Precursors 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. 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 (AOP) squadrons. Twelve squadrons were raised, three of which belonged to the
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and each performed vital duties in many theatres.
First formation: 1942–1949 In 1942,
Winston Churchill announced the establishment of a new branch of army aviation, the Army Air Corps. The corps initially comprised the
Glider Pilot Regiment and the Parachute Battalions (subsequently the
Parachute Regiment),
Air Landing Regiments, and the air observation post squadrons. In March 1944, the
SAS Regiment was added to the corps. One of their most successful exploits during the war was the
capture of the Caen canal and Orne river bridges by , which occurred on 6 June 1944, before the
Normandy landings. Once the three gliders landed, some roughly which incurred casualties, the pilots joined the glider-borne troops (
Ox & Bucks Light Infantry) to act as infantry. The bridge was taken within ten minutes of the battle commencing and the men withstood numerous attempts by the Germans to re-capture the location. They were soon reinforced and relieved by soldiers from the
1st Special Service Brigade (
Lord Lovat). The AAC was disbanded in 1949, with the SAS regaining independent status, while the Parachute Regiment and Glider Pilot Regiment came under the umbrella of the Glider Pilot and Parachute Corps. In 1958 the
Saunders-Roe Skeeter 7 was introduced as the AAC's first helicopter, it was replaced by the
Aérospatiale Alouette II and
Westland Scout AH.1 during the early 1960s. The
de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver AL.1 was introduced during the 1960s along with the
Agusta/Westland Sioux AH.1 in 1964. 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 reconnaissance; 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, which was capable of carrying additional firepower in the form of
door gunners. Basic rotary flying training was carried out on the Sioux in the 1970s, on the Gazelle in the 1980s and 1990s, and is currently conducted on the
Eurocopter H145/
H135 through
No. 1 Flying Training School RAF. Fixed-wing types in AAC service have included the
Auster AOP.6 and
AOP.9 and
Beaver AL.1 in observation and liaison roles. In 1989, the AAC commenced operating a number of
Britten-Norman Islander aircraft for surveillance and light transport duties. The corps operated the
DHC-1 Chipmunk T.10 in a training role until its replacement by the
Slingsby T67 Firefly in the 1990s. The Firefly was replaced by the
Grob Tutor in 2010.
Cold War During the
Cold War the majority of Army Air Corps units were based in Germany and part of the
British Army of the Rhine. At the beginning of 1989 the Army Air Corps structure was as follows: •
Army Air Corps, Middle Wallop Flying Station •
1 Wing AAC,
Hobart Barracks in
Detmold,
West Germany, under operational control of Commander Aviation
1st British Corps (Wing disbanded during 1989) •
1 Regiment AAC,
Tofrek Barracks in Hildesheim, supported
1st Armoured Division •
651 Squadron AAC, (Anti-Tank, 4x
Gazelle AH.1, 12x
Lynx AH.7 (TOW)) •
652 Squadron AAC, (Anti-Tank, 4x Gazelle AH.1, 12x Lynx AH.7 (TOW)) •
661 Squadron AAC, (Reconnaissance, 12x
Gazelle AH.1) •
3 Regiment AAC,
Salamanca Barracks in
Soest, supported
3rd Armoured Division •
653 Squadron AAC, (Anti-Tank, 4x Gazelle AH.1, 12x Lynx AH.7 (TOW)) •
662 Squadron AAC, (Reconnaissance, 12x Gazelle AH.1) •
663 Squadron AAC, (Reconnaissance, 12x Gazelle AH.1) •
