the MoD's lack of action had resulted in "ministerial" decisions that were not open to discussion. There were no answers to how we were supposed to take over fleet defence when the fleet wasn't within range of land based AD.
It may suit some of you to dream of a very clever RAF conspiracy to imasculate the RN or the FAA, but you could not be farther from the truth. You may be surprised to learn how much support there was from the RAF to maintain a capability that we knew we could not possibly take over. The GR9 never even entered into the argument.