List of aircraft of the Irish Air Corps
This list identifies the military aircraft which are currently being operated or have formerly been operated by the Irish Air Corps.
Air Corps AgustaWestland AW139
Active Irish military aircraft
Military aircraft currently in active service with the Irish Air Corps are as follows:
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transport | ||||||
| Learjet 45 | United States | VIP / Air ambulance | 1[1] | |||
| Maritime patrol | ||||||
| CASA CN-235 | Spain | Maritime patrol | MPA 100 | 2[2] | Due to be replaced by two C295 aircraft in 2023.[3][4] | |
| Surveillance | ||||||
| Pilatus Britten Norman Defender | United Kingdom | Surveillance | 4000 | 1[2] | Flown for the Garda Air Support Unit (GASU) [5] | |
| Pilatus PC-12 | Switzerland | ISTAR and utlity | PC-12NG | 1[6] | Three more on order | |
| Helicopters | ||||||
| Eurocopter EC135 | France | Utility, training and surveillance | P2+/T2 | 4[2] | Two P2+s are flown for the Air Corps and two T2s for the GASU[7][8] | |
| AgustaWestland AW139 | Italy | Utility | 6[2] | |||
| Trainer | ||||||
| Pilatus PC-9 | Switzerland | Training / Close air support | PC-9M | 8 | Armament options are heavy machine gun and rocket pods.[9][10] | |
.jpg)
Several Pilatus PC-9M aircraft at Baldonnel
Retired Irish military aircraft
A few examples of former Air Corps aircraft are retained in the Air Corps Museum in Baldonnel. These include an Avro Anson, An Alouette III and a Fouga Magister. A De Havilland Vampire and a Miles Magister are on display in the National Museum in Collins Barracks (Dublin).[11]
Military aircraft which have been withdrawn from service with the Irish Air Corps include the following:
Fighter and attack aircraft
Air Corps Spitfire T.9 trainer wearing the early post war green colour scheme
Gloster Gladiator Mk I of the 1st Squadron of the Irish Air Corps
- Bristol F.2B Fighter - 8× 1922-1935[12][13][14]
- Martinsyde F.4 Buzzard - 4× 1922-1929[15]
- RAE S.E.5a - 1× 1922 (destroyed by the IRA during Civil War)
- Bristol F.2B Fighter Mk II - 8× 1925-1935[14]
- Gloster Gladiator I - 4× 1938-1944 (1× crashed 1938, 1× crashed 1944, 2× retired 1943, 12 more ordered but not delivered during The Emergency)[14][16]
- Hawker Hurricane I - 12× 1940-1946 (1× RAF crash-landed in Ireland 1940 and repaired by Air Corps, 11× delivered 1943)[14]
- Hawker Hurricane IIa - 1× 1941-1943 (RAF force-landed in Ireland)
- Hawker Hurricane IIb - 1× 1941-1943 (RAF crash-landed in Ireland)
- Hawker Hurricane IIc - 6× 1945-1947[14]
- Supermarine V.S. 506 Seafire LF.III - 12× 1947-1955[17]
Bombers
- De Havilland DH.9 - 6x [15]
- Fairey Battle TT.I - 1x[14]
- Hawker Hind and Hind Trainer[14]
- Lockheed Hudson I (also used for maritime patrol duties)[18]
Reconnaissance and patrol aircraft
- CASA CN-235M-100
- Cessna FR172H - 8× FR172H, 1× FR172K. Five FR172H remained in service until 2019.
