The Albanian Air Force ( - Air Force of the Republic of Albania) is the air force of Albania and one of the branches of the Albanian Armed Forces.
History
Early history
thumb|left|An Albanian air force PT-6
In 1914 the government of Albania ordered three Lohner Daimler aircraft from Austria to form an air force. As a result of the outbreak of World War I, the order was cancelled. Albania did not have the resources to start the development of a proper Air Force during the 1920s and 1930s. After the establishment of the Albanian Kingdom in 1928, King Zog formed the Royal Albanian Air Corps under the direction of the Royal Albanian Army.
After its launch, the group was provided with four Albatros C.XV/L.47s and one Albatros C.XV/L.47b, but they were never put into full service.
The Royal Air Force, and the rest of Albanian armed forces, were abolished following the Italian invasion of Albania.
Socialist Albania
thumb|Chengdu F-7s of the Albanian Air Force parked outside the hangar at Tirana airport
After World War II, the Albanian Air Force finally came into existence on 24 April 1951 when Albania was equipped with Soviet aircraft. The first squadron was equipped with Yak-9Ps. The first jet fighter to enter service was the MiG-15bis, entering service on 15 May 1955, followed by the MiG-17F. Some of the MiG-15s were Soviet fighters used and then withdrawn from the North Korean Air Force. The MiG-19 became the backbone of the Albanian Air Force. 12 MiG-19PM were delivered by the USSR in October 1959 and in the same year pilots and specialists were sent in the USSR to obtain training for the new aircraft. An academy was founded in Vlorë in 1962. After the collapse of USSR-Albanian relations, significant numbers of Shenyang J-6 fighters (Chinese copy of the MiG-19S), were acquired from China. In the early 1970s, Albania exchanged its lot of MiG-19PM fighters with 12 more advanced, Chengdu J-7A fighters (Chinese copy of the Soviet-built MiG-21). Two of them were lost in incidents in the early 1970s and eight had problems with lack of batteries in the early 1980s.
In total, during the 70s and early 80s, the equipment of the Albanian Air Force consisted of 142 Shenyang J-6Cs, 12 Chengdu J-7As, a fighter squadron equipped with MiG-17s, a considerable number of MiG-15 (both BIS and UTI versions), and 4 Soviet-made Il-14 transport aircraft. A squadron of Shijiazhuang Y-5 was deployed in Tirana and the Air Force Academy in Vlora had two squadrons of Yak-18 for basic pilot training purposes. The helicopter component consisted in 18 Harbin Z-5 (Chinese copy of Mil Mi-4) helicopters based in Farka Tirana, meanwhile there was a single prototype of a light Harbin H-5 bomber based in Rinas.
Due to the collapse of relations between Albania and the Chinese, maintenance became extremely difficult and the number of deadly incidents involving Mikoyan fighters increased. Despite Albanian efforts and some initial success in repairing the engines of the MiGs, the lack of specific jet fuel forced authorities to start production locally, resulting in low-quality production (the first attempt was in 1961, when the Kuçova factory produced the special jet fuel (a derivative of kerosene called TSI)). The fuel shortened the lifespan of the jet engines and was often blamed as the main reason for several deadly incidents. 35 Albanian pilots lost their lives from 1955 to 2005, mainly due to mechanical failures with the MiG aircraft.
Recent history
thumb|Shenyang F-6 jet fighters of the Albanian Airforce parked at Kuçovë
Following the fall of communism in Albania in 1990, the air force had 200 jets and 40 helicopters, and four Il-14 transport planes. During the 1997 uprising in Albania, seven aircraft of the airforce were destroyed and their parts were stolen. This acquisition allowed air force to operate with 4 Shijiazhuang Y-5s, 7 B206s, 3 B205s, 6 Bolkow 105s.
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4020 (1970–1974) and Aviation Regiment 4010 (1974–2004)
|1970-2004
|-
|frameless
|MiG-19PM
|Soviet Union
|Jet fighter
|12
|Albania–Yugoslav aircraft incident (1967)
|Part of
Aviation Regiment 4020 Replaced by J-6
|1959-1965
|-
|frameless
|MiG-17F
|Soviet Union
|Jet fighter
|12
|12 Mig-17 delivered 1962
|Part of
Aviation Regiment 4030
|1962-?
|-
|frameless
|MiG-15 and MIG-15 UTI
|Soviet Union
|Jet fighter
|32-48+
|8+ Mig-15UTI and 24+ MIg-15bis. In 1957 2 Mig-15 captured an American T-33 and its pilot that violated Albanian Airspace.
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4020, 4030 and 4004
|1955-2000
|-
|frameless
|Shenyang F-6 and FT-6
|China
|Jet fighter
|65-71+
|Chinese variant of Mig-19.
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4010, 4020 and 4030
|1965-2004
|-
|frameless
|Shenyang F-5 and Shenyang FT-5
|China
|Jet fighter
|35+
|13 F-5 and 22 FT-5
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4010 4020 and 4030
|1970-2004
|}
Bombers
{| class="wikitable"
!Image
!Aircraft
!Origin
!Type
!Total 1 Aircraft
!Units
!Regiment
!In service
|-
|center|frameless
|Harbin H-5
|China
|Bomber
|1
|Aviation Regiment 4020 operated 1
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4020
|Retired
|-
|center|frameless
|Ilyushin Il-28
|Soviet Union
|Bomber
|1
|operated 1 but traded it for 1 Harbin H-5
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4050
|Retired
|-
|frameless
|Harbin Z-5
|China
|Helicopter
|37
|Z-5 of those 31 were Z-5A variants and 6 were Z-5D.
