Aviazione dell'Esercito

Aviazione dell'Esercito
Lineup	May 10, 1951
Country	Italy
Type	Type of service of the army
insignia
Italian military aircraft cockade; (regular)
Execution of the cockade when used with camouflage colors
Collar tab and emblem of the army aviators

The Aviazione dell'Esercito (AVES) is the air force of the Italian army . The airborne units and units of the AVES are mainly equipped with military helicopters that enable airmobile operations and otherwise take on various support tasks.

history

From 1923 onwards, the air forces of the army and navy were largely taken over by the newly established Italian Air Force ( Regia Aeronautica ) , which laid claim to all flying military units. The army and navy were allowed to maintain their own specialized air force to a very limited extent until 1931, when they were subordinated to Air Force generals and from 1937 fully integrated into the Regia Aeronautica . The flying units and units for the direct support of the army and navy formed their own "auxiliary air forces" (Aviazione Ausiliaria per l'Esercito / per la Marina) , which were an integral part of the air force, but operationally assigned to the two other branches of the armed forces. This concept did not prove itself in World War II .

The formation of the Army Aviation Force, which still exists today, began at the Artillery School in Bracciano . There you presented on 10 May 1951 the newly established airfield Bracciano Monte dell'Oro with propeller aircraft first flying unit that the artillery for observation and fire control served next took over connecting and transport tasks. In the following year the unit became an aeronautical training center, at which from 1954 new army aviation units were set up to support various large units . On June 1, 1957, the Bracciano training center moved to the nearby Viterbo military airfield , from where the expansion was carried out in the following years, now also with helicopters. In 1963 and 1976, the army aviation was subjected to structural reforms, with which the three corps of the field army in northern Italy were each subordinated to a mixed army aviation association at regimental level . Another association of this type remained in Viterbo. Smaller associations and units were usually subordinate to the territorial commands in central and southern Italy.

From 1951 onwards, Army aviators received 302 Piper PA-18s (65 L-18C, then 237 L-21A / B), followed by 44 Cessna L-19s . Based on the L-19, the SIAI-Marchetti SM.1019 was created in Italy , of which 81 copies were procured for the army. These propeller planes were retired in the 1990s.

When it came to helicopters, the army relied on license builds from Agusta for many years . The first model was the Agusta-Bell AB 47 , which was in use from 1956 to 1984. It was followed as a light multi-purpose helicopter by the AB 206 , of which a total of 150 copies were procured from 1969. From 1977 29 Agusta A109s were gradually added, which were also used as combat helicopters and were forerunners of the 60 Agusta A129 combat helicopters put into service from 1990 .

A total of 48 AB 204s were used as multi-purpose helicopters from 1961 to 1995 , followed by 115 AB 205 from 1966 . These helicopters were supplemented from 1983 by 19 AB 212s , which, in contrast to the AB 205, are equipped with two turbines, and from 1987 by 24 AB 412s which have a four-blade main rotor in addition to the two turbines. To replace the remaining AB 205, 212 and 412, Italy participated in the international NH90 project , from which 60 machines are being procured.

From 1973 the Army Aviators put 38 heavy CH-47C Chinooks into service in Viterbo . They were also built under license in Italy and later either decommissioned or modernized.

At the end of the 1980s the Italian army aviators were structured as follows:

Higher-level command	Army Aviation Association / Unit	Military airfield	equipment
Army General Staff, Rome	1º Raggruppamento Antares 11º Gruppo Squadroni Ercole 12º Gruppo Squadroni Gru 51º Gruppo Squadroni Leone training centre	Viterbo Viterbo Viterbo Viterbo Viterbo	30 CH-47C (cadre) 12 AB412 various
III. Corps, Milan	3º Raggruppamento Aldebaran 23º Gruppo Squadroni Eridano 46º Gruppo Squadroni Sagittario 53º Gruppo Squadroni Cassiopea	Milan-Bresso Bresso ( Vercelli ) Vercelli Bresso ( Padua )	18 AB206 6 AB206, 6 AB205 12 AB205
IV Corps, Bolzano	4º Raggruppamento Altair 24º Gruppo Squadroni Orione 34º Gruppo Squadroni Toro 44º Gruppo Squadroni Fenice 54º Gruppo Squadroni Cefeo	Bolzano Bolzano Venaria Reale ( Pollein ) Belluno Bolzano	6 AB206, 6 SM.1019 6 AB206, 6 AB205 6 AB206, 6 AB205 18 AB205
V Corps, Vittorio Veneto	5º Raggruppamento Rigel 25º Gruppo Squadroni Cigno 47º Gruppo Squadroni Levrieri 48º Gruppo Squadroni Pavone 49º Gruppo Squadroni Capricorno 55º Gruppo Squadroni Dragone	Casarsa della Delizia Casarsa della Delizia Treviso Campoformido Casarsa della Delizia Casarsa (Vittorio Veneto)	18 AB206 6 AB205, 6 A109 6 AB205, 6 A109 6 AB205, 6 A109 18 AB205
Paratrooper Brigade Folgore	26º Gruppo Squadroni Giove	Pisa	6 AB206, 6 AB205
Tuscany-Emilia military region	27º Gruppo Squadroni Mercurio	Florence	6 AB206, 6 SM.1019
Military region center	28º Gruppo Squadroni Tucano	Rome Urbe	6 AB206, 6 SM.1019
Military Region South	20º Gruppo Squadroni Andromeda	Salerno-Pontecagnano	6 AB206, 6 AB212 , 6 SM.1019
Military region of Sicily	30º Gruppo Squadroni Pegaso	Catania-Fontanarossa	6 AB206, 6 AB212, 6 SM.1019
Sardinia military region	21º Gruppo Squadroni Orsa Maggiore	Cagliari-Elmas	6 AB206, 6 AB205, 6 SM.1019

In addition to the above-mentioned associations, there were four technical and logistical support regiments : 1. Idra in Bracciano, 2. Orione in Bologna , 3. Aquila in Bergamo and 4. Scorpione in Viterbo. The special units included the following separate helicopter units: 13º Gruppo Acquisizione Obiettivi Aquileia ( Verona-Boscomantico ) of the 3rd Aquileia Missile Brigade and 39º Gruppo Squadroni Drago in Alghero in Sardinia to support units of the SISMI military intelligence service near Capo Marrargiu .

During the Cold War , the Italian army aviators carried the designation "Light Army Air Force" or Aviazone Leggera dell'Esercito , ALE for short. At that time, the associations at regimental level were still called Raggruppamento (dt. About "grouping" or "departmental association"), the subordinate associations at battalion level are called Gruppo Squadroni ( department ), the units at company level Squadrone ( squadron ). It should be noted that a squadrone usually has six aircraft and thus swarm strength and thus corresponds to the group squadroni, which is actually battalion-equivalent, of a German squadron. The associations and units of the Italian army aviators have usually been named after constellations since 1975 .

The army reforms of the 1990s brought a number of changes to army aviation. First of all, in 1993 they were also linguistically upgraded, as the attribute “light” (Army Aviation Troop ) was omitted and the new name Aviazione dell'Esercito was obtained, the acronym AVES fittingly means “birds” in Latin. In the course of further reforms, the Army Aviators were added in 1999 under the new name Cavalleria dell'Aria ("Air Cavalry") to the cavalry class , which was considered to be sensible from a military-historical point of view, but proved to be of little use and was reversed in 2003. The Raggruppamenti were also given the designation "Regiment". The 3rd regiment in Milan was disbanded in 1996 due to the downsizing of the army, but the 2nd AVES Regiment Sirio was set up in Lamezia Terme in Calabria , which took over the command of all army aviation units in southern Italy. At the same time, the new 7th AVES Regiment Vega was established in Rimini , which also received the A129 after the 5th regiment in Casarsa. These two regiments joined the new Friuli airmobile brigade in 2001 .

