My Dad worked with a Jaguar Squadron at RAF Wildenwrath and RAF Bruggen in Germany in the 70s and he arranged for little me to sit in the cockpit once. Fantastic aircraft! Sadly my dad passed a few weeks ago, proud of you Dad!
Be proud of your Dad, a man who, no doubt, who gave great service to his country. Coincidentally, I was with a cadet force platoon on camp at Wildenwrath in 1976 and we were given the chance to try out the Harrier simulator there. I have great memories of the place.
At LAST a video about our RAF Jags in the first Gulf war as ex 41 pilot who flew there this video was not bad , flying at 100ft or less happy days indeed
Legend has it that a Jag only got airbourne on a hot day because of the curvature of the Earth. I also once read a Jag pilot describe the cockpit as "an ergonomic slum". Having said that, and despite being massively underpowered, every pilot who ever flew it absolutely loved it and would sing it's praises at every opportunity.
The "ergonomic slum" comment was common among Jag pilots. In Typhoon by Mike Sutton he makes a passing comment to that effect and leaves the reader with the impression the he considers the Typhoon cockpit the standard the designers of the Jag should have aimed for.
The only things obsolete in war are weapon systems but most importantly tactics. The archaic Blackburn Buccaneer and English Electric Canberra BOTH served with distinction in the Gulf War alongside the ageing Jaguar and flagship (but old) Tornado. All were used to their strengths and proved PERFECTLY lethal jets.
Exactly - if you can make effective use of it, it isn't obsolete. Effectively, it was the running-down of the spare parts and service supply chain that squeezed the Jag out.
The Tornado only went into service with the RAF in 1979, and in 1991, the Saudi AF was still having new Tornados delivered. The final RAF Tornado was not delivered until March 1993 - it wasn't 'old' at all.
One abiding memory I have of Op GRANBY was sitting under my cam net, sharing my coffee with the flies, while one of my bridgelayer crews was servicing its engines. This involved elevating the bridge to top dead centre (vertical). Suddenly a flight of Jags blasted past at zero feet, filled my mug with sand, dispersed the flies (briefly) and scared the living bejesus out of the AVLB Commander when one aircraft had to climb to clear his bridge. I never felt prouder of the boys in light blue than when I saw that display of force and flying skills.
The Jaguar was not outdated by the time it was retired by the RAF. It had undergone modifications and still had several years of service ahead of it. It was retired on cost saving grounds, like the Nimrod, Harrier and Sentry. It could still ruin your day, and India uses them to good effect, buying up all the spares after the RAF had to stop flying them. It was easy to maintain, and the fitters loved it, so much so that a group of them maintain a privately owned example in fast taxi condition.
As I remember they had just wired it up for 1553 when it was retired. The Indians have now integrated ASRAAM on overwing pylons, it'll be around for few years yet.
Britain has a history of scrapping usable or new weapons systems on grounds of "cost"; HMS Vanguard was scrapped after only 13 years; that vessel ought to still be in service ( part-time ).
The most impressive video of a Jaguar I've ever seen was one taking off from a grass field. A supersonic jet taking off from a bumpy grass field. Mind blowing. The landing gear on that thing was insanely sturdy.
I still remember the video of a Jag taking off from an airport diagonally across two runways and taxiways and the medians and field plots on either side of the runways. Then there was the video showing Jags taking off and landing on roads. (Discovery Channel's "Great Planes")
I did Supersonic in a Jag "very briefly" during an air test jolly, part of the test included getting there. as soon as we did the pilot said thats enough, we dont want to waste fuel lets do some low level "Excellent"
On two occasions my unit was mock bombed while on maneuvers in Kuwait circa May 1993. I swear I could feel the heat from the engines as they peeled away. It's a chilling feeling to know you were already bombed before you knew they were there.
This aeroplane is special to me. I live in Norfolk, and my house that I have lived in since 1990 (still there today!) sits directly below the approach to RAF Coltishall where the Jaguar squadrons were based. For 16 glorious years when i was growing up, every day I would see Jaguars with their gear down lining up to land, one after the other. They flew over at very low level, very loud. I got to see this thousands of times and I never ever got bored of it. Now we occasionally get jets landing at Norwich airport and jets flying at high altitude, but I wish I could see a Jaguar one more time!
I miss them flying over the coast here. We used to sit in class at Sheringham High & GR1s would come out above Pretty Corner woods on their way towards the sea & swoop over the school. We had Tornados too, plus the occasional F111 and on rare occasions, a Harrier from Wittering..... Now it's just F15s, F35s and occasionally a Typhoon from Coningsby with mostly a low level swoop from MC130s of Mildenhall twice a week. Busy but nothing from RAF bases.... At least there's one solitary GR1 from Coltishall at the Norwich Airport Museum on display.....
A friend who flew jags during the Kosovo conflict and Afghanistan said that it was underpowered and with a full load of bombs, "il decolle parce que la terre est ronde." It takes off because the earth is round. But he said that it was the most stable firing platform, extremely versatile, and it had a huge inventory of compatible ordnance.
@@jefftuckercfii Kind of. They both started with the same engine standard, but the French never fitted uprated engines to their Jaguars, while the RAF went through two(?) rounds of fitting more powerful ones.
The highlight of me growing up in Lossie was the Buccaneers and Jaguars...along with Shackletons. Many a happy day spent at the end of the runway, hiding in a bunker on the golf course
As "outdated" as people tbought the RAF's ground attack Jaguar was, she was an extremely capable platform that outperformed many of her vastly more expensive peers....
I like the Jaguar a lot but calling it the most efficient is a bit of a stretch when compared to the F117-A Nighthawk. I'd be willing to say the Jaguar was most efficient in the case of a general allrounder but within the envelope it was designed for, the F117 was without peer. Fly in totally undetected... Lase the target... Drop laser-guided bombs with a circular error probable of about 4 meters and then fly back out totally undetected... A true game-changer of the period.
