List of Albanian Air Force aircraft
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The list of Albanian Air Force aircraft covers all aircraft types used by the Albanian Air Force since its formal inception in 1947.
(Table order: Fighters, Bombers, Transports, Trainers, Other, Helicopters)
(Note: a " - " means the information is unknown, not yet added, or not applicable)
| Military aircraft of Albania | |||
| Fighters | |||
| Designation | Total | In Service | Role/Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chengdu F-7A | 12 | 1979-2005 | Fighter; all 10 survivors placed in storage in May 2005. Last flight in 2002 |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis 'Fagot' | 50+ | 1955-2000 | Fighter; 26 delivered by the USSR in 1955, with further examples delivered by China in 1956; all survivors in storage for sale |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI 'Midget' | 12 | 1955-2000 | Fighter and operational trainer; 12 delivered (4 USSR-built MiG-15UTI, 4 Czech-built CS.102, 4 Chinese-supplied FT-2) in 1955-1956 |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19PM 'Farmer-D' | 12 | 1959-1965 | Fighter; 12 delivered by the USSR in October 1959, sent to China in 1965 for Shenyang F-6 |
| Shenyang F-5 | 80+ | 1962-2005 | Fighter |
| Shenyang FT-5 | 20 | 1972-2005 | Fighter; 6 remain in service with one in storage |
| Shenyang F-6/FT-6 | 75+ | 1962-2005 | Fighter; more than 70 delivered, including a few FT-6 two-seat trainers (which were retired in 2002) |
| Yakovlev Yak-9P/V | 12 | 1951-1956 | Fighter; includes one Yak-9V trainer; withdrawn upon the introduction of jet fighters |
| Bombers | |||
| Designation | Total | In Service | Role/Info |
| Ilyushin Il-28 'Beagle' | 1 | 1957-1971 | Light bomber; traded for a Harbin H-5 in 1971 |
| Harbin H-5 'Beagle' | 1 | 1971-1992 | Light bomber; 1 received in 1971, stored in 1992 |
| Transports | |||
| Designation | Total | In Service | Role/Info |
| Harbin Y-5 'Colt' | 13 | 1963- | Liaison and communications; 4 remain in active service, 9 in storage |
| Ilyushin Il-14M 'Crate' | 2 | 1957-1992 | Transport; 2 Soviet-built examples acquired (1 in 1957, 1 in 1971), although some sources report as many as 8 having entered service; all 4 surviving Il-14s were stored in 1992, damaged by rioters in 1997, and subsequently scrapped in 2002 |
| Ilyushin Il-14P 'Crate' | 1 | 1971-1992 | Transport; 1 VEB-built example acquired in 1971 (reports of a second example unverified) |
| Ilyushin Il-14T 'Crate' | 1 | 1971-1992 | Transport; 1 Avia-built example acquired in 1971 |
| Trainers | |||
| Designation | Total | In Service | Role/Info |
| Nanchang CJ-6 | 20 | 1962- | Trainer; 4 in active service, with a further five planned for overhaul and return to service |
| Yakovlev Yak-11 'Moose' | 4 | 1952-1963 | Trainer |
| Yakovlev Yak-18 'Max' | 4 | 1952-1962 | Trainer |
| Yakovlev Yak-18A 'Max' | 18 | 1953-1962 | Trainer; delivered by the USSR in 1953 and 1959 |
| Other | |||
| Designation | Total | In Service | Role/Info |
| Lohner Type H | 0 | (ord. 1914) | Flying boat; 3 were ordered in 1914 as the first aircraft for Albania's planned air corps, but the aircraft were never delivered. |
| Polikarpov Po-2 | 4 | 1951-1964 | Obsolete fighter supplied by USSR for crop-spraying |
| Helicopters | |||
| Designation | Total | In Service | Role/Info |
| Aerospatiale SA-316C Alouette III | 4 | 1999- | Transport helicopter |
| Agusta-Bell AB.205A-1 | (7) | 2004- | Transport helicopter; 3 received in 2004, with a further 4 ordered for delivery through 2006 |
| Agusta-Bell AB.206C-1 | 7 | 2002- | Transport helicopter |
| Bell 222UT | 1 | 1991- | Transport helicopter |
| Eurocopter AS.350 Ecureuil | 4 | 1986- | Transport helicopter; 1 crashed and 3 remain in active service |
| Eurocopter BO-105 | (12) | (est. 2007) | Light utility helicopter; 12 surplus German aircraft to be delivered in 2006 |
| Harbin Z-5 'Hound' | 37 | 1967-2003? | Transport helicopter; acquired from 1967-1971, mostly copies of the Mi-4A, but including six Mi-4S VIP models; 3 remain in reserve. |
| Mil Mi-1 'Hare' | 3 | 1957-1960 | Transport helicopter; served into the 1960s |
| Mil Mi-4A 'Hound' | 7 | 1957-2003? | Transport helicopter; 7 delivered by the USSR in 1957-1958; Chinese-produced Harbin Z-5 models also used |
| Mil Mi-8T 'Hip-C' | 1 | 1996- | Transport helicopter |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
Viroli, Elio Aviacioni Ushtarak Ahquipetare, Panorama Difesa magazine, June 1992 pag 38-44.
It was stated there that at the time there were around 20 MiG-15s, some MiG-17s, dozens MiG-19s, 15 J-7s, one Il-28, around 20 Mi-4s. All them were taken in excellent conditions, as photos displayed. Another article in Aeronautica& Difesa magazine, in 1999, stated this as well, and also that over 80% of the delivered aircraft were still in strength. 1992 Air force strength was around 8,000 men.
