5th Combat Helicopter Regiment

The 5th Combat Helicopter Regiment (5e Régiment d'Hélicoptères de Combat) (5e RHC) is a unit of the French Army. It is currently based at Uzein near Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and is equipped with Eurocopter Tiger HAP helicopters. The 5th Combat Helicopter Regiment took part in the 1991 Gulf War, transporting anti-tank infantry. The unit was deployed in Mali in 2019 as part of Operation Barkhane. On 25 November 2019 a Tiger from the unit collided with a Eurocopter AS532 Cougar transport helicopter, causing both aircraft to crash and killing all 13 on board.

5th Combat Helicopter Regiment
(5e Régiment d'Hélicoptères de Combat) (5e RHC)
CountryFrance
BranchFrench Army Light Aviation
Part of4th Air-Combat Brigade
Garrison/HQUzein, near Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France
Insignia
Combat flag

Gulf War

The 5th Combat Helicopter Regiment was equipped with 48 helicopters in 1990.[1] It formed part of the French brigade sent to participate in the 1991 Gulf War.[2] The unit was embarked upon the aircraft carrier Clemenceau on 13 August for travel to Saudi Arabia as part of Opération Salamandre.[3] Equipment taken included 30 SA342 Aérospatiale Gazelle light attack helicopters and a number of Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma transport helicopters.[4][5] Part of the role of the 5th Combat Helicopter Regiment during the war was to transport air-mobile infantry armed with anti-tank weapons.[2]

Mali
A 5th Combat Helicopter Regiment Tiger in Belgium, 2018

The 5th Combat Helicopter Regiment deployed to Mali during Operation Barkhane against Islamist extremists. The unit deployed with the Eurocopter Tiger HAP (Hélicoptère d'Appui Protection, Support and Escort Helicopter).[6]

On 25 November 2019 a helicopter from the unit was involved in the 2019 Ménaka mid-air collision during operations against a group of Malian insurgents. French Commando Paratroopers had engaged an Islamist unit and requested aerial support. Two Gazelle attack helicopters and one Eurocopter AS532 Cougar transport helicopter were dispatched from Ménaka and two Tigers from the 5th were sent from Gao. The night was moonless and the aircraft were operating in pitch-black conditions. One of the Tigers collided with the Cougar as it was circling the battlefield, both aircraft crashed. Both 5th Regiment pilots were killed and all five crew and six passengers on the Cougar were killed.[7] A report blamed the collision on the lack of communication between the aviation units.[7] The incident was the biggest single loss of French life in Operation Barkhane and the biggest loss of French troops in a single day since the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings.[7][8]

Recent events
Colour and guard of the 5th RHC on Bastille Day parade, 2013

The 5th Combat Helicopter Regiment is currently based at Uzein, near Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in France.[6] In September and October 2021 the unit took part in Cormoran 21, a joint French Army and Navy exercise in the Mediterranean Sea.[9]

References
  1. Actes Officiels. Western European Union. 1990. p. 210.
  2. Freedman, Lawrence; Karsh, Efraim (1993). The Gulf Conflict, 1990-1991: Diplomacy and War in the New World Order. Princeton University Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-691-03772-1.
  3. Cordesman, Anthony H.; Wagner, Abraham (1990). The Lessons Of Modern War, Volume Iv: The Gulf War. Avalon Publishing. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-8133-8601-0.
  4. The Integrated Workplace: A Comprehensive Approach to Developing Workspace. U.S. General Services Administration, Office of Governmentwide Policy, Office of Real Property. 1999. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-16-050274-3.
  5. Cordesman, Anthony H.; Wagner, Abraham (1990). The Lessons Of Modern War, Volume Iv: The Gulf War. Avalon Publishing. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-8133-8601-0.
  6. Bryant, Lisa (26 November 2019). "France Mourns Soldiers Killed in Mali". VOA. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  7. "French helicopter collision due to poor communication". Aerotime. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  8. "France to start probing black boxes from fatal Mali helicopter crash". Fiji Times. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  9. Vavasseur, Xavier (13 October 2021). "Two French LHDs and 25 Helicopters Take Part in Large Amphibious Exercise". Naval News. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
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