French Jaguar A was even more outdated during Desert Storm 😅 But they were equipped with the very good ATLIS II TV targeting pod (very good tracking allowing single pilot used), supersonic AS30L laser guided missiles and MATRA BGL400/1000 laser guided bomb. They strapped portable GPS on the dashboard, and this outdated attack aircraft became cutting edge 🤣🤣👌
For that matter, I've seen video from inside Ukraine MiG 29s that had an outdated but functional monochrome screen commercial Garmin GPS unit ziptied to the side of the MiG's heads-up display. Those older 29s must not have had capability of using GLONASS either due to age or to access being cut off by the Russians.
The Jaguar was always one of my favourite aircraft. Such a beautiful shape and amazing capabilities. Couple that with some of the best pilots in the business and you've got one hell of a lethal platform.
I stopped listening and unsubscribed at this point too. I've no idea how many other made up facts this video and others contain but I've noticed a few things recently
@@tallandhairy There is a load of this sort of stuff sadly, its hard to find a decent documentary rather then some bloke in his bedroom narrating to random clips
I grew up on the side of a mountain on North Wales that was in one of the RAF low-fly training zones; we used to go up the side of one of the local mountains and sit there looking down on Jaguars and Buccaneers doing their thing. There's something weird about looking *down* on planes going really fast - it was awesome :)
@@svartmetall must have been great view. The Tornadoes flew even lower at RAF Goose Bay in Canada over the flat Tundra. I had to draft a letter apologising for scaring the herds away to the local Inuit leader!
Nice to briefly see the Jag in RAE colours. I worked at RAE Farnborough for a time, we also had a green camp R&D variant that I occasionally worked on. It was powered up when I was with it, but as you arrived it would sense you driving and walking up to it, responding with noises of things activating. It used to scare the crap out of me.
I was stationed at Coltishall during the Gulf deployment and prior to the deployment the station worked round the clock getting the planes refitted and repainted and shipped out. It was manic and every branch on the base mucked in together..... when they came back to the UK with all the paint faded and combat mission markings painted on them they were a sight to see
A few errors in the video but thank you for doing a video on my favourite RAF jet. As an air cadet spent many happy hours sat in one (on the ground sadly!)
This is the first video I've ever seen highlighting the SEPECAT Jaguar. I've always liked this aircraft. It's the first and probably the only combat aircraft to mount missiles on top of the wings.
I was on 29 Squadron Phantoms during the Falklands War. We took over Ascension Air Defence to release 4 Harriers to go South in May 82. Following the ceasefire we went South in Oct 82 initially taking 4 Phantoms. Never saw a Jag at all. Phantoms stayed South until replaced by Tonka’s and then Typhoons.
@@alanwilkin8869 They never served in the Falklands. In the immediate aftermath of the war Phantoms were sent down, which in turn were replaced a few years later with Tornado F3s and at the current time, Typhoons have the QRA role in the Falklands.
The helmet mounted display wasn't introduced until about 2003 and was only really used as a test bench for the development of the version to be used on the Euro Fighter.
I met a Jag tech years ago and he said that the UK govt should've *never* retired it. The fact that the airframe could take, fully loaded, supersonic flight showed its durability. But UK govt are famous for never doing the right thing (just like Great British Voting Public...).
@@norm8andy Meaning technology moves on. A jet engine couldn't be put on a Spitfire, though Supermarine tried and failed, despite them modifying the design in the early 1950s. But certain designs can be future-proofed like the Harrier, after the US Marines got them, and they prefer the Harrier, or they did, over the F-35.
My dad worked on the Jaguar, and early MRCA (Tornado) in the early 70's at BAC. Sadly he passed in '75 and his co-workers built an Airfix Jaguar and painted it in the cammo colours and presented it to me. I was just 9, but it was, and still is a prized possession. I also remember the Jaguar landing on my local motorway (M55) to test it's ability to be used in emergencies. I had a cinefilm of it landing, but sadly that seems to have vanished.
I built a Jaguar when I was at school. It was one of my favourite models and probably one of the best I ever built back then. I think it was an Airfix, but it might have been Matchbox. I'm hanging out for someone to release a newly tooled 1/48th scale kit.
The GR.1A upgrade involved senior pilots shopping around the defense companies asking not "can you build these kit to these specs" but simply, " what do you have". It was the most efficient and cost effective upgrade programme in RAF history.
It also worked because we involved the aircrew from the start. Pilots from 6, 41 & 54 sqn were at Boscombe Down through most of the early upgrades sitting with the project team. On many occasions we were asked "can you do this" or "can you include this" and we fitted it in.
The Indian Air Force has mixed views of the Jag. One joke, due to the perceived low power of the engines, was that the Jag got airborne only because the earth was round. Suicidal single engine landing performance. First stage of reheat while landing with even slightly higher weight. But then, terrific range and a rock solid gunnery platform with superb low level ride.
To be honest that was also how they were perceived in the RAF. The Jag was better than the sum of it's parts in real world conflicts, but the engines were always its weakest link.
I spent seven years on the Jaguar, Coltishall, Lossiemouth and Bruggen it was a good aircraft to work on, while on 31squadron in Germany we sent three aircraft to Cyprus, for three weeks, only four of us were sent to look after them. They flew every day and we did not have any un-serviceability.
I enjoyed the video, I used to be based at RAF Laarbruch when 2 Sqn. (normally written in Roman numerals as II Sqn.) were still equipped with Jaguars, one point about these videos, I don't know how many times it's pointed out that when identifying an RAF squadron it's never 6th, 41st, or any of the other ordinal indicators that other Air Forces use, you just say the number such as 6 (six), 41 (forty one) etc.
@@Optikification Had to travel down to Bruggen every night to refill our LOX pots when they closed Laarbruch’s runway for resurfacing in ‘87, what about absolute joy finish back shift in the Hyd. Bay at 22:00 then drive down to Bruggen, fill the pots for the squadron to pick up next morning, then drive back and get to bed about 01:00.
The trouble is the world is split into two parts - the ignorant American and the rest of us! The USAF unit structure reverses the Wing and Group compare the rest of the Western World, RAF had for example in WW2: 11 Group (London South Area) Bigin Hill Wing (Operational Base), Number 303 (Polish) Squadron (Functional Unit assigned for duty) - which could move to 13 Group for rest. USAF had Wings with sequential Groups and Squadrons under it hence 5th Fighter Wing, 2nd Persuit Group, 41st Tactical Fighter Squadron nomniculture. It comes down to the way the forces got structured and used - and became traditional.
