Haitian Air Force on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Haiti Air Corps (french: Corps d'Aviation d'Haiti (Corps d’Aviation de 1’Armee d’Haiti)) was the air force of Haiti from 1942 to 1994. The air corps was disbanded along with the rest of the armed forces after
At the time of the disbandment of the Haitian Air Corps this was the inventory:
Aircraft retired before the disbandment of the Haitian Air Corps: North American Aviation
Operation Uphold Democracy
Operation Uphold Democracy was a military intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The operation was effectively authorized by t ...
, the US invasion of 1994.
History
The Haitian Air Corps was founded in 1942 with aircraft supplied by the US. The main task for this new air force was transport and communication. The Haitian Air Corps was headquartered at Bowen Field which was a former US marine corps airfield. Môle-Saint-Nicolas Airport was a secondart airfield. During World War 2 the Haitian Air Corps was engaged in the Caribbean anti submarine warfare campaign against the German Navy. In 1950 the Haitian Air Corps received its first combat aircraft: six F-51D Mustangs which were active during the Duvalier period. In October 1970 the mustangs were replaced by T-28 Trojans from France. The T-28s were then replaced by O-2As in 1975. In the 1980s the Haitian Air Corps received its first jet aircraft: the SIAI-Machetti S-211 and these were accompanied by SF-260s to replace the O-2s which were sold for parts. In 1990 the SIAI-Machetti S-211s were sold, 2 were sold to United States private companies and the other two were sold to the Singapore Air Force. During operation Uphold Democracy the Haitian Air Corps played almost no role in Haitian defence, the Haitian inventory at the time included: Two O-57 Grasshopper scout planes, ThreeBT-13 Valiant
The Vultee BT-13 Valiant is an American World War II-era basic (a category between primary and advanced) trainer aircraft built by Vultee Aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps, and later US Army Air Forces. A subsequent variant of the B ...
trainer planes, One C-78 Bobcat transport plane, and one C-46 Commando
The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a twin-engine transport aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurised high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company pub ...
transport plane. Almost all of the inventory at the time of the invasion dated back to World War Two and was in very poor condition at the time, the air corps was disband along with the rest of the armed forces in 1994.
Inventory
At the time of the disbandment of the Haitian Air Corps this was the inventory:
Aircraft retired before the disbandment of the Haitian Air Corps: North American Aviation F-51D Mustang
Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after World War II, some of which were employed also in the Korean War and in several other conflicts.
Allison-engined Mustangs
NA ...
, North American Aviation T-28 Trojan
The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a radial-engine military trainer aircraft manufactured by North American Aviation and used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s. Besides its use as a trainer, ...
, Cessna O-2A Skymaster, Sikorsky S-55
The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (company model number S-55) was a multi-purpose helicopter used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom ...
, de Havilland Mosquito, de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined high-wing propeller-driven short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft developed and manufactured by de Havilland Canada. It has been primarily operated as a bush plane and has been use ...
/ de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, Hughes Helicopters 269C, Hughes Helicopters 369C, Sikorsky S-58T, Aermacchi SF.260TP, Douglas C-47 Dakota
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft
A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military-owned transport aircraft used to su ...
, SIAI-Machetti S-211.
See also
* Armed Forces of HaitiReferences