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
Trainer/Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance
Pilatus PC-9	Switzerland	Training/Close air support	PC-9M	8	Armament options are heavy machine gun and rocket pods.[1][2]
Transport
Learjet 45	United States	VIP/Air ambulance		1[3]
Maritime patrol
CASA CN-235	Spain	Maritime patrol	MPA 100	2[4]	Due to be replaced by two C295 aircraft in 2023.[5][6]
Surveillance
Pilatus Britten Norman Defender	United Kingdom	Surveillance	4000	1[4]	Flown for the Garda Air Support Unit[7]
Pilatus PC-12	Switzerland	ISTAR and utlity	PC-12NG	4[8][9]	One utility type, delivered April 2020.[10] Three 'SPECTRE' (ISTAR equipped) types, delivered September 2020.[9]
Helicopters
Eurocopter EC135	France	Utility, training and surveillance	P2+/T2	4[4]	Two P2+s are flown for the Air Corps and two T2s for the GASU[11][12]
AgustaWestland AW139	Italy	Utility		6[4]

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).[13]

Military aircraft which have been withdrawn from service with the Irish Air Corps include the following: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[14][15][16]
Martinsyde F.4 Buzzard - 4× 1922-1929[17]
RAE S.E.5a - 1× 1922 (destroyed by the IRA during Civil War)
Bristol F.2B Fighter Mk II - 8× 1925-1935[16]
Gloster Gladiator I - 4× 1938-1944 (1× crashed 1938, 1× crashed 1944, 2× retired 1943, 12 more ordered but not delivered during The Emergency)[16][18]
Hawker Hurricane I - 12× 1940-1946 (1× RAF crash-landed in Ireland 1940 and repaired by Air Corps, 11× delivered 1943)[16]
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[16]
Supermarine V.S. 506 Seafire LF.III - 12× 1947-1955[19]

Bombers

De Havilland DH.9 - 6x [17]
Fairey Battle TT.I - 1x[16]
Hawker Hind and Hind Trainer[16]
Lockheed Hudson I (also used for maritime patrol duties)[20]

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[21][16]

Transport and liaison aircraft

An Avro 652A Anson which operated from 1946 to 1962

Avro 652A Anson I and C19[16]
Avro 626 Prefect (also served as a navigation trainer)
Hawker Siddeley HS.125-600B and -700B
Beechcraft Super King Air 200T[22]
De Havilland DH.84 Dragon 2
De Havilland DH.104 Dove Mk 4, Mk 5, Mk 7, and Mk 8A[22]
Grumman G1159A Gulfstream III (leased)
Gulfstream IV [23]
Hawker Hector
Martinsyde Type A Mk II
Vickers Type 193 Vespa IV and Type 208 Vespa V
Westland Lysander II - x6 [16][24]

Trainer aircraft

Percival Provost Mk 51 in Air Corps colours

Avro 504K - 6× 1922-1932[25]
Avro 621 Tutor[26]
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[22]
De Havilland DH.115 Vampire T.55[22] - 6× 1956-1976
Fouga CM-170-2 Super Magister - 6× 1975-1999[22]
Hunting Percival Provost T.51 and T.53
Miles M.14A Magister[16]
Miles M.25 Martinet TT.I
Miles M.9A Master I and M.19 Master II[16]
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[27][28]
Aérospatiale SA330J Puma - leased from Aerospatiale for 2 years during the early 1980s[29][30]
Aérospatiale SA342L Gazelle - retired December 2005.[31] Later sold
Aérospatiale SA365Fi Dauphin II - retired and sold
Sikorsky S-61N - Previously leased and operated by IAC for Search & Rescue/Coast Guard.[32] Subsequentl 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 EC135T in January 2008.[33]

References

Notes

"Fleet - Pilatus PC-9M Statistics". Military.ie (Official Defence Forces website).
IrishAirPics.com - Description of live fire training exercise
"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.
"Irish Air Corps New PC-12's Arrive in Baldonnel". flyinginireland.com. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
"Government spends €5.2m on new aircraft to help Covid-19 response". thejournal.ie. 9 May 2020.
"EC135 T2". military.ie. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
"EC135 P2". military.ie. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
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.
"Gazelle Retired" (PDF). An Cosantóir - Defence Forces Magazine. Irish Defence Forces. March 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2020. On December 31st 2005 the last flight of Air Corps Gazelle 241 over Casement Aerodrome marked the end of 25 years of service
"Air Corps withdrawn from rescue work". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 11 October 2004. Retrieved 10 November 2020. [T]he Government is formally withdrawing the Air Corps from all helicopter search-and-rescue today [..] and will be relieved by the contract company CHC Helicopters in a week's time [..] The Sikorsky S-61 helicopter leased for the Air Corps in Sligo was returned several weeks ago
"Second Garda helicopter takes to air". Irish Times. 15 January 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