Yeah some of the best days of my life were working on ll AC sqn at Laarbruch, a great aircraft that I was lucky enough to go up in one to do air to air at Cyprus.
People forget how dense iraqi air defence was in 1991, far denser than anything the soviet union had, I seem to remember the USAF expected to loose something like 1/3 or more of their aircraft. It's not accurate that the Jaguar was involved in the Falklands war though. Amazing that they're still in service in India!
Been waiting and looking for a good episode of the jaguar When I was a teen, many, many years ago. I went to Scotland for a camping trip. We were near the Highlands. We and saw two jaguars fly by in a gorge were we were camping. Eye level. Amazing. One of the highlights of the trip. One of my favourite aircraft. Sence I made a plactic glue model of one, when I was young. . 👽👍
5:19 The Jaguar served in the Falklands war - oh really? I think you got a bit carried away with that one - they didn't operate off carriers and with the nearest land base being Ascension island (where I'm very sure I never saw any Jags) which was rather too far away I'm afraid.
Did he say 46,000 feet ! We were luck to get up to 26,000 feet. 46,000 was impossible with the engines we had in 1980 ! It was certainly a good stable platform for dropping and tossing bombs and although the Navwas was good the match stretch was a problem sometimes being up to 6km out from the actual position. Although many at the time didn’t realise it because they’d stopped map reading.
They used to joke that the Nimrod was a fighter (the world's biggest/only four engined) because it was fitted with AAMs during the Falklands war. Did the Jag ever get armed with air to air missiles?
4:58 That's a Phantom from 111 Squadron, which was stationed just up the coast from me! They used to come in to land over our house when the wind was in the North.
"Valuable air support and reconnaissance capabilities in the Falklands conflict" I don't think so, maybe to replace assets that were involved, but none were operational in that theatre
I always had to smile, range 1000m, speed 1000mph, so I'm presuming unless you could find some in-flight refuelling you could only go "out" for half an hour before you needed to turn back in time for lunch. (although that was still better than the earlier even more beautiful Lightning.)
Dark Skies, I really appreciate all your passion and enthusiasm to bring us these great documentaries. Your voice sounds burnt out. Please stop and rest until you recover. You as a person are more valuable than all the content you can produce. If you don’t stop and recuperate your strength, you may end up stopping and even after extended rest, never be able to return to this work that you have poured your heart and soul into.
Got to see two Jags fire at ground targets at a lark hill artillery event when I was a small boy... They did a fly by of the stands... Soo very close. Thank god no over jealous safety rules back then. Anyways the aircraft has all ways had a part of my heart from that moment ❤
Visit the Manton Museum in Manston, Kent UK. They have a Jaguar as well as a Lightning and other good things. Next door is the Spitfire and Hurricane museums.
@@TomatoFettuccini slight resemblance at a glance, yes. I guess I always had a oml ability to identify immediately. The angled horizontal stabilizers at certain angles for sure.
Agreed, the cockpit shape and nose profile could be differences as well as the smaller air intakes compared to the F-4's larger ones and the larger vertical stabiliser compared to the F-4's shorter stubbier one.
Not really. It looks closer to the Mirage F1 than the Phantom. However, a British Phantom did accidentally shoot down a British Jaguar with a sidewinder.
@@thegrandinquisitor8239 If you want to see an aircraft that resembles the Jaguar look at the Japanese Mitsubishi F.1, from a distance it's very hard to tell them apart.
Well done Typhoon...IT ANNOYS me when the Yanks say The British Royal Air Force...There is only ONE Royal Air Force.... Al the others have the name of their Country in them
@@PatrickRoy-p8u ...called the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force. So I repeat my OP: there's no need to say British Royal Air Force. It is simply the Royal Air Force.
I loved the Jag and was a cadet at a camp where they were based. In the UK at the junction of the M42 and M40 southbound there is a paintball place that has one rotting in the woods visible from the motorway as you leave the M42. It makes me sad to see it every time I drive past it. 😢
Gosh they’re god damn gorgeous aren’t they. I remember seeing these flying over my school as a kid. All I knew was that this was the pretty one (vs Harrier and very rarely a Tornado). You really never see documentaries on the things!
Sets my teeth on edge when American content creators refer to RAF Squadrons as the 6th Squadron, 41st Squadron and 54th Squadron. No. It's 6 Squadron, 41 Squadron and 54 Squadron. 7 years spent at RAF Coltishall, the best tour of a 22 year career and Colt was often referred to as the best kept secret in the RAF.
@@philipkay8116 Yeah you'd think, but no that's not correct. It's a three syllable word. I'm English so I know these things. Just don't tell me about your baseball bat that's made of aloo-minum or I may have to hurt you 🤣
5:20 No Jaguar saw action in the Falklands. It wasnt until after the war that there was an airfield able to support non-stovl aircraft such as the Phantom, even then the runway had to be extensively repaired and lengthened first and NAS809 remained on station for a while after the war. The British aircraft in service during the Falklands were the Sea Harrier FRS1 and Harrier Gr3, along with some debatably effective missions flown by the Avro Vulcan
While At Machrihanish in the 70s used to get Jags in on a regular basis ,They were a pain in the butt every time they landed they popped the brake chute, we had no rag packers on base so we had to pack the brake chutes one of us (we had four guys) refuelled them one of us packed the chute and re-fitted them. Then we told the pilot it may not work when you land again but pop it anyway because it will need repacking. The way we repacked them was with a broom handle just ram it back in.
How long was the runway there? I know the pilots did practice aerodynamic braking but, at the end of the day, if you needed the chute then you used it. I practiced lots of times (in the sim) not using it and you needed a fair amount of space to stop the thing on brakes alone.
I was with the press corps at RAF Coltishall the morning (I think it was 48 Squadron) was deployed for Operation Desert Shield. Squadron Leader Jack Love was the press relations officer. When I asked him why a fighter bomber was being deployed for a ‘shield’ operation he was very diplomatic!
The Jag is one of those rare aircraft that looks even meaner with the wheels down.
