IAC AgustaWestland AW139.
This list identifies the military aircraft which are currently being operated or have formerly been operated by the Irish Air Corps.
Active Irish military aircraft[]
Military aircraft currently in active service with the Irish Air Corps are as follows:[1]
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maritime patrol | ||||||
| CASA CN-235 | Spain | maritime patrol | MPA 100 | 2[2] | ||
| Transport | ||||||
| Learjet 45 | United States | VIP / air ambulance | 1[3] | |||
| Surveillance | ||||||
| Britten-Norman Defender | United Kingdom | police air support | Defender 4000 | 1[2] | flown for the Garda Air Support Unit (GASU) [4] | |
| Cessna Reims FR172 H | France | surveillance / utility | 5[5] | based on the Cessna 172[6] | ||
| Helicopters | ||||||
| AgustaWestland AW139 | Italy | utility | 6[2] | |||
| Eurocopter EC135 | France | utility | EC135 P2+/T2 | 4[2] | two P2+s are flown for military purposes,[7] with two T2s for the GASU[8] | |
| Trainer | ||||||
| Pilatus PC-9 | Switzerland | advanced trainer / CAS | PC-9M | 7[2] | armament option include heavy machine gun or rocket pods.[9][10] | |
.jpg){kind=link}
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).
Military aircraft which have been withdrawn from service with the Irish Air Corps include the following:
Bombers[]
- De Havilland DH.9
- Fairey Battle TT.I
- Hawker Hind and Hind Trainer
- Lockheed Hudson I (also used for maritime patrol duties)
Fighter and attack aircraft[]
IAC Spitfire T.9 trainer wearing the early post war green colour scheme
- Avro 504K
- Bristol F.2B Fighter
- De Havilland DH.115 Vampire T.55
- Gloster Gladiator I
- Hawker Hurricane I, IIB and IIC
- Martinsyde F.4 Buzzard
- RAE S.E.5a
- Supermarine V.S. 506 Seafire LF.III
- Supermarine V.S. 509 Spitfire T.9
Reconnaissance and patrol aircraft[]
An Avro 652A Anson which operated from 1946 to 1962
Transport and liaison aircraft[]
- Avro 652A Anson I and C19
- Avro 626 Prefect (also served as a navigation trainer)
- Hawker Siddeley HS.125-600B and -700B
- Beechcraft Super King Air 200T
- De Havilland DH.84 Dragon 2
- De Havilland DH.104 Dove Mk 4, Mk 5, Mk 7, and Mk 8A
- Grumman G1159A Gulfstream III (leased)
- Hawker Hector
- Martinsyde Type A Mk II
- Vickers Type 193 Vespa IV and Type 208 Vespa V
- Westland Lysander II
.jpg){kind=link}
Percival Provost Mk 51 in IAC colours
Trainer aircraft[]
Eurocopter Dauphin SA-365F landing. Retired in 2005.
- Avro 621 Tutor
- 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
- Fouga CM-170-2 Super Magister
- Miles M.14A Magister
- Miles M.25 Martinet TT.I
- Miles M.9A Master I and M.19 Master II
- Hunting Percival Provost T.51 and T.53
- SIAI-Marchetti SF-260D and SF-260WE Warrior
- CASA CN-235M-100 (loaned by CASA for Irish aircrew familiarisation)
IAC Alouette III. Retired in 2007.
Helicopters[]
- Aérospatiale Alouette III - replaced by AW139s and retired in September 2007
- Aérospatiale SA330J Puma - retired
- 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. Since returned to CHC Ireland who operate it in same capacity.
- Eurocopter Twin Squirrel AS355N - Operated by IAC for Garda Air Support Unit until replaced by second EC135-T in January 2008.[11]
References[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aircraft of the Irish Air Corps. |
- ↑ Official Defence Forces Website - Air Corps Fleet
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "World Air Forces 2016 pg. 21". Flightglobal Insight. 2015. https://flightglobal.com/asset/6297/waf/. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
- ↑ "Learjet 45". military.ie. http://www.military.ie/air-corps/fleet/learjet-45/. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ↑ "Pilatus Britten Norman Defender". military.ie. http://www.military.ie/air-corps/fleet/pbn-defender/. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- ↑ "Cessna 172H". military.ie. http://www.military.ie/en/air-corps/fleet/cessna-172/. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ↑ "Irish Air Corps - REIMS (CESSNA) FR.172H AND FR.172K ROCKET". http://www.ipmsireland.com/IACRocket.html. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ↑ "EC135 P2". military.ie. http://www.military.ie/air-corps/fleet/ec135-p2/. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- ↑ "EC135 T2". military.ie. http://www.military.ie/air-corps/fleet/ec135-t2/. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- ↑ "Fleet - Pilatus PC-9M Statistics". Military.ie (Official Defence Forces website). http://www.military.ie/en/air-corps/fleet/pilatus-pc-9m/.
- ↑ IrishAirPics.com - Description of live fire training exercise
- ↑ Ireland.com - Second Garda helicopter takes to air
The original article can be found at List of aircraft of the Irish Air Corps and the edit history here.