Troop Transport Harriers?

[Spey_Phantom]

during my visit to the airshow in Sanicole, ive opened up an old issue of Air Forces Monthly from 1997 or 2001, and what i found in there was a verry interesting pic of a Harrier, fitted with troop transport containers, mounted on the outside pylons.

according to what ive read, it was a concept to insert special forces into a dropzone much faster then specops helicopters. does anyone have more info on this concept, ive tried to find a copy of the pic on the net, but i cant seem to find it.
would have made a nice build though  B)  

[gengriz]

Nils,

I have a copy of a Nov 1998 "Carrier Century" special by Navy News, which shows an AV8B with the pods fitted (page is too big to scan in).  It is described as an "Exint Pod (extraction & Insertion)" for recovering downed airmen and says that Boscombe Down were testing them on GR7s.  Conceived by AVPRO Ltd and built by Hunting Engineering.  Also potentially compatible with JSF Eurofighter & Tornado (!) as well as Apache.  "One variation is designed to be dropped at sea, equipped with a motor to take the pods to their ultimate destination...."

Apparently "we dont think that travelling in a pod will be any more uncomfortable than than flying in a helicopter or Hercules" said an AVPRO spokesman.  Yeah right.

FredT

[Maverick]

Hey Nils,

I believe you might me thinking about the EXINT pod concept from BAe.  I've got a couple of artworks, one showing a SHAR carrying them for hostage evacuation and the other a side view of four variants showing the diverse loads they envisioned.

I'd suggest a wander over to the Harrier SIG site for more info.

Regards,

Mav

[Martin H]

That will be the AVPRO EXINT pod.

one man transport pod for special ops, CSAR and moveing ground crew to a forward ops base ect.

Neat idea realy, im surprised it never got much further than a few mock ups slung under the odd harrier here and there at various air shows.

Im toying with doing a set of em to drop into some RTV at some point.  no idea when ill get around to it thou

[PolluxDeltaSeven]

I remember that too... If anyone had a picture or a photo of the EXINT pod, I'll be very interested in seeing it again.

I was planing to build a Japanese AV-8B fitted with two of those pods, but I just don't know how to build now that I lost the pics I used to have.

[The Rat]

Posted this a few years back, I was thinking about a pod in the middle for evac or rapid pin-point deployment:

[gengriz]

Hows about this?


PS Royal Marines dont need this sort of namby pamby thing - they cling on to Apaches with their bare hands!

RM Rescue in Afghanistan

[dragon]

Sounds impossibly claustrophobic

[elmayerle]

Don't forget the HS P.1199 "Battlefield Taxi" variants of the Harrier, both with a pilot and four passengers without the pods.  Add the pods for "coach class", I suppose.

[dragon]

Add the pods for "coach class", I suppose.

...or convenient ready-to-use coffins if the Harrier gets shot down.  Cheerful thought if you happen to be inone of those pods.

[P1127]

Yes, because it would be really pleasant to be in a pod on the wing when the aircrafdt goes through some low level high G manouveres!!

And you just hope there isn't an emegrencythat means all external stores have to be dropped!!

Boscombe Down did test fit this pod on one of the DB GR5/7s (I THINK ZD319) - I have a picture from Flight somewhere (It has variously been described as a Sea Harrier or an AV-8B butit was defo oine of ZD318/9/20)

It made the Houses of Parliament

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost has been to his Department of the development of the Extraction Stroke Insertion Pod for UK use; and what the expected cost will be to bring this into service; and if he will make a statement. [130377]



Dr. Moonie: This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Michael Hancock, dated 26 July 2000:




I have been asked to reply to your question about the extraction/insertion pod for UK use since the work to which you refer was carried out as part of DERA's Pathfinder programme.



Pathfinder was launched by the then Defence Research Agency in 1992 in order to strengthen the industry participation in the research programme that MOD contracted from DRA. A concept study of the AVPRO EXINT pod was carried out as a Priority Pathfinder, which DERA funded from its own resources, in 1996. About £39K was contributed to the study by DERA to look at the aeromedical aspects of the pod. A report was issued on the completion of the study and AVPRO subsequently put forward proposals for further work to the Ministry of Defence (MOD). At the present time these proposals have not been taken up.



I hope this is helpful.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/c...xt/00726w21.htm

[ysi_maniac]

There is something in this thread: http://www.whatifmodelers.com/forum//index...topic=12706&hl=

[Mossie]

The link Carlos provides shows a pic I posted.  As far as I recall, it was also meant to be mounted on Apache & other attack helicopters, when you needed a little bit more firepower on insertion than a Lynx or Blackhawk could provide.  The recent epsiode in Afghanistan where troops jumped onto the stub wings of an Apache maybe shows a need for this kind of thing?

Around the time of that rescue, I remember seeing an article in Aeroplane about Spitfire 'Body Bags'.  It was designed to take a couple of ground crew, to enable to setup rapid reaction airfields.  It was simply a heavy canvas bag with a strap that fitted around the cannon.  Not suprisingly they couldn't find many ground crew willing to get in them!  This was real, I'm not winding you up!!!

[kitnut617]

I've read something along this line in either one of Tony Butler's BSP books or in an issue of Air-Britain's quarterly magazines I subscribe too,  only the pod was big enough to hold a few paratroops, about four or six IIRC and the pods were hung under the wing of a Wellington or something.  I'll have to have a look through the books/mags again when I find the box I put them all in.

Robert

[PanzerWulff]

It might make for an interesting option to Evacuate wounded if there is no Medivac choppers available or for resupply of troops esp Special ops types. Hmmmmmmm a SOAR "Night Stalkers" Harrier B)
"Panzer"