Yeah, they're like the claws of a bird of prey.
Park it along a Mirage F1 and they form a cute couple !
Indeed! MiG 27 is also looking great with wheels down!
Agree.Our,Serbian Army has couple of SOKO J 22 ORAO aircraft,which are heavily inspired by Jag.Such an elegant bird!
@@pedjatrninic kako da ne ;) J 22 isto opasno izgleda na donjem trapu
My Dad worked with a Jaguar Squadron at RAF Wildenwrath and RAF Bruggen in Germany in the 70s and he arranged for little me to sit in the cockpit once. Fantastic aircraft! Sadly my dad passed a few weeks ago, proud of you Dad!
Sorry for your loss. Condolences from USA.
We thank him for his service
@@carabus0354 I’m envious. The Sepcat is a beautiful aircraft
Be proud of your Dad, a man who, no doubt, who gave great service to his country. Coincidentally, I was with a cadet force platoon on camp at Wildenwrath in 1976 and we were given the chance to try out the Harrier simulator there. I have great memories of the place.
I’m very sorry, that must be an awesome memory!
At LAST a video about our RAF Jags in the first Gulf war as ex 41 pilot who flew there this video was not bad , flying at 100ft or less happy days indeed
The Jag was an AMAZING aircraft...
Another beautiful and deadly aircraft from our European allies with highly effective pilots and support staff. Outstanding!
My father was an ex 41 pilot... Probably before your time though.
Great stuff...more non-Yank oriented stuff please!👍
54 (f) FTW...
Legend has it that a Jag only got airbourne on a hot day because of the curvature of the Earth. I also once read a Jag pilot describe the cockpit as "an ergonomic slum". Having said that, and despite being massively underpowered, every pilot who ever flew it absolutely loved it and would sing it's praises at every opportunity.
The "ergonomic slum" comment was common among Jag pilots. In Typhoon by Mike Sutton he makes a passing comment to that effect and leaves the reader with the impression the he considers the Typhoon cockpit the standard the designers of the Jag should have aimed for.
The only things obsolete in war are weapon systems but most importantly tactics. The archaic Blackburn Buccaneer and English Electric Canberra BOTH served with distinction in the Gulf War alongside the ageing Jaguar and flagship (but old) Tornado. All were used to their strengths and proved PERFECTLY lethal jets.
Exactly - if you can make effective use of it, it isn't obsolete.
Effectively, it was the running-down of the spare parts and service supply chain that squeezed the Jag out.
@@wirebrushofenlightenment1545
India: "Never!"
So not really obsolete then?
Words are hard.
The jag was only 20 years old then, not really obsolete 1:08
The Tornado only went into service with the RAF in 1979, and in 1991, the Saudi AF was still having new Tornados delivered. The final RAF Tornado was not delivered until March 1993 - it wasn't 'old' at all.
One abiding memory I have of Op GRANBY was sitting under my cam net, sharing my coffee with the flies, while one of my bridgelayer crews was servicing its engines. This involved elevating the bridge to top dead centre (vertical). Suddenly a flight of Jags blasted past at zero feet, filled my mug with sand, dispersed the flies (briefly) and scared the living bejesus out of the AVLB Commander when one aircraft had to climb to clear his bridge. I never felt prouder of the boys in light blue than when I saw that display of force and flying skills.
I think the Jag is possibly the loudest man made object of all time :)
Unfortunately we were all duped into thinking we were the good guys, sadly we were the real invaders, and Blackrock and Halliburton were the winners
@@malphadoursecond.
The Vulcan will always be king for volume. 😉
@billb7876 Wrong war. That was the second Gulf War. The Jaguars were long since retired by then.
@@stephenhumphrey7935 Well they weren't. RAF didn't retire the Jaguar until 2007, 4 years after the Gulf War 2, and India still flies lots of them
The Jaguar was not outdated by the time it was retired by the RAF. It had undergone modifications and still had several years of service ahead of it. It was retired on cost saving grounds, like the Nimrod, Harrier and Sentry. It could still ruin your day, and India uses them to good effect, buying up all the spares after the RAF had to stop flying them. It was easy to maintain, and the fitters loved it, so much so that a group of them maintain a privately owned example in fast taxi condition.
As I remember they had just wired it up for 1553 when it was retired. The Indians have now integrated ASRAAM on overwing pylons, it'll be around for few years yet.
Britain has a history of scrapping usable or new weapons systems on grounds of "cost"; HMS Vanguard was scrapped after only 13 years; that vessel ought to still be in service ( part-time ).
@@BruceConklin-js5rg Vanguard was obsolete the moment her hull kissed the water. Battleships were obsolete by 1942 .
@@michellebrown4903Maybe. But it would have been amazing to keep 1 battleship as a floating museum, just like the US does.
I was on 41 when we found cracks in the central fuselage which is why it was retired. Along with the tacrecce going EO
Good to see the Jag getting some recognition. It deserves praise. It's simply a good airplane.
The most impressive video of a Jaguar I've ever seen was one taking off from a grass field. A supersonic jet taking off from a bumpy grass field. Mind blowing. The landing gear on that thing was insanely sturdy.
Rugged as a 2CV :)
A uprated engine version with a cleaned up cockpit would be a good option to have now for export and support/training.
It was part of the design brief that it should be able to operate from a ploughed field.
I still remember the video of a Jag taking off from an airport diagonally across two runways and taxiways and the medians and field plots on either side of the runways. Then there was the video showing Jags taking off and landing on roads. (Discovery Channel's "Great Planes")
I did Supersonic in a Jag "very briefly" during an air test jolly, part of the test included getting there. as soon as we did the pilot said thats enough, we dont want to waste fuel lets do some low level "Excellent"
We all know why it’s so good. Because … it’s a jaaaaaaaag!
I loved these things as an air cadet in the 80’s. Lovely aircraft.
A sexy aircraft, performing unglamorous missions. They deserve more credit.
On two occasions my unit was mock bombed while on maneuvers in Kuwait circa May 1993. I swear I could feel the heat from the engines as they peeled away. It's a chilling feeling to know you were already bombed before you knew they were there.
