Every war the Hellenic Air Force has fought
The Aegean entry reports what each government says about airspace and flight rules and takes neither side. Where a consolidated sortie or loss figure exists in the official record it is given here; where accounts disagree, the range is shown and the disagreement named. Blank cells are blank because no figure could be verified, not because the fighting was small.
From the Balkan Wars to the defence of Cyprus in 2026.
| Conflict | Years | Against | Main aircraft | Sorties | Aircraft lost | |
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| The Balkan WarsThessaly, Epirus and the DardanellesArmy Aviators Company and naval aviation | 1912–1913 | Ottoman Empire | Henry Farman, Maurice Farman seaplane, Bleriot XI | — | — | |
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Flew reconnaissance, dropped bombs on Bizani and supplies to besieged Ioannina, and flew a naval reconnaissance and bombing mission over the Turkish fleet. Greek military aviation went to war within months of its first flight. The four-pilot Aviators Company, formed at Larissa in September 1912, flew the first Greek war reconnaissance on 5 October 1912 on the Thessaly front. Later missions dropped bombs on the fortifications of Bizani and supplies to the besieged city of Ioannina. The naval aviators produced the most famous flight: on 24 January 1913 Lieutenant Michael Moutoussis and Ensign Aristeidis Moraitinis flew a Maurice Farman seaplane over the Dardanelles, drew a diagram of the Turkish fleet’s positions and dropped four bombs. The HAF describes it as the first naval co-operation mission in the history of air warfare. The price of pioneering was high: on 4 April 1913 Emmanuel Argyropoulos, who had made the first flight in Greece fourteen months earlier, was killed when his Bleriot XI fell. Outcome Greece gained Epirus, Macedonia and the Aegean islands. The claim to the first naval co-operation mission is the HAF’s own; sortie totals are not published.
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| First World War and the Asia Minor CampaignMacedonian front and AnatoliaArmy and naval aviation | 1917–1922 | Bulgaria, Germany, Ottoman Empire and Turkish National Movement | Airco DH.9, Sopwith Camel, Breguet 14and 1 more | — | — | |
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Army and naval squadrons flew Allied-supplied reconnaissance, fighter and bomber types. Greek aviation fought in the last two years of the First World War and in the Asia Minor campaign of 1919–1922, equipped by the Allies with a mixture of French and British types. The HAF’s list of historical aircraft for 1912–1922 shows the range: Airco DH.4, DH.6 and DH.9, Sopwith Camels, Pups and 1½ Strutters, Breguet 14s, Nieuports, SPADs and Short 184 seaplanes. The official timeline pages for this period could not be reached for this page, so squadron histories, sorties and losses are left out rather than guessed. Outcome Allied victory in 1918; Greek defeat in Asia Minor in 1922. Thinly sourced: the English Wikipedia summary and the HAF aircraft list only. Named aces and figures are UNVERIFIED and omitted.
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| The Greco-Italian War and the German invasion1940–1941Royal Hellenic Air Force | 1940–1941 | Italy and Germany | PZL P.24, Bloch MB.151, Gloster Gladiatorand 3 more | — | — | |
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Fought the Italian air force over the Albanian front alongside RAF squadrons, then was largely destroyed by the Luftwaffe in April 1941. On 28 October 1940 the Royal Hellenic Air Force had, by Wikipedia’s count, 45 fighters, 24 light bombers, nine reconnaissance aircraft and 28 naval co-operation aircraft, plus about 65 auxiliaries; its modern fighters were 24 PZL P.24s and nine Bloch MB.151s, the only Blochs of 24 ordered to arrive. Italy committed about 380 aircraft. The RAF sent Blenheims, Gladiators and Wellingtons from November. The Greeks fought well beyond their numbers: the HAF article credits them with 68 Italian aircraft destroyed by official record and 24 more claimed, while the Greco-Italian War article gives 64 plus 24 claimed. The cost in the first 65 days was 35 aircrew killed. There were no replacements. When Germany attacked on 6 April 1941 the Luftwaffe destroyed most of what remained; a few aircraft — five Avro Ansons, a Dornier Do 22, an Arado 196 and three Avro 626s — escaped to the Middle East. Outcome Italy was held and pushed back into Albania; Germany conquered Greece in April 1941. Victory figures differ between sources (64–68 confirmed, plus 24 claimed) and are Greek claims. Aircraft losses were not found as a single figure.
