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IRANIAN AIR FORCE HISTORY
Up to 1920 (1299)
there was no use of air power in the armed forces of Iran. By then Reza Pahlavi
became commander in chief of the Armed Forces, and realized the importance of
air power in future conflicts.
In 1921 (1300) the Iranian ambassador in Washington DC requested to purchase
aircrafts from the U.S. The U.S. officials denied the Iranian request based on
the disarmament treaty of World War I. Therefore Iran had to turn to European
countries, such as France, Germany and Russia.
The first country to acknowledge Iran's request was Germany, which agreed to
sell some JUNKERS aircraft ( JU-F13).
Since there were no provisions in the budget for purchase of aircrafts, Reza
Shah Pahlavi (At this time Shah of Iran) asked the Iranian people to raise
needed funds to purchase these aircraft.
Following this request, the people of Gilan and Mazandaran province raised the
funds to purchase 2 Junkers F-13 from Germany. The contract was signed, the
aircrafts were delivered, and these 2 aircraft were called "Gilan" and "Mazandaran".
Following Germany, the Russia agreed to sell DeHavilland aircraft to Iran. Iran
purchased DH-4 and DH-9 (built in Russia, called R-1 and R-5). These aircraft
were delivered in 1923 (1302).
At the same time France and Russia also agreed to sell aircraft to Iran so Reza
Shah purchased Avro-504, from Russia (the Russians called it AVROSHKA). From France Iran also purchased Spad-42, Potez-8, Breguet -14, and Breguet-19.
All these Aircrafts were delivered between 1924 (1303) and 1925 (1304). On 25 Feb 1925 (5 Esfand-1304) the first Iranian pilot Colonel
Ahmad Khan Nakhjavan, who was trained in France with only 200 Hours of flight
experience, flew a Breguet-19 with the Iranian Flag and Insignia on it from
France to Iran's Ghale-Morghi Airport. Thus on this date the first Iranian Air
Force Aircraft piloted by an Iranian Pilot crossed international borders and
entered the Iranian Airspace.
Up to this date the Iranian pilots were being trained in Iran by a German
Instructor pilot by the name of Schefer.
Purchasing the aircraft was the easy part. Training the pilots to fly them, the
ground crew to maintain and repair them, and building the airports were the
hardest parts and required time. Also during this period, the Air Force was
changed from a small office in the Army to a separate department and was called
Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF). Colonel Ahmad Khan Nakhjavan became the first
Air Force Commander.
In 1924 (1303) the first group of student pilots and Mechanics were sent to
Russia and France for training. Later In 1929 (1308) Iranian Air Force had a
total of 15 pilots of which 6 had graduated from Easter flying school (France)
and 9 from Sebastopol flying school (Russia). At this time the IIAF had 33 total
aircraft from 9 different models.
During the next 15 Years (up to World War II) over 300 Aircrafts of 18 different
models and from 4 Countries were in the IIAF Service. The 8 air bases built at
this time included pilot training and instructor pilot schools plus a
maintenance training school. An Aircraft factory "Shahbaz" was also established
and would build 3 different types of aircraft.
In 1941 (3 Shahrivar-1320) in the heat of World War II, Iranian neutrality was
broken and Iran was attacked from air and sea by Britain in the South, and
Russia in the North.
The young Iranian Air Force, which had just begun to build its foundation, was
in no condition to withstand such a heavy attack. The Allied forces of Britain
and Russia took control of 2 Iranian air bases; the British took MehrAbad Air
Base and the Russians took over Ghale Morghi Air Base.
The invaders closed Shahbaz factory, the pilot training school, the maintenance
school, and six air bases. Personnel were dismissed from service and most of the
aircraft were dismantled.
The young Air Force was reduced to almost nothing!!!…
Reza Shah, The founder and the driving force behind the Air Force, was forced to
resign and his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, became the Shah Of Iran.
When the war ended the British left Iran, but the Russians refused to leave and
were in control of Northern Iran. In 1946 (25-Mehr-1325) Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
finished his pilot training and became an Air Force Fighter Pilot. Three Months
later the Army and Air Force, under direct command of the Shah, forced the Red
Russians and their puppet Government out of Iran (21-Azar-1325).
The Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) was the most
powerful force in the Middle East until the fall of the Shah. The strategic
position of Iran did not go unnoticed by the USA, which began to supply large
numbers of aircraft to Iran from the early 1960s. The oil in the south of Iran
provided the money to fuel the expanding ambition of the Shah. In 1957 the air
force received its first jet fighter, the F-84G Thunder jet. From 1965 onwards
F-5 Freedom Fighters were supplied followed by the F-4 Phantom II in 1968. By
1970 Iran was the most powerful country in the region militarily. The
willingness of the US to supply it's top of the range military hardware, such as
the F-14A Tomcat and AIM-54 Phoenix showed the close relationship between the
two countries. The 1979 Islamic revolution changed the situation in the country
overnight and altered the balance of power in the region. No longer was Iran
loyal to the US, but openly hostile. The US and most of the western countries
placed an arms embargo over Iran. American assistance ceased and the Air Force
suffered as pro-Shah officers were removed, resulting in very low
service-ability levels. Due to the seizure of spare parts delivery, the
operational status of the western equipment deteriorated quickly (despite the US
delivered equipment during the Iran gate scandal under the Ronald Reagan/George
Bush Administration). The Air Force was renamed to the Islamic Republic of Iran
Air Force (IRIAF). Iraq saw it's chance to gain large tracks of Iranian
Territory and launched an attack on Iran on 22nd September 1980, starting the
first Gulf War more commonly called the Iran-Iraq War. The war ended after
eight years. Although very little covered in the western media the war was a
human tragedy on a massive scale. The conflict began with an Iraqi air attack on
six Iranian air bases and four Iranian army barracks, followed by a land
offensive deep into the country at four points along a 435-mile (700km) front.
This first Iraqi air attack failed due to rigid and inflexible mission planning,
lack of sufficient target intelligence and the use of unsuitable General Purpose
(GP) bombs. One F-4E was destroyed by having its nose section cut off in a
strafing run on the ramp at the Mehrabad airport, and another F-4 base, Hamedan, also suffered some damage.
The first Iranian air attack into Iraq saw the successful bombing of Al-Shoibiya
naval base, near the port city of Um-Al Qassr, by four F-4s from Bushehr AB,
using 1,000lb (450kg) bombs. Among the targets were several anti-shipping
missile batteries. This Iranian retaliation was so swift that Iraqi air defense
positions had been caught by surprise right across the flight route. The next
day, up to 140 Iranian fighter-bombers, including significant numbers of F-4s
from Bushehr, Tehran and Hamedan, attacked a number of Iraqi air bases and
military installations with almost total impunity.
These first days of the war saw other air strikes against such targets as the
military installations of the Um-Al-Quasar. On one such mission a two-ship
formation of F-4Es, each armed with six 750lb (340kg) GP bombs, attacked Iraqi
port installations and anchored missile boats. Some 20 minutes later, an RF-4E
took reconnaissance photos of the aftermath, which showed that heavy damage had
been inflicted on ships and harbor installations.
The general tactic for during such missions was to approach the target from
different directions and then execute a pop-up and dive attack. On the return
flight, one of the Phantoms was hit by a SAM missile on the right wing, damaging
some of its systems and control surfaces; despite this, the aircraft was still
flyable. However, the fuel indicators did not work and the right wing caught
fire. The runways of the nearest base were still damaged from the first day's
bombing, so the crippled Phantom had to land on the unaffected part at a higher
than normal speed. The tires burst and the aircraft ran off the end of the
runway, after the crew had already ejected. Later, the aircraft's wing was
replaced, the first time such work had been undertaken in Iran, and it was
returned to combat service.
The first months of the war saw the Iranian Air Force making concentrated
efforts to halt the Iraqi ground advance, often directly engaging tank and
vehicle columns, sometimes at altitudes as low as 10-13f. (3-4m). Iraqi MiG-21
and MiG-23 fighters were used as top cover to protect their military columns
heading toward Iran, and as a result there were many air-to-air encounters -
with mixed results.
The Iran-Iraq war
resulted in a huge boost of the indigenous arms industry and through local
production of arms and spare parts, the Iranian Armed Forces kept its assets
airworthy. After the February 1979 revolution the only western deliveries were
35 Pilatus PC-7, 15 PC-6 Porters and 15 Brazilian-built EMB312 Tucano trainers.
These deliveries took place between 1983 and 1990. The main non-western
suppliers of aircraft and support have undoubtedly been China with their
deliveries of F-6 (MiG-19), F-7M (MiG-21)and Y-12 Transports and Russia with the
MiG-29, MiG 31, An-74, Su-24MK (some ex Iraq AF) and Il-76TDs (some ex Iraq AF).
Mid 1991, during the 2nd Gulf War a lot of Iraq Air Force pilot fled to their
neighboring country Iran, supplying the IRIAF with a large number of aircraft
including Mirage F1BQ/EQ (which now forms at least one squadron at Mashhad),
Su-24MK Fencer-Ds, MiG-29 Fulcrums, Su-20s, Su-22M Fitters, Su-25 Frogfoots,
MiG-23s in several configurations and a number of Il-76s.
Sources: Imperial Iranian Air Force: http://www.iiaf.net
Dutch Aviation Society: http://www.scramble.nl
Air Combat Information Group: http://www.acig.org