That's any low flying attack aircraft.
Jaguar wasn't deployed to Kuwait in 93, we were out in Canada for Maple Flag then.
This aeroplane is special to me. I live in Norfolk, and my house that I have lived in since 1990 (still there today!) sits directly below the approach to RAF Coltishall where the Jaguar squadrons were based. For 16 glorious years when i was growing up, every day I would see Jaguars with their gear down lining up to land, one after the other. They flew over at very low level, very loud. I got to see this thousands of times and I never ever got bored of it. Now we occasionally get jets landing at Norwich airport and jets flying at high altitude, but I wish I could see a Jaguar one more time!
As a kid I grew up in Scottow (Right at the end of the runway at Coltishall) I used to love watching the saint (16sqdn) doing the acrobatics
I miss them flying over the coast here. We used to sit in class at Sheringham High & GR1s would come out above Pretty Corner woods on their way towards the sea & swoop over the school. We had Tornados too, plus the occasional F111 and on rare occasions, a Harrier from Wittering.....
Now it's just F15s, F35s and occasionally a Typhoon from Coningsby with mostly a low level swoop from MC130s of Mildenhall twice a week.
Busy but nothing from RAF bases....
At least there's one solitary GR1 from Coltishall at the Norwich Airport Museum on display.....
That is my dream house, but the planes for me are Tornadoes. You were one lucky kid.
A friend who flew jags during the Kosovo conflict and Afghanistan said that it was underpowered and with a full load of bombs, "il decolle parce que la terre est ronde." It takes off because the earth is round. But he said that it was the most stable firing platform, extremely versatile, and it had a huge inventory of compatible ordnance.
An RAF engineer friend said to me “beautiful flying aircraft; then they went and fitted bombs to it” 😂
Wasn't the French version of the Jaguar engined differently than the UK version?
@@jefftuckercfii Kind of. They both started with the same engine standard, but the French never fitted uprated engines to their Jaguars, while the RAF went through two(?) rounds of fitting more powerful ones.
@@jefftuckercfii RAF started with the Ardour 102 through to the 106. French started service with the 101
@@MrHws5mp not quite true
Along with the Buccaneer, the Jag was a firm favourite of mine. Lovely, lethal aircraft.
Loved the Bucc since I was a kid, one of the - very - few great aircraft Blackburn ever produced.
The highlight of me growing up in Lossie was the Buccaneers and Jaguars...along with Shackletons. Many a happy day spent at the end of the runway, hiding in a bunker on the golf course
The British prove that exceptional pilots with high morale and intelligent tactics are just as important as the aircraft.
Not to mention a capable and dedicated ground crew.
Vastly underrated aircraft
As "outdated" as people tbought the RAF's ground attack Jaguar was, she was an extremely capable platform that outperformed many of her vastly more expensive peers....
They said the same about the RNs "Swordfish" bi-plane. 😊
Most efficient plane in the Gulf war. serviceability second to none and proven.
lol how can you say that , How can 24 Jaguars be the most efficient out of more than a 1000 aircrafts ,,,
Well they had no airdefence 🤷♀️
that isn't true and you know
I like the Jaguar a lot but calling it the most efficient is a bit of a stretch when compared to the F117-A Nighthawk. I'd be willing to say the Jaguar was most efficient in the case of a general allrounder but within the envelope it was designed for, the F117 was without peer. Fly in totally undetected... Lase the target... Drop laser-guided bombs with a circular error probable of about 4 meters and then fly back out totally undetected... A true game-changer of the period.
Did you fly in the first Gulf war?@@sirhayden5516
Love for the Jag from across the pond!
Looking misty eyed back at Cold War 1, videos such as these fulfill my need for a bit of nostalgia. The RAF had some great aeroplanes back then😊
French Jaguar A was even more outdated during Desert Storm 😅
But they were equipped with the very good ATLIS II TV targeting pod (very good tracking allowing single pilot used), supersonic AS30L laser guided missiles and MATRA BGL400/1000 laser guided bomb.
They strapped portable GPS on the dashboard, and this outdated attack aircraft became cutting edge 🤣🤣👌
Those targeting pods made them more effective than waves of B52s
Just like cars today, add Carplay and it is the future.
For that matter, I've seen video from inside Ukraine MiG 29s that had an outdated but functional monochrome screen commercial Garmin GPS unit ziptied to the side of the MiG's heads-up display. Those older 29s must not have had capability of using GLONASS either due to age or to access being cut off by the Russians.
The Sepecat Jaguar also served in the IAF during Indo-Pak wars like the Kargil war.
The Jaguar was always one of my favourite aircraft. Such a beautiful shape and amazing capabilities. Couple that with some of the best pilots in the business and you've got one hell of a lethal platform.
A Jaguar landed on the M55 motorway when it was opened, in Lancashire.
From RAF Warton.
Thank you so much for doing a story on this incredible aircraft that is so often overlooked
The jaguar wasn't in the falkland War. It was only sea harriers and harriers and a few vulcan bomber missions
I stopped listening and unsubscribed at this point too. I've no idea how many other made up facts this video and others contain but I've noticed a few things recently
Shame really, major mistake like this makes you wonder what other facts need checking. Nice footage though.
Don't forget the Victors too
@@tallandhairy There is a load of this sort of stuff sadly, its hard to find a decent documentary rather then some bloke in his bedroom narrating to random clips
Whole things screams AI video. My dad was in the falklands (and I was in the gulf) in he burst out laughing at the falklands but 🤣
i strongly believe that the jaguar is one of the most beautiful aircraft ever put into production
I grew up on the side of a mountain on North Wales that was in one of the RAF low-fly training zones; we used to go up the side of one of the local mountains and sit there looking down on Jaguars and Buccaneers doing their thing. There's something weird about looking *down* on planes going really fast - it was awesome :)
Very strange viewing angle..... I know.
@@svartmetall must have been great view. The Tornadoes flew even lower at RAF Goose Bay in Canada over the flat Tundra. I had to draft a letter apologising for scaring the herds away to the local Inuit leader!
