The Army Air Corps is a component of the British Army, first formed in 1942. There are eight
regiments of the AAC as well as four Independent Flights and two Independent Squadrons deployed
in support of British Army operations across the world. They are located in Britain, Brunei,
Canada, and Germany. The AAC provides the offensive air elements of 16 Air Assault Brigade.
History The first Army Air Corps
The British Army first took to the sky during the 19th century with the use of observation
balloons. In 1911 the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers was the first heavier-than-air
British military aviation unit. The following year, the Battalion was expanded into the
Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps which saw action throughout most of the First World
War until 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the Royal Naval Air Service to form the
Royal Air Force. Between the wars, the Army used RAF co-operation
squadrons, though a true army presence did not occur until the Second World War.
At the beginning of the Second World War, Royal Artillery officers, with the assistance
of RAF technicians, flew Auster observation aircraft under RAF-owned Air Observation Post
Squadrons. Twelve such squadrons were raised —three of which belonged to the RCAF—
and each performed vital duties in a wide array of missions in many theatres.
Early in the war, Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, announced
the establishment of a new branch of army aviation, the Army Air Corps, formed in 1942.
The corps initially comprised the Glider Pilot Regiment and the Parachute Battalions, and
the Air Observation Post Squadrons. In 1944, the SAS Regiment was added to the Corps.
One of their most successful exploits during the war was Operation Deadstick the attack
on Pegasus Bridge, which occurred on 6 June 1944, prior to the landings on Normandy. Once
the three gliders landed, some roughly which incurred casualties, the pilots joined the
glider-borne troops to act as infantry. The Bridge was taken within ten minutes of the
battle commencing and the men there withstood numerous attempts by the Germans to re-capture
the location. They were soon reinforced and relieved by soldiers from Lord Lovat's 1 Special
Service Brigade, famously led by piper Bill Millin. It was subsequently further reinforced
by units of the British 3rd Division. The AAC was broken up in 1949, with the SAS
returning to its independent status, while the Parachute Regiment and Glider Pilot Regiment
came under the umbrella of the Glider Pilot and Parachute Corps. The pilots who had once
flown the gliders soon had to transfer to flying powered aircraft, becoming part of
the RAF Air Observation Post Squadrons, several of which were manned by reserve personnel.
The present Army Air Corps In 1957 the Glider Pilot and Parachute Corps
was renamed to The Parachute Regiment, while the Glider Pilot Regiment and the Air Observation
Squadrons amalgamated into a new unit, the Army Air Corps.
From 1970, nearly every army brigade had at least one Aviation Squadron that usually numbered
twelve aircraft. The main rotor aircraft during the 1970s were the Westland Scout and Bell
Sioux general purpose helicopters. The Sioux was replaced from 1973 by the Westland Gazelle
used for Airborne recce, initially unarmed, they were converted to carry 68mm SNEB rocket
pods in 1982, during the Falklands War. The Scout was replaced from 1978 by the Westland
Lynx capable of the additional fire power when carrying the Elite Air Door Gunners.
Basic rotary flying training was carried out on the Bell Sioux in the 1970s, the Westland
Gazelle in the 1980s and 1990s and is currently conducted on the Eurocopter AS350 Squirrel.
Fixed-wing types in AAC service have included the Auster AOP.6 and AOP.9 and DHC-2 Beaver
AL.1 in the observation and liaison roles. Since 1989, the AAC have operated a number
of Britten-Norman Islander and Defender aircraft for surveillance and light transport duties.
The corps operated the DHC-1 Chipmunk T.10 in the training role until its replacement
by the Slingsby T67 Firefly in the 1990s. The Firefly was replaced by the Grob Tutor
in 2010. A further boost in the Army Air Corps' capability
came in the form of the Westland Apache AH.1 attack helicopter. These formidable gun ships
have now made the Army Air Corps one of the most combat effective and most feared units
in the world of military force alongside The Paras, The Royal Marines and the 3 Special
Forces Regiments of UKSF - SAS, SBS and SRR. In 2006, British Apaches deployed to Afghanistan
as part of the NATO International Security Assistance Force.