- Fairey IIIF Mk II
- Supermarine V.S. 236 Walrus I - 3x from 1939[19][14]
Transport and liaison aircraft
An Avro 652A Anson which operated from 1946 to 1962
- Avro 652A Anson I and C19[14]
- Avro 626 Prefect (also served as a navigation trainer)
- Hawker Siddeley HS.125-600B and -700B
- Beechcraft Super King Air 200T[20]
- De Havilland DH.84 Dragon 2
- De Havilland DH.104 Dove Mk 4, Mk 5, Mk 7, and Mk 8A[20]
- Grumman G1159A Gulfstream III (leased)
- Gulfstream IV [21]
- Hawker Hector
- Martinsyde Type A Mk II
- Vickers Type 193 Vespa IV and Type 208 Vespa V
- Westland Lysander II - x6 [14][22]
Trainer aircraft
.jpg)
Percival Provost Mk 51 in Air Corps colours
- Avro 504K - 6× 1922-1932[23]
- Avro 621 Tutor[24]
- Avro 631 Cadet (also used for coastal patrol duties)
- Avro 636
- De Havilland DH.60 Cirrus I Moth
- De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk T.20 and T.22A[20]
- De Havilland DH.115 Vampire T.55[20] - 6× 1956-1976
- Fouga CM-170-2 Super Magister - 6× 1975-1999[20]
- Hunting Percival Provost T.51 and T.53
- Miles M.14A Magister[14]
- Miles M.25 Martinet TT.I
- Miles M.9A Master I and M.19 Master II[14]
- Hunting Percival Provost T.51 and T.53
- SIAI-Marchetti SF-260D and SF-260WE Warrior
- Supermarine V.S. 509 Spitfire T.9 - 6× 1951-1961
Helicopters
Air Corps Alouette III. Retired in 2007
- Aérospatiale Alouette III - replaced by AW139s and retired in September 2007[25][26]
- Aérospatiale SA330J Puma - leased from Aerospatiale for 2 years during the early 1980s[27][28]
- Aérospatiale SA342L Gazelle - retired December 2005 + sold
- Aérospatiale SA365Fi Dauphin II - retired + sold
- Sikorsky S-61N - Previously operated by IAC for Search & Rescue/Coast Guard. Subsequently returned to CHC Ireland who operated it in a similar capacity for the IRCG.
- Eurocopter Twin Squirrel AS355N - Operated by IAC for Garda Air Support Unit until replaced by second EC135-T in January 2008.[29]
References
Notes
- "Learjet 45". military.ie. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- "World Air Forces 2020". Flightglobal Insight. 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- "Irish Department of Defence orders two Airbus C295 aircraft". navyrecognition.com. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- "Dublin, Prague bolster Airbus C295 backlog". flightglobal.com. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- "Pilatus Britten Norman Defender". military.ie. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- "Air Corps to Take Delivery of Pilatus PC-12 Today". flyinginireland.com. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- "EC135 T2". military.ie. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- "EC135 P2". military.ie. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- "Fleet - Pilatus PC-9M Statistics". Military.ie (Official Defence Forces website).
- IrishAirPics.com - Description of live fire training exercise
- Tony Canavan (January 2007). "Museum Eye - Soldiers and chiefs, the Irish at war - National Museum of Ireland Collins Barracks, Dublin". Reviews. History Ireland. 15 (1).
- Byrne 1980, p. 52.
- O'Malley 2010, p. 57.
- MacCarron 2012, p. 20.
- MacCarron 2012, p. 18.
- "Irish Army Air Corps use of the Gloster Gladiator during the Second World War". Håkan Gustavsson. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- Byrne 1980, p. 62.
- McIvor 1994, p. 83.
- O'Malley 2010, p. 148.
- "Air Corps Museum Collection (1918-2004)". Irish Military Archives. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- "Government jet sold to US company". RTE. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
- O'Malley 2010, p. 205.
- McIvor 1994, p. 42.
- "Military Archives - Image Database - IE/MA/ACPS/GPN/001 - Glass plate negatives of a ground image of an Avro 621". MilitaryArchives.ie. Defence Forces. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- "Alouettes set for final missions". Irish Times. 28 July 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- "New Wings for the Irish Air Corps". Air-Scene UK. May 2008. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- "Up, up and away . . . why our Air Corps are getting plenty of lift". Independent News & Media. 4 July 2000. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- "N86-1981- Air Corp Helicopters - Air Corps Takes Delivery Of Puma Helicoptor - July 1981". Irish Photo Archive. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- "Second Garda helicopter takes to air". Irish Times. 15 January 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
Sources
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aircraft of the Irish Air Corps. |
- Byrne, Liam (1980). History of Aviation in Ireland. Blackwater Press. ISBN 9780905471105.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- O'Malley, Michael C (2010). Military Aviation in Ireland, 1921-45. University College Dublin Press. ISBN 9781906359485.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- MacCarron, Donal (2012). The Irish Defence Forces since 1922. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781780963914.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- McIvor, Aidan (1994). A History of the Irish Naval Service. Irish Academic Press. ISBN 9780716525233.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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