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Irish Air Corps
The Air Corps (Irish: An tAerchór) is the air force of Ireland. Organisationally a military branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland, the Air Corps utilises a fleet of fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft to carry out a variety of duties in conjunction with the Irish Army, Irish Naval Service and Garda Síochána. The headquarters of the Air Corps is located at the Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel, County Dublin. The Air Corps has an active establishment of 886 personnel. Like other components of the Defence Forces, it has struggled to maintain strength and, as of December 2023, had only 689 active personnel. Unlike the Army or the Naval Service, the Air Corps does not maintain a reserve component.
While established as an army air corps in the 1920s, the Irish Air Corps was not operated as a separate military service until 1997. It is primarily built around various supporting roles rather than actually controlling Irish airspace, having retired its last combat jet aircraft in 1999. In 2022, the Irish government committed to implementing a series of changes proposed by the Commission on the Defence Forces, which called for (among other revisions) the establishment of an Air Corps Reserve by 2028.
The origins of the Air Corps go back to the Anglo-Irish Treaty talks of 1921, a Martinsyde Type A Mark II biplane was purchased and put on 24-hour standby at Croydon Airport to allow Michael Collins to escape back to Ireland if the talks failed. The plane was not needed for this mission, and it became the first aircraft of the new National Army Air Service arriving in June 1922.
The National Army Air Service was established in July 1922 and was gradually equipped with various aircraft types acquired from the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Aircraft Disposal Company. This company was formed in 1919 to dispose of surplus aircraft and aero-engines from World War I for the British government. By the end of 1922, the National Army Air Service comprised ten aircraft, consisting of six Bristol F2B fighters from the First World War and four Martinsyde F4 Fighters, and about 400 men.
As the National Army Air Services capabilities were modest, and the Anti-Treaty IRA forces had no air force for it to engage in any event, the Air Service played a minimal role in the Irish Civil War.[citation needed]
National Army Air Service was renamed the Irish Army Air Corps (IAAC) as the Irish Free State reorganised its Defence Forces as part of Defence Forces Act 1924. Army's Air Corps remained part of the Army until the 1990s.
In 1938, four Gloster Gladiator biplane fighters were delivered – a further eight were ordered but were embargoed by the outbreak of World War II. Other aircraft purchased from the United Kingdom before the outbreak of war included 16 Avro Anson Mark I maritime patrol bombers, 3 Supermarine Walrus amphibians, 6 Westland Lysander Mark II army co-operation aircraft and a number of trainers.
During World War II (or The Emergency) there are no records of Air Corps planes engaging any belligerent aircraft, although dozens of escaped barrage balloons were shot down. Requests for more aircraft from Britain resulted in 13 obsolete Hawker Hector biplane light bombers being supplied during 1941. Twelve Hawker Hurricane Mk. Is were initially ordered for the Irish Army Air Corps in 1940 but were not delivered due to a wartime embargo imposed by the British government. Eleven Hurricane Mk. Is were eventually delivered to the Air Corps, from surplus RAF stocks, between July 1943 and March 1944, and the Hurricane Mk. I (no.93), that crash-landed in County Wexford in 1940, was the twelfth aircraft. These were supplemented by 6 Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIcs that were delivered to the Irish Army Air Corps in March 1945, to eventually replace the Hurricane Mk. Is of No. 1 Fighter Squadron. Supplied from surplus RAF stocks, the Hurricane Mk. IIcs were the last batch of aircraft to be delivered to the Air Corps before the end of World War II. The Hurricanes were the first monoplane fighter aircraft to enter service with the Air Corps and were also the first aircraft capable of reaching 300 m.p.h. in level flight. The Hurricane gave the Air Corps a proven modern fighter, and – at peak – 20 flew in Irish colours. 163 belligerent aircraft force-landed in Ireland during the war, and in this way, the Air Corps acquired a Lockheed Hudson, a Fairey Battle, and three Hawker Hurricanes.
Irish Air Corps
The Air Corps (Irish: An tAerchór) is the air force of Ireland. Organisationally a military branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland, the Air Corps utilises a fleet of fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft to carry out a variety of duties in conjunction with the Irish Army, Irish Naval Service and Garda Síochána. The headquarters of the Air Corps is located at the Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel, County Dublin. The Air Corps has an active establishment of 886 personnel. Like other components of the Defence Forces, it has struggled to maintain strength and, as of December 2023, had only 689 active personnel. Unlike the Army or the Naval Service, the Air Corps does not maintain a reserve component.
While established as an army air corps in the 1920s, the Irish Air Corps was not operated as a separate military service until 1997. It is primarily built around various supporting roles rather than actually controlling Irish airspace, having retired its last combat jet aircraft in 1999. In 2022, the Irish government committed to implementing a series of changes proposed by the Commission on the Defence Forces, which called for (among other revisions) the establishment of an Air Corps Reserve by 2028.
The origins of the Air Corps go back to the Anglo-Irish Treaty talks of 1921, a Martinsyde Type A Mark II biplane was purchased and put on 24-hour standby at Croydon Airport to allow Michael Collins to escape back to Ireland if the talks failed. The plane was not needed for this mission, and it became the first aircraft of the new National Army Air Service arriving in June 1922.
The National Army Air Service was established in July 1922 and was gradually equipped with various aircraft types acquired from the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Aircraft Disposal Company. This company was formed in 1919 to dispose of surplus aircraft and aero-engines from World War I for the British government. By the end of 1922, the National Army Air Service comprised ten aircraft, consisting of six Bristol F2B fighters from the First World War and four Martinsyde F4 Fighters, and about 400 men.
As the National Army Air Services capabilities were modest, and the Anti-Treaty IRA forces had no air force for it to engage in any event, the Air Service played a minimal role in the Irish Civil War.[citation needed]
National Army Air Service was renamed the Irish Army Air Corps (IAAC) as the Irish Free State reorganised its Defence Forces as part of Defence Forces Act 1924. Army's Air Corps remained part of the Army until the 1990s.
In 1938, four Gloster Gladiator biplane fighters were delivered – a further eight were ordered but were embargoed by the outbreak of World War II. Other aircraft purchased from the United Kingdom before the outbreak of war included 16 Avro Anson Mark I maritime patrol bombers, 3 Supermarine Walrus amphibians, 6 Westland Lysander Mark II army co-operation aircraft and a number of trainers.
During World War II (or The Emergency) there are no records of Air Corps planes engaging any belligerent aircraft, although dozens of escaped barrage balloons were shot down. Requests for more aircraft from Britain resulted in 13 obsolete Hawker Hector biplane light bombers being supplied during 1941. Twelve Hawker Hurricane Mk. Is were initially ordered for the Irish Army Air Corps in 1940 but were not delivered due to a wartime embargo imposed by the British government. Eleven Hurricane Mk. Is were eventually delivered to the Air Corps, from surplus RAF stocks, between July 1943 and March 1944, and the Hurricane Mk. I (no.93), that crash-landed in County Wexford in 1940, was the twelfth aircraft. These were supplemented by 6 Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIcs that were delivered to the Irish Army Air Corps in March 1945, to eventually replace the Hurricane Mk. Is of No. 1 Fighter Squadron. Supplied from surplus RAF stocks, the Hurricane Mk. IIcs were the last batch of aircraft to be delivered to the Air Corps before the end of World War II. The Hurricanes were the first monoplane fighter aircraft to enter service with the Air Corps and were also the first aircraft capable of reaching 300 m.p.h. in level flight. The Hurricane gave the Air Corps a proven modern fighter, and – at peak – 20 flew in Irish colours. 163 belligerent aircraft force-landed in Ireland during the war, and in this way, the Air Corps acquired a Lockheed Hudson, a Fairey Battle, and three Hawker Hurricanes.
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