Every war the Army Aviation Branch has fought
The Army Air Forces of 1941–1947 belong to the US Air Force lineage and are not counted here. Vietnam is the branch’s defining war: the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association counts 5,607 helicopters lost and 4,877 pilots and crew killed across all US services, most of them Army, while Wikipedia’s type figures differ and the association says its data are still being refined. In the Maduro raid of 3 January 2026 one helicopter was damaged and seven soldiers wounded, per Wikipedia; Venezuelan and Cuban casualty figures are the claims of those governments. Army aviation’s role in the 2026 Iran war is reported only by Wikipedia, which dates a ceasefire from 8 April that collapsed on 8 July. 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 air observation posts of North Africa in 1942 to the Maduro raid in Caracas in 2026.
| Conflict | Years | Against | Main aircraft | Sorties | Aircraft lost | |
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| Second World Warthe Grasshopper air observation postsField artillery air observation sections (organic Army aviation) | 1942–1945 | Germany, Italy and Japan | Piper L-4 Grasshopper, Taylorcraft L-2, Aeronca L-3 | |||
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Spotted for artillery, flew liaison, reconnaissance, courier and casualty missions in light aircraft. Organic Army aviation went to war five months after it was created. The first air observation sections flew in North Africa in November 1942 and from there the Cubs followed the artillery through Sicily, Italy and north-west Europe and across the Pacific. Their job was simple and dangerous: orbit low behind the front, find the target, and correct the fall of shot by radio. They also carried messages, commanders and sometimes wounded. The most famous of them, Major Charles Carpenter’s L-4H "Rosie the Rocketer", carried improvised bazooka racks and was credited with tanks and armoured cars. The Army Air Forces flew the war’s fighters and bombers; these little aircraft were the Army’s own. Outcome Army observation flying became a permanent part of the ground forces. The Army Air Forces of 1941–1947 belong to the US Air Force lineage and are not counted here.
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| Korean Warthe first helicopter warUS Army aviation | 1950–1953 | North Korea and China | Bell H-13 Sioux, Cessna L-19 Bird Dog, Piper L-4 | |||
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Medical evacuation, observation, liaison and, from 1951, helicopter transport. Korea was the war in which the Army learned what helicopters were for. The Bell H-13, ordered in 1948, flew wounded soldiers strapped into litters on its skids straight from the front to surgical hospitals and became known as the "Angel of Mercy". The new Cessna L-19 Bird Dog, delivered from December 1950, took over observation from the wartime Cub. From 1951 the Army began organising helicopter transport companies and training warrant officers to fly them, and after the war the Aviation School moved from Fort Sill to Alabama. Outcome The helicopter proved itself for casualty evacuation; the Army began forming helicopter transport companies and training warrant officer pilots. Widely quoted totals for helicopter evacuations in Korea were not confirmed from a primary source and are omitted. |
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| Vietnam Warthe airmobile warUS Army aviation (1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), 101st Airborne Division, aviation brigades and companies) | 1962–1973 | North Vietnam and Viet Cong | UH-1 Iroquois, AH-1G Cobra, CH-47 Chinookand 5 more | 5,607 | ||
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Air assault, medical evacuation, gunship and attack, heavy lift, observation and surveillance. The 57th Medical Detachment brought the UH-1 to Vietnam in March 1962, and within three years the Army had a whole division built around the helicopter. The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), organised in 1965 on the Howze Board’s model, moved infantry by air, supported it with armed helicopters and resupplied it without roads. The AH-1 Cobra arrived in June 1967 as the first purpose-built attack helicopter, and at the war’s peak the Army had 21 Chinook companies. About 7,000 Hueys served. The Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association estimates that about 40,000 helicopter pilots served in the war. The losses were the heaviest in the branch’s history: 1,151 Huey pilots and 1,231 Huey crew members alone were killed. Outcome The airmobile concept was proven in battle; the war ended with the US withdrawal in 1973. Loss totals differ: Wikipedia gives over 3,300 UH-1s destroyed, the VHPA 4,422 UH-1s lost to all causes across services; the VHPA itself says its data are still being refined.
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| Operation Urgent FuryGrenadaUS Army aviation incl. Task Force 160 | 1983 | People’s Revolutionary Army of Grenada and Cuba | UH-60A Black Hawk, MH-60, AH-6/MH-6 | |||
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Air assