List of air forces
This alphabetically arranged list of air forces identifies the current and historical names and roundels for the military aviation arms of countries fielding an air component, whether an independent air force, a naval air arm, army aviation unit, or coast guard. At the end is a separate list of no longer extant nations that once operated air forces. Country names in italics indicate that they are not generally recognized internationally as independent states but which nonetheless managed to field an active air service. For information on the size of air forces, see list of countries by size of armed forces.
A[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Afghanistan |
 |
Afghan Air Force[1] دافغانستان هوايۍ ځواک |
2010 | |
|
Afghan National Army Air Force[2] |
 |
2002-2010 | ||
|
Air and Air Defense Force of the Islamic State of Afghanistan (Northern Alliance)[3] |
|
1996-2001 | ||
|
Army Air Force of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban)[4] |
|
1996-2001 | ||
|
Air and Air Defense Force of the Islamic State of Afghanistan[5] |
 |
1992-1996 | ||
|
Afghan Republican Air Force |
.svg){kind=small} |
1983-1992 | ||
|
Afghan Army Air Force[6] |
 |
1980-1983 | ||
|
Afghan Republican Air Force |
.svg){kind=small} |
1973-1979 | ||
|
1948-1973 | |||
|
Afghan Air Force |
.svg){kind=small} |
1937-1947 | ||
.svg){kind=small} |
1924[7]-1929 | |||
 Albania |
 |
Albanian Air Brigade | 2006 | |
|
Albanian Air Force |
|
1991-2006 | ||
|
|
 |
1960-1990 | ||
|
|
 |
1958-1960 | ||
|
Albanian People's Army Air Force |
 |
1947-1991 | ||
|
1914-1939 | |||
 Algeria |
 |
Algerian Air Force Adwas Ujenna Adzayri ⴰⴷⵡⴰⵙ ⵓⵊⴻⵏⵏⴰ ⴰⴷⵣⴰⵢⵔⵉ القوة الجوية الجزائرية Al-quwwa al-jawwiyya al-jazaeriyya |
1962 | |
|
Algerian National Navy, Aviation | |||
|
Gendarmerie Nationale (Algeria), Aviation Service | |||
 Angola |
 |
National Air Force of Angola Força Aérea Nacional de Angola |
2007 | |
|
Angolan People's Air Force & Anti-Aircraft Defence |
|
1980-2007 | ||
|
|
 |
1976-1980 | ||
|
Angolan Navy aviation | |||
 Argentina |
 |
Argentine Air Force Fuerza Aérea Argentina |
1945 | |
|
No. 164 Squadron RAF - Argentine volunteer unit of the RAF. |
 |
1942-1946 | ||
|
Army Aeronautical Service |
|
1912-1945 | ||
 |
Argentine Naval Aviation Comando de Aviación Naval Argentina |
1919 | ||
|
|
.svg){kind=small} |
|||
|
Argentine Army Aviation Comando de Aviación del Ejército Argentino |
1956[8] | ||
 |
Coast Guard Air Service Servicio de Aviación de la Prefectura Naval Argentina |
1970s | ||
|
Border Guard Air Service Dirección de Aeronáutica de Gendarmería [1] |
1955 | ||
 Armenia |
 |
Armenian Air Force Հայաստանի Ռազմաօդային Ուժեր |
1992 | |
 Australia |
 |
Royal Australian Air Force | 1921 | |
|
|
|
1945-1956 | ||
|
|
.svg){kind=small} |
1942-1945 | ||
|
Australian squadrons of the RAF. Nos. 450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460, 461, 462, 463, 464, 466, 467 |
.svg){kind=small} |
1941-1946 | ||
 |
1921-1942 | |||
|
1921 | |||
|
1916-1919 | |||
|
1912-1921 | |||
 |
Fleet Air Arm (RAN) of the Royal Australian Navy | 1947 | ||
 |
Australian Army Aviation | 1968 | ||
|
1966 | |||
|
No. 16 Army Light Aircraft Squadron |
|
1960 | ||
 Austria |
 |
Austrian Air Force Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte |
1955 | |
|
Luftwaffen Kommando Österreich |
 |
1938-1945 | ||
|
Austrian Air Force |
|
1928-1938 | ||
|
Heimwehr, Flying Corps |
|
1927-1928 | ||
 Azerbaijan |
 |
Azerbaijani Air and Air Defence Force Azərbaycan hərbi hava qüvvələri |
1991 | |
|
Azerbaijan Navy aviation | |||
B[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Bahamas |
 |
Royal Bahamas Defence Force Air Wing | 1981 | |
 Bahrain |
 |
Royal Bahraini Air Force | 2002 | |
|
1987-2002 | |||
|
1977-1987 | |||
|
Royal Bahrain Naval Force, Aviation | |||
|
Public Security Forces | |||
 Bangladesh(formerly East Pakistan) |
 |
Bangladesh Air Force বাংলাদেশ বিমান বাহিনী Bangladesh Biman Bahini |
1971 | |
|
Mukti Bahini Air Wing |
|
1971 | ||
|
Bangladesh Navy, Aviation | |||
|
Bangladesh Army Aviation Group | 1978 | ||
|
Bangladesh Coast Guard, Aviation Service | |||
 Barbados |
 |
Barbados Defence Force | 1981[9] | |
 Belarus |
 |
Belarusian Air Force | post 1995 | |
.svg){kind=small} |
1991-1995 | |||
|
DOSAAF (Belarus) - Paramilitary sporting organisation. | 1991- | ||
 Belgium |
 |
COMOPSAIR[10] Luchtcomponent, Composante Air |
2002 | |
|
Belgische Luchtmacht, Force Aerienne Belge |
|
1946-2001 | ||
|
1941-1946 | |||
|
Militair Vliegwezen, Aviation Militaire |
|
1915-1940 | ||
|
Compagnie des Ouvries et Aérostiers |
|
1910-1915 | ||
|
Belgian Navy, Naval Flight | 1962-2002 | ||
|
Belgian Army, Light Aviation Group | 1954-2002 | ||
|
Gendarmerie (Belgium), Air Support Unit | -2001 | ||
 Belize(formerly British Honduras) |
 |
Belize Defence Force Air Wing | 1983 | |
 Benin(formerly Dahomery) |
 |
Benin Air Force Force Aérienne Populaire de Benin |
1990 | |
|
People's Republic of Benin air force |
 |
1975-1990 | ||
|
Dahomey Air Force |
|
1961-1975 | ||
 Bhutan |
 |
Royal Bhutan Army air arm | 1972 | |
 Bolivia |
 |
Bolivian Air Force Fuerza Aérea Boliviana |
1944 | |
|
Bolivian Military Aviation Corps |
|
1923-1944 | ||
|
Bolivian Navy, Naval Aviation | |||
|
Bolivian Army, Aviation | |||
 Bosnia and Herzegovina |
 |
Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ваздухопловство и ПВО Zrakoplovstvo i PZO |
2007 | |
|
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Air Force |
.svg){kind=small} |
1996-2006 | ||
|
Republika Srpska Air Force |
 |
1992-2006 | ||
|
Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Air Force |
.svg){kind=small} |
1992-1996 | ||
 Botswana(formerly Bechuanaland) |
 |
Botswana Defence Force Air Wing | 1977 | |
 Brazil |
 |
Brazilian Air Force Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB) |
1941 | |
|
(Roundel used during World War II) |
 |
1941-1945 | ||
|
National Air Forces |
|
1941 | ||
|
Military Aviation Service |
|
1918-1941 | ||
|
Brazilian Army Balloon Corps |
|
1908 | ||
 |
Brazilian Naval Aviation Força Aeronaval |
1952 | ||
|
Naval Aviation Service |
|
1922-1941 | ||
|
Naval Aviation School |
|
1916-1922 | ||
 |
Brazilian Army Aviation Command Comando de Aviação do Exército Brasileiro |
1986 | ||
|
Military Police (Brazil) aviation | |||
 Brunei |
 |
Royal Brunei Air Force Angkatan Tentera Udara Diraja Brunei |
1991 | |
|
1984-1991 | |||
|
1965-1984 | |||
 Bulgaria |
 |
Bulgarian Air Force Български Военновъздушни Сили Balgarski Voennovazdushni Sili (BVVS) |
1992 | |
|
Bulgarian Air Defense and Air Force |
 |
1961-1992 | ||
|
Bulgarian Military Air Force |
|
1952-1961 | ||
|
Bulgarian Military Air Force |
|
1949-1952 | ||
|
Air Army |
 |
1945-1949 | ||
|
|
 |
1941-1944 | ||
|
Royal Bulgarian Air Force[11] |
 |
1937-1941 | ||
|
Department of Aeronautics under Ministry of Railways, Posts and Telegraphs |
|
1924-1937 | ||
|
Section of Aeronautics under Ministry of Railways, Posts and Telegraphs[12] |
|
1920-1924 | ||
|
Gendarmery Aeroplane Detachment |
|
1919-1920 | ||
|
Aeroplane Group |
|
1918-1919 | ||
|
Army Aviation Corps[13] |
 |
1915-1918 | ||
|
Aeronautical Battalion |
|
1914-1915 | ||
|
Aeronautical Detachment[14] |
|
1906-1914 | ||
|
Bulgarian Naval Aviation Aviatsia Na Bulgarskiya Voennomorski Flot (AnBVMF) |
1992 | ||
|
Independent ASW Squadron of the Navy |
|
1959-1990 | ||
|
Bulgarian Naval Aviation |
|
1915-1918 | ||
 Burkina Faso(formerly Upper Volta) |
 |
Burkina Faso Air Force Force Aérienne de Burkina Faso |
1984 | |
|
Upper Volta Air Force |
|
1964-1984 | ||
 Burundi(formerly Ruanda-Urundi) |
 |
Burundi Army Aviation Force Armée du Burundi |
1966 | |
C[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Cambodia(formerly Kampuchea) |
 |
Royal Cambodian Air Force Toap Akas Khemarak Phoumin Force Aérienne Royale Cambodge |
1993 | |
 |
1989-1993 | |||
 |
1979-1989[15] | |||
 |
1977-1979[16] | |||
|
Khmer Air Force |
 |
1970-1975 | ||
|
Royal Khmer Air Force |
|
1954-1970 | ||
 Cameroon |
 |
Cameroon Air Force Armée de l'Air du Cameroun |
1960 | |
|
Cameroon Naval Aviation Aviation Navale Camerounaise |
2009 | ||
|
Cameroon Army Light Aviation Aviation Légère (ALDA) |
2008 | ||
 Canada |
 |
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) ("Aviation royale canadienne" ) | 2011 | |
|
Canadian Forces Air Command (AIRCOM) |
|
1968-2011 | ||
.svg){kind=small} |
1924-1968 | |||
|
Canadian squadrons of the RAF. Nos. 400-443 and 664-666 squadrons |
|
1941-1946 | ||
 |
1920-1924 | |||
|
1919-1923 | |||
|
