Silver Swallows
Encyclopedia
The Silver Swallows was the name of Irish Air Corps
Irish Air Corps
The Air Corps is the air component of the Defence Forces of Ireland providing support to the Army and Naval Service, together with non-military air services such as search and rescue and the Ministerial Air Transport Service...

 Aerobatic Team. Active from 1986 to 1998. The team was equipped with four Fouga CM170 Magister
Fouga Magister
The Fouga Magister is a 1950s French two-seat jet trainer. The related CM.175 Zéphyr was a carrier-capable version for the French Navy....

 jet trainers, and was drawn from the Light Strike Squadron of the Irish Air Corps based at Casement Aerodrome
Casement Aerodrome
Casement Aerodrome or Baldonnel Aerodrome is a military airbase to the south west of Dublin, Ireland situated off the N7 main road route to the south and south west. It is the headquarters and the sole base of the Irish Air Corps, and is also used for other government purposes...

, Baldonnel
Baldonnel
Baldonnel as a place may refer to:*Baldonnel, Ireland*Baldonnel, British Columbia, CanadaBaldonnel may also refer to:*Baldonnel Formation, a stratigraphical unit of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin...

 near Dublin. The name Silver Swallows was derived from the colour of the aircraft, and the 'V'-shaped tail of the Magister aircraft the team flew. Throughout its history the team was operated on a part-time basis, with the display duties of the team being secondary to the primary roles of the Light Strike Squadron.

Display history

The team was formed in 1986 by Gerard John Flanagan, initially with three aircraft. Their first display appearance was at their home base of Baldonnel, in front of over 90,000 spectators. In 1987 a fourth Magister was added to the team, and they continued to fly at Irish air shows over the next few years.

The team made very few appearances outside their own country during their existence, their first overseas display being carried out at the RAF Brawdy
RAF Brawdy
RAF Brawdy was a Royal Air Force station in South West Wales near to St David's.The Pembrokeshire base was officially opened on 2 February 1944 as a satellite station for the nearby RAF St. David's. On 1 January 1946 the station was handed over to the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy and was...

 Open Day on 26 July 1990. Their next overseas displays were carried out several years later, in 1997, when the team visited a number of airshow
Airshow
An air show is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their aircraft to spectators in aerobatics. Air shows without aerobatic displays, having only aircraft displayed parked on the ground, are called "static air shows"....

s in the UK and Belgium to commemorate the Irish Air Corps's 75th anniversary. They appeared at the world's biggest military airshow, the Royal International Air Tattoo
Royal International Air Tattoo
The Royal International Air Tattoo is the world's largest military air show, held annually over the third weekend in July, usually at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom in support of The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust...

 at RAF Fairford
RAF Fairford
RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England. It is a standby airfield, not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an airfield for United States Air Force B-52s during the 2003 Iraq War, Operation Allied Force in 1999, and the first Gulf War in...

 in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

, in 1997, where they were awarded the prestigious Lockheed Martin Cannestra Trophy for the Best Display by an Overseas Performer.

In 1998 the team was disbanded owing to the retirement of the Fouga Magister from Irish Air Corps service.

External links

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