The Italian army pilots have taken part in numerous missions abroad over the years, especially in Lebanon (since 1978, UNIFIL ), in Somalia , in Mozambique , in the former Yugoslavia , in Iraq and in Afghanistan .

organization

AB212 in old paint

A Dornier Do-228 of the Italian Army Aviation

AB205 on an advanced base near Toblach

CH-47C + of the 1st AVES regiment in Viterbo

A129 in combat support configuration

New NH90 for the Falzarego 2011 exercise

Army aviators at a parade in Rome

Army General Staff (Rome)

Land Forces Command ( Rome )

Army Aviation Command ( Viterbo )

3rd AVES Regiment Aldebaran (REOS) ( Viterbo )

26º Gruppo Squadroni Giove (Viterbo) (CH-47F, AB412, NH90)

Army Aviation Training Center (Viterbo)

1º Gruppo Squadroni Auriga (Viterbo) (AB206, AB205, AB212, A109, A129 , NH90 )
Training unit

Army Aviation Brigade (Viterbo)

1st AVES Regiment Antares (Viterbo)

11º Gruppo Squadroni Ercole (Viterbo) (CH-47C / F)
28º Gruppo Squadroni Tucano (Viterbo, Pratica di Mare ) ( Thu-228 , P.180 )

2nd AVES Regiment Sirio ( Lamezia Terme )

21º Distaccamento permanente Orsa Maggiore ( Cagliari-Elmas ) (AB412)
30º Gruppo Squadroni Pegaso (Lamezia) (AB412, AB212)

4th AVES Regiment Altair ( Bolzano )

34º Distaccamento permanente Toro ( Venaria Reale ) (AB205)
54º Gruppo Squadroni Cefeo (Bolzano) (AB205)

Army Aviation Support Brigade (Viterbo) (logistics, aircraft maintenance ; each with its own small flying unit)

1st AVES Support Regiment Idra (for older models, Bracciano )
2nd AVES Support Regiment Orione (for NH90, Bologna )
3rd AVES Support Regiment Aquila (for A129, Bergamo )
4. AVES support department Scorpione (for CH-47F, Viterbo)

Divisional Command Vittorio Veneto ( Florence )

Friuli AirMobile Brigade (Bologna)

5th AVES Regiment Rigel ( Casarsa della Delizia )

27º Gruppo Squadroni Mercurio (Casarsa) (NH90)
49º Gruppo Squadroni Capricornio (Casarsa) (A129)

7th AVES Regiment Vega ( Rimini-Miramare )

25º Gruppo Squadroni Cigno (Rimini) (NH90)
48º Gruppo Squadroni Pavone (Rimini) (A129)

Due to the ongoing decommissioning of older helicopters (AB206, AB205, AB212, AB412, CH-47C) and the introduction of new models (AW169, NH90, ICH-47F), more detailed information on the helicopters of the individual units is not given here (as of 2020).

equipment

As of the end of 2010

helicopter

13 Agusta A109EOA / EC , light multipurpose helicopter

50 Agusta A129CBT Mangusta , attack helicopter

63 AgustaBell AB-205 , transport helicopter (in retirement)

57 AgustaBell AB-206A2 / C1 , transport helicopter (A2 sold or given away, C1 being withdrawn)

35 AgustaBell AB-212/412 , transport helicopter

23 Boeing CH-47C Chinook , medium-weight transport helicopter (16 CH-47Fs ordered as replacements)

6 NHI NH90 , tactical transport helicopter (53 more ordered)
Planes
- 3 Dornier Do-228
- 3 Piaggio P. 180

The soldiers of the Army Aviation Troops can be recognized by their blue berets .

Web links

Commons : Aviazione dell'Esercito - collection of images, videos and audio files

Official website
Presentation on elicotteriweb.it
National Army Aviation Association
Historical outline of the army aviators: La nostra storia - Nascita e vita, in breve, dell'ANAE. In: anaesardegna.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015 (Italian).
Helicopter database on helis.com

Remarks

↑ The first flying unit was set up in 1951, due to the lack of a clear legal situation, still with aircraft with civilian registration and livery. The founding date of May 10, 1953, which is often given, takes into account the change in military status, but does not coincide with the establishment in Bracciano, nor with the spin-off from the artillery and the renaming to Aviazione Leggera dell'Esercito on December 31, 1959. The army pilots celebrate its foundation on May 10th every year ( esercito.difesa.it ( Memento of July 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive )).

↑ The basic aviation training for helicopter pilots of all branches of the armed forces takes place at the Italian Air Force at the Frosinone military airfield (some of the army pilots receive basic training at the Army Aviation School in Fort Rucker in Alabama ). At the Army Aviation Training Center in Viterbo, retraining takes place on the respective operational model.

