The USMC’s AV-8B Harrier Has Flown Off Into The Sunset
The unmistakable howl of the AV-8B Harrier II has been a soundtrack to U.S. Marine Corps aviation for more than four decades. From the deserts of the Middle East and Afghanistan to the decks of amphibious assault ships at sea, the aircraft’s ability to take off from short runways, operate from austere forward bases, and land vertically made it one of the most distinctive combat aircraft ever to wear American markings. Before then, its predecessor, the first-generation AV-8A Harrier, had pioneered the ‘jump jet’ in U.S. service, after entering Marine Corps service in 1971.
Now, that illustrious era has come to an end.
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1mo
..and happened to be proximate to a harrier engine that got fired up on a test pad. Noise was so loud I went inside a safety building, got some hearing protection and it still rattled my organs from the inside. There was an old silver hair Marine Officer standing right next to the pad watching the test with both hands on his waist and no hearing protection (looked like Lee Marvin in the Dirty Dozen). After the test shut down I asked someone how the guy could handle it and they said he’d been legally deaf for 10 years from so much time at the MCAS - he had more value in testing operations since he was already deaf so they kept him on longer than a normal retirement target.
(In response to this post by EDGEMAN)
1mo
The AV-8 as A model was upgrading to B. The days of feeding a deck of punch cards into batch reader.
Asked a USMC major how she felt during transition (a major focus area) ...."like flying a pogo stick".
Some things one never forgets
And I feel old, yes.
** Edited by ColoVT82 at 6/3/2026, 5:55:51 PM
(In response to this post by EDGEMAN)