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4040
|Retired
|-
|frameless
|Mil Mi-1
|Soviet Union
|Helicopter
|2
|2 units delivered 1957
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4050
|Retired
|-
|frameless
|Mil Mi-4
|Soviet Union
|Helicopter
|41
|41 Mil Mi-4 but 1 was lost in an accident
|
|Possible in service
|}
Trainer
{| class="wikitable"
!Image
!Aircraft
!Origin
!Type
!Total 208 Aircraft
!Units
!Regiment
!In service
|-
|frameless
|Yakovlev Yak-9
|Soviet Union
|Propeller fighter
|84
|72 aircraft and 12 Yak-9V trainer
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4050
|Retired
|-
|frameless
|Yakovlev Yak-18
|Soviet Union
|Trainer
|10
|4 Yak-18 delivered 1951 and 6 Yak-18A delivered 1959
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4050
|Retired
|-
|frameless
|Yakovlev Yak-11
|Soviet Union
|Trainer
|6
|6 Received in 1953
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4050
|Retired
|-
|frameless
|Nanchang CJ-6
|China
|Trainer
|30
|10 BT-6, 20 BT-6A
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4004
|Retired
|-
|frameless
|Polikarpov Po-2
|Soviet Union
|Trainer
|78
|78 Aircraft received between 1950 and 1966
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4050
|Retired 1985
|}
Transport
{| class="wikitable"
!Image
!Aircraft
!Origin
!Type
!Total 4+ Aircraft
!Units
!Regiment
!In service
|-
|frameless
|Ilyushin Il-14
|Soviet Union
|Transport
|4
|4 Units, 2x Il-14 from Soviet Union, 1x Avia 14T from Czechoslovakia, 1x VEB Il-14P from East Germany.
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4020 and 4050
|Retired 2002
|-
|frameless
|Lisunov Li-2
|Soviet Union
|Transport
|
|Unknown
|
|Retired
|-
|center|frameless
|Shijiazhuang Y-5 (or Nanchang Y-5)
|China
|Transport
|
|Unknown
|Part of Aviation Regiment 4020 and 4050
|Retired
|}
Current Equipment
Aircraft
The Albanian Air Force has retired all of its fixed-wing aircraft and now operates several types of helicopters.
thumb|Albanian AS532 Cougar
thumb|Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
{| class="wikitable"
!Image
! style="text-align:center; background:#acc;" | Aircraft
! style="text-align:center; background:#acc;" | Origin
! style="text-align:center; background:#acc;" | Type
! style="text-align:center; background:#acc;" | In service
! style="text-align:center; background:#acc;" | Notes
|-
|frameless
| AgustaWestland AW109
| Italy
| SAR / Utility
| 1
|
|-
|center|frameless
| Bell 205
| Italy
| Multipurpose utility <!--- Aren't all utility helicopters multipurpose utility helicopters? -->
| 3
|
|-
|200x200px
|Magni X
|Israel
|micro-UAS
|Unknown
|
|-
|200x200px
|Thor
|Israel
|UAS
|Unknown
|
| 6+ on order, UAV ground control station is installed in Kuçova Air Base
|}
thumb|RQ-20 Puma
thumb|Bayraktar TB2
Radars
, Albania Air Force operates a AN/FPS-117 Long-range radar system on Mida mountain, which was a joint investment of Albania and the US through Lockheed Martin with $19 million coming from Albania and $3 million from the US. The radar is integrated into the NATO Integrated Air Defense System.
thumb|AN-FPS-117
thumb|Mobile GCS (UAV Ground Control Station)
Structure
The air force's headquarters is located in Tirana and it operates three airbases: Tirana Air Base with the national Control and Reporting Centre, which reports to NATO's Integrated Air Defense System CAOC Torrejón in Spain, Kuçovë Air Base, and Lapraka Air Base, home to the government's transport helicopters.
- Headquarters - Tirana
- Staff Support Company, in Tirana
- Helicopter Squadron, at Farkë Air Base in Farkë
- Support Squadron, at Kuçovë Air Base in Kuçovë
- Unmanned Aircraft Detachment, at Kuçovë Air Base in Kuçovë with Bayraktar TB2
- Air Surveillance Center, in Rinas reports to NATO Integrated Air Defense System's CAOC Torrejón at Torrejón Air Base in Spain
- AN/TPS-77 radar on top of Mida mountain near Pukë
- Military Meteorological Service, in Tirana
- Automated weather stations in Farkë, Gjadër, Kuçovë, Kukës, Vlorë, and Gjirokastër
Ranks
Officer ranks
{| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;"
|}
Other ranks
{| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;"
|}
Roundels
<gallery class="center" caption="Roundels of Albanian Air Force (1946–1992)">
File:Roundel of Albania (1946–1958).svg|(1946–1958)
File:Roundel of Albania (1958–1960).svg|(1958–1960)
File:Roundel of Albania (1960–1992) – Type 1.svg|(1960–1992)
File:Roundel of Albania (1960–1992) – Type 2.svg|(1960–1992)
File:Fin flash of Albania.svg|Fin flash (1946–1960)
</gallery>
See also
- List of Albanian Air Force aircraft
- Albanian Armed Forces
- Albanian Land Force
- Albanian Naval Force
References
External links
- Albanian Armed Forces
- Eastern Orbat, Albanian Air Force 1988
- Aeroflight, World Air Forces - Albania, last revised 8 June 2006