1918-1920 | |||
|
1918-1920 | |||
|
1917-1919 | |||
|
1914-1915 | |||
|
Royal Canadian Navy Fleet Air Arm | |||
|
|
 |
1952-1968 | ||
|
|
 |
1946-1952 | ||
|
1918-1919 | |||
|
Canadian Army, Aviation | 1947-1968 | ||
|
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Aviation Service | 1932 | ||
|
Canadian Coast Guard, Aviation | |||
 Cape Verde |
 |
Cape Verde Air Force Força Aérea Caboverdiana |
1982 | |
|
Cape Verde Coast Guard Guarda Costeira de Cabo Verde |
1992[17] | ||
 Central African Republic(formerly the Central African Empire) |
 |
Central African Republic Air Force Force Aérienne Centrafricaine |
1976- | |
|
Central African Empire Air Force |
|
1976-1979 | ||
|
1961-1976 | |||
 Chad |
 |
Chadian Air Force Force Aérienne Tchadienne |
1973 | |
 Chile |
 |
Chilean Air Force Fuerza Aérea de Chile (FACh)[18] |
1930 | |
|
Chilean Military Aviation Service |
|
1910-1930 | ||
 |
Chilean Naval Aviation Servicio de Aviación de la Armada de Chile (popularly, Aviación Naval) |
1953 | ||
|
Chilean Naval Aviation Service |
|
1919-1930[19] | ||
|
Chilean Army Aviation Comando de Aviación del Ejército de Chile (popularly, Aviación del Ejército) |
1970[20] | ||
 |
Carabineros de Chile, Aviation Service | 1960 | ||
 China (PRC) |
 |
People's Liberation Army Air Force 中国人民解放军空军 Zhongguo Renmin Jiefangjun Kongjun |
1949 | |
|
|
 |
1946-1949 | ||
|
|
 |
1946-1949 | ||
|
Nanyuan Flying Group |
|
1949 | ||
|
Red Army of China Air Force |
 |
c. 1930[22] | ||
|
People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force 中国人民解放军海军航空兵 Zhongguo Renmin Jiefangjun Haijun Hangkongbing |
1953 | ||
|
People's Liberation Army Ground Force Aviation 中国人民解放军陆军航空兵 |
???? | ||
|
China Coast Guard, Aviation | |||
|
China Marine Surveillance, Aviation | |||
|
China Maritime Safety Administration | |||
 Colombia |
 |
Colombian Air Force Fuerza Aérea Colombiana |
1922 | |
 |
Colombian Naval Aviation Aviación Naval |
1935 | ||
|
Colombian National Army Aviation Aviación del Ejército |
1995 | ||
 Congo[23] |
 |
Congolese Air Force L'Armée de l'Air du Congo |
||
|
People’s Republic of Congo Air Force |
 |
1970-1992 | ||
|
Congolese Air Force |
|
1961-1970 | ||
 Dem. Rep. of the Congo(formerly Zaire)[24] |
 |
Air Force of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Force Aérienne du Congo |
||
 |
1971-1997 | |||
 Costa Rica |
 |
Air Surveillance Service Servicio de Vigilancia Aérea (SVA) – Fuerza Pública |
1994 | |
|
Air Section of the Costa Rica Ministry of Public Security |
|
1964-1994 | ||
|
Air Section of the Costa Rica Civil Guard |
|
1957-1964 | ||
|
Costa Rican Air Force |
|
1955-1957 | ||
|
Costa Rican Military Air Force |
 |
1947/48-1949[25] | ||
 Côte d'Ivoire(Ivory Coast) |
 |
Côte d'Ivoire Air Force Force Aérienne de la Côte d'Ivoire |
c. 1965 | |
 Croatia |
 |
Croatian Air Force and Air Defense Hrvatsko ratno zrakoplovstvo i protuzračna obrana |
1991 | |
|
Croatian Air Force Legion |
 |
1941-1945 | ||
|
Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia |
 |
1941-1945 | ||
 Cuba |
 |
Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force[27] Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria |
1959 | |
|
Cuban Rebel Air Force[28] |
 |
1958 | ||
|
Cuban Army Air Force |
 |
1952-1958 | ||
|
Cuban Army Aviation Corps |
|
1934-1952 | ||
|
Cuban Army Air Corps |
|
1915-1934 | ||
|
Cuban Army Aviation Corps |
|
1913-1915 | ||
|
Cuban Naval Aviation[29] Aviación Naval |
1934-1952 | ||
 Cyprus |
 |
Cyprus Air Forces Διοίκησης Αεροπορίας Κύπρου |
1963 | |
 Czech Republic |
 |
Czech Air Force Vzdušné síly armády České republiky |
1993 | |
D[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Denmark |
 |
Royal Danish Air Force Flyvevåbnet |
1950 | |
|
Royal Danish Army Air Corps |
|
1912-1950 | ||
|
Royal Danish Naval Aviation |
|
1911-1950 | ||
|
Danish Navy Air Squadron[30] Søværnets Helikoptertjeneste |
2003-2010 | ||
|
Royal Danish Navy Flying Service |
|
1962-2003 | ||
|
Royal Danish Army Flying Service[31] Hærens Flyvetjeneste (HFT) |
1971-2003 | ||
 Djibouti(formerly the French Territory of Afars and Issas) |
 |
Djibouti Air Force Force Aérienne du Djibouti |
1977 | |
 Dominican Republic |
 |
Dominican Air Force Fuerza Aérea Dominicana (FAD) |
1962 | |
|
Dominican Military Aviation |
|
1957-1962 | ||
|
Dominican Air Force |
|
1955-1957 | ||
|
Dominican Military Aviation |
|
1952-1955 | ||
|
Dominican Air Force |
|
1950-1952 | ||
|
Dominican Military Aviation Corps (DMAC) |
|
1948-1950 | ||
|
Air Cavalry Squadron Escuadrón de Caballería Aérea (EdCA) |
2002 | ||
|
Air Transport Cavalry Brigade |
|
2001-2002 | ||
|
Aviation Company of the National Army |
|
1942-1948[32] | ||
|
Dominican Army Aviation Company |
|
1939-1942 | ||
|
Aviation Detachment of the National Army |
|
1936-1939 | ||
|
National Air Transport Company, Aviation Arm |
|
1934-1935 | ||
|
Aviation Company |
|
1933-1934 | ||
|
Aviation Arm of the National Army |
|
1932-1933 | ||
|
Dominican Republic Naval Aviation Corps Cuerpo de Aviación Naval Dominicana |
2003 | ||
|
Coastguard Search and Rescue Squadron |
|
1951-1952[33] | ||
|
Dominican Republic National Police aviation | |||
E[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Ecuador |
 |
Ecuadorian Air Force Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana (FAE) |
1944 | |
|
Ecuadorian Army Air Force |
|
1935-1944 | ||
|
Army Military Aviator Corps |
|
1927-1935 | ||
|
Army Aviation Company |
|
1925-1927 | ||
|
Military Aviation School |
|
1920-1925 | ||
 |
Ecuadorian Naval Aviation Aviación Naval Ecuatoriana (ANE) |
1967 | ||
|
Ecuadorian Army Aviation Aviación del Ejército Ecuatoriano (AEE) |
1978 | ||
|
Ecuadorian Army Air Service |
|
1954-1978 | ||
 Egypt |
 |
Egyptian Air Force Al Quwwat Al Jawwiya Il Misriya |
1961 | |
 |
1958-1961[34] | |||
|
Egyptian Air Force |
.svg){kind=small} |
1952-1958 | ||
.svg){kind=small} |
1937-1952 | |||
|
Egyptian Army Air Force |
|
1931-1937 | ||
 El Salvador |
 |
Air Force of El Salvador Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña (FAS) |
1946 | |
|
Salvadoran Army Air Force |
|
1927-1946 | ||
|
Salvadoran Aviation Corps |
|
1925-1927 | ||
|
Salvadoran Air Flotilla |
|
1923-1925 | ||
|
El Salvador Military Aviation Service |
|
1922-1923 | ||
 Equatorial Guinea(formerly Spanish Guinea) |
 |
Equatorial Guinea Air Force | 1979 | |
 Eritrea |
 |
Eritrean Air Force | 1994 | |
 Estonia |
 |
Estonian Air Force Eesti Õhuvägi |
1991 | |
|
1943-1944 | |||
|
1942-1943 | |||
|
Aircraft Squadron of the 22nd Territorial Corps of the Soviet Army |
|
1940-1941 | ||
|
Aviation Regiment |
 |
1920?–1940 | ||
|
Aviation Company |
|
1918-1920? | ||
|
Piirivalvelennusalk Border Guard Flight Squadron (Estonia) |
1993 | ||
 Ethiopia(formerly Abyssinia) |
 |
Ethiopian Air Force Ye Ithopya Ayer Hayl |
1975[37] | |
.svg){kind=small} |
1946-1975 | |||
|
1929-1935 | |||
|
Ethiopian Navy aviation | -1996 | ||
|
Ethiopian Army aviation | |||
F[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Fiji |
|
none | ||
|
1987-1997 | |||
 Finland |
 |
Finnish Air Force Suomen ilmavoimat Finländska flygvapnet |
1928 | |
|
|
 |
1928-1945 | ||
|
Roundel variant on some aircraft |
 |
1943-45 | ||
|
Army Corps of Aviation |
|
1918-1928 | ||
|
Finnish Army Aviation Suomen maavoimat – Helikopteripataljoona Finländska armén – Helikopterbataljonen |
1997 | ||
 |
Finnish Border Guard Rajavartiolaitos Gränsbevakningsväsendet |
1919 | ||
|
Finnish Coast Guard |
|
1919-1944 | ||
 France |
 |
French Air Force Armée de l'Air |
1933 | |
|
Normandie-Niémen squadron |
 |
1942-1945 | ||
|
Free French squadrons of the RAF. Nos. 326, 327, 328, 329 and 340, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346, 347 |
|
1941-1945 | ||
|
Free French Flight of the RAF |
|
1940-1945 | ||
|
Free French Air Force[38][39] |
 |
1940-1945 | ||
|
Vichy French Air Force |
 |
1940-1942 | ||
|
French Air Force |
|
1933-1940 | ||
|
French Army Aviation |
|
1909-1933 | ||
|
1794-1799 | |||
 |
French Naval Aviation Aéronautique navale |
1912 | ||
|
Free French Naval Air Service |
|
1940-1945 | ||
 |
1912-1940 | |||
|
French Army Light Aviation Aviation Légère de l'Armée de Terre |
1954 | ||
|
National Gendarmerie aviation | |||
G[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Gabon |
 |
Gabon Air Force Armée de l'Air Gabonaise |
1961 | |
|
Gabon Army, Aviation | |||
|
Gabon Presidential Guard aviation | 1970s-1990s | ||
 Gambia(formerly part of the Senegambia Confederation) |
 |
Gambian Air Force[40] | c.2003?[41] | |
 Georgia |
 |
