The 1st Army Aviation Brigade "Kilkis-Lachanas" (, abbreviated 1η ΤΑΞΑΣ) is the main formation of the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is th ...

's Army Aviation.

History

In August, 1950, the first Αrmy Aviation unit was created, belonging to Artillery, the ''190th Air Observation Unit'', based at Megara airport. Also, few years later, a special Air Observation School was created in order to provide training, in parallel with the establishment of other support units. At that time, the unit's main activities included target detection for Artillery units and light transportation. One of the most important dates was 1961, when the first helicopters, the

Bell 47G The Bell 47 is a single-rotor single-engine light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was based on the third Bell 30 prototype, which was the company's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young. The 47 became the first he ...

, were delivered, marking the eve of new era, that of air assault and medium transportation. The modernization continued with the acquisition of Bell UH-1 Iroquoises in 1969, Boeing CH-47 Chinooks in 1981 and recently with the delivery of the Boeing AH-64D Apache and NHIndustries NH90. With the continuous growth of the Hellenic Army Aviation combat arm, the 1st Army Aviation Brigade was founded in 1998 to encompass its various units. Since 2013, the brigade is subordinated to the First Army via the 1st Infantry Division. The brigade's headquarters is at Stefanovikeio. The brigade bears the honorific title "Kilkis Lachanas", in commemoration of the

Battle of Kilkis–Lachanas The Battle of Kilkis–Lachanas took place between Greece and Bulgaria during the Second Balkan War. The two countries fought for the town of Kilkis in Central Macedonia from 19 to 21 June 1913 O.S. with Greece ultimately being victorious. B ...

during the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

. The brigade's motto ("The zeal for freedom does not die") is an epigram written by Antiphilus of Byzantium about the warrior king

Leonidas Leonidas I (; grc-gre, Λεωνίδας; died 19 September 480 BC) was a List of kings of Sparta#Heraclids, king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the List of kings of Sparta#Agiad dynasty, Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed d ...

of Sparta.

Structure

*at brigade headquarters at Stefanovikeio,

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

: ** Headquarters Company ** 17th Signal Company (17 ΛΔΒ) ** 1st Attack Helicopter Battalion (1o ΤΕΕΠ) ** 2nd Attack Helicopter Battalion (2o ΤΕΕΠ) ** 1st Army Aviation Battalion (1o ΤΕΑΣ) ** 1st Airfield Support Battalion (1ο ΤΥΑΔ) ** 307th Technical Support Group (307 TYΠ) * 2nd Army Aviation Regiment (2ο ΣΥΑΣ), based at Megara,

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean S ...

** Signal Company ** 2nd Army Aviation Battalion (2ο ΤΕΑΣ) ** 4th Army Aviation Battalion (4ο ΤΕΑΣ) ** 2nd Airfield Support Battalion (2ο ΤΥΑΔ) * at Alexandreia, Macedonia ** 3rd Army Aviation Battalion (3ο ΤΕΑΣ)

References

{{Hellenic Army 1998 establishments in Greece Military units and formations established in 1998 Brigades of Greece Greek army aviation Army aviation brigades