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| Irish Military
Helicopters |
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Sud Aviation SA.316B
Alouette III, serial 195, c/n 1151, delivered as a new SE.3160 on 25 November
1963, converted to SA.316B. Serves with the Army Support Squadron, No.3 Support
Wing at Baldonnell, and deployed to Monaghan Camp (Co. Monaghan) and Finner
Camp (Co. Donegal) for border patrol at times, also to Waterford for SAR duties
at various times. Used for "aid to the civil power", VFR SAR operations,
MedEvac, government transport duties, etc.
Photo by Pierre Gillard of
the Alouette and Lama
website, Baldonnell, June 2001. |
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Sud Aviation SA.316B
Alouette III, serial 196, c/n 1153, delivered as a new SE.3160 on 25 November
1963, converted to SA.316B, believed wfu at Baldonnell 2001. Served with the
Army Support Squadron, No.3 Support Wing at Baldonnell, and deployed to Finner,
Monaghan, and Waterford at times.
Photo by Jacob Struben, Baldonnell, 18
June 2000. |
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Sud Aviation SA.316B
Alouette III, serial 197, c/n 1194, delivered as a new SE.3160 on 13 May 1964,
converted to SA.316B. Serves with the Army Support Squadron, No.3 Support Wing
at Baldonnell.
Photo by Jacob Struben, Baldonnell, 23 July 1996.
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SNIAS SA.316B Alouette
III, serial 202, c/n 1973, delivered 24 March 1972, newly built. Believed
written off after a heavy landing in shallow water [date, circumstances?].
Photo by Frank
Grealish, Baldonnell, summer 1997. |
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SNIAS SA.316B Alouette III,
serial 211, c/n 1983, delivered 4 February 1973, newly built. Serves with the
Army Support Squadron, No.3 Support Wing at Baldonnell.
Top photo by
Jacob Struben, Baldonnell, 23 July 1996, Bottom photo by George Norman,
Baldonnell, 17 June 2000. |
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SNIAS SA.316B Alouette III,
serial 212, c/n 1984, delivered 29 March 1973, newly built. Serves with the
Army Support Squadron, No.3 Support Wing at Baldonnell.
Photo by Jacob
Struben, Baldonnell, 23 July 1996. |
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SNIAS SA.316B Alouette
III, serial 213, c/n 2116, delivered 6 December 1973, newly built. Serves with
the Army Support Squadron, No.3 Support Wing at Baldonnell.
Photo by
Frank Grealish,
Baldonnell, summer 1997. |
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SNIAS SA.316B Alouette
III, serial 214, c/n 2122, delivered 25 March 1974, newly built. Served with
the Army Support Squadron, No.3 Support Wing at Baldonnell. Believed wfu at
Baldonnell.
Photo taken at Weston, 1992. |
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SNIAS SA.342L Gazelle,
serial 237, c/n 1772, delivered 30 December 1979, newly built. Served with
Helicopter School Squadron, No. 3 Support Wing as an advanced helicopter crew
trainer until damaged in an accident on 16 August 2002. The Gazelle suffered
engine failure during low-level flight and made a controlled descent into a
field near Baldonnell. The crew were fortunately not injured. A photo showing
the damage done to the cockpit, cabin, main rotor, and tail was
published on the internet, and it is thought that 237 will not
be repaired.
Top photo by Jacob Struben, Baldonnell, 23 July 1996,
Bottom photo by George Norman, Baldonnell, 17 June 2000. |
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SNIAS SA.342L Gazelle,
serial 241, c/n 1854, delivered 14 January 1981, newly built. Serves with
Helicopter School Squadron, No. 3 Support Wing as an advanced helicopter crew
trainer, but is reported wfu as a spares source for 237 before its accident on
16 August 2002.
Photo by
Frank Grealish,
Baldonnell, summer 1995. |
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SNIAS SA.330L Puma, serial
242, c/n 1240, delivered on lease from manufacturers 21 July 1981, ex Ethiopean
Air Force serial 850, F-WRQK, F-BRQK. Served with the Advanced Flying Training
School. While with the IAC it was evaluated for troop carrying and used to fly
food to farms snowed in during the winter of 1981/2. Returned to SNIAS 16
February 1983 and delivered to CEV (Centre d'Essais en Vol, French government
test establishment) as F-ZLAT, August 1995.
