3rd Squadron (Iraq)

No. 3 Squadron was first established in October 1934, operating Hawker Audax fighter/army cooperation aircraft from Rasheed Air Base in Baghdad.[2][3] The squadron participated in its first combat operations during the 1935-1936 Iraqi Shia revolts, and lost one of its aircraft to machine-gun fire.[4] At the time of the Anglo-Iraqi War, No. 3 Squadron was based in Mosul, but it did not fly any combat sorties during the war.[5] However, in March 1942, Rasheed Air Base was suddenly flooded, and the squadron's remaining aircraft were destroyed. No. 3 Squadron was thus disbanded.[6]

No. 3 Squadron was reestablished in early 1948, flying de Havilland Doves.[7] In the 1950s, it also received three Bristol Freighters.[8] In 1951, No. 3 Squadron received Iraq's first helicopters, three Westland Dragonflies.[9] Later, the unit specialised in heavy and VIP transport: as of 1958, it was Doves, Freighters and de Havilland Herons from Rasheed Air Base.[10] In the early 1960s, No. 3 Squadron received six Antonov An-12BPs.[11] These were transferred to the newly created No. 23 Squadron in 1965.[12] That same year, the squadron started operating Mil Mi-4s.[13] On 5 June 1967, one of No. 3 Squadron's Doves was destroyed on the ground during an Israeli airstrike on H-3 Air Base.[14]

As of October 1973, No. 3 Squadron was based at Muthenna Air Base, and flew two Doves, two Herons, and two Tupolev Tu-124s. Despite its specialisation in VIP transport,[15] during the October War the squadron participated in the Iraqi air bridge to Egypt and Syria with its Herons and Tu-124s.[16] As of September 1980, No. 3 Squadron operated Lockheed JetStars and Dassault Falcon 20s from Muthenna.[17]

In 2002 the squadron was reported as flying An-24s and An-26s, but from Al-Bakr Air Base.[18]

Iraqi Air Force Cessna TC-208B

The 3rd Squadron was recreated in 2004, and received six Comp Air 7SLs donated by the United Arab Emirates, starting in November 2004. These aircraft were equipped with a reconnaissance sensor suite. A month later, it started receiving Bell 206 helicopters.[19] These were based at New Al Muthana Air Base. Subsequently, they were passed on to the Iraqi Army Aviation Corps.[20] In April 2005, the squadron was declared operational. On 30 May, one of the 3rd Squadron's Comp Air 7SLs was the first aircraft lost by the post-2003 Iraqi Air Force, when it crashed near Jalawla. One Iraqi pilot and four American servicemen died in the crash. As a result, the whole fleet was grounded in January 2006. All of the Iraqi Comp Air 7SLs were withdrawn in late 2007.[19] Meanwhile, in 2005-2006 the 3rd Squadron received four SAMA CH2000s at Kirkuk Air Base for reconnaissance and training tasks.[21]

An AC-208 fires a Hellfire at a practice target

Starting in 2008, the 3rd Squadron received Cessna 208s in three different variants: the TC-208B for training, the RC-208B for ISR, and the AC-208B counterinsurgency attack aircraft.[22] With the arrival of the Cessna 208s, the CH2000s were transferred to the 70th Squadron.[21] After the delivery of the first AC-208Bs, the 3rd Squadron was renamed the 3rd Attack and Reconnaissance Squadron. The squadron's AC-208s were heavily used, including during combat operations: by the end of July 2015, they had launched more than 1,600 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.[22] On 16 March 2016, an AC-208B crashed near Hawija, killing its three crew members. Islamic State militants claimed they shot it down using a 57 mm anti-aircraft gun.[23]