List of aircraft of the Irish Air Corps

Air Corps 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:

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Variant	In service	Notes
Maritime patrol
CASA CN-235	Spain	maritime patrol	MPA 100	2[1]
Transport
Learjet 45	United States	VIP / air ambulance		1[2]
Surveillance
Britten-Norman Defender	United Kingdom	police air support	Defender 4000	1[1]	flown for the Garda Air Support Unit (GASU) [3]
Cessna Reims FR172 H	France	surveillance / utility		5[4]	based on the Cessna 172[5]
Helicopters
AgustaWestland AW139	Italy	utility		6[1]
Eurocopter EC135	France	utility	EC135 P2+/T2	4[1]	two P2+s are flown for military purposes,[6] with two T2s for the GASU[7]
Trainer
Pilatus PC-9	Switzerland	advanced trainer / CAS	PC-9M	7[1]	armament option include heavy machine gun or rocket pods.[8][9]

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Military aircraft which have been withdrawn from service with the Irish Air Corps include the following:

Fighter and attack aircraft

Air Corps Spitfire T.9 trainer wearing the early post war green colour scheme

• Bristol F.2B Fighter - 8× 1922-1935
• Martinsyde F.4 Buzzard - 4× 1922-1929
• RAE S.E.5a - 1× 1922 (destroyed by the IRA during Civil War)
• Bristol F.2B Fighter Mk II - 6× 1925-1935
• Gloster Gladiator I - 4× 1938-1944 (1× crashed 1938, 1× crashed 1944, 2× retired 1943, 12 more ordered but not delivered due to British embargo on Ireland)
• Hawker Hurricane I - 12× 1940-1946 (1× RAF crash-landed in Ireland 1940 and repaired by Air Corps, 11× delivered 1943)
• 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
• Supermarine V.S. 506 Seafire LF.III - 12× 1947-1955

Bombers

• De Havilland DH.9
• Fairey Battle TT.I
• Hawker Hind and Hind Trainer
• Lockheed Hudson I (also used for maritime patrol duties)

Reconnaissance and patrol aircraft

• CASA CN-235M-100
• Fairey IIIF Mk II
• Supermarine V.S. 236 Walrus I

Transport and liaison aircraft

An Avro 652A Anson which operated from 1946 to 1962

• 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)
• Gulfstream IV ^[10]
• Hawker Hector
• Martinsyde Type A Mk II
• Vickers Type 193 Vespa IV and Type 208 Vespa V
• Westland Lysander II

Trainer aircraft

Percival Provost Mk 51 in Air Corps colours

• Avro 504K - 6× 1922-1932
• 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
• De Havilland DH.115 Vampire T.55 - 6× 1956-1976
• Fouga CM-170-2 Super Magister - 6× 1975-1999
• Hunting Percival Provost T.51 and T.53
• 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
• Supermarine V.S. 509 Spitfire T.9 - 6× 1961-1961

Helicopters

Air Corps Alouette III. Retired in 2007

Eurocopter Dauphin SA-365F landing. Retired in 2005

• 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 operated 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

1. "World Air Forces 2016 pg. 21". Flightglobal Insight. 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
2. "Learjet 45". military.ie. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
3. "Pilatus Britten Norman Defender". military.ie. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
4. "Cessna 172H". military.ie. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
5. "Irish Air Corps - REIMS (CESSNA) FR.172H AND FR.172K ROCKET". Retrieved 24 February 2015.
6. "EC135 P2". military.ie. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
7. "EC135 T2". military.ie. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
8. "Fleet - Pilatus PC-9M Statistics". Military.ie (Official Defence Forces website).
9. IrishAirPics.com - Description of live fire training exercise
10. "Government jet sold". RTE. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
11. Ireland.com - Second Garda helicopter takes to air