5 Regiment Army Air Corps
Active1 October 1993 – present
CountryUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeAviation
SizeRegiment
Part ofJoint Helicopter Command
Garrison/HQJHFS Aldergrove
Motto(s)Nothing is Impossible
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldryThe Regimental emblem is the Army Air Corps Cap Badge with the Roman numerals V beneath.

5 Regiment Army Air Corps is a regiment of the British Army and is part of the Joint Helicopter Command (JHC).[1] The regiment is based in Northern Ireland at JHC Flying Station Aldergrove.[1]

History

5 Regiment traces its origin to the Northern Ireland Regiment formed on 1 November 1979 at RAF Aldergrove.[2][3] On 1 October 1993, the Northern Ireland Regiment was renamed 5 Regiment AAC.[2]

The regiment consisted of No. 655 (The Scottish Horse) Squadron AAC, No. 665 Squadron AAC and 1 Flight AAC.[4] 655 Squadron operated the Westland Lynx AH7 helicopter.[5] 665 Squadron operated the Westland Gazelle AH1 helicopter.[6] 1 Flight operated the fixed wing Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander aircraft which had entered service on 10 March 1989.[7]

The primary task of 1 Flight was photo reconnaissance under the direction of the Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (Northern Ireland) (RIC(NI).[8][9] In 2000, the (RIC(NI)) was renamed the Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre and Geographic Centre (Northern Ireland) (RIGC(NI)).[9]

In March 2007, 655 Squadron was disbanded as Operation Banner was drawing to a close and due to a need to reduce the Lynx fleet set to be retired in 2012.[10][11] The Lynx aircraft of 655 remained at RAF Aldergrove and was operated by 665 Squadron through to the end of Operation Banner on 31 July 2007.[11][10] On 1 August 2007, Operation Helvetic commenced with 665 Squadron operating the Gazelle and 1 Flight operating the Islander.[12]

In July 2008, No. 651 Squadron of 1 Regiment AAC moved to RAF Aldergrove and became part of 5 Regiment.[13] 651 Squadron had been re-raised in 2006 at RAF Odiham to operate the Britten-Norman Defender fixed wing aircraft which had entered service in March 2004.[14][15] 1 Flight was integrated into 651 Squadron following the squadron's move to Aldergrove.[14][16]

In 2009, RAF Aldergove was renamed Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove.[17] In 2010, the tri-service RIGC(NI) became part of 5 Regiment.[9] In 2018, the RIGC(NI) was renamed No. 3 Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Squadron and transferred to the Royal Air Force as part of No. 1 Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Wing.[18][19]

On 1 April 2019, 651 Squadron and its aircraft, the Britten-Norman Defender and Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander, were transferred to the Royal Air Force as part of ISTAR Force in No. 1 Group based at RAF Waddington.[20][21][22] 651 Squadron continued to operate the aircraft until they were retired from service on 30 June 2021.[20][23][24] On 1 August 2021, 651 Squadron transferred back to the Army as part of 1 Regiment AAC.[25]

Structure

The regiment consists of:

The regiment has administrative responsibility for No. 29 (BATUS) Flight AAC based at Canadian Forces Base Suffield in Canada, which formerly operated Gazelle helicopters, until they were retired from service in October 2023.[27][13][28][29]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Joint Helicopter Commando". British Army. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b "5 Regiment - History". British Army. 12 April 2006. Archived from the original on 3 October 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Army Air Corps - Major Units 5 to 9". British Army units from 1945 on. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Units of 5 Regiment Army Air Corps". British Army. 22 November 2006. Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  5. ^ "History of 655 Squadron". British Army. 12 April 2006. Archived from the original on 15 May 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  6. ^ "5 Regiment - 665 Squadron". British Army. 31 October 2006. Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  7. ^ "5 Regiment - 1 Flight AAC". British Army. 31 October 2006. Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  8. ^ "1 Flight AAC History". British Army. Archived from the original on 4 July 2006. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Merritt, Flt Lt; Wright, Flt Lt. "A Brief History and Update for the Reconnaissance Intelligence and Geographic Centre (Northern Ireland)". The Institution of Royal Engineers. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  10. ^ a b Minister of State for the Armed Forces Adam Ingram (24 March 2006). "Written Ministerial Statements - 655 Squadron Army Air Corps". UK Parliament. House of Commons. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  11. ^ a b "5 Regt AAC NI" (PDF). LZDZ Newspaper of the Joint Helicopter Command. Summer 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2009.
  12. ^ "Operation HELVETIC - Joint Helicopter Force Northern Ireland (JHF(NI))". Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original on 15 August 2007.
  13. ^ a b "5 Regiment Army Air Corps". British Army. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  14. ^ a b "651 Squadron Army Air Corps". British Army. Archived from the original on 4 June 2017.
  15. ^ "Defender". British Army. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018.
  16. ^ Warner, Guy (2011). First in the Field : The Story of 651, the Army Air Corps' Premier Squadron. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Aviation. ISBN 9781848842632.
  17. ^ "JHC FS Aldergrove". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  18. ^ Haley, Sqn Ldr Sam, ed. (Summer 2021). "1 ISR Wing Fifth Anniversary" (PDF). INSIGHT - The magazine of RAF Waddington. Kettering: Lance Print Ltd. p. 7. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  19. ^ "RAF Waddington". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  20. ^ a b Jennings, Gareth (2 April 2019). "UK transfers Defender and Islander special mission aircraft from AAC to RAF". Jane's Defence Weekly. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  21. ^ Hay, Air Cdre Nick (2019). Michell, Simon (ed.). "ISTAR evolution". Air & Space Power 2019 Multi-Domain Operations for the Next Generation Air Force. Essex: Global Media Partners: 75. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  22. ^ Air Vice Marshal Harvey Smyth Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group [@@HarvSmyth] (1 April 2019). "Handover of Fixed Wing Manned Aerial Surveillance from Army to RAF" (Tweet) – via Twitter.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ "Farewell Islander/Defender". Scramble. Dutch Aviation Society. 11 July 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  24. ^ "British Army Retires Final Defender, Islander Aircraft". Key.Aero. Key Publishing. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  25. ^ 1 Regiment Army Air Corps [@@1_Regt_AAC] (1 August 2021). "651 Sqn AAC moves to 1 Regt AAC" (Tweet) – via Twitter.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "665 Squadron Army Air Corps". British Army. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  27. ^ "29 (BATUS) Flight Army Air Corps". British Army. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  28. ^ The Army Air Corps [@ArmyAirCorps] (29 August 2019). "Great footage of 29 Flight AAC and their fleet of Gazelle helicopters" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  29. ^ Zubova, Xenia (24 October 2023). "Goodbye Gazelle: Helicopter retiring from Army Air Corps after 49 years". Forces Network. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
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