Hellenic Air Force
The
Hellenic Air Force (
Greek Πολεμική Αεροπορία) is the primary
air force of
Greece.
The first Aviation Service was established in 1911, with help from the
French. Six Greek officers were sent to France for training, while the first four "Farman"-type aircraft were ordered. The first Greek aviator was Emmanuel Argyropoulos, who flew in a
Nieuport IV.G "Alcuin" fighter, on
February 8,
1912. The first military flight was made on 13 May of that year by
Lieutenant Demetrios Kamberos. In June, Kamberos, flew with the "Daedalus", a "Farman" aircraft that had been converted into a seaplane, setting the foundations of the Naval Aviation. That September, the Greek Army fielded its first squadron, the Aviators Company
(Λόχος Αεροπόρων).
The Hellenic Air Force participated in the
Balkan Wars,
World War I, the
Asia Minor Campaign, and
World War II. Initially it consisted of the separate Army Aviation and Naval Aviation, but in 1930 the Aviation Ministry was founded, establishing the Air Force as the third branch of the Hellenic Armed Forces. In 1931, the Air Force Academy, the Scholi Ikaron was founded. During the
Second World War, it successfully resisted the Italian invasion in 1940, but practically the entire force was destroyed by the Germans in April
1941. The Air Force was rebuilt in the Middle East as part of the
Royal Air Force, flying
Spitfires,
Hurricanes and
Martin Baltimores. After Greece's liberation in 1944, it returned home and subsequently participated in the
Greek Civil War.
In the 1950s, the force was rebuilt and organized according to
NATO standards. The Greek Air Force participated in the
Korean War with a transport flight. Greece participated in NATO
nuclear weapons sharing until 2001, using
A-7 Corsair IIs to deploy U.S. tactical
B61 nuclear bombs from
Araxos Air Base. Until the late 1980s the Air Force deployed
Nike-Hercules Missiles armed with U.S.
nuclear warheads. As a result of
Greco-Turkish tensions around the 1974 Turkish invasion in
Cyprus, the U.S. removed its nuclear weapons from Greek and Turkish alert units to storage. Greece saw this as another pro-Turkish move by NATO and withdrew its forces from NATO's military command structure from 1974 to 1980.
Since 1974, Turkish state continuously violates Athens FIR flying rules set by ICAO and the Hellenic airspace, resulting in numerous operations of reconnaissance and interception against Turkish fighter jets by the Greek Air Force daily. These operations cause often heroic casualties and loses for the Greek pilots. Amongst the lost pilots are the well known stories of Nikolaos Sialmas (Νικος Σιαλμας), fallen near Agios Eustratios island of Northern Aigean sea and the recent death of Kostas Iliakis (Κωστας Ηλιάκης)who has fallen after a collision with a Turkish F-16 which deliberatelly crashed him as he was trying to stop a what was officially called "spying operation of Turkey towards
Krete (Κρητη)" over the island of
Karpathos at the South Aigean sea.
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Hellenic Air Force ensign |
The Hellenic Air Force is overseen by the
Greek Ministry of Defence, whose current head is Vaggelis Meimarakis. Combat operations are overseen by a Chief of Operations, while support services are managed by the Directorate of Aeronautical Support, with the training squadrons and schools run by the Training Directorate.
Combat aircraft flown by the Hellenic Air Force include a number of advanced foreign fighters (F-16C/D block 30,40,50 and 52+, Mirage 2000 and 2000-5) with older models retrofitted to the latest standards. The main transports utilized are the C-130 Hercules and the C-27 Spartan. On June, 2005, the Hellenic Ministry of Defence announced a USD 1.1 billion dollars agreement for the commission of further 30 (with an option for 10 more) F-16C/D block 52+ which will be delivered until 2009.
*
Greek Air Force - Official site*
Unofficial HAF TO&E*
Aircraft inventory (greek)
