1 Reg

1 Regiment Army Air Corps was formed at Hildesheim, Germany, in 1978, from 651, 652 and 661 Squadrons.

    • 651 had been part of 1 Reg in Verden,
    • 652 had been part of 2 Reg at Bunde
    • 661 was, possibly, newly-re-created (661 at 4 Reg/Detmold having been re-named as 654 Sqn at the end of 1977).

The regiment's Scout helicopters were gradually replaced by Lynx to operate alongside the Gazelles. The main role of the regiment was anti-tank in the southern part of Lower Saxony, in support of 1 Armoured Division. 651 and 652 each flew nine TOW-equipped Lynx and three Gazelles while 661 flew twelve Gazelles.

In June 1993, Hildesheim closed as an AAC base and the regiment moved to Gütersloh, Germany, along with its fleet of Lynx and Gazelle helicopters. During the year 2000 the final Gazelles left the Regiment and on 31 March 2000, 651 Squadron Army Air Corps was relocated to the United Kingdom. The tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire command data link (TOW) guided missile capability of the Regiment ended in 2002 and the Lynx Mk7 was replaced with the Lynx Mk9 in 2005. The Regiment's fleet of Lynx Mk9 were upgraded to the Lynx Mk9A during 2011.

1 Regiment Army Air Corps now consists of only two of the original squadrons ( 652 Sqn and 661 Sqn), located at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, with its fleet of Lynx Mk9A helicopters. Under Army 2020 the Regiment will merge with 9 Regiment Army Air Corps, located at Dishforth, North Yorkshire, by October 2015. These merged regiments will bring the Wildcat force under a single Headquarters based at Yeovilton, Somerset.

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Sources

*Wikipedia article ratings, in order of quality: Stub, Start, C, B, GA

Lynx, Scout & Gazelle of 1 Reg in 1980 (Hildesheim)