Hellenic Air Force
The Hellenic Air Force is the air force of Greece. It is considered to be one of the largest air forces in NATO, and is globally placed 18th out of 139 countries. Under the Kingdom of Greece from 1935 to 1973, it was previously known as the Royal Hellenic Air Force .
The Hellenic Air Force is one of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed Forces, and its mission is to guard and protect Greek airspace, provide air assistance and support to the Hellenic Army and the Hellenic Navy, and to provide humanitarian aid in Greece and around the world. The Hellenic Air Force includes approximately 33,000 active troops, of whom 11,750 are career officers, 14,000 are professional soldiers, 7,250 are volunteer conscripts, and 1,100 are women. The motto of the Hellenic Air Force is the ancient Greek phrase Αἰὲν Ὑψικρατεῖν, and the HAF emblem represents a flying eagle in front of the Hellenic Air Force roundel. The General Air Staff is based at the Papagou Camp in the Municipality of Filothei - Psychiko of the Prefecture of Attica.
History
Origins
In 1911, the Greek Government appointed French specialists to form the Hellenic Aviation Service. Six Greek officers were sent to France for training, while the first four Farman type aircraft were ordered. All six graduated from the Farman school in Étampes near Paris, but only four subsequently served in aviation. The first Greek civilian aviator that was given military rank was Emmanuel Argyropoulos, who flew in a Nieuport IV.G. 'Alkyon' aircraft, on 8 February 1912. The first military flight was made on 13 May 1912, by Lieutenant Dimitrios Kamberos. In June, Kamberos flew with the 'Daedalus', a Farman Aviation Works aircraft that had been converted into a seaplane, setting a new average speed world record at. In September of the same year, the Greek Army fielded its first squadron, the 'Aviators Company'.Balkan Wars and aftermath (1912–1930)
On 5 October 1912, Kamberos flew the first combat mission, a reconnaissance flight over Thessaly. This was on the first day of the Balkan Wars. On the same day a similar mission was flown by German mercenaries in Ottoman service, over the Thrace front against the Bulgarian Army. The Greek and the Ottoman missions, coincidentally flown on the same day, were the first military aviation missions in the history of conventional war. As a matter of fact, all Balkan countries used military aircraft and foreign mercenaries during the Balkan Wars.24 January 1913, saw the first naval co-operation mission in history, which took place over the Dardanelles. Aided by the Royal Hellenic Navy, destroyer RHNS, 1st Lieutenant Michael Moutoussis and Ensign Aristeidis Moraitinis flew the Farman hydroplane and drew up a diagram of the positions of the Turkish fleet, against which they dropped four bombs. This was not the first air-to-ground attack in military history, as there was a precedent in the Turkish-Italian war of 1911, but the first recorded attack against ships from the air.
Initially, the Hellenic Army and the Royal Hellenic Navy operated separate Army Aviation and Naval Aviation units. During the Balkan Wars, various French Henry and Maurice Farman aircraft types were used. The Hellenic Naval Air Service was officially founded in 1914 by the then Commander in Chief of the Royal Hellenic Navy, British Admiral Mark Kerr. Greek aviation units participated in World War I and the Asia Minor Campaign, equipped by the Allies with a variety of French and British designs.
Foundation, World War II and Civil War (1930–1950)
In 1930, the Aviation Ministry was founded, establishing the Air Force as the third branch of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The Hellenic Army Air Service and Hellenic Naval Air Service were merged into a single service, the Royal Hellenic Air Force. In 1931, the Hellenic Air Force Academy, the Icarus School, was founded.At the end of 1936, Greece ordered 36 Polish PZL P.24 fighter aircraft, which entered service with the 21st, 22nd and 23rd Pursuit Squadrons and after completion of deliveries in 1938, formed the core of the RHAF fighter force. The planes were well armed; 12 planes of the P.24F version had 2 machine guns and 2 20mm autocannons, the remaining 24 planes of the P.24G version had 4 machine guns.
In 1939, an order for 24 Marcel Bloch MB.151 fighter aircraft was placed, but only nine of the aircraft reached Greece, since the outbreak of World War II prevented the French from completing the order. The aircraft entered service in the 24th Pursuit Squadron of the air force.
During the Italian invasion of Greece in the Second World War, although being severely outnumbered and counting only 79 aircraft against 380 fighters and bombers of the Italian Regia Aeronautica, RHAF managed to successfully resist the assault. On 30 October, two days after the start of the war, there was the first air battle. Some Henschel Hs126s of 3/2 Flight of 3 Observation Mira took off to locate Italian Army columns. But they were intercepted and attacked by Fiat CR.42 Falcos of 393a Squadriglia. A first Henschel was hit and crashed, killing its observer, Pilot Officer Evanghelos Giannaris, the first Greek aviator to die in the war. A second Hs126 was downed over Mount Smolikas, killing Pilot Officer Lazaros Papamichail and Sergeant Constantine Yemenetzis. On 2 November 1940, a Breguet 19 intercepted the 3 Alpine Division Julia while it was penetrating the Pindos mountain range in an attempt to occupy Metsovo. On the same day, 2nd Lieutenant Marinos Mitralexis having run out of ammunition, aimed the nose of his PZL P.24 right into the tail of an enemy CANT Z.1007bis bomber, smashing the rudder and sending the aircraft out of control.
