A key requirement in all military campaigns and battles since wars began has been to observe the enemy, to discover his strengths and weaknesses, and also to direct fire power onto targets.
Observation was originally carried out from high ground, buildings or trees but, with the advent of manned flight, observers were lifted by balloons or kites and eventually aeroplanes.
It was during World War I that the importance of the aeroplane as an observation platform was realised with the formation of the Royal Flying Corps in April 1912. Although the Army used Royal Air Force (RAF) co-operation squadrons between the wars, it was not really until World War II that the Army required soldiers to fly again.
During World War II, Royal Artillery officers, supported by RAF technicians, flew Auster light aircraft in RAF-owned Air Observation Post squadrons. Twelve were raised and they served as squadrons or flights in virtually every campaign. Where possible they collocated with Army formations. Many of the early Air Observation Post squadron numbers still exist within the Corps.
Winston Churchill, early in World War II, decreed the establishment of a new branch of Army aviation to be known as the Army Air Corps. This body of tough, red bereted soldiers comprised lightly equipped air-landed infantry - to form the Parachute Regiment, and the Glider Pilot Regiment who flew gliders carrying specially trained line infantry directly into battle. The nucleus of what was to become the Special Air Service also formed a part of the Army Air Corps. Gliders could be landed virtually on top of their objectives, as happened at Pegasus Bridge during the initial operations of the D-Day landings in June 1944. After landing, the pilots then fought as infantry soldiers or assisted in crewing the weapons or equipment they had brought in until withdrawn to fly other missions.
After the war, the original Army Air Corps was disbanded. As gliders became obsolete, pilots retrained on powered light aircraft and served alongside Air Observation Post Squadrons as part of the Army's eyes and ears. The Glider Pilot Regiment continued in existence until 1957 when it, together with the remaining Air Observation Squadrons, were amalgamated to form the present day Army Air Corps with its distinctive sky blue beret.
The fledging Army Air Corps operated a mixture of Austers and Skeeter helicopters formed into squadrons or independent flights. Flights were also formed which were incorporated into armoured, artillery and infantry regiments. Evolution, and rationalisation of equipment and forces, led to the point in the late 1970's when nearly every brigade had its own aviation squadron of 12 aircraft. At that stage they flew either Sioux or Scout helicopters, the latter armed with the SS11 anti-armour missile. Today, a typical division has its own Aviation Regiment of 36 aircraft comprising both Gazelle and Lynx helicopters, the latter armed with tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided (TOW) missile.
Roles of Army Aviation
As a combat arm in its own right, but also being in support of the Army as a whole, the roles of Army Aviation are:
Armed Action
This role covers a variety of tasks ranging from the use of the TOW missile to destroy enemy armour to the use of door mounted machine guns to protect aircraft and convoys.
Observation and Reconnaissance
This is the use of aircraft, both fixed and rotary wing, to find, report and watch the enemy so that a commander is able to deploy and manoeuvre his forces effectively.
Direction of Fire
This involves the observation, application and correction of artillery and naval gunfire and mortars. Combined with this is the task of Forward Air Control, the direction of close air support onto enemy targets.
Command and Control
This is the use of aircraft to transport a commander about the battlefield, while permitting him to maintain communications links to his units.
Movement of Men and Material
Army aircraft have a weight-limited, but very useful, logistic and troop movement capability.
Technical support is provided by the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers who comprise nearly 45 % of the personnel serving in or with the Army Air Corps. In comparison with other arms, the Army Air Corps is relatively small with only some 3,200 personnel. A regiment, typically, has around 440 soldiers, both men and women. That figure includes aircrew, groundcrew, technicians and other specialists.
Aircraft types
The Army Air Corps operates over 300 helicopters and some 30 fixed wing aircraft. This makes it the United Kingdom's largest Services helicopter fleet operator. Aircraft currently operated by the Army Air Corps are: Gazelle AH1; Lynx AH7; Lynx AH9; Agusta 109A; Chipmunk T10; Islander AL1. In the future the Army Air Corps will operate the GKN-Westland Attack Helicopter 64 'Longbow' known as the 'Apache'. These helicopters will come into service in the year 2000 and will be a quantum leap in war-fighting capability. The Apache Longbow will be employed in all levels of war and will have a role throughout the full spectrum of armed conflict as one of the most potent weapon systems on the modern battlefield.
An Army Air Corps Gazelle helicopter in Bosnia.
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Regimental march - "Recce Flight".