↑ The 3rd Regiment existed from 1976 to 1986 only on paper, the "subordinate" units were actually independent. From 1986 to 1993 there was an Army Aviation Command of III. Corps. The 3rd Army Aviation Regiment was not established until 1993 and was disbanded in 1996. Nevertheless, the army aviators of III. Corps known as “3º Raggruppamento ALE Aldebaran ”. The 3rd regiment was re-established in November 2014.

^ Shelter until 1986 of the Centauro armored division of III. Corps. 1986 the division level was abolished, the army aviation units of the divisions came to the corps.
^ Shelter until 1986 of the mechanized Folgore Division of the V Corps. In 1986 the division level was abolished and the Army Aviation Unit of this division was dissolved.
^ Shelter until 1986 of the mechanized division Mantova of the V Corps. 1986 the division level was abolished, the army aviation units of the divisions came to the corps.
^ Shelter until 1986 of the Ariete Armored Division of the V Corps. 1986 the division level was abolished, the army aviation units of the divisions came to the corps.
↑ The Italian term Gruppo (for Air Force and Navy) or Gruppo Squadroni (Army) is generally translated as Staffel or English Squadron , which is correct in substance because flying groups in Italy in all branches of the armed forces usually have 12 to 18 aircraft. In fact, gruppi are battalion-level associations , usually led by a lieutenant colonel . The reason for this is that you don't want to group up to 18 aircraft in units at company level (squadron). Reference is often made to artillery , where in almost all armies in the world six guns can form a battery (equivalent to a squadron or company) and three batteries can form a battalion (or division).
↑ Italian military aircraft have a uniform military aircraft registration number across the armed forces , which begins with the abbreviation MM, which stands for Matricola Militare or military register . This is followed by a number that the aircraft usually keep during their entire service life. The individual armed forces add their own identifiers. In the Air Force, these are based on the squadron and can therefore change. In the army, on the other hand, the identifiers are based on the aircraft type. They begin with the abbreviation EI (for " Esercito Italiano ", "Italian Army"), followed by a three-digit number. The following number ranges were assigned: 201 to 248 AB 204 (out of service), NH90; 249 to 354 AB 205 (in retirement), partly NH90; 401 to 419 AB 212; 451 to 474 AB 412; 500 and 600 AB 206; 800 to 839 CH-47C (including 2 test machines); 851 to 879 A 109; 901 to 965 A 129 (including 5 prototypes).

↑ REOS, Reggimento Elicotteri per Operazioni Speciali , supports special forces based on the model of the US American Night Stalkers . Existed from 1976 to 1998 as the 3rd Army Aviation Regiment in Milan-Bresso ; Reactivated in 2014 on the basis of the 26º Gruppo Squadroni Giove in Viterbo. Has been subordinate to the Army Aviation Command in Viterbo since 2019, but is operationally assigned to the Special Forces Command.

↑ The blue berets with a different emblem are also worn by soldiers of the 66th Trieste Infantry Regiment of the Friuli airmobile brigade .

[1] The first flying unit was set up in 1951, due to the lack of a clear legal situation, still with aircraft with civilian registration and livery. The founding date of May 10, 1953, which is often given, takes into account the change in military status, but does not coincide with the establishment in Bracciano, nor with the spin-off from the artillery and the renaming to Aviazione Leggera dell'Esercito on December 31, 1959. The army pilots celebrate its foundation on May 10th every year ( esercito.difesa.it ( Memento of July 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive )).

[2] The basic aviation training for helicopter pilots of all branches of the armed forces takes place at the Italian Air Force at the Frosinone military airfield (some of the army pilots receive basic training at the Army Aviation School in Fort Rucker in Alabama ). At the Army Aviation Training Center in Viterbo, retraining takes place on the respective operational model.

[3] The 3rd Regiment existed from 1976 to 1986 only on paper, the "subordinate" units were actually independent. From 1986 to 1993 there was an Army Aviation Command of III. Corps. The 3rd Army Aviation Regiment was not established until 1993 and was disbanded in 1996. Nevertheless, the army aviators of III. Corps known as “3º Raggruppamento ALE Aldebaran ”. The 3rd regiment was re-established in November 2014.