Military of Benin
Encyclopedia
The Benin Armed Forces constitutes the army, navy, air force, and national gendarmerie of Benin
. For a number of years, the Belgian Armed Forces have had an active programme of co-operation with Benin, offering training and coaching, donating redundant military equipment and using the county for limited military exercises.
squadron, 3 infantry
battalions, 1 commando/airborne battalion, 1 artillery
battery, and 1 engineer
battalion.
and two Agusta-Bell 47Gs
. Two F-27s were entered service in 1978 for transport duties before being transferred to Air Benin. Also during the same era two AN-26s were acquired. In late 1985 two Dornier Do-28s entered service to replace the C-47s. A single DHC-6 Twin Otter was acquired in 1989.
The Benin Air Force maintains a small transport and utility fleet of 14 aircraft, including seven helicopters.
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
. For a number of years, the Belgian Armed Forces have had an active programme of co-operation with Benin, offering training and coaching, donating redundant military equipment and using the county for limited military exercises.
Army
The Army has a strength of 4,800. It includes 1 armouredArmoured warfare
Armoured warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war....
squadron, 3 infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
battalions, 1 commando/airborne battalion, 1 artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
battery, and 1 engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
battalion.
Small Arms
- Pistols
- TT pistol
- Sub-machine guns
- MAT-49MAT-49The MAT-49 was a submachine gun developed by French arms factory Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle for use by the French Army.-Development:...
- MAT-49
- Rifles
- AK-47AK-47The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
\AKMAKMThe AKM is a 7.62mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is an upgraded version of the AK-47 rifle and was developed in the 1950s....
- MAS-49MAS-49The MAS-49 is a French semi-automatic military rifle that replaced the diverse collection of aging bolt-action rifles that were in French service after the end of World War II...
- SKSSKSThe SKS is a Soviet semi-automatic rifle chambered for the 7.62x39mm round, designed in 1943 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. SKS-45 is an acronym for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945 Simonov system, 1945), or SKS 45. The Sks is a scaled down version of the PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle also...
- AK-47
- Machine guns
- AA-52AA-52The AA-52 is one of the first French-produced guns of the post World War II era. It was manufactured by MAS...
- Degtyaryov machine gun
- RPDRPDThe RPD is a 7.62mm light machine gun developed in the Soviet Union by Vasily Degtyaryov for the intermediate 7.62x39mm M43 cartridge. It was created as a replacement for the DP machine gun chambered for the 7.62x54mmR Mosin rifle round...
- DsHKDShKThe DShK 1938 is a Soviet heavy machine gun firing the 12.7x108mm cartridge. The weapon was also used as a heavy infantry machine gun, in which case it was frequently deployed with a two-wheeled mounting and a single-sheet armour-plate shield...
- Browning M-2HB
- AA-52
- Anti-tank
- RPG-7RPG-7The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
- RPG-7
- Mortars
- Brandt 60 mm LR Gun-mortar
Armoured cars
- 7 M8 GreyhoundM8 GreyhoundThe M8 Light Armored Car was a 6x6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company during World War II. It was used by the U.S. and British troops in Europe and the Far East until the end of the war. The vehicle was widely exported and as of 2006 still remains in service with some third world...
- 10 Véhicule Blindé Léger
- 14 BRDM-2BRDM-2The BRDM-2 is an amphibious armoured patrol car used by Russia and the former Soviet Union. It was also known under designations BTR-40PB, BTR-40P-2 and GAZ 41-08...
Air Force
After achieving independence from France in 1960 the Benin Airforce was transport equipped with seven French-supplied Douglas C-47s, four MH.1521 BroussardsMax Holste Broussard
|- See also :...
and two Agusta-Bell 47Gs
Bell 47
The Bell 47 is a two-bladed, single engine, light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. Based on the third Model 30 prototype, Bell's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young, the Bell 47 became the first helicopter certified for civilian use on 8 March 1946...
. Two F-27s were entered service in 1978 for transport duties before being transferred to Air Benin. Also during the same era two AN-26s were acquired. In late 1985 two Dornier Do-28s entered service to replace the C-47s. A single DHC-6 Twin Otter was acquired in 1989.
The Benin Air Force maintains a small transport and utility fleet of 14 aircraft, including seven helicopters.
