Imperial Iranian Air Force

The history of the Iranian Air Force can be divided into two phases — before the Islamic Revolution, and after it.

The Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) was a branch of the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces and was established by Reza Shah, the Shah of Iran, in 1920. It became operational with its first fully trained pilots on February 25, 1925. Iran's first attempt to procure aircraft from the United States in the 1920s failed due to Washington's refusal to supply equipment because of a World War I treaty. Until World War II, the IIAF's aircraft inventory consisted entirely of European aircraft, mainly British and German. However, following a co-ordinated British and Soviet invasion of Iran during World War II in retaliation for Reza Shah's declaration of neutrality, the IIAF's bases were occupied by the Allies and all existing IIAF aircraft were either destroyed or dismantled by the invading Soviets and British. A few Iranian planes did manage to get airborne during the invasion and engaged the Royal Air Force in unsuccessful dogfights.

A roughly 1946 order of battle for the Air Force can be found in Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. Two regiments were both reported to be based near Tehran. After World War II, the IIAF began to slowly rebuild its inventory, with aircraft mainly supplied by the United States and Great Britain. A national, aerobatic display team was formed in 1958. Called "Golden Crown", and a part of the IIAF, this lasted until 1978. In the 1960s, the IIAF acquired 90 Canadair Sabre fighters from the RCAF, but they were flipped over to the Pakistan Air Force.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the air force was used as part of a joint, aerial espionage programme of Iran and the United States, against the former-Soviet Union. This was in two parts, known as Project Dark Gene and Project Ibex.

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