Sources

Byrne, Liam (1980). History of Aviation in Ireland. Blackwater Press. ISBN 9780905471105.
Morgan, Eric B. & Burnet, Charles (December 1981 – March 1982). "Walrus... Amphibious Angel of Mercy". Air Enthusiast (17): 13–25. ISSN 0143-5450.
O'Malley, Michael C (2010). Military Aviation in Ireland, 1921-45. University College Dublin Press. ISBN 9781906359485.
MacCarron, Donal (2012). The Irish Defence Forces since 1922. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781780963914.
McIvor, Aidan (1994). A History of the Irish Naval Service. Irish Academic Press. ISBN 9780716525233.

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[1] "Fleet - Pilatus PC-9M Statistics". Military.ie (Official Defence Forces website).

[2] IrishAirPics.com - Description of live fire training exercise

[3] "Learjet 45". military.ie. Retrieved 23 February 2015.

[World_Air_Forces_2020-4] "World Air Forces 2020". Flightglobal Insight. 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2020.

[5] "Irish Department of Defence orders two Airbus C295 aircraft". navyrecognition.com. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2020.

[6] "Dublin, Prague bolster Airbus C295 backlog". flightglobal.com. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2020.

[7] "Pilatus Britten Norman Defender". military.ie. Retrieved 30 January 2015.

[8] "Air Corps to Take Delivery of Pilatus PC-12 Today". flyinginireland.com. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.

[fii-9] "Irish Air Corps New PC-12's Arrive in Baldonnel". flyinginireland.com. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.

[10] "Government spends €5.2m on new aircraft to help Covid-19 response". thejournal.ie. 9 May 2020.

[11] "EC135 T2". military.ie. Retrieved 30 January 2015.

[12] "EC135 P2". military.ie. Retrieved 30 January 2015.

[13] 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).

[FOOTNOTEByrne198052-14] Byrne 1980, p. 52.

[FOOTNOTEO'Malley201057-15] O'Malley 2010, p. 57.

[FOOTNOTEMacCarron201220-16] MacCarron 2012, p. 20.

[FOOTNOTEMacCarron201218-17] MacCarron 2012, p. 18.

[18] "Irish Army Air Corps use of the Gloster Gladiator during the Second World War". Håkan Gustavsson. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[FOOTNOTEByrne198062-19] Byrne 1980, p. 62.

[FOOTNOTEMcIvor199483-20] McIvor 1994, p. 83.

[FOOTNOTEO'Malley2010148-21] O'Malley 2010, p. 148.

[archives-22] "Air Corps Museum Collection (1918-2004)". Irish Military Archives. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[23] "Government jet sold to US company". RTE. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.

[FOOTNOTEO'Malley2010205-24] O'Malley 2010, p. 205.

[FOOTNOTEMcIvor199442-25] McIvor 1994, p. 42.

[26] "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.

[27] "Alouettes set for final missions". Irish Times. 28 July 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[28] "New Wings for the Irish Air Corps". Air-Scene UK. May 2008. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[29] "Up, up and away . . . why our Air Corps are getting plenty of lift". Independent News & Media. 4 July 2000. Retrieved 6 January 2018.

[30] "N86-1981- Air Corp Helicopters - Air Corps Takes Delivery Of Puma Helicoptor - July 1981". Irish Photo Archive. Retrieved 6 January 2018.

[31] "Gazelle Retired" (PDF). An Cosantóir - Defence Forces Magazine. Irish Defence Forces. March 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2020. On December 31st 2005 the last flight of Air Corps Gazelle 241 over Casement Aerodrome marked the end of 25 years of service

[32] "Air Corps withdrawn from rescue work". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 11 October 2004. Retrieved 10 November 2020. [T]he Government is formally withdrawing the Air Corps from all helicopter search-and-rescue today [..] and will be relieved by the contract company CHC Helicopters in a week's time [..] The Sikorsky S-61 helicopter leased for the Air Corps in Sligo was returned several weeks ago

[33] "Second Garda helicopter takes to air". Irish Times. 15 January 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2017.