Hawker Siddeley Harrier variant
Hawker Siddeley Harrier Harrier T.4
An RAF two-seat trainer based on the GR.3 combat standard, sharing its engine and much of its equipment. It retained the stretched fuselage and tall fin introduced on the T.2 and let pilots train in a configuration close to the aircraft they would fly on the squadron. The T.4A and the naval T.4N and T.8 derived from it.
History
A trainer kept current
When the RAF upgraded its single-seat fleet to GR.3 standard, the T.2 trainers fell behind the operational aircraft. The T.4 closed the gap: a two-seat trainer built to the GR.3 standard, so that students trained on the same engine and equipment they would meet on joining a unit.
Configuration
Like the rest of the two-seat family it kept the stretched fuselage for the tandem cockpits and the taller fin that offset the long nose's effect on directional stability. The T.4A was a minor variation on the same version.
Naval derivatives
The T.4 formed the basis of the naval trainers: the T.4N and T.8 for the Royal Navy, with avionics based on the Sea Harrier and the fittings required for shipboard work. The RAF two-seat line totalled 25 aircraft across the T.2, T.2A, T.4 and T.4A series.