Historic farewell as last Harrier flight takes off from Ark Royal

The last flight of Harriers today left the decks of a British aircraft carrier.

The Navy's flagship HMS Ark Royal turned into a 45-knot wind and snow flurries in the North Sea to launch the four jump jets, from
1 Squadron RAF and 800 Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm. Both ship and aircraft will be redundant under the government defence review.

The fighter jets were bound for RAF Cottesmore in Lincolnshire, where they are due to be decommissioned next year.

Harriers spearheaded the fight for the Falklands in 1982 and have since played decisive roles in conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.

Two thirds of Harrier pilots face redundancy as Navy personnel are cut from 37,000 to 30,000.