4 Regiment AAC, Hobart Barracks in Detmold, supported
4th Armoured Division •
654 Squadron AAC, (Anti-Tank, 4x Gazelle AH.1, 12x Lynx AH.7 (TOW)) •
659 Squadron AAC, (Anti-Tank, 4x Gazelle AH.1, 12x Lynx AH.7 (TOW)) •
669 Squadron AAC, (Reconnaissance, 12x Gazelle AH.1) •
2 Wing AAC,
AAC Netheravon (Wing disbanded during 1989) •
Northern Ireland Regiment AAC,
AAC Aldergrove (Later renamed
5 Regiment AAC) •
655 Squadron AAC,
AAC Ballykelly, (Anti-Tank, 4x Gazelle AH.1, 12x Lynx AH.7), supported
2nd Infantry Division •
665 Squadron AAC, (16x Gazelle AH.1), supported
Headquarters Northern Ireland •
1 Flight AAC, (Reconnaissance, 4x
DHC-2 Beaver AOP) •
7 Regiment AAC,
AAC Netheravon •
656 Squadron AAC, (Anti-Tank, 4x Gazelle AH.1, 12x Lynx AH.7), supported
1st Infantry Brigade •
666 Squadron AAC (V), (Territorial Army, Home Defence, 12x Gazelle AH.1) •
2 Flight AAC, (4x
Gazelle AH.1), supported
NATO's
AMF(L) •
657 Squadron AAC,
Colchester Garrison, (Anti-Tank, 4x Gazelle AH.1, 12x Lynx AH.7), supported
9th Infantry Brigade; joined 9 Regiment AAC in July 1990. •
9 Regiment AAC,
RAF Topcliffe, part of
24th Airmobile Brigade •
672 Squadron AAC, (Lynx Light Battlefield Helicopter Squadron, activated 1 January 1990, 12x Lynx AH.9) •
3 Flight AAC, (4x
Gazelle AH.1) • School of Army Aviation, Middle Wallop Flying Station •
670 Squadron AAC, Middle Wallop, (Operational Training, 12x
Gazelle AH.1, activated 1989) •
671 Squadron AAC, Middle Wallop, (Conversion to Type, 8x Gazelle AH.1, 8x
Lynx AH.7) • Trade Training School (Ground Crew & Maintenance Training) •
660 Squadron AAC,
RAF Sek Kong, Hong Kong, (12x
Scout AH.1), supported
British Forces Hong Kong, two Scouts detached to
British Forces Brunei • C Flight,
660 Squadron AAC,
Anduki Airfield in
Seria,
Brunei, (2x
Scout AH.1) •
664 Squadron AAC,
St George's Barracks in
Minden, West Germany, (Reconnaissance, 12x Gazelle AH.1), supported
1st British Corps •
Development & Trials Squadron, Middle Wallop Flying Station, (12x Gazelle AH.1, under Director Army Air Corps. On 1 April 1990 renamed 667 (D&T) Squadron AAC) •
7 Flight AAC,
RAF Gatow, Berlin, (4x
Gazelle AH.1), supported the
Berlin Infantry Brigade •
8 Flight AAC,
Stirling Lines, Hereford, (4x
A109A Hirundo), supported the
Special Air Service •
12 Flight AAC,
RAF Wildenrath, Germany, (4x
Gazelle AH.1), supported
British Army of the Rhine •
16 Flight AAC,
Kingsfield Airfield in
Dhekelia, Cyprus, (4x
Gazelle AH.1) supported
British Forces Cyprus •
25 Flight AAC,
Price Barracks,
Belize, (4x
Gazelle AH.1), supported
British Army Training and Support Unit Belize •
29 (BATUS) Flight AAC,
CFB Suffield, Canada, (4x Gazelle AH.1), supported
British Army Training Unit Suffield •
UNFICYP Flight AAC,
Nicosia International Airport, Cyprus, (4x Gazelle AH.1), supported
United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus War on Terror A further boost in the Army Air Corps' capability came in the form of the
AgustaWestland Apache AH.1 attack helicopter, introduced in 2004. In 2006, British Apaches deployed to
Afghanistan as part of the
NATO International Security Assistance Force. In 2004,
Britten-Norman Defender fixed wing aircraft were purchased for Afghanistan and Iraq. 651 Squadron continued to operate the aircraft until they were retired from service on 30 June 2021.
End of aviation support to BATUS In October 2021,
29 (BATUS) Flight was placed in suspended animation, with the UK no longer providing BATUS with aviation support. ==Current structure and deployment==