Albanian Air Force
| Albanian Air Force Forca Ajrore |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Active | 1928–present |
| Country |
 Albania
|
| Allegiance | Republic of Albania |
| Type | Air Force |
| Size | 3,100 personnel |
| Part of | Albanian Armed Forces |
| Equipment | 39 (helicopters) aircraft |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Brigadier General Dhori Spirollari |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Helicopter |
AS532 Cougar, EC145, BO-105 AW109, Bell 205, Bell 206 |
The Albanian Air Force (Albanian: Forca Ajrore e Republikës së Shqipërisë) is the national Air Force of the Albanian military. The headquarters is located in Tirana and operates two airbases, Kuçovë Air Base and Tirana Air Base.
Military aviation started in Albania in 1914, when the Albanian government 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 restart 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 was formed under the direction of the Royal Albanian Army.
The Royal Air Force, and the rest of Albanian armed forces, were abolished following the Italian invasion of Albania during the Second World War.
On 24 April 1951, Following the end of the Second World War, Albania re-established its air force.
An academy was founded in Vlorë in 1962.
Albania cut diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union in 1962, leading to a shift to China for the supply of necessary parts to maintain its MiGs.
After World War II, the Albanian Air Force finally came into existence when Albania was equipped with Soviet aircraft. The first squadron was equipped with Yakovlev Yak-9s. The first jet fighter to enter service was the MiG-15, dating officially the 15th of May 1955, followed by the MiG-17. Some of the MiG-15s were Soviet fighters used and then withdrawn from the North Korean Air Force. The backbone of the Albanian Air Force jet fighters became MiG-19 (NATO code "Farmer"). 12 MiG-19PM were delivered by the USSR in October 1959 and on the same year pilots and specialists were sent in USSR to train with the all-weather interceptor MiG-19 PM. 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 Soviet-made MiG-19PM (NATO code "Farmer-E") fighters equipped for beam-riding missiles, 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, eight had problems with lack of batteries in the early 1980s.
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Wikipedia