Georgian Air Force საქართველოს სამხედრო-საჰაერო ძალები sak’art’velos samxedro-sahaero dzalebi |
1990 | |
|
Democratic Republic of Georgia People's Guard air detachment |
|
1917-1920 | ||
 Germany |
.svg){kind=small} |
German Air Force Luftwaffe |
1955 | |
|
Air Forces of the National People's Army |
.svg){kind=small} |
1956-1990 | ||
|
Volkspolizei-Luft (of the former East Germany) |
|
1950-1956 | ||
|
Condor Legion - German volunteer unit of the Spanish Nationalist Air Force. |
 |
1936-1939 | ||
|
German Air Force |
|
1935-1945 | ||
|
1912-1919 | |||
|
Die Marinefliegerabteilung des deutschen Kaiserreiches |
|
1911-1919 | ||
|
Imperial German Army Air Service |
|
1910-1919 | ||
|
1909-1917 | |||
|
Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik Sport and Technology Association. Paramilitary sport organization of the former East Germany. |
-1990 | ||
|
National Socialist Flyers Corps |
|
1937-1945 | ||
|
The German Air Sports Association |
|
1933-1937 | ||
|
German Naval Aviation Marineflieger |
1955 | ||
|
East German Navy, Naval Air Force |
|
-1990 | ||
|
German Imperial Navy aviation |
|
-1918 | ||
|
German Army Aviation Corps Heeresfliegertruppe |
1955 | ||
|
Bundesgrenzschutz Federal Border Guards, Aviation Service |
1954-2005 | ||
 Ghana(formerly the Gold Coast) |
 |
Ghana Air Force | 1959 | |
 Greece |
|
Hellenic Air Force Πολεμική Αεροπορία Polemikì Aeroporia |
1911 | |
|
1941-1945 | |||
|
1912-1930 | |||
|
1915-1930 | |||
|
Hellenic Army Aviation Αεροπορία Στρατού Aeroporia Stratou |
1947 | ||
|
Hellenic Navy Helicopter Command Διοίκηση Ελικοπτέρων Ναυτικού Dioikisi Elikopteron Naftikou |
1975 | ||
|
Hellenic Coast Guard Λιμενικό Σώμα Limeniko Soma |
1982 | ||
 Guatemala |
 |
Guatemalan Air Force Fuerza Aérea Guatemalteca (FAG) |
1948 | |
|
Military Aeronautical Corps |
 |
1935–1948 | ||
|
Guatemalan Military Aviation Corps |
|
1929–1935 | ||
|
Guatemalan Air Force |
|
1921–1929 | ||
|
Army Aviation Corps |
|
1914–1921 | ||
 Guinea |
 |
Guinea Air Force Force Aérienne de Guinée |
1959 | |
 Guinea-Bissau(formerly Portuguese Guinea) |
 |
Guinea-Bissau Air Force Força Aérea da Guiné-Bissau |
1978 | |
 Guyana(formerly British Guyana) |
 |
Guyana Defence Force | 1968 | |
H[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Haiti |
 |
Haiti Air Corps Corps d'Aviation d'Garde d'Haiti |
1942-1994 | |
|
|
 |
1964-1986 | ||
|
|
|
1942-1964 | ||
 Honduras |
 |
Honduran Air Force Fuerza Aérea Hondureña |
1974 | |
|
Honduran Air Force & Aviation Military School |
|
1938-1974 | ||
|
Aviation Military School |
|
1933-1938 | ||
|
National Aviation School |
|
1931-1933 | ||
 Hungary |
 |
Hungarian Air Force Magyar Légierő |
1991 | |
|
|
.svg){kind=small} |
1990-1991 | ||
|
Air Force of the Hungarian People's Army |
.svg){kind=small} |
1951-1990 | ||
|
|
.svg){kind=small} |
1949-1951 | ||
|
|
.svg){kind=small} |
1948-1949 | ||
|
Royal Hungarian National Defense Air Force |
.svg){kind=small} |
1941-1945 | ||
|
|
|
1938-1941 | ||
.svg){kind=small} |
Red Hungarian Air Corps Vörös Légjárócsapat |
1919 | ||
|
Insignia variant |
_border.svg){kind=small} |
|||
|
Insignia variant |
.svg){kind=small} |
|||
I[edit]
For Ivory Coast, see Côte d'Ivoire above.
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Iceland |
|
Iceland Air Defense System Íslenska Loftvarnarkerfið |
1987 | |
 |
Icelandic Coast Guard Aeronautical Division Landhelgisgæsla Íslands – Flugdeild |
1955 | ||
 India |
 |
Indian Air Force भारतीय वायु सेना Bharatiya Vayu Sena |
1932 | |
 |
1945-1950 | |||
|
1932-1942 | |||
|
Army Aviation Corps | 1986 | ||
|
Indian Naval Air Arm | 1948 | ||
 |
Indian Coast Guard Air Wing Bharatiya Tatarakshak Dal |
1978 | ||
 |
Border Security Force Air Wing | 1965 | ||
 Indonesia(formerly the Dutch East Indies) |
 |
Indonesian Air Force Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU) |
1946 | |
|
Republic of Indonesia Air Force |
|
1946-1974 | ||
|
Republic of Indonesia Air Force |
 |
1946-1949 | ||
 |
Military Aviation of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army | 1939-1950 | ||
|
Dutch East Indies squadrons of the RAAF. Nos. 18, 19, 119 and 120 |
|
1942-1947 | ||
 |
Indonesian Naval Aviation Dinas Penerbangan TNI Angkatan Laut (TNI-AL) |
1974 | ||
|
Indonesian Naval Aviation Service |
|
1956-1974 | ||
 |
Indonesian Army Aviation Dinas Penerbangan TNI Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) |
1974 | ||
|
Indonesian Army Aviation Service |
|
1959-1974 | ||
 Iran(formerly Persia) |
 |
Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force نیروی هوایی ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران |
1979 | |
|
Imperial Iranian Air Force |
|
1925-1979 | ||
|
Islamic Republic of Iran Army Aviation | 1979 | ||
|
Imperial Iranian Army Aviation |
|
1962-1979 | ||
|
Islamic Republic of Iran Navy Aviation | 1979 | ||
|
Imperial Iranian Navy Aviation |
|
-1979 | ||
|
Aerospace Force of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution | |||
|
Iranian Police Aviation of the Law Enforcement Force of Islamic Republic of Iran | 1991 | ||
 Iraq |
 |
Iraqi Air Force[43] Al Quwwa al-Jawwiya al-Iraqiya |
1931 | |
|
Iraqi Air Force |
 |
1958 | ||
|
Royal Iraqi Air Force |
|
1931–1947 | ||
 |
Iraqi Army, Aviation | |||
 Ireland |
 |
Irish Air Corps Aer-Chór na h-Éireann |
1924 | |
|
|
 |
1939-1954 | ||
|
Irish National Army, Air Service |
 |
1922-1924 | ||
|
Irish Coast Guard aviation | |||
 Israel |
 |
Israeli Air Force חיל האוויר Heyl Ha'Avir |
1948 | |
|
Air Service (Haganah) |
|
1947-1948 | ||
|
1943-1947 | |||
 Italy |
 |
Italian Air Force[44] Aeronautica Militare |
1946 | |
|
Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force |
 |
1943-1946 | ||
|
Aviazione Legionaria - Italian volunteer unit of the Spanish National Air Force. |
|
1936-1939 | ||
 |
1943-1945 | |||
|
Royal Italian Air Force |
 |
1935-1943 | ||
|
Royal Italian Air Force |
|
1923-1935 | ||
|
Royal Naval Aviation |
|
1912-1923 | ||
|
Military Air Corps |
|
1911-1923 | ||
|
Royal Army Air Service |
|
1884[49]-1911 | ||
|
Italian Navy Aviation Aviazione Navale |
1956 | ||
|
Italian Army Aviation Cavalleria dell'Aria |
1951 | ||
|
Helicopter Service of the Carabinieri Corps Nucleo Elicotteri Carabinieri |
1965 | ||
|
Guardia di Finanza, Aviation | 1955 | ||
 |
Italian Coast Guard Air Service | 1989 | ||
.svg){kind=small}
J[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Jamaica |
 |
Jamaican Defence Force | 1963 | |
|
1963 | |||
 Japan |
 |
Japan Air Self-Defense Force[50] 航空自衛隊 Kōkū Jieitai |
1954 | |
|
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aviation 海上自衛隊 Kaijō Jieitai |
|||
|
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service[51] |
|
1912-1945 | ||
|
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force 陸上自衛隊 Rikujō Jieitai |
|||
|
Imperial Japanese Army Air Service |
|
1912-1945 | ||
 |
Japan Coast Guard, aviation | |||
 Jordan(formerly Transjordan) |
 |
Royal Jordanian Air Force Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya Almalakiya al-Urduniya |
1955 | |
|
1949-1955 | |||
|
Joint Special Operations Command (Jordan) | |||
K[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Kazakhstan |
 |
Kazakhstan Air Defense Force Sil Vozdushnoy Oborony Respubliki Kazakhstan |
1992 | |
 Kenya |
 |
Kenya Air Force Jeshi la Anga la Kenya |
1964 | |
|
Kenyan Army aviation | |||
|
Kenya Police Air Wing - Paramilitary unit of the Kenyan Police. | |||
 North Korea |
 |
Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force | 1948 | |
 South Korea |
 |
Republic of Korea Air Force[52] 대한민국 공군 (大韓民國空軍) Daehan Minguk Gonggun |
1949 | |
|
|
 |
1950s–2000s | ||
|
Republic of Korea Navy, aviation | |||
|
Republic of Korea Army aviation | 1965 | ||
 |
Korean Coast Guard, aviation | |||
 Kuwait |
 |
Kuwait Air Force Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya |
1988 | |
|
Kuwait Air Force and Air Defense |
|
1961 | ||
 Kyrgyzstan |
 |
Kyrgyzstan Air Force | 1991 | |
L[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Laos |
 |
Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force[53] | 1975 | |
|
Royal Lao Air Force |
 |
1960-1975 | ||
|
Aviation Laotienne |
|
1955-1960 | ||
 Latvia |
 |
Latvian Air Force Latvijas Gaisa Spēki |
1991 | |
|
Luftwaffen-Legion Lettland - Foreign volunteer unit of the Luftwaffe |
 |
March–October 1944 | ||
|
|
 |
1926-1940 | ||
 |
Latvian National Guard | 1991 | ||
|
Guard organization |
|
1919-1940 | ||
|
Latvian State Border Guard Service, aviation | |||
 Lebanon |
 |
Lebanese Air Force Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Lubnania |
