| 1991 British Army Gazelle shootdown | |
|---|---|
| Part ofThe Troubles andOperation Banner | |
.jpg) Lynx ZE380 in 1987 | |
  | |
| Location | 54°4′42.09″N6°36′27.41″W / 54.0783583°N 6.6076139°W /54.0783583; -6.6076139 Crossmaglen,County Armagh,Northern Ireland |
| Date | 13 February 1991 15:18 (GMT) |
| Target | British Army helicopter |
Attack type | Shooting |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 0 |
| Perpetrator | Provisional IRA |
On 13 February 1991, anArmy Air Corps (AAC)Westland Lynx Mk7,serial number ZE380, was shot down by theProvisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in the vicinity ofCrossmaglen,County Armagh, inNorthern Ireland. The IRA'sSouth Armagh Brigade ambushed the aircraft while approaching the joint British Army-RUC base in Crossmaglen using automatic rifles,general-purpose machine guns and heavy machine guns. The heavily damaged helicopter was forced to crash-land in an open field; the aircraft and its crew were eventually recovered by British forces.
In 1976 southern County Armagh was declared off-limits by the British Army to routine military vehicle traffic, including patrols, because the danger posed by anIRA landmine attack was considered too great. As a result, all regular military movement and resupply missions to British Army outposts across South Armagh became the responsibility of helicopters alone. This policy was criticised by politicians and British military figures because it left South Armagh under thede facto control of the IRA.[1] This reliance on helicopters made the British security base atBessbrook Mills,County Armagh, the busiest heliport in Europe, with an average of 600 flights arriving and departing every week.[2]
The helicopter was the British Army's lifeline in the region so making the air corridor untenable had become a key priority for the IRA in South Armagh and other border areas.[3] Most of the large-scale attacks on British Army helicopters carried out by the IRA duringThe Troubles took place in South Armagh.[4]
In the mid-1980s the Provisional IRA received a consignment (twenty-six total[5]) ofSoviet12.7mmDShKheavy machine guns fromLibya, greatly enhancing the organisation's anti-air capability. Libyan leaderMuammar Gaddafi also donated forty 7.62 mmFN MAGgeneral-purpose machine guns to the IRA.[6] In June 1988 the IRA in the South Armagh employed the Libyan anti-air weaponry for the first time when they shot down a British Lynx helicopter over Aughanduff Mountain.[7] In February 1990 a BritishGazelle helicopter was shot down in a border area betweenAugher and Derrygorry,County Tyrone, by an IRA active service unit from theEast Tyrone Brigade.[8]
On 13 February 1991 Lynx helicopter ZE380 was hauling anunderslung load from Bessbrook to the joint British Army-RUC base at Crossmaglen. To accommodate the underslung load the pilots had to fly relatively low and were restricted to a maximum speed of 60knots; internal cargo stowage which needed to be unloaded on the ground left helicopters vulnerable to attack from IRA mortars. A second Lynx helicopter, not carrying any cargo, was assigned to a support role for ZE380. Both aircraft mounted general-purpose machine guns indoor mounts. At 15:18 approximately one kilometre north-east of Crossmaglen whilst in the descent at an altitude between five and eight-hundred feet, ZE380 came under automatic fire, including tracer rounds.[9]
The IRA reported that twoactive service units armed with 12.7mm heavy machine guns at separate positions opened fire on the aircraft.[10] Afterwards the British Army recovered 12.7mm cases, 7.62mm single cases and7.62 machine gun links from the area surrounding Crossmaglen's health centre. At least one of the DShK heavy machineguns was mounted on a lorry[6] in an improvised armoured firing position which a crewman on ZE380 later said resembled asangar.[9] Initial reports issued by theRoyal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) stated a second firing point besideSt Joseph's High School had been identified.[11]
ZE380 was struck by nine rounds in total, seven 12.7mm and two 7.62mm rounds, causing extensive damage to the aircraft and forcing it to land in a field by the Drummill Road nearSilverbridge. An internal incident report described the aircraft as having been "shot down".[9] However, despite the damage dealt to the airframe the crew escaped injury. After making an emergency landing the crew established a defensive perimeter; the IRA reported firing at downed aircraft[10] but this account wasn't corroborated by the crew.[9] The second Lynx, undamaged, landed nearby but the crew of ZE380, concerned that locals sympathetic to the IRA might destroy the downed aircraft outright, opted to maintain their position at the site, armed with the GPMG and two compactHK53 carbines.[9] At 17:33 the crew were recovered by anRAFPuma helicopter and later the stricken Lynx was airlifted by aChinookheavy-lift helicopter toRAF Aldergrove inCounty Antrim.[9]
The attack, carried out by the IRA from behind Crossmaglen's health centre, was filmed by aDublin television crew.[6]
A British Army board of inquiry commissioned in the aftermath of the shootdown found that despite the presence of door gunners and a mutually supporting aircraft "the terrorists were not deterred" and that it was "only by a stroke of luck" that the crew weren't killed.[9] The board praised the actions of the crew but noted that current helicopter simulators offered no training in "hostile engagement scenarios" nor was there any training in battle damage assessment in flight.[9] The board also observed that the door gunner's body armour was inadequate, only covering the front of his person. The board recommended that flying of underslung loads into "hostile areas" cease, that a "more effective weapons system" be fitted to aircraft and a study into protection of Lynx vulnerable and vital components be undertaken "as a matter of urgency".[9]
Journalist and authorBrendan O'Brien writing on the incident commented:
In security terms, the significant factor was that no RUC or British Army personnel came on the scene for a protracted period of time. This allowed the lorry and car to escape undetected and unhindered, even though the RUC/Army base was within 50 yards. They would have heard the shooting but would not risk further attack on the ground.[6]
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