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| With the RAF in North Africa, Italy and the Aegean335, 336 and 13 SquadronsRoyal Hellenic Air Force (under RAF command) | 1941–1944 | Germany and Italy | Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire V, Avro Ansonand 2 more | — | — | |
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Three Greek squadrons flew fighter and light bomber missions as part of the RAF. The Greek airmen who escaped in 1941 were reorganised in Egypt under RAF command. 13 Light Bomber Squadron flew Avro Ansons, Bristol Blenheims and later Martin Baltimores on maritime and bombing missions; 335 and 336 Fighter Squadrons flew Hurricane Is and IIs and then Spitfire Vs over the Western Desert and, later, in Italy and the Balkans. Wikipedia counts about seventy Greek pilots lost. Greek pilots also served in Allied units: John Plagis, a Rhodesian of Greek descent, is credited with 16 victories and Vasilios Vassiliadis with 11.5 in RAF service. The squadrons’ numbers survive: 335 and 336 fly F-16s at Araxos today. Outcome The squadrons returned to Greece after liberation in 1944. Formation dates, sortie totals and losses by squadron were not confirmed on official pages.
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| The Greek Civil WarGrammos and VitsiRoyal Hellenic Air Force | 1946–1949 | Democratic Army of Greece | Supermarine Spitfire, Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, Douglas C-47 | — | — | |
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Flew reconnaissance, ground attack and dive bombing against the Democratic Army of Greece. The air force came home in 1944 to a country moving into civil war. Between 1946 and 1949 its Spitfires and, from the late 1940s, SB2C Helldiver dive bombers flew against the Democratic Army in the mountains of the north, in support of the national army’s offensives. The English Wikipedia describes the air force’s role as decisive. It is a painful chapter of Greek history, fought against fellow Greeks, and the official HAF timeline pages for it could not be reached for this page; sortie totals, losses and casualty figures are therefore not given. Outcome Government victory in 1949. Sourced to Wikipedia only; all figures UNVERIFIED and omitted.
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| The Korean War13th Transport FlightRoyal Hellenic Air Force | 1950–1955 | North Korea and China | Douglas C-47 Dakota | 2,916 | 2 | |
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Flew transport, casualty evacuation, supply and ammunition drops for the UN Command. In November 1950 Greece sent the 13th Transport Aircraft Flight to Korea: seven C-47 Dakotas and 67 officers and airmen. Over four and a half years, the HAF says, they flew 2,916 war missions “under exceptionally unfavourable conditions”: evacuating the wounded, carrying troops and prisoners, delivering cargo, dropping supplies and ammunition to units in the field and gathering intelligence. Two aircraft were lost and 12 officers and NCOs did not come home. The flight was one of the UN Command’s smaller national contributions, but it was the Greek air force’s first operation abroad after the civil war, and it ended only in May 1955. Outcome Armistice of July 1953; the flight stayed until May 1955.
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| The Cyprus crisisOperation NikiHellenic Air Force | 1974 | Turkey | Nord Noratlas | 15 | — | |
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Flew commandos from Souda to Nicosia airport by night; no combat aircraft were sent. When Turkey invaded Cyprus in July 1974 after the Greek-backed coup against President Makarios, the Greek air force had no way to fight over an island at the edge of its fighters’ range. Its one intervention was a night airlift. On 21–22 July 1974, 354 Squadron’s ageing Noratlas transports took off from Souda in Crete with commandos of the 35th Raider Squadron for Nicosia airport. Wikipedia says 20 Noratlas and 10 C-47s were planned and 15 Noratlas departed; two turned back with faults. Arriving at about 2 am, they were fired on by National Guard anti-aircraft gunners who had not been told they were coming. Niki-4 was shot down and Niki-6 damaged. The HAF’s own history calls it a brilliant page of Greek aviation. The first 18 F-4E Phantoms had arrived that April but were not used. Outcome The 35th Raider Squadron helped hold Nicosia airport; Turkey took the north of the island. Greece left NATO’s integrated military structure from 1974 to 1980. Casualty figures differ sharply: 4 crew and 12 parachutists (HAF) against 4 crew and 27 commandos on Niki-4 and 33 commandos in all (Wikipedia). Landings: 12 or 13.