Nice to briefly see the Jag in RAE colours. I worked at RAE Farnborough for a time, we also had a green camp R&D variant that I occasionally worked on. It was powered up when I was with it, but as you arrived it would sense you driving and walking up to it, responding with noises of things activating. It used to scare the crap out of me.
Last Jaguar I ever saw was in RAE colours. I remember it well, it was about 200 ft above Rannoch Moor.
what is RAE?
@@dimwitsixtytwelve
What is RAE!??? The legendary Royal Airspace Establishment.
@@1967AJB OK and what is that? nevermind I just looked it up after you told me the full name. you know it's ok to ask questions right?
What kind of systems did it start up as someone walks up to it? That's pretty amazing, never heard of a fighter doing that before, very cool.
The Jaguar was a damn good aircraft, i worked on them for 10 years, on 4 different squadrons, great to work on!
I was stationed at Coltishall during the Gulf deployment and prior to the deployment the station worked round the clock getting the planes refitted and repainted and shipped out. It was manic and every branch on the base mucked in together..... when they came back to the UK with all the paint faded and combat mission markings painted on them they were a sight to see
A few errors in the video but thank you for doing a video on my favourite RAF jet. As an air cadet spent many happy hours sat in one (on the ground sadly!)
This is the first video I've ever seen highlighting the SEPECAT Jaguar. I've always liked this aircraft. It's the first and probably the only combat aircraft to mount missiles on top of the wings.
I believe the Electric Lightning had above wing mounted sidewiders in a later variant - this was before the Jaguars time
It certainly had top-wing-mounted fuel tanks. BTW, how did they drop them once empty?
Jaguars never served in the Falklands
Garrison duty
They probably did, after the war,
They built a new runway and accommodation etc and posted a lotta RAF personnel there.
The commentary did say they served in the Falklands War. They didn't take part in the war!
Only Sea Harriers and GR and Vulcans served in the falklands.
I was on 29 Squadron Phantoms during the Falklands War. We took over Ascension Air Defence to release 4 Harriers to go South in May 82. Following the ceasefire we went South in Oct 82 initially taking 4 Phantoms. Never saw a Jag at all. Phantoms stayed South until replaced by Tonka’s and then Typhoons.
@@alanwilkin8869 They never served in the Falklands. In the immediate aftermath of the war Phantoms were sent down, which in turn were replaced a few years later with Tornado F3s and at the current time, Typhoons have the QRA role in the Falklands.
The helmet mounted display wasn't introduced until about 2003 and was only really used as a test bench for the development of the version to be used on the Euro Fighter.
I met a Jag tech years ago and he said that the UK govt should've *never* retired it. The fact that the airframe could take, fully loaded, supersonic flight showed its durability.
But UK govt are famous for never doing the right thing (just like Great British Voting Public...).
Airframes have a limited life, at some point they simply have to be retired.
But have they not just downed one of the most useless British Govts in history?
Meaning?
@@norm8andy Meaning technology moves on. A jet engine couldn't be put on a Spitfire, though Supermarine tried and failed, despite them modifying the design in the early 1950s. But certain designs can be future-proofed like the Harrier, after the US Marines got them, and they prefer the Harrier, or they did, over the F-35.
My dad worked on the Jaguar, and early MRCA (Tornado) in the early 70's at BAC. Sadly he passed in '75 and his co-workers built an Airfix Jaguar and painted it in the cammo colours and presented it to me. I was just 9, but it was, and still is a prized possession. I also remember the Jaguar landing on my local motorway (M55) to test it's ability to be used in emergencies. I had a cinefilm of it landing, but sadly that seems to have vanished.
I guess he was at Warton?
@@fizzyridertoo Indeed.
Great story. Lookup ‘jaguar fighter jet lands on highway’
I built a Jaguar when I was at school. It was one of my favourite models and probably one of the best I ever built back then. I think it was an Airfix, but it might have been Matchbox. I'm hanging out for someone to release a newly tooled 1/48th scale kit.
@@davidorr6627 Airfix are about to release a 1/48 Jaguar.
I had always dismissed the Jaguar as a minor aircraft that missed a real role in action. How very wrong I was. Thank you
Very informative video Jaguar deserves history remembering it well, great stuff.
One of the coolest looking and baddest acting western warplanes of all time. Too bad they never made a Navy carrier version
My childhood fav, and always a joy at the airshows. Fook, I am that old.
@@KiwisDownUnder Me too, me too and me too. My favourite Airfix model when I was young.
The French did develop a carrier version Jaguar M,
The GR.1A upgrade involved senior pilots shopping around the defense companies asking not "can you build these kit to these specs" but simply, " what do you have". It was the most efficient and cost effective upgrade programme in RAF history.
It also worked because we involved the aircrew from the start. Pilots from 6, 41 & 54 sqn were at Boscombe Down through most of the early upgrades sitting with the project team. On many occasions we were asked "can you do this" or "can you include this" and we fitted it in.
Beautiful pointy aircraft, one of my favourites, thanks for the vid 👍
Speaks volumes about skill of the pilots and ground crews!
The Indian Air Force has mixed views of the Jag. One joke, due to the perceived low power of the engines, was that the Jag got airborne only because the earth was round. Suicidal single engine landing performance. First stage of reheat while landing with even slightly higher weight. But then, terrific range and a rock solid gunnery platform with superb low level ride.
To be honest that was also how they were perceived in the RAF. The Jag was better than the sum of it's parts in real world conflicts, but the engines were always its weakest link.
Werent the engines updated by IAF later??
The Honeywell F124 was considered by the IAF for their Jaguars, but I think the installation effort was dropped.@@Vkj007
I spent seven years on the Jaguar, Coltishall, Lossiemouth and Bruggen it was a good aircraft to work on, while on 31squadron in Germany we sent three aircraft to Cyprus, for three weeks, only four of us were sent to look after them. They flew every day and we did not have any un-serviceability.
I enjoyed the video, I used to be based at RAF Laarbruch when 2 Sqn. (normally written in Roman numerals as II Sqn.) were still equipped with Jaguars, one point about these videos, I don't know how many times it's pointed out that when identifying an RAF squadron it's never 6th, 41st, or any of the other ordinal indicators that other Air Forces use, you just say the number such as 6 (six), 41 (forty one) etc.