After 65 days of war, the RHAF had lost 31 officers, seven wounded, plus four NCOs killed and five wounded. Meanwhile, the number of combat aircraft had dropped to 28 fighters and 7 battle-worthy bombers. By March 1941, the Italian invasion on air and ground had been successfully pushed back, aided by the vital contribution of the RHAF to the Greek victory. During the Greco-Italian War the Royal Hellenic Air Force shot down 68 enemy aircraft and claimed another 24. The British RAF claimed 150 additional air victories against Italian aircraft. However, the Italian Air Force recorded only 65 aircraft lost, during the entire campaign against the Greeks and later the British, with 495 additional aircraft reported as damaged.
In April 1941, the German Wehrmacht invaded Greece in order to assist the Italian assault. During this second wave of foreign invasion, the Luftwaffe eventually succeeded in destroying most of the Royal Hellenic Air Force. However, some aircraft managed to escape to the Middle East, including five Avro Anson, one Dornier Do 22, one Arado 196, and three Avro 626.
During the German occupation of Greece, the Air Force was rebuilt under the expatriated Greek Air Force Ministry based in Cairo. Three squadrons were built, operating under the command of the British RAF. These squadrons were the 13th Light Bombing Squadron flying Avro Ansons, Bristol Blenheims, and Martin Baltimores, and the 335 and 336 Fighting Squadrons flying Hawker Hurricane I and IIs and Spitfire V types. The RHAF squadrons in the Middle East flew a variety of missions, including convoy patrols, anti-submarine search, offensive patrols, reconnaissance, attack and interception of enemy aircraft. In Summer 1943, the Greek squadrons participated in the attack against the German Wehrmacht on the island of Crete, and then from May to November 1944 in Italy. During those years, seventy Greek pilots were lost.
During World War II, Greek pilots who were flying with the RAF achieved many victories. Rhodesian-born Wing Commander John Agorastos Plagis shot down 16 enemy aircraft over Malta and Western Europe. Lieutenant Vasilios Michael Vassiliadis was credited with 11.5 enemy aircraft over Western Europe before he was killed in action on 15 March 1945, over Germany. Steve Pisanos, an immigrant to the US in 1938, joined an Eagle Squadron of American volunteers in the RAF and fought over Western Europe. He later joined the USAAF and acquired US citizenship and continued to fly with the same squadron, now part of the USAF 4th FG. He had achieved ten victories with the USAAF by 1944.
After Greece's liberation in 1944, RHAF returned to Greece and subsequently played a decisive role in the Greek Civil War, which lasted until 1950. By then, it was re-equipped with Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX, Spitfire Mk.XVI fighters, and Curtiss SB2C Helldiver bombers.
Post-war developments (1950–1970)
After the end of the Greek Civil War in November 1950, Greece sent seven Douglas C-47 Dakota transport aircraft of the 13th Transport Aircraft Squadron to South Korea to assist the United Nations. Greek aircraft participated in many battles including Battle of Chosin and operated in Korea until May 1955. Greek pilots flew thousands of missions including air evacuations, personnel transport, intelligence gathering, and supply flights. In 1952 Greece joined NATO, and the Air Force was rebuilt and organised according to NATO standards. New aircraft, including jets, were introduced.The first jet fighter flown by the RHAF was the Republic F-84G Thunderjet in 1955. It was also flown by the first Air Force aerobatic team 337 SQ 'Hellenic Flame'. The RF-84F entered service with the 348 Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in 1956. Although the F-84G was replaced by the Canadair Sabre 2 in 1954 and 1955 after one-hundred units were retired from the Royal Canadian Air Force and upgraded in the United Kingdom before entering service with the RHAF, the RF-84F remained in service until 1991. The Lockheed T-33 was also delivered as a trainer in 1955. Some RT-33s were used for reconnaissance missions.
In the late 1960s, the RHAF acquired new jet aircraft. These included the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, the Lockheed F-104G Starfighter, and the Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter. The F-104 and F-5 stayed in service until the mid- to late 1980s.
In the mid-1970s, the Hellenic Air Force was further modernised with deliveries of the Dassault Mirage F1CG fleet, the Vought A-7 Corsair II, and the first batch of McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs.
In 1993, the United States Air Force delivered sixty-two additional A-7Es and TA-7Cs increasing further the air-to-ground capabilities of the HAF. These aircraft remained in service until 2011.