1945 | |
 Lesotho(formerly Basutoland) |
 |
Lesotho Defence Force – Air Squadron | c.1988 | |
 Liberia |
 |
Liberian Army Air Wing | 1987 | |
 Libya |
 |
Libyan Air Force Adwas Alibyan Ujenna ⴰⴷⵡⴰⵙ ⴰⵍⵉⴱⵢⴰⵏ ⵓⵊⴻⵏⵏⴰ القوة الجوية الليبية Al-quwwa al-jawwiyya al-libyya |
2011–current date | |
 |
Free Libyan Air Force Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Libiyya al Hurra[citation needed] |
2011 | ||
.svg){kind=small} |
1977-2011 | |||
|
Libyan Arab Republic Air Force |
.svg){kind=small} |
1969-1977 | ||
|
Royal Libyan Air Force |
.svg){kind=small} |
1951-1969 | ||
|
Libyan National Army, Aviation | |||
 Lithuania |
 |
Lithuanian Air Force Karinės Oro Pajėgos |
1992 | |
|
|
 |
1919-1920 | ||
|
Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces, Aviation Unit | 1992 | ||
|
State Border Guard Service (Lithuania), aviation | |||
 Luxembourg |
 |
NATO Airborne Early Warning Force [56] | 1982 | |
|
Luxembourg Army, Aviation | 1952-1968 | ||
M[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Macedonia |
 |
Macedonian Air Force Военно Воздухопловство и Противвоздушна Одбрана Voeno Vozduhoplovstvo i Protivvozdushna Odbrana |
1992 | |
 Madagascar(formerly the Malagasy Republic) |
 |
Malagasy Air Force Tafika Anabakabaka Malagasy Armée de l'Air Malgache |
1961 | |
 Malawi(formerly Nyasaland) |
 |
Malawi Army Air Wing | 1978 | |
|
Malawi Young Pioneers Air Arm[57] |
|
1970-1978 | ||
|
Malawi Police Force Air Wing - Paramilitary unit of the Malawian Police Force | -1990 | ||
 Malaysia(formerly Malaya) |
 |
Royal Malaysian Air Force Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia |
1963 | |
|
|
 |
1963-1982 | ||
|
Royal Malayan Air Force |
|
1958-1963 | ||
|
Malayan Auxiliary Air Force/RAF |
|
1950-1958 | ||
|
Malayan Volunteer Air Force/RAF |
|
1940-1950 | ||
|
Straits Settlement Volunteer Air Force |
|
|||
|
Royal Malaysian Navy, Fleet Air Arm | |||
|
Malaysian Army Aviation Pasukan Udara Tentera Darat |
1994 | ||
|
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Aviation | |||
|
Royal Malaysian Police Air Wing Unit - Armed paramilitary unit of the Royal Malaysian Police. | 1978 | ||
 Maldives |
 |
Air Elements Maldives National Defence Force |
1978 | |
 Mali |
 |
Mali Air Force Force Aérienne de la Republique du Mali |
1961 | |
 Malta |
 |
Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta Skwadra tal-Ajru tal-Forzi Armati ta' Malta |
1992 | |
 Mauritania |
 |
Mauritanian Air Force Force Aérienne de la Republique Islamique de Mauritanie |
1961 | |
 Mauritius |
 |
Mauritius Coast Guard | 1987 | |
|
1970-1987 | |||
 Mexico |
 |
Mexican Air Force Fuerza Aérea Mexicana |
1915 | |
 |
Mexican Naval Aviation Fuerza Aeronaval |
1926[58] | ||
|
Federal Police (Mexico) aviation | |||
|
Maritime Search and Rescue (Mexico) | |||
 Moldova |
 |
Moldovan Air Force[59] | 1991 | |
 Mongolia |
 |
Mongolian Air Force[60] Агаарын Довтолгооноос Хамгаалах Цэргийн Командлал |
1993-presents | |
|
Mongolian People's Army Aviation Монголын Ардын Армийн Нисэх Хүчин |
.svg){kind=small} |
1925-1993 | ||
 Montenegro |
 |
Montenegrin Air Force Vazdušne snage Crne Gore |
2006 | |
 Morocco |
 |
Royal Moroccan Air Forceⴰⴷⵡⴰⵙ ⴰⴳⴻⵍⴷⴰⵏ ⴰⵎⴻⵔⵔⵓⴽⴰⵏ ⵓⵊⴻⵏⵏⴰ القوة الجوية الملكية المغربية Al-quwwa al-jawwiya al-malikiyya al-maghribiyya (Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine) |
1961 | |
|
Sherifan Royal Aviation |
|
1956-1961 | ||
|
Royal Moroccan Navy, Aviation | |||
|
Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie | 1962 | ||
 Mozambique |
 |
Mozambique Air Force Força Aérea de Moçambique |
c.1976/77? | |
|
People's Liberation Air Force of Mozambique |
|
1975-c.1976/77? | ||
 Myanmar(formerly Burma) |
 |
Myanmar Air Force Tatmdaw Lei |
1947 | |
N[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Namibia(formerly South West Africa) |
 |
Namibian Air Force | 2005 | |
|
1994-2005 | |||
 Nepal |
 |
Nepalese Army Air Service | c.2008 | |
|
1979-c.2007 | |||
|
1965-1979 | |||
 Netherlands |
 |
Royal Netherlands Air Force[61] Koninklijke Luchtmacht |
1953 | |
|
1940-1945 | |||
|
|
 |
1942-c.1945 | ||
|
|
|
1939-1942 | ||
|
|
|
1921-1940 | ||
|
Luchtvaartafdeling |
 |
1914-1921 | ||
|
Dutch Naval Aviation Service Marineluchtvaartdienst |
1917 | ||
|
Dutch squadrons of the British Fleet Air Arm. Nos. 860 and 861 |
|
1943-1947 | ||
|
|
|
1942-c.1945 | ||
|
|
|
1939-1942 | ||
|
|
|
1921-1940 | ||
|
|
|
1917-1921 | ||
|
Netherlands Coastguard aviation | |||
 New Zealand |
 |
Royal New Zealand Air Force[62][63] | 1934 | |
|
New Zealand Squadrons of the RAF. Nos. 75, 485, 486, 487, 488, 489, 490 and The New Zealand Squadron |
 |
1939-1945 | ||
|
1930-1957 | |||
|
1923-1934 | |||
|
New Zealand Army Flying Corps |
|
1913-1923 | ||
 Nicaragua |
 |
Nicaraguan Army Air Force Fuerza Aérea – Ejército de Nicaragua |
1995 | |
|
Nicaraguan Air Force |
|
1990-1995 | ||
|
Sandinista Air Force |
|
1979-1990 | ||
|
Air Force of Nicaragua |
 |
c.1950–1979 | ||
|
Guard Air Force of Nicaragua |
|
c.1947-c.1950 | ||
|
Air Force of the National Guard |
|
1938-c.1947 | ||
|
Air Corps of the National Guard |
|
1936-1938 | ||
|
Military Aviation Corps |
|
1926-1936 | ||
|
National Guard |
|
1920-1926 | ||
 Niger |
 |
National Squadron of Niger Escadrille Nationale du Niger |
2003 | |
|
Niger Air Force |
|
1961-2003? | ||
 Nigeria |
 |
Nigerian Air Force | 1964 | |
|
Nigerian Navy, Air Arm | 1985 | ||
 Norway |
 |
Royal Norwegian Air Force Kongelige Norske Luftforsvaret |
1944 | |
|
Norwegian squadrons of the RAF. Nos. 330, 331, 332, 333 and 334 |
|
1942-1945 | ||
|
Norwegian Army Air Service |
 |
1915-1944 | ||
|
Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service |
|
1916-1944 | ||
O[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Oman(formerly Muscat and Oman) |
 |
Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO)[64] Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Sultanya al-Omanya |
1990 | |
|
Sultan of Oman's Air Force (SOAF) |
 |
1959-1990 | ||
|
Royal Oman Police Air Wing - Paramilitary unit of the Royal Oman Police. | 1974 | ||
P[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Pakistan |
 |
Pakistan Air Force پاک فضائيہ |
1956 | |
|
Royal Pakistan Air Force |
|
1947-1956 | ||
|
Pakistan Army Aviation Corps | 1958 | ||
|
Pakistan Naval Air Arm | 1973 | ||
|
Pakistan Coast Guard, Aviation Service | |||
|
Maritime Security Agency, Aviation Service | |||
|
Pakistan Rangers, Aviation Service | |||
 Panama |
 |
National Air-Sea Service (SENAN) Servicio Nacional Aeronaval |
2008 | |
 Papua New Guinea |
 |
Air Operations Element of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force | 1974 | |
 Paraguay |
 |
Paraguayan Air Force Aeronautica Militar Paraguaya |
1989 | |
|
Paraguayan Naval Aviation Aviación Naval Paraguaya[65][66] |
1980 | ||
 Peru |
 |
Peruvian Air Force Fuerza Aérea del Perú |
1950 | |
|
Peruvian Aeronautical Corps |
|
1936-1950 | ||
|
Peruvian Aviation Corps |
|
1929-1936 | ||
|
Peruvian Naval Aviation Fuerza Aviación Naval |
1980 | ||
|
Aeronaval Service |
|
1963-1980 | ||
|
Peruvian Army, Aviation Aviación del Ejército |
1977 | ||
|
Army Light Aviation Group |
|
1973-1977 | ||
|
Peruvian Coast Guard, Aviation | |||
 Philippines |
 |
Philippine Air Force Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas |
1947 | |
|
1936-1947 | |||
|
Philippine Constabulary Air Corps |
|
1935-1936 | ||
|
Philippine National Guard aviation |
|
1910s-1935 | ||
|
Philippine Navy, Naval Air Group | 1975 | ||
|
Philippine Army, Air Battalion | 1980 | ||
|
Philippine Constabulary, Air Unit | -1991 | ||
|
Philippine Coast Guard, Aviation | |||
 Poland |
 |
Polish Air Force Siły Powietrzne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej |
2004 | |
|
Air and Air Defence Forces |
|
1993-2004 | ||
|
|
.svg){kind=small} |
1990-1993 | ||
|
Air Force |
|
1962-1990 | ||
|
Air Defence Force of Country |
|
1962-1990 | ||
|
Air and Air Defence Forces of Country |
|
1954-1962 | ||
|
Air Force |
|
1947-1954 | ||
|
Air Force of the Polish Army |
|
1945-1947 | ||
|
Air Force of the Polish Army |
|
1943-1945 | ||
|
1943-1944 | |||
|
Polish squadrons of the RAF. Nos. 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309 and 315, 316, 317, 318 and 663 |
|
1940-1947 | ||
|
I/145 Polish Fighter Squadron of the Forces Aerienes Polonaises |
|
1939-1940 | ||
|
Air Force |
 |
1918-1939 | ||
|
Polish Army Aviation Lotnictwo Wojsk Lądowych |
1994 | ||
|
Polish Naval Aviation Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej |
1947 | ||
 |