Same for the RCAF, too.
I was at Bruggen 1984-1987 on 17f sqn (Black Hand) , After a few months being there we phased the Jag out and got Tornado.
@@Optikification Had to travel down to Bruggen every night to refill our LOX pots when they closed Laarbruch’s runway for resurfacing in ‘87, what about absolute joy finish back shift in the Hyd. Bay at 22:00 then drive down to Bruggen, fill the pots for the squadron to pick up next morning, then drive back and get to bed about 01:00.
The trouble is the world is split into two parts - the ignorant American and the rest of us! The USAF unit structure reverses the Wing and Group compare the rest of the Western World,
RAF had for example in WW2: 11 Group (London South Area) Bigin Hill Wing (Operational Base), Number 303 (Polish) Squadron (Functional Unit assigned for duty) - which could move to 13 Group for rest. USAF had Wings with sequential Groups and Squadrons under it hence 5th Fighter Wing, 2nd Persuit Group, 41st Tactical Fighter Squadron nomniculture.
It comes down to the way the forces got structured and used - and became traditional.
Yeah some of the best days of my life were working on ll AC sqn at Laarbruch, a great aircraft that I was lucky enough to go up in one to do air to air at Cyprus.
Love Aviation History & Never Knew The Jaguar Was That Successful. Thank You.
Jaguar is my most favorite aircraft of this era, I mean just look how aggressive it is.
People forget how dense iraqi air defence was in 1991, far denser than anything the soviet union had, I seem to remember the USAF expected to loose something like 1/3 or more of their aircraft.
It's not accurate that the Jaguar was involved in the Falklands war though.
Amazing that they're still in service in India!
5:21. Served in the Falklands War?? Not sure how it managed that!
Now that would have proved its adaptability
I was wondering if I had misheard. Appears not.
No. Flew at the same time as the Falklands op's were going on but no SEPECAT Jaguars flew in combat during the Falklands war..
They could barely get their Vulcan strategic bombers there!!! It took virtually all of GB's tankers to accomplish that feat.
The couldn't even get a picture of the right aircraft in the thumbnail so I'm not surprised by BS claims.
Please give me a reference to the Jaguar being used in the Falklands War.
Fascinating. A beautiful, high-performing airplane.
Been waiting and looking for a good episode of the jaguar When I was a teen, many, many years ago. I went to Scotland for a camping trip. We were near the Highlands. We and saw two jaguars fly by in a gorge were we were camping. Eye level. Amazing. One of the highlights of the trip. One of my favourite aircraft. Sence I made a plactic glue model of one, when I was young. . 👽👍
It was seeing a desert camouflage Jaguar when I was visiting my parents looming out the clouds that I realised we were about to go to war!
Seeing your parents looming out of the clouds must have been very disconcerting.
5:19 The Jaguar served in the Falklands war - oh really? I think you got a bit carried away with that one - they didn't operate off carriers and with the nearest land base being Ascension island (where I'm very sure I never saw any Jags) which was rather too far away I'm afraid.
The RAF could do with these today.
Did he say 46,000 feet ! We were luck to get up to 26,000 feet. 46,000 was impossible with the engines we had in 1980 ! It was certainly a good stable platform for dropping and tossing bombs and although the Navwas was good the match stretch was a problem sometimes being up to 6km out from the actual position. Although many at the time didn’t realise it because they’d stopped map reading.
The Jaguar was never a fighter, it was always a ground attack aircraft.
They used to joke that the Nimrod was a fighter (the world's biggest/only four engined) because it was fitted with AAMs during the Falklands war. Did the Jag ever get armed with air to air missiles?
@@hackdaniels7253 only 2 sidewinders for self defense
@@hackdaniels7253 It was in the video...Aim 9s by RAF. Indian AF strapped ASRAAMs on their Jags. French used their R.Matra 550 Magics.
@@diffe ...then the Jaguar was a fighter!
The first fighter aircraft of IAF i saw up close and had a chance to sit inside also ... just a wonderful piece of machine .. the roar of that engine
You should tell the story of the A91 french jaguar, hit during operation Daguet, Epic story.
Yes, YES!
hited....?
@@douglascampbell4993. They're French what do you expect...?
Sorry, typing error, just 'hit'.
He should also tell the story of when Flt Lt Griggs was shot down in his Jag. By an RAF Phantom!
So many memories - thanks.
4:58 That's a Phantom from 111 Squadron, which was stationed just up the coast from me! They used to come in to land over our house when the wind was in the North.
I can see your house from here! lol
Sorry, that sounded a bit shady lol
"Valuable air support and reconnaissance capabilities in the Falklands conflict" I don't think so, maybe to replace assets that were involved, but none were operational in that theatre
Britain and France working together, it can be done with great success!
Concorde was a perfect example.
I always had to smile, range 1000m, speed 1000mph, so I'm presuming unless you could find some in-flight refuelling you could only go "out" for half an hour before you needed to turn back in time for lunch. (although that was still better than the earlier even more beautiful Lightning.)
I've always had a soft spot for the Jaguar.
Dark Skies, I really appreciate all your passion and enthusiasm to bring us these great documentaries. Your voice sounds burnt out. Please stop and rest until you recover. You as a person are more valuable than all the content you can produce. If you don’t stop and recuperate your strength, you may end up stopping and even after extended rest, never be able to return to this work that you have poured your heart and soul into.
10:25 - Rapier missiles - and thwn Bloodhounds!
Frig beat me too it, then I thought nah, its just a YT video. :D
Got to see two Jags fire at ground targets at a lark hill artillery event when I was a small boy... They did a fly by of the stands... Soo very close. Thank god no over jealous safety rules back then. Anyways the aircraft has all ways had a part of my heart from that moment ❤
Sitting on the runway legs spread open wide, see the mighty jaguar, sway from side to side.
A song for Deci? Or Brüggen Rugby club?
The Jaguar was never used in the Falklands war in 82
...something I never noticed about the Jaguar before, it has the same sillouette as an F-4...........
Visit the Manton Museum in Manston, Kent UK. They have a Jaguar as well as a Lightning and other good things. Next door is the Spitfire and Hurricane museums.