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| Aegean airspace confrontationinterceptions, 1996 and 2006Hellenic Air Force | 1974– | — | Mirage 2000, F-16C/D, F-4E | — | 1 | |
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Intercepts Turkish military aircraft entering what Greece regards as its airspace or flying in the Athens FIR without flight plans. Greece claims 10 nautical miles of airspace around its territory and requires flight plans for military aircraft in the Athens FIR; Turkey recognises 6 miles and does not file such plans, and each government describes the other’s flights in its own terms. Mock dogfights followed. On 8 October 1996 two Greek Mirage 2000s intercepted a Turkish F-16D near Chios; it went down, its pilot Captain Nail Erdoğan died and the second crewman ejected. Greece denied a shootdown; in 2012 Turkish defence minister İsmet Yılmaz stated it had been hit by a Mirage’s Magic II. On 23 May 2006 two Greek F-16s intercepted two Turkish F-16s escorting an RF-4E; one of each collided at 27,000 feet, 21 nautical miles south-east of Karpathos. Flight Lieutenant Konstantinos Iliakis was killed; Lieutenant Halil İbrahim Özdemir was picked up by a merchant ship. The Greek General Staff placed it inside the Athens FIR and said the Turkish jets had no flight plans; Defence Minister Vecdi Gönül said it was in international airspace on a scheduled flight notified to NATO. A Greek court convicted Özdemir in absentia in 2009; Turkey made no official response. Outcome Continuing; periods of calm follow Greek-Turkish diplomatic contacts. The legal questions (airspace width, FIR rules) are disputed between the two governments; this entry reports each side’s stated position and takes neither.
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| Operation Unified ProtectorLibyaHellenic Air Force | 2011 | Libya (Gaddafi government) | EMB-145H AEW&C | — | 0 | |
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An EMB-145H flew airborne early warning missions; Greek bases supported the coalition. Greece’s best-documented air contribution to the 2011 Libya operation was an EMB-145H Erieye early warning aircraft, deployed to fly AEW missions for the coalition, according to Wikipedia’s article on the type. The HAF’s article lists the 2011 intervention among its engagements. No evidence was found in the sources checked of Greek fighters striking targets, and none is claimed here. Outcome Gaddafi’s government fell; NATO ended the operation on 31 October 2011. Thinly sourced; the extent of other HAF participation was not confirmed. |
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| Air defence of Cyprusthe 2026 Iran warHellenic Air Force | 2026 | Iran | F-16V Viper | — | 0 | |
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Deployed F-16 Vipers to help defend Cyprus after Iranian drone strikes. After a drone strike damaged the runway at RAF Akrotiri on 2 March 2026 and a further strike on Cyprus followed, Greece announced on 4 March that it would send frigates and F-16s to help defend the island; Wikipedia’s HAF article says two frigates and four F-16 Vipers. Turkey deployed six F-16s and air defence systems to Northern Cyprus the next day. Greek F-16s had first landed in Cyprus in almost 20 years only in September 2020. No engagement by the Greek fighters was found in the sources checked. Outcome Deployment announced 4 March 2026; end date not confirmed. Based on Wikipedia; the number of aircraft and the deployment’s duration were not confirmed on haf.gr or mod.mil.gr. |
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Nothing matches that search.
Every figure, checked
- Hellenic Air Force: The First Steps1911 Farman order; 8 February 1912 first flight; 13 May 1912 Kamberos; Aviators Company September 1912.
- Hellenic Air Force: Balkan Wars5 October 1912 reconnaissance; 24 January 1913 Dardanelles mission; Argyropoulos killed 4 April 1913.
- Hellenic Air Force: Inter-War PeriodAir Ministry 1930; academy 1931; Air Staff 1934; HELLAS flight 1928; types.
- Hellenic Air Force: South KoreaSeven C-47s, 67 personnel, 2,916 missions, two aircraft and 12 men lost, November 1950–May 1955.
- Hellenic Air Force: 2nd Generation AircraftF-4E April 1974; Operation Niki; A-7H 1975; Mirage F1CG 4 August 1975; C-130 September 1975; RF-4E 1979.
- Hellenic Air Force: Historical AircraftTypes by period, 1912–1987.
- Hellenic Air Force: 116 Combat WingAraxos; 335 and 336 Squadrons; F-16 Block 52+ Advanced; A-7 retired 2014.
- Hellenic National Defence General Staff: Air collision between military aircraft (23 May 2006)Collision at 12:45, 27,000 feet, 21 nm south-east of Karpathos, inside the Athens FIR.
- F-16.net: Greek F-16 and Turkish F-16 collide (May 2006)Aircraft involved; Iliakis killed; Özdemir rescued by a merchant ship.
- F-16.net: Turkish pilot convicted over F-16 collision (2009)Greek court convicts Özdemir in absentia of negligent manslaughter, 2 February 2009.
- Al Jazeera: Greek and Turkish fighter jets collide (23 May 2006)Greek and Turkish official positions, including Defence Minister Vecdi Gönül.
- ABC News: Greek, Turkish jets collide in interception moves (23 May 2006)Turkish military and Greek statements.
Figures verified 2026-09-29. Back to the Hellenic Air Force.