Aviation of Polish Border Guard Lotnictwo Straży Granicznej |
1990 | ||
 Portugal |
 |
Portuguese Air Force Força Aérea Portuguesa |
1952 | |
|
Military Aeronautics Arm |
|
1924-1952 | ||
|
|
|
1918-1924 | ||
|
Military Aeronautical Service |
 |
1914-1918 | ||
|
Balloon Company |
|
1911-1914 | ||
|
Portuguese Naval Aviation Esquadrilha de Helicópteros da Marinha |
1993 | ||
|
Aeronaval Forces |
|
1952-1957 | ||
|
Navy Air Forces |
|
1931-1952 | ||
|
Naval Aeronautics Service |
|
1918-1931 | ||
|
Navy Aviation Service |
|
1917-1918 | ||
|
Portuguese Army Light Aviation Unit Unidade de Aviacão Ligeira do Exército |
2000 | ||
Q[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Qatar |
 |
Qatar Air Force | 1974 | |
|
Qatar Public Security Forces Air Wing |
|
1968-1974 | ||
R[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Romania |
 |
Romanian Air Force Forţele Aeriene Române |
1989 | |
|
|
|
1985-1989 | ||
|
Air Force of the Socialist Republic of Romania |
.svg){kind=small} |
1965-1985 | ||
|
Forţele Aeriene ale Republicii Populare Române |
|
1964-1965 | ||
|
Forţele Aeriene ale Republicii Populare Romîne |
|
1954-1964 | ||
|
Air Force of the People's Republic of Romania |
|
1947-1954 | ||
|
|
|
1944-1947 | ||
|
Royal Romanian Air Force |
 |
1941-1944 | ||
|
Romanian Royal Aeronautics |
|
1915-1941 | ||
|
Romanian Naval Forces, Aviation | 2008 | ||
 Russia |
 |
Russian Air Force[67] Военно-воздушные cилы России Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily Rossii |
2010 | |
|
|
|
1991-2010 | ||
|
Soviet Air Forces |
|
1945-1991 | ||
|
|
|
1918–1945 | ||
|
Imperial Russian Air Service |
 |
1910-1917 | ||
|
Soviet Air Defence Forces | 1948-1991 | ||
|
Russian Naval Aviation Авиация Военно-Морского Флота Aviatsiya Voyenno-Morskogo Flota |
2010 | ||
|
|
|
1991-2010 | ||
|
1945-1991 | |||
|
|
|
1918–1945 | ||
|
Russian Army Aviation | 1992-2010s | ||
|
Soviet Army Aviation |
|
1970s-1991 | ||
|
Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation | 1992 | ||
|
Soviet Border Troops aviation |
|
-1991 | ||
 |
Coast Guard (Russia) Aviation | |||
|
DOSAAF paramilitary sport organization | |||
 Rwanda(formerly Ruanda-Urundi) |
 |
Rwandan Air Force Force Aérienne Rwandaise |
1972 | |
S[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Saudi Arabia |
 |
Royal Saudi Air Force القوات الجوية الملكية السعودية Al-Quwwāt al-Jawwiyyah al-Malakiyyah as-Suʿūdiyyah |
1926 | |
 |
Royal Saudi Naval Aviation | 1985 | ||
 |
Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation | |||
|
General Security Aviation Command | 1975 | ||
|
Saudi Arabian National Guard, Aviation | 2011 | ||
 Senegal(formerly part of the Senegambia Confederation) |
 |
Senegalese Air Force Armée de l'Air du Sénégal |
1989 | |
|
Senegambia Air Force |
|
1982-1989 | ||
|
1960-1982 | |||
 Serbia |
 |
Serbian Air Force and Air Defence Ваздухопловство Vazduhoplovstvo |
2006[68] | |
|
|
 |
1915-1918[69] | ||
|
|
 |
1913-1915 | ||
|
|
|
1912-1913 | ||
 Seychelles |
 |
Seychelles Air Force (part of the Seychelles People's Defence Force) | ||
|
Seychelles Defence Force Air Wing |
|
1978 | ||
 Sierra Leone |
 |
Sierra Leone Defence Force | 1973 | |
 Singapore |
|
Republic of Singapore Air Force Angkatan Udara Republik Singapura 新加坡空军部队 சிங்கப்பூர் ஆகாயப்படை |
1975 | |
|
Singapore Air Defence Command |
 |
1973-1975 | ||
|
|
 |
1968-73 | ||
 Slovakia |
 |
Slovak Air Force Velitelstvo Vzdušnych Sil |
1993 | |
|
1941-1944 | |||
|
Slovak Air Force |
 |
1939-1945 | ||
.svg){kind=small} |
Slovak Insurgent Air Force Slovenske Povstalecke Letectvo |
August–October 1944 | ||
 Slovenia |
 |
Slovenian Air Force and Air Defence Brigada zračne Obrambe in Letalstva Slovenske Vojske |
2004 | |
|
1995-2004 | |||
|
15th Aviation Brigade of the Slovenian Territorial Defence Force |
 |
1991-1995 | ||
|
Slovenian Air Force upon the break-away from the Habsburg Empire |
|
1918-1919 | ||
 Somalia |
 |
Somali Air Force Ciidamada Cirka Soomaaliyeed[70] |
1960 | |
|
Somali Aeronautical Corps |
|
1954-1968 | ||
 South Africa |
 |
South African Air Force (SAAF) Suid-Afrikaanse Lugmag |
1920 | |
|
|
 |
1982-2003 | ||
|
|
 |
1958-1981 | ||
|
|
 |
1947-1957 | ||
 |
1924-1947 | |||
|
1915-1918 | |||
|
South African Aviation Corps |
 |
1915-1920 | ||
 South Sudan |
|
South Sudan Air Force | 2011 | |
 Spain |
 |
Spanish Air Force (SPAF) Ejército del Aire |
1939 | |
|
Blue Squadron - Foreign volunteer unit of the Luftwaffe. |
|
1941-1943 | ||
|
1936-1939 | |||
|
" |
 |
1937-1939 | ||
|
Spanish Republican Air Force |
 |
1936-1939 | ||
|
Military Aviation |
 |
1931-1936 | ||
|
Military Aviation |
|
1911-1931 | ||
|
Military Aerostatics Service |
|
1896-1911 | ||
|
Spanish Army Airmobile Force Fuerzas Aeromóviles del Ejército de Tierra (FAMET) |
1973 | ||
|
Army Light Air Force |
|
1965-1973 | ||
|
Spanish Navy Air Arm Arma Aérea de la Armada |
1954 | ||
|
Naval Aviation |
|
1931-1936 | ||
|
Naval Aviation |
|
1917-1931 | ||
|
Civil Guard (Spain), Aviation Service | 1973 | ||
|
Military Emergencies Unit, Aviation Service | 2006 | ||
 Sri Lanka(formerly Ceylon) |
 |
Sri Lanka Air Force ශ්රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව Sri Lanka Guwan Hamudawa |
1972 | |
|
Royal Ceylon Air Force |
 |
1951-1972 | ||
 Sudan(formerly the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan) |
 |
Sudanese Air Force القوّات الجوّيّة السودانيّة Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya As-Sudaniya |
1956 | |
 Suriname(formerly Dutch Guyana) |
 |
Suriname Air Force Surinaamse Luchtmacht |
1982 | |
 Swaziland |
|
Swazi Air Force | 1979 | |
 Sweden |
 |
Swedish Air Force Svenska Flygvapnet |
1926 | |
|
|
 |
1937-1940 | ||
|
Flying Regiment 19, Finnish Air Force - Swedish volunteer unit of the Finnish Air Force. |
|
January–March 1940 | ||
|
Swedish Air Force |
 |
1927-1937 | ||
|
Defence Helicopter Wing[72] |
|
1998-2003 | ||
|
Swedish Army Aviation |
|
1954-1998 | ||
|
Aircraft Coy of the Signal Corps |
 |
1912-1926 | ||
|
Swedish Naval Aviation |
|
1958-1998 | ||
|
Naval Air Service |
|
1911-1926 | ||
 |
Coast Guard (Sweden), aviation | |||
 Switzerland |
 |
Swiss Air Force Schweizer Luftwaffe Forces Aériennes Suisses Forze Aeree Svizzere |
1946 | |
|
Independent service under the Swiss Federal Military Department |
 |
1936-1946 | ||
|
Swiss Army Aviation |
|
1914-1936 | ||
 Syria |
|
Syrian Arab Air Force القوات الجوية العربية السورية Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al Arabiya as-Souriya |
1961 | |
|
United Arab Republic Air Force |
|
1958-1961[34] | ||
|
Syrian Air Force |
.svg){kind=small} |
1948-1958 | ||
|
Syrian Navy aviation | |||
T[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Taiwan (ROC) |
 |
Republic of China Air Force 中華民國空軍 Chung-Hua Min-Kuo K'ung-Chün |
1938 | |
|
Nationalist Chinese Air Force (Central Government)[73] |
 |
1925-1938 | ||
|
Chinese Aviation Ministry |
 |
1920-1925? | ||
|
Chinese Aviation Service |
 |
1916?–1919? | ||
|
Chinese Army Air Arm |
|
1914-1916? | ||
|
Airplane Corps of the Chinese Army |
|
1913-1914 | ||
|
Republic of China Army Aviation and Special Forces Command | 1999 | ||
|
Army Paratroops and Special Forces Command |
|
1979-1999 | ||
|
Army Aviation Command[74] |
|
1976-1979 | ||
|
Republic of China Naval Aviation Command | 1995 | ||
|
Naval Anti-Submarine Group |
|
1991-1995 | ||
|
Fleet Helicopter Squadron |
|
1977-1991 | ||
|
Chinese Naval Air Service |
|
1927-1938 | ||
|
Coast Guard Administration (Taiwan), aviation | |||
 Tajikistan |
 |
Tajik Air Force | 2006[75] | |
 Tanzania(formerly Tanganyika) |
 |
Tanzania Air Force Command Jeshi la Anga la Wananchi wa Tanzania |
1965 | |
|
Tanzania Police Air Wing - Paramilitary unit of the Tanzanian Police. | |||
 Thailand(formerly Siam) |
 |
Royal Thai Air Force กองทัพอากาศไทย Kongthap Akat Thai |
1937 | |
|
Former marking |
|
1942-1945[76] | ||
|
Royal Siamese Air Force Division |
|
1935-1937 | ||
|
Royal Siamese Air Division |
|
1921-1935 | ||
|
Siamese Army Aviation Division |
|
1917-1921 | ||
|
Siamese Army Aviation Unit |
 |
1914-1917 | ||
|
Royal Thai Army Air Division กองบินทหารบกไทย Kong Bin Tahan Bok Thai |
1977 | ||
|
Royal Thai Naval Air Division กองการบินทหารเรือไทย Kongkanbin Tahan Ruea Thai |
1921 | ||
|
Border Patrol Police ตำรวจตระเวนชายแดน Tamrod Traven Chaidan |
1951 | ||
 Tonga |
|
Tonga Defence Services | 1939 | |
 Togo |
 |
Togolese Air Force Force Aérienne Togolaise |
1964[77] | |
 Trinidad and Tobago |
 |
Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Air Guard | 1966 | |
 Tunisia |
 |