@@TomatoFettuccini slight resemblance at a glance, yes. I guess I always had a oml ability to identify immediately. The angled horizontal stabilizers at certain angles for sure.
Agreed, the cockpit shape and nose profile could be differences as well as the smaller air intakes compared to the F-4's larger ones and the larger vertical stabiliser compared to the F-4's shorter stubbier one.
Not really. It looks closer to the Mirage F1 than the Phantom.
However, a British Phantom did accidentally shoot down a British Jaguar with a sidewinder.
@@thegrandinquisitor8239 If you want to see an aircraft that resembles the Jaguar look at the Japanese Mitsubishi F.1, from a distance it's very hard to tell them apart.
It was nowhere near the Falklands. That was solely a Harrier show apart from the Vulcan Blackbuck operations.
No need to say British Royal Air Force. It is simply the Royal Air Force.
Well done Typhoon...IT ANNOYS me when the Yanks say The British Royal Air Force...There is only ONE Royal Air Force.... Al the others have the name of their Country in them
@@altaylor3988 Well for Germans it's just "Luftwaffe" meaning "air force".
Everyone else have a country name or "royal" in them.
There is canadian and australian royal air force to
@@PatrickRoy-p8u ...called the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force. So I repeat my OP: there's no need to say British Royal Air Force. It is simply the Royal Air Force.
@@typhoon2827 Totally correct mucker, same with the Royal Navy, there is but one.
I loved the Jag and was a cadet at a camp where they were based. In the UK at the junction of the M42 and M40 southbound there is a paintball place that has one rotting in the woods visible from the motorway as you leave the M42. It makes me sad to see it every time I drive past it. 😢
Jag Wah ...... !
Didn't the Jaguar's engine work better in the heat compared to the Harrier & Tornado ?
Gosh they’re god damn gorgeous aren’t they. I remember seeing these flying over my school as a kid. All I knew was that this was the pretty one (vs Harrier and very rarely a Tornado).
You really never see documentaries on the things!
I don't think the Jaguar was involved in the Falklands war, as is said in this video!
NOPE, The Jaguar DID NOT serve in the Falklands War...
Yeah you’re right. They were still barley active in the raf but not deployed for that particular conflict.
Exactly. No airbases.
Just the Harriers served in falklands, just fighting Agains Argentine A-4s
@@Russão000 And some Vulcan bomber missions
@@Russão000 and Mirages.
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen this plane before, but it looks great! I love it stance and aggressive lines.
Sets my teeth on edge when American content creators refer to RAF Squadrons as the 6th Squadron, 41st Squadron and 54th Squadron.
No.
It's 6 Squadron, 41 Squadron and 54 Squadron.
7 years spent at RAF Coltishall, the best tour of a 22 year career and Colt was often referred to as the best kept secret in the RAF.
I had a pair of camouflaged die-cast Jags as a five year old. Always my favourite!
I call it bullshyte at the asertion a 5:20 that the JaguR was used in the Falklands War. Prove me wrong.
How would it even get there? 🤔
Best designed tricycle undercarriage of any jet.
Looks like a cross between an F-4 and an A-4, mostly the F-4
It’s more of a Super Etendard mixed with the wing configuration of a Harrier, given it was a Franco-English jet project
Phlarrier
@@samuelgarrod8327 lol
Just taking the Jag out for a spin, has a whole different meaning here ;-)
Jag -u - ar. Three syllables please. Otherwise great to see this phenomenal bird in action again.
You don't say ig-yu-ana. The beast is pronounced "igwana". Likewise jaguar should be pronounced "jagwar".
@@philipkay8116 Yeah you'd think, but no that's not correct. It's a three syllable word. I'm English so I know these things. Just don't tell me about your baseball bat that's made of aloo-minum or I may have to hurt you 🤣
5:20 No Jaguar saw action in the Falklands. It wasnt until after the war that there was an airfield able to support non-stovl aircraft such as the Phantom, even then the runway had to be extensively repaired and lengthened first and NAS809 remained on station for a while after the war. The British aircraft in service during the Falklands were the Sea Harrier FRS1 and Harrier Gr3, along with some debatably effective missions flown by the Avro Vulcan
And I love how the thumbnail that led me to this video was of a tornado, not a jaguar.
You are not alone
Nope. The thumbnail is of the Trainer Variant of Jaguar. That's not tornado.
@@Mrlonelyuploader it's a case of mistaken identity, let it go
Yep, i also thought it was a Tornado
Yep a Tornado.
You'd think they have a clue
Always one of my favourites of the era.
While At Machrihanish in the 70s used to get Jags in on a regular basis ,They were a pain in the butt every time they landed they popped the brake chute, we had no rag packers on base so we had to pack the brake chutes one of us (we had four guys) refuelled them one of us packed the chute and re-fitted them. Then we told the pilot it may not work when you land again but pop it anyway because it will need repacking. The way we repacked them was with a broom handle just ram it back in.
How long was the runway there? I know the pilots did practice aerodynamic braking but, at the end of the day, if you needed the chute then you used it. I practiced lots of times (in the sim) not using it and you needed a fair amount of space to stop the thing on brakes alone.
@@fizzyridertooone of the Longest in Scotland( i think 10,000 ft) a C5 Galaxy lands with ease in fact we had 2 one day.
@@fizzyridertoolong enough for it to qualify as an emergency alternate for the Space Shuttle.
Back when we had an air force with teeth. Jags, phantoms, buccaneers, tornadoes, Harrier's, awesome
Still plenty of teeth going around
There were no Jaguars in the Falklands . Get your facts right !
The Jag at low level, beautiful. Tornados are cool, too, but the Jag is special
The Jag Certainly didn’t serve in the Falklands. Are these videos ever fact checked prior to being released ?
A great jet like the Jaguar could never be obsolete..
Did he say that the Jaguar serve din the Falklands conflict?
He did but they didn’t 👍
I was with the press corps at RAF Coltishall the morning (I think it was 48 Squadron) was deployed for Operation Desert Shield. Squadron Leader Jack Love was the press relations officer. When I asked him why a fighter bomber was being deployed for a ‘shield’ operation he was very diplomatic!