|
The Air Force of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo Air Force (French: "Force Aérienne Congolaise", or FAC), is the air force branch of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (aka Congo-Kinshasa). From 1971 to 1997, the Air Force was known as the Zaire Air Force (French: "Force Aérienne Zairoise", or FAZ). == History == The FAC was officially created in 1961, out of the remains of the colonial aviation service of the Belgian Congo. It originally operated light aircraft, transport aircraft and helicopters. The first combat aircraft, some armed T-6 Texan trainers, were added in 1962. A Central Intelligence Agency front company, Anstalt WIGMO, provided maintenance support to large parts of the FAC in the 1964–1968 period. The CIA also provided aircraft during the same period and pilots from late 1962 onwards. In July 1970 the Institute for Strategic Studies described the ''Force Aérienne Zairoise'' (FAZ) as numbering 650 with 21 combat aircraft. Aircraft strength was listed as ten T-6 Texan and eight T-28 Trojan armed trainers, two DC-4 and ten DC-3 transports, and six Alouette helicopters. The ISS said that 17 MB-326GB ground attack/trainer aircraft were on order, of which about five had been received.〔ISS Military Balance 1970–71, p.47-48〕 In July 1974 the International Institute for Strategic Studies described the FAZ as numbering 800 personnel with 33 aircraft. The Military Balance for 1974–75 listed one fighter wing with 17 MB-326GB, 6 AT-6G and 10 T-28 armed trainers, one transport wing with 9 C-47, 4 C-54, and 3 C-130, one training wing with 8 T-6 and 12 SF-260MC, and one helicopter squadron with 20 Aérospatiale Alouette II/III and 7 Aérospatiale SA 330 Pumas.〔IISS, Military Balance 1974–75, p.45〕 It noted that 17 Mirage V and 3 C-130H were on order. The Air Combat Information Group states that by the mid-1980s the FAZ suffered from the same problems as the rest of the Zairean military, including lack of funding and widespread corruption.〔Tom Cooper & Pit Weinert, (Zaire/DR Congo since 1980 ), 2 September 2003, Air Combat Information Group, accessed August 2007〕 In the 1980s the air force was theoretically organised into the ''1er Groupement Aérien'', at Kinshasa (N'djili Airport?), with the 19th Logistics Support Wing (C-130s and Dakotas), the 12th Liaison Wing (helicopters, MU-2Js, and Cessna 310Rs) and the 13th Training Wing. The ''2e Groupement Aérien Tactique'' at Kamina comprised the 21st Fighter-Attack Wing with Mirage 5s and MB.326Ks, and the 22nd Tactical Transport Wing, with 221 Squadron operating the two of three originally delivered Buffalos.〔Lindsay Peacock, The World's Air Forces, Salamander, 1991, p.156〕 The extreme corruption of the force meant that Zairean aircraft were more often used for private 'business' of their fliers and their superiors〔See for example Jean-François Bayart, L'etat en Afrique: La Politique du Ventre, 1989〕 than operations against rebels. From an originally delivered eight Dassault Mirage 5Ms,〔Jackson, Paul. "Mirage III/5/50 Variant Briefing: Part 3: The Operators". ''World Air Power Journal'' Volume 16, Spring 1994, p. 119. London: Aerospace Publishing. ISBN 1-874023-36-0.〕 only seven were left by 1988, with five being lost in different accidents. By the mid-1990s the last three were sold. Michela Wrong's ''In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in the Congo'' reports a story that the remaining Mirages were sold in France whilst there for maintenance, in order to finance a Zairean air force commander's retirement.〔Tony Wheeler, 'Tony Wheeler's Bad Lands,' Lonely Planet, 2007, ISBN 1741791863, p.321〕 The FAZ played little part in the First Congo War, with most aircraft inoperable. Some aircraft were imported and used by Serbian mercenaries, but had little operational effect.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Air Force of the Democratic Republic of the Congo」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|