Tunisian Air Force القوات الجوية التونسية Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya At'Tunisia |
1959[78] | |
 Turkey |
 |
Turkish Air Force Türk Hava Kuvvetleri |
1972 | |
|
former marking |
 |
1944-1972 | ||
|
Turkish Ministry of Defense, |
|
1928-1944 | ||
|
Turkish Air Force Inspectorate |
|
1922-1928 | ||
|
Turkish Air Force General Directorate |
|
1921-1922 | ||
|
Turkish Army Air Service |
|
1920-1921 | ||
|
Land Forces Aviation Command Kara Kuvvetleri Havacılık Komutanlığı |
1948 | ||
|
Naval Forces Aviation Command Deniz Kuvvetleri Havacılık Komutanlığı |
1971 | ||
 |
Coast Guard Aviation Command Sahil Güvenlik Havacılık Komutanlığı |
1993 | ||
|
Gendarmerie Aviation Command Jandarma Havacılık Komutanlığı |
1968 | ||
 Turkmenistan |
 |
Turkmen Air Force | 1992 | |
U[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Uganda |
 |
Ugandan Air Force | 1964 | |
|
Uganda National Police Air Wing - Paramilitary unit of the Ugandan National Police | |||
 Ukraine |
 |
Ukrainian Air Force Військово-Повітряні Сили України Viys'kovo-Povitriani Syly Ukrayiny |
1992 | |
 |
Ukrainian Naval Aviation Авіація Військово-Морських Сил Aviatsiya Viys'kovo-Mors'kykh Syl |
1992 | ||
|
Ukrainian Ground Forces, Aviation | 1992 | ||
|
National Guard of Ukraine, Aviation | 2014 | ||
|
State Border Guard Service of Ukraine | 2003 | ||
 United Arab Emirates |
 |
United Arab Emirates Air Force[79] | 1976[80] | |
|
United Arab Emirates Navy, Aviation | |||
 United Kingdom |
|
Royal Air Force | 1918 | |
|
|
 |
1942-1947 | ||
|
|
 |
1937-1942 | ||
|
1918-1937 | |||
|
|
|
1915-1918 | ||
 |
1912-1915 | |||
|
1911-1912 | |||
|
1888-1911 | |||
|
Fleet Air Arm | 1937 | ||
|
|
|
1942-1947 | ||
|
|
|
1937-1942 | ||
|
Fleet Air Arm of the RAF |
|
1924-1937 | ||
|
1914-1918 | |||
|
Naval Wing of the Royal Flying Corps |
 |
1912-1914 | ||
|
Army Air Corps[82] | 1957 | ||
|
1941-1957 | |||
|
Nos. 651, 652, 653, 654, 655, 657, 658, 659, 660, 661, 662, 663, 664, 665, 666 Air Observation Post squadrons of the RAF |
|
1941-1957 | ||
|
3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron of the Royal Marines | 1968-1995 | ||
|
Her Majesty's Coastguard aviation | |||
 United States |
 |
United States Air Force[83] | 1947 | |
|
|
|
1947– | ||
 |
1941-1947 | |||
|
|
 |
1943 | ||
|
|
 |
1942-1943 | ||
|
|
 |
1941-1942 | ||
|
Flying Tigers, American Volunteer Group of the Republic of China Air Force |
|
1941-1942 | ||
|
Nos 71, 121 and 133 Eagle Squadrons - American volunteer units of the RAF. |
|
1940-1942 | ||
|
Yankee Squadron - American volunteer unit of the Spanish Republican Air Force |
|
1936-1937 | ||
|
1926-1941 | |||
|
Polish 7th Air Escadrille - American volunteer unit of the Polish Air Force |
|
1919-1921 | ||
 |
1918-1926 | |||
|
20–24 May 1918 | |||
|
Lafayette Escadrille - American volunteer unit of the French Army Aviation |
|
1916 | ||
|
1914-1918 | |||
|
1907-1914 | |||
|
1861-1863 | |||
|
United States Army Aviation Branch | 1983 | ||
|
Army Aviation |
|
1947-1983 | ||
|
United States Navy | 1911 | ||
|
|
|
1947– | ||
|
|
|
1943-1947 | ||
|
|
|
1943 | ||
|
|
|
1942-1943 | ||
|
|
|
1919-1942 | ||
|
|
|
1918-1919 | ||
|
|
.svg){kind=small} |
1917-1918 | ||
|
Naval Flying Corps |
 |
1916-1917 | ||
|
United States Marine Corps Aviation[84] | 1912 | ||
|
United States Coast Guard | 1916 | ||
 |
Civil Air Patrol | 1942-1946[85] | ||
 Uruguay |
 |
Uruguayan Air Force Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya |
1953 | |
|
Military Air Force |
|
1952-1953 | ||
|
Uruguayan Military Aviation |
|
1935-1952 | ||
|
Military School of Aeronautics |
|
1916-1935 | ||
|
Military Aviation School |
|
1913-1916 | ||
|
Uruguayan Naval Aviation Aviación Naval Uruguaya |
1951 | ||
|
Naval Air Service |
|
1925-1951 | ||
 Uzbekistan |
 |
Uzbekistan Air and Air Defence Forces | 1992 | |
V[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Venezuela |
 |
Venezuelan Air Force Aviación Militar Bolivariana |
2006[86] | |
|
Venezuelan Military Aviation |
|
2001-2006 | ||
|
Venezuelan Air Force |
|
1946-2001 | ||
|
Army Aeronautical Service |
|
1944-1946 | ||
|
Aviation Regiment N° 1 |
|
1936-1944 | ||
|
Venezuelan Military Aviation School |
|
1920-1936 | ||
|
Venezuelan Army Aviation Servicio Aéreo del Ejército Venezolano |
1970 | ||
|
Venezuelan Naval Aviation Aviación de la Marina Venezolana |
1974 | ||
|
Naval Aviation Centre |
|
1922 | ||
|
National Guard of Venezuela Comando de Apoyo Aéreo de Guardia Nacional |
1999 | ||
 Vietnam |
 |
Vietnam People's Air Force Không Quân Nhân Dân Việt Nam |
1975 | |
|
North Vietnam Democratic Republic Air Force |
|
1955-1975 | ||
|
South Vietnam Air Force |
_roundel.svg){kind=small} |
1955-1975 | ||
|
1941-1945 | |||
|
Vietnam People's Navy, Aviation | |||
|
Vietnam Coast Guard, Aviation | |||
Y[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Yemen |
 |
Yemeni Air Force Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Yemeniya |
1990 | |
|
North Yemen Air Force |
 |
1962-1990 | ||
|
South Yemen Air Force |
 |
1967-1990 | ||
Z[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Zambia(formerly Northern Rhodesia) |
 |
Zambian Air Force | 1968 | |
|
1964-1968 | |||
|
Federation of Rhodesia & Nyasaland Air Force |
 |
1954-1963 | ||
 Zimbabwe(formerly Southern Rhodesia) |
 |
Air Force of Zimbabwe | 1980 | |
|
Zimbabwe-Rhodesian Air Force |
 |
1979-1980 | ||
|
1970-1979 | |||
 |
1963-1970 | |||
|
Federation of Rhodesia & Nyasaland Air Force |
|
1954-1963 | ||
.svg){kind=small} |
1947-1954 | |||
|
1940-1947 | |||
|
1935-1939 | |||
Former countries and movements[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Abu Dhabi |
|
Abu Dhabi Air Force | 1972-1976 | |
|
Abu Dhabi Defence Forces, Air Wing |
|
1968-1972 | ||
 Austria-Hungary |
 |
Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops Kaiserliche und Königliche Luftfahrtruppen Császári és Királyi Légierő |
1912-1919 | |
|
Imperial and Royal Aviation Service |
|
1893-1912 | ||
|
Austro-Hungarian Navy, Naval Air Arm | 1916-1918 | ||
 Biafra |
 |
Biafran Air Force | 1967-1970 | |
 Bophuthatswana |
 |
Bophuthatswana Air Force | 1987–1994 | |
|
Bophuthatswana Defence Force, Air Wing |
|
1981-1987 | ||
| Central African Empire |
|
Central African Empire Air Force | 1976-1979 | |
|
1961-1976 | |||
 Ceylon |
|
Royal Ceylon Air Force | 1951-1972 | |
 Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China |
|
National Government of China Air Force | 1940-1945 | |
 Ciskei |
|
Ciskei Defence Force, Air Wing | 1980–1994 | |
Czechoslovakia / First Czechoslovak Republic / Second Czechoslovak Republic / Slovak Republic (1939-1945) / Third Czechoslovak Republic / Czechoslovak Socialist Republic / Czech and Slovak Federal Republic |
|
Czech and Slovakian Air Force | 1990-1993 | |
|
Czechoslovak Air Force[87] |
|
1945-1990 | ||
|
August–October 1944 | |||
|
Czechoslovakian squadrons of the RAF. Nos. 310, 311, 312 and 313 |
|
1940-1946 | ||
|
1st Czech Fighter Regiment of the Soviet Air Forces |
|
-1945 | ||
|
Czechoslovak Army Air Force |
|
1918-1939 | ||
|
Slovak Air Force (1939-1945) | 1939-1945 | ||
|
1941-1944 | |||
| Dahomey |
|
Dahomey Air Force Force Aérienne de Dahomey |
1961–1975 | |
 Dubai |
|
Dubai Police Air Wing | 1973-1976 | |
|
Union Defence Force, Air Wing |
|
1971–1973 | ||
 Free France |
|
Free French Air Force | 1940-1945 | |
|
Free French Naval Air Service | 1940-1945 | ||
 East Germany |
|
Air Forces of the National People's Army Luftstreitkräfte und Luftverteidigung der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik |
1956-1990 | |
|
Volkspolizei-Luft |
|
1950-1956 | ||
|
Volksmarine, Naval Air Force | -1990 | ||
|
Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik Sport and Technology Association. Paramilitary sport organization. |
-1990 | ||
| Irish Free state / Eire |
|
Irish Air Corps | 1924- | |
|
Irish National Army, Air Service |
|
1922-1924 | ||
 Kingdom of Hejaz /  Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz |
|
Hejaz and Nejd Air Force | 1926–1932 | |
|
Hejaz Air Force |
|
1920s-1926 | ||
|
Hejaz Flying Corps |
|
1920s | ||
| Italian Social Republic |
|
Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana | 1943-1945 | |
 Khmer Republic / Kingdom of Cambodia (1975-76) / Democratic Kampuchea / People's Republic of Kampuchea |
|
Cambodian People's Air Force | 1989-1993 | |
|
1979-1989 | |||
|
Air Force of the Kampuchean liberation Army |
|
1977-1979 | ||
|
1970-1975 | |||
 Katanga |
 |
Katangan Air Force Force Aerienne Katangaise |
1960–1963 | |
| Malagasy Republic |