Photo via
Frank
Grealish |
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SNIAS SA.365Fi Dauphin,
serial 244, c/n 6124, delivered 25 June 1986, newly built. Serves with No.3
Support Wing, initially assigned to the Naval Support Squadron, later also to
the SAR Squadron. Initially used for Naval Service support (fishery protection,
SAR); also used for all weather medium-range SAR, MedEvac, aid to the civil
power, government transport, etc.
Top photo by Pat Fahy, Tory Island,
Donegal, 11 August 1998, Bottom photo by George Norman, Salthill (Galway), 1
July 2001. |
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SNIAS SA.365Fi Dauphin,
serial 245, c/n 6168, delivered 18 July 1986, newly built. Serves with No.3
Support Wing, initially assigned to the Naval Squadron, later also to the SAR
Squadron.
Top photo by Jacob Struben, Baldonnell, 23 July 1996, Bottom
photo by George Norman, Baldonnell, 17 June 2000. |
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SNIAS SA.365Fi Dauphin,
serial 246, c/n 6181, delivered 25 June 1986, newly built. Serves with SAR
Squadron, No. 3 Support Wing. Not initially intended for Naval Service support,
but used for all weather medium-range SAR, MedEvac, aid to the civil power,
government transport, etc.
Photo by Jacob Struben, Baldonnell, 17 August
1986.
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SNIAS SA.365Fi Dauphin,
serial 247, c/n 6202, delivered 21 August 1986, newly built. Serves with SAR
Squadron, No. 3 Support Wing. Not initially intended for Naval Service
support.
Photo by Gary Adams,
Derry, late 1990s |
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SNIAS SA.365Fi Dauphin,
serial 248, c/n 6203, delivered 19 December 1986, newly built. Served with SAR
Squadron, No. 3 Support Wing. Not initially intended for Naval Service support.
This Dauphin crashed into sand dunes at Tramore, Co. Waterford while attempting
to return to Waterford Airport in poor visibility after a successful SAR
mission on 2 July 1999. All four crew members were killed in the accident. The
SAR capability at Waterford had just been upgraded to all-weather medium-range,
the Dauphin replacing an Alouette III. This was the first all-weather SAR
mission flown from Waterford, and subsequent to the accident the service was
downgraded again to VFR only using Alouette IIIs. During the summer of 2002 the
service was upgraded to all-weather medium/long-range, operated by an IMES/CHC
(Ireland) Ltd. S.61N.
Photo by
Frank Grealish, Finner
Camp, c.1995 |
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Eurocopter AS.355N Twin
Squirrel, serial 255, c/n 5633, delivered 22 August 1997, ex G-BXEV. Serves
with the Garda Air Support Unit, crewed by IAC pilots and Garda Siochana
(police) observers. Can operate at night but may be restricted if visibility is
poor. 255 was recently repainted in a colour scheme similar to G-BZRM (see
below).
Photos by George Norman, Abbeyshrule, summer 2000 |
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Eurocopter EC.135T1,
serial 256, c/n 0149, delivered 5 December 2002. Was registered D-HECK
initially, then G-BZRM for pre-delivery test flying, registered to An Garda
Siochana, Dublin. Intended for use by the GASU (Garda Air Support Unit), may be
operated by a civilian contractor with Garda observers joining crews for
operational missions. Recent reports suggest that due to limited endurance, the
EC.135 will only be used in the Dublin area, releasing AS.355 255 for duty away
from the capital.
Top photo by Graeme Lovell, Bottom photo by David
O'Mahony (Baldonnell, December 2002) |
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Three Sikorsky S.92s were due to be ordered in February 2002 for
medium-range SAR work, with options on two for transport duties, but in July
2002 the government announced that, to save money, the order would not go
ahead. The Irish Air Corps would have been the first military customer for the
S.92, and a lease, lease-purchase, or private/public partnership deal may still
be possible. Reports in December 2002 suggest that the S.92 is no longer being
considered, but the EH.101 and the Eurocopter EC.725 Cougar are. |
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