The AAC today Personnel
The strength of the Army Air Corps is believed to be some 2,000 Regular personnel, of which
500 are officers. However, the AAC draws an additional 2,600 personnel from the Royal
Logistic Corps and the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Therefore total related
Army Air Corps personnel is around 4,600. Aircraft
The AAC operates fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. The AAC uses the same designation
system for aircraft as the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm. Two types of fixed-wing
aircraft are operated by the AAC, primarily for reconnaissance purposes: the Britten-Norman
Islander AL1 and the Britten-Norman Defender AL1T3. Additionally, AAC pilots use the fixed-wing
Grob Tutor for Elementary Flying Training. Today the larger section of the AAC is the
rotary-wing part. Its aviators fly four types of helicopter, and within each type there
are usually several marks/variants which carry out different roles. Pilots designated for
rotary-wing service train at the Defence Helicopter Flying School, RAF Shawbury. The School is
a tri-Service organisation consisting of civilian and military instructors that take the student
from basic flying through to more advanced flying such as instrument flying, navigation,
formation and captaincy. In service rotary-wing aircraft include: the Bell 212HP AH1, the
Eurocopter AS365N3 Dauphin II, the Eurocopter Squirrel HT2, the Westland Gazelle AH1, the
Westland Lynx AH7, the Westland Lynx AH9A and the AgustaWestland Apache AH1.
Structure Regiments
1 Regiment Army Air Corps operates the Lynx 652 Squadron
661 Squadron
2 Regiment, Army Air Corps 668 Squadron
676 Squadron
3 Regiment Army Air Corps operates the Apache as part of 16 Air Assault Brigade
653 Squadron is to be an Operational Training Squadron from 2015.
662 Squadron 663 Squadron
4 Regiment Army Air Corps operates the Apache as part of 16 Air Assault Brigade
656 Squadron 664 Squadron
5 Regiment Army Air Corps operates the Gazelle and the Defender
651 Squadron 665 Squadron
6 Regiment, Army Air Corps 675 Squadron
677 Squadron 678 Squadron
679 Squadron
7 Regiment, Army Air Corps 670 Squadron
671 Squadron 673 Squadron
9 Regiment Army Air Corps operates the Lynx 659 Squadron
669 Squadron 672 Squadron
Independent units Independent flights
7 Flight 25 Flight
29 Flight Independent squadrons
657 Squadron) 658 Squadron
Other units No. 660 Squadron AAC
667 Squadron AAC 674 Squadron AAC
The Band Of The Army Air Corps Army Flying Grading
Army Historic Aircraft Flight The Army Air Corps Blue Eagles Display Team
The Army Air Corps Parachute Display Team Former units
Flights 2 Flight AAC)
6 Flight AAC 8 Flight AAC
12 Flight AAC 16 Flight AAC
18 Flight AAC 20 Independent Reconnaissance Flight AAC
27 Flight AAC United Nations Flight AAC.
The UNFICYP Flight Army Air Corps, originally known as the Force Aviation Flight, became,
operational on 27 March 1964.The Flight was originally equipped with Alouette II helicopters.
Duties ended 30 September 1994 when the Flight was replaced by a flight from the Argentine
Air Force, ending thirty years, six months and four days of service under the UN flag.
Squadrons 654 Squadron AAC disbanded during July 2014.
Future In the future, the current regiments will
be consolidated into the following structure: 1 Regiment AAC
3 Regiment AAC 4 Regiment AAC
5 Regiment AAC 1 and 9 Regt AAC will merge under one headquarters
and re-locate to Yeovilton to form a large regiment equipped with the new AgustaWestland
Wildcat helicopter not before Oct 15. The Regular component of Army Air Corps capability
will consist of: two regular aviation regiments equipped with Apache, one large regular aviation
regiment equipped with Wildcat, and one regular manned aerial surveillance regiment. All five
squadrons from 1 and 9 AAC. will remain. Four squadrons will be the front line Lynx Wildcat
squadrons, one will become the Wildcat Operational Conversion Squadron There will be two squadrons
of Apache helicopters in both 3 and 4 Regiment AAC, with one Regiment at high readiness at
any one time. One of the squadrons will the attached to HMS Ocean and/or the new Queen
Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. Another will be attached to the lead armoured battlegroup.
Battle honours The Army Air Corps is classed, in UK military
parlance, as a "Combat Arm". It therefore carries its own guidon and is awarded battle
honours. The honours awarded to the AAC are: Normandy Landings 1944
Merville Battery 1944 Rhine 1945
North West Europe 1944 - 45 Sicily 1943
Pegasus Bridge Arnhem 1944
Southern France Falkland Islands 1982
Wadi al Batin 1991 Gulf 1991
Al-Basrah Iraq 2003
Order of precedence See also
List of airfields of the Army Air Corps Museum of Army Flying
List of Army Air Corps aircraft squadrons Australian Army Aviation
Army Aviation Corps Joint Helicopter Command
Army aviation List of air forces
Aircrew brevet References
Citations
Bibliography
External links Official site
School of Army Aviation Army Air Corps Historic Aircraft Flight official
webpage The Blue Eagles - Army Air Corps Helicopter
Display Team official webpage The Silver Eagles - Army Air Corps Freefall
Parachute Display Team official webpage Army Air Corps group pool of images on Flickr
Army Air Corps in Germany private webpage