|
Madagasy Air Force | 1961 | |
 Straits Settlements / Federated Malay States /Unfederated Malay States / Malayan Union / Malaya |
|
Royal Malayan Air Force | 1958-1963 | |
|
Malayan Auxiliary Air Force/RAF |
|
1950–1958 | ||
|
Malayan Volunteer Air Force/RAF |
|
1940-1950 | ||
|
Straits Settlements Volunteer Air Force/RAF |
|
|||
 Manchukuo |
 |
Manchukuo Air Force | 1938-1945 | |
 |
Manchukuo National Airways[88] Manchu Kokuyuso Kabushiki Kaisha |
1931-1945 | ||
 Muscat and Oman |
|
Sultan of Oman's Air Force | 1959-1990 | |
| Dutch East Indies |
|
Military Aviation of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army | 1939-1950 | |
|
Dutch East Indies squadrons of the RAAF. Nos 18, 19, 119 and 120 |
|
1942-1947 | ||
 Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen/ North Yemen |
|
Yemen Arab Republic Air Force | 1962-1990 | |
|
Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen Air Force |
.svg){kind=small} |
-1962 | ||
 North Vietnam |
|
North Vietnam Democratic Republic Air Force | 1955-1975 | |
 Ottoman Empire |
 |
Ottoman Aviation Inspectorate Kuva-yı Havaiye Müfettişliği |
1918-1920 | |
|
Ottoman Aviation Affairs Inspectorate |
|
1915-1918 | ||
|
Ottoman Aviation Organization Inspectorate |
|
1914-1915 | ||
|
Ottoman Aviation Commission |
|
1911-1914 | ||
|
Ottoman Naval Aviation Academy and Service Bahriye Tayyare Mektebi ve Havacılık Şubesi |
1914-1919 | ||
| Pathet Lao |
|
Pathet Lao aviation | 1960-1975 | |
 Imperial state of Persia |
|
Imperial Iranian Air Force | 1925-1979 | |
 Southern Rhodesia / Rhodesia and Nyasaland /  Rhodesia / Zimbabwe Rhodesia |
|
Zimbabwe-Rhodesian Air Force | 1979-1980 | |
|
1970-1979 | |||
|
1963-1970 | |||
|
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Air Force |
|
1954-1963 | ||
|
Southern Rhodesian Air Force |
|
1939-1954 | ||
|
1940-1947 | |||
|
1935-1939 | |||
| Senegambia Confederation |
|
Senegambia Air Force | 1982-1989 | |
 Republika Srpska |
 |
Republika Srpska Air Force 1 Puk Vazduhoplovstva i protivvazdušna odbrana Vojske Republike Srpske |
1992-2006 | |
 Republic of Serbian Krajina |
 |
105th Aviation Brigade of the Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina RV i PVO Vojske Republike Srpske Krajine |
1991-1995 | |
 Sharjah |
|
Sharjah Amir Guard, Air Wing[citation needed] | – | |
| South Lebanon Army |
|
South Lebanon Army aviation | -2000 | |
 Rattanakosin Kingdom of Siam |
|
Royal Siamese Air Division | 1921-1935 | |
|
Siamese Army Aviation Division |
|
1917-1921 | ||
|
Siamese Army Aviation Unit |
|
1914-1917 | ||
 State of Vietnam / South Vietnam |
|
Vietnam Air Force Khong Quan Viet Nam |
1955-1975 | |
|
Vietnam National Army, Air Force |
|
1951-1955 | ||
 Federation of South Arabia / South Yemen |
|
South Yemen Air Force | 1967-1990 | |
|
Federation of South Arabia Air Force |
 |
1967 | ||
Russian Empire / Russian Republic / Russian SFSR / Soviet Union |
|
Soviet Air Forces[89] Военно-воздушные силы |
1930-1991 | |
|
|
|
1945-1991[90] | ||
|
|
|
1930-1945 | ||
|
1937-1941 | |||
|
Workers' and Peasants' Air Fleet |
|
1918-1930 | ||
|
1910-1917 | |||
|
Soviet Air Defence Forces | 1948-1991 | ||
|
Soviet Naval Aviation | 1945-1991 | ||
|
Soviet Army Aviation | 1970s-1991 | ||
|
Soviet Border Troops aviation | -1991 | ||
|
DOSAAF paramilitary sport organisation | |||
 Tamil Eelam |
|
Air Tigers of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam | 1998-2009 | |
 Transkei |
|
Transkei Defence Force, Air Wing | 1986–1994 | |
 United Arab Republic |
|
United Arab Republic Air Force | 1958-1961 | |
|
Egyptian Air Force |
|
1952-1958 | ||
|
Syrian Air Force |
|
1948-1958 | ||
 Upper Volta |
|
Upper Volta Air Force | 1964–1984 | |
 Venda |
|
Venda Defence Force, Air Wing | 1983–1994 | |
| Vichy France |
|
Vichy French Air Force | 1940-1942 | |
| West Germany |
|
German Air Force Luftwaffe |
1955 | |
|
German Naval Aviation Marineflieger |
1955 | ||
|
German Army Aviation Corps Heeresfliegertruppe |
1955 | ||
|
Bundesgrenzschutz Federal Border Guards, Aviation Service |
1954-2005 | ||
| West Ukrainian People's Republic |
|
Ukrainian Galician Army, Air Corps | 1918-1920 | |
 Kingdom of Serbia / State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs / Kingdom of Yugoslavia / Independent State of Croatia / SFR Yugoslavia / FR Yugoslavia |
 |
Air Force of Serbia and Montenegro Ратно ваздухопловство и противваздушна одбрана Војске Србије и Црне Горе Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdushna odbrana Vojske Srbije i Tsrne Gore |
2003-2006[91] | |
|
FR Yugoslavia Air Force |
|
1992-2003 | ||
|
SFR Yugoslav Air Force[92] |
 |
1945-1991 | ||
|
1944-1945 | |||
|
Yugoslav Partisans Air Force |
|
1941-1945 | ||
|
Royal Yugoslav Air Force |
 |
1929-1941 | ||
|
Yugoslav Royal Army Aviation Department |
 |
1918-1929 | ||
|
Serbian Military Air Service |
|
1912-1918 | ||
|
Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia | 1941-1945 | ||
|
Croatian Air Force Legion - Foreign volunteer unit of the Luftwaffe |
|
1941-1945 | ||
|
Royal Yugoslav Navy, Naval Air Service | -1941 | ||
 Belgian Congo / Republic of Congo (Léopoldville) / Democratic Republic of the Congo / Zaire |
|
Zaire Air Force Force Aerienne Zairoies |
1971-1997 | |
|
Congolese Air Force |
|
1960-1971 | ||
|
Force Publique Aviation |
|
1944-1960 | ||
Other[edit]
| Country | Established | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Indigenous nameCurrentFormer |
||||
 Abkhazia |
 |
Abkhazian Air Force | 2008 | |
|
|
 |
1992– | ||
| Dutch Caribbean |
|
Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard aviation | ||
 Hong Kong |
 |
People's Liberation Army Air Force – People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison | 1997 | |
|
1951-1993 | |||
|
1949-1951 | |||
|
|
|
1930-1949 | ||
 Iraqi Kurdistan |
|
Peshmerga aviation | ||
 Nagorno-Karabakh |
|
Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army Air Force | 1990s | |
 Novorossiya |
|
United Armed Forces of Novorossiya aviation | 2014 | |
 Palestine |
|
Force 14 is the military air wing of Fatah, the largest faction of the PLO. | 1968/1969- | |
 Puntland |
|
Puntland Maritime Police Force aviation | 2011 | |
 South Ossetia |
|
South Ossetian Air Corps | 1990s | |
 Sovereign Military Order of Malta |
 |
Military Corps of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta | 1947-1950s | |
 Transnistria |
 |
Transnistrian Air Force | 1991 | |
 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus |
|
Military of Northern Cyprus | 1974 | |
See also[edit]
- Lists of military aircraft by nation
- List of militaries by country
- List of armies by country
- List of navies
Notes[edit]
- ^ Leese, Capt. Robert. "Afghan National Army Air Corps now Afghan National Army Air Force". US Air Force, 14 June 2010. Archived 11 February 2011 at WebCite
- ^ Operations resumed in 2002, but the new name may not have been applied until the after the 2003 defense reforms were promulgated.
- ^ As they continued the fight against the Taliban, the Mujahideen leaders individually retained the trappings of elements of the Islamic State of Afghanistan. Most of the country's military aircraft not captured by the Taliban were retained by factions remaining aligned with former President Burhanuddin Rabbani. These groups would later form the 'United Islamic Front', which is more commonly known as the 'Northern Alliance'.
- ^ Little is known about the Taliban regime's air force establishment.
- ^ The pro-Soviet regime collapsed in late April 1992 and was succeeded by the UN-sponsored government, the "Islamic State of Afghanistan", led by Burhanuddin Rabbani until overthrown by the Taliban in September 1996.
- ^ Soviet Union-installed regime.
- ^ Official establishment occurred in 1924, but the AMAA received its first aircraft in 1921 (aside from some captured in 1919).
- ^ As in most cases, Argentina's air arms began as an Army formation. Following a period of service unification, the Army Aviation Command was reformed on 27 November 1956, but did not gain independence from the Air Force until 3 November 1959.
- ^ Date first aircraft obtained; the Barbados Defence Force itself was established in 1979.
- ^ Preceded by RAF Squadrons 349 and 350 (1942–1946).
- ^ The indicated roundel was introduced in 1937 – according to Иван Бориславов и Румен Кирилов, "Самолетите на България", част втора, София, 1996, стр. 246–253 (in Bulgarian; in English: Ivan Borislavov and Rumen Kirilov, "The Airplanes of Bulgaria", part two, Sofia, 1996, pages 246–253).
- ^ After the First World War in accordance with the Treaty of Neuilly Bulgaria lost the right to own military air force and because of this from 1920 to 1937 its air force operated as a part of the Bulgarian civil administration – according to Иван Бориславов и Румен Кирилов, "Самолетите на България", част първа, София, 1996, стр. 62–81 (in Bulgarian; in English: Ivan Borislavov and Rumen Kirilov, "The Airplanes of Bulgaria", part one, Sofia, 1996, pages 62–81).
- ^ The indicated version of the German Cross was slightly modified and introduced in 1915 as most widespread Bulgarian aviation sign during the First World War along with the less employed St. Andrew's Cross – according to Иван Бориславов и Румен Кирилов, "Самолетите на България", част втора, София, 1996, стр. 246–253 (in Bulgarian; in English: Ivan Borislavov and Rumen Kirilov, "The Airplanes of Bulgaria", part two, Sofia, 1996, pages 246–253).
- ^ Initially operated balloons. In 1912 Bulgaria received its first airplane Bleriot XXI, with which on 13 August 1912 Simeon Petrov flew to become the first Bulgarian to pilot an airplane over Bulgaria.
- ^ The KPAF's name was changed to "Cambodian People's Air Force" in 1989, following the restoration of the nation's former name of Cambodia. In 1992, the PKAF was briefly resurrected as the "State of Cambodia Air Force", but it never actually became operational under that title.
- ^ The Vietnamese invasion of 1979 resulted in the forcible disbandment of the AFKLA; formation of a successor force did not begin until 1984.
- ^ The Cape Verde Coast Guard received its first aircraft in November 1992; its actual date of formation is unknown at this time.
- ^ The Fuerza Aérea de Chile was briefly named Fuerza Aérea Nacional in 1930.
- ^ The year 1919, when its first aircraft were received, is the traditional establishment date of Chile's Aviación Naval (the name by which it is still popularly referred); however, it was not officially established and recognized as a branch within the Navy until 1923.
- ^ When Chile's unified national air force was dissolved in 1953, the Army did not regain an air arm of its own. Disappointment with this outcome led to the founding of the Club Aéreo del Personal del Ejército (Army Personnel Aero Club) in 1959. Although never formally established as an air arm, it nevertheless served as an important and foundational predecessor to the modern CAEC.
- ^ The NFG was formed in the summer of 1949 for the air defense of Beijing, but was replaced by the PLAAF in November of that year.
- ^ On 28 February 1930, the Red Army captured a Nationalist Chinese O2U-4 Corsair reconnaissance aircraft that had been forced to land due to having run out of fuel; given a red star and named after Lenin, it was later used against the Nationalist government. This may have been the first aircraft in the Red Army. Small numbers of captured aircraft were also used against the Japanese during World War II, but the first regular Communist Chinese air force would be organized as the Nanyuan Flying Group in 1949.
- ^ Also known as Congo-Brazzaville.
- ^ Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as Congo-Kinshasa.
- ^ Although Costa Rica established its air force in 1947, it did not begin flying operations until 1948.
- ^ The Kroatische Luftwaffen Legion was a World War II German Luftwaffe unit formed from Croatian volunteers on 2 June 1941, and had a fighter and a bomber squadron. The fighter squadron was designated 15.(Kroatische)/JG 52, and served on the Eastern Front from 6 October 1941 until July 1944. The bomber squadron was designated 15.(Kroatische)/KG 53, and served on the Eastern Front from 25 October 1941 until December 1942.
- ^ Full formal name is the Cuban Air Defense and Revolutionary Air Force (Defensa Anti-Aérea y Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria).
- ^ Established by Fidel Castro in 1958, but operations with a captured Aviación Naval aircraft began the previous year.
- ^ Split off from the Cuban air force in 1934, but remerged in 1952 reorganization.
- ^ 2011 placed under the Air Force as Squadron 723.
- ^ 2003 placed under the air force as Squadron 724.
- ^ In early 1948, Army aviation became an independent and separate service as the Dominican Military Aviation Corps (DMAC) El Cuerpo de Aviación Militar Dominicana (CAMD/AMD). The Army regained an air arm of its own in 2001.
- ^ At the beginning of 1951, the Navy was authorized to establish its own aviation arm, but it was absorbed into the Air Force the following year. The Navy regained an air arm of its own in 2003.
- ^ a b From 1958–1961, the Egyptian and Syrian air forces were unified as the United Arab Republic Air Force.
- ^ In 1943, 'Sonderstaffel Buschmann' was redesignated Aufklärungsgruppe 127 (AGr 127) and became a regular unit of the German Luftwaffe. On 18 October 1943, AGr 127 was divided into two units, See-Aufklärungsgruppe 127 and Nachtschlachtgruppe 11
- ^ 'Sonderstaffel Buschmann' was a German Luftwaffe auxiliary unit for coastal patrol. It was formed on 12 February 1942.
- ^ The Ethiopian Air Force effectively ceased to exist in 1991, following the victory of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) in the civil war; it was reestablished in 1995.
- ^ Also used the ordinary French roundel:
with the Cross of Lorraine as a fin flash. - ^ Also used a variant of the ordinary French roundel with bars like the USAAF insignia:
- ^ The national flag is used as a fin flash.
- ^ The Gambia formed the nucleus of an air force in 2002 and sent personnel to the Ukraine for a four-year pilot training course. The Gambia bought its first aircraft, a single Su-25 from Georgia in the first half of 2003. However, by 2007, the government had yet to announce its air force's formal establishment.
- ^ http://indianairforce.nic.in/
- ^ A new Iraqi AF roundel is sometimes reported, but has yet to be confirmed, or seen on any aircraft:
- ^ Also uses a low-visibility roundel:
- ^ Flank roundel:
- ^ Conglomerate of the Aviazione della Regia Marina and Corpo Aeronautico Militare. Tailfin insignia (click to enlarge):
, flank roundel (click to enlarge): 
- ^ Tailfin insignia (click to enlarge):
- ^ Tailfin insignia (click to enlarge):
- ^ (Italian) Baldassare Catalanotto, Hugo Pratt, In un cielo lontano : 70 anni di aeronautica militare. Lizard editore, 1993. ISBN 88-86456-01-8
- ^ Patterned on the US Air Force.
- ^ Also used the Imperial Japanese Navy's ensign:
- ^ Former ROKAF roundel – used until the 2000s (click to enlarge):
- ^ For some time LPLAAF also used this roundel (clik to enlarge):
(www.acig.org) - ^ Pathet Lao insurgents operated their own small air arm from 1960–1975; it became part of the LPLAAF.
- ^ Following a failed attempt at a coup d'état, the Kong Le rebel faction also briefly operated a small air arm from 1960–1963, when it was re-incorporated into the RLAF.
- ^ Luxembourg has no air force of its own, but NATO-owned aircraft are operated under Luxembourg registration.
- ^ The Malawi Young Pioneers (MYP) was a paramilitary adjunct of the League of Malawi Youth activist organization of the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP). Established in 1963, the first militarily trained cadres appeared in 1964, and the MYP obtained aircraft beginning in 1970.
- ^ Although founded in 1926, aircraft were not supplied until the following year.
- ^ On the flanks are used also the national flag, it seems to be used also this roundel:
- ^ The yellow variant of the soyombo roundel is also reported:
. - ^ Preceded by RAAF squadrons 18, 119 and 120 (1942–1946) and RAF squadrons 320, 321 and 322 (1940–1945).
- ^ Includes Royal New Zealand Navy aircraft as No. 6 Squadron and formerly No. 6 Squadron.
- ^ Also included RAF squadrons 75 and 485–490 during World War II.
- ^ There is also the alternate version:
- ^ Paraguayan Air Arms
- ^ Paraguay Naval Aviation
- ^ A new tricolour star has been reported since 2007 on several planes and helicopters: militaryphotos.net, airliners.net:
- ^ The Serbian-Montenegrin union of Yugoslavia was dissolved in 2006 and the former nation's military assets were divided between them.
- ^ After World War I, Serbia was united with other Balkan states into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
- ^ Finflash (click to enlarge):
- ^ Some units customize their roundels, painting in white inside, their own symbol or motto.
- ^ Merged with Swedish Air Force 2003
- ^ Information on the organization of Chinese military aviation prior to 1925, when the Kuomintang began establishing its Aviation Bureaus around China, is very spotty as many records have been lost during the conflicts raging from 1931–1949 and the subsequent Cultural Revolution; in fact, during most of these earlier years, China fielded multiple air forces, most being the personal air arms of various warlords — some allied with the national government and some not. During World War II (which began for the Chinese with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931), the Japanese established a number of puppet governments, several of which were permitted to field small air forces.
- ^ Although a formal aviation arm was not stood up until 1979, the ROC Army created an Aviation Section for each of its two corps and an Aviation Platoon for its General Headquarters in 1956.
- ^ Russia provided Tajikistan with several helicopters in 1993 and began to organize an indigenous air force by no later than 1994; however, most sources express doubts as to its operational effectiveness.
- ^ http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?158607-Japanese-use-of-Type-45-Siamese-Mauser
- ^ Although some aircraft were obtained after independence in 1960 and further aircraft were supplied by France in 1963, the air force was not formally established until 1964.
- ^ However, Tunisia's first aircraft were not obtained until 1960.
- ^ Includes the Dubai Defence Force Air Wing (formed 1971); Abu Dhabi Army Air Wing (formed 1968); and Abu Dhabi Air Force (formed 1972).[citation needed]
- ^ Official date of integration of the several emirate air arms, but actual integration took many years.
- ^ a b RNAS and RFC merged to form RAF
- ^ a b Formerly part of the Royal Air Force.
- ^ Also uses a low-visibility roundel:
- ^ Previous roundels as per US Navy
- ^ De-militarized in 1946
- ^ Aviación Militar Bolivariana – Paladín del Espacio Soberano
- ^ Preceded and supported by RAF squadrons 310–313 (1940–1946) and the Soviet Air Force's 1st Czech Fighter Regiment.[citation needed]
- ^ The Manchukuo National Airways served as a para-military airline which performed transport and reconnaissance missions for Japanese military forces.
- ^ Until the fifties was in use the single bordered star, also painted on fuselage and rudder (click to enlarge)
- ^ Red outline added to celebrate victory over Nazi Germany and is referred to as the Victory Star.
- ^ Montenegro voted to secede from the FRY in 2006 and the union with Serbia was dissolved, with FRY military assets being divided between the (now) two nations.
- ^ Preceded by the Partizanska Eskadrila NOVJ and RAF squadrons 351 and 352 (the RAF Balkan Air Force, 1942–1945)
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