The last of the four initial RAF Harrier squadrons to form, No.3 re-formed at Wildenrath in Germany on 1 January 1972, the unit having previously flown Canberras from Laarbruch. Initially equipped with the GR.1A, the unit had moved over to GR.3s by 1975. In 1977 No.3 re-located to Gutersloh to operate alongside No.IV Squadron, both units increasing their complement of Harriers from twelve to eighteen with the disbandment of No.20 Squadron.
As one of RAF Germany's Harrier units, No.3 was tasked with close air support and battlefield interdiction for the British Army and other NATO forces on the Central Front. Frequent exercises involving dispersal away from the main base to remote sites kept the squadron fully prepared for a potential Warsaw Pact attack.
No.3 Squadron upgraded to the second generation Harrier GR.5 in 1989-90, receiving the night-attack capable GR.7 during 1991-92. This coincided with the squadron's re-location to Laarbruch in November 1992, alongside No.4. In the aftermath of the Gulf War, No.3 Squadron sent a detachment of aircraft to fly from Incirlik in Turkey during 1993, operating as part of the coalition forces enforcing the northern no-fly zone over Kurdistan. In 1996 the squadron flew to Gioia del Colle airbase in Italy to cover NATO forces implementing the Dayton Peace Accord in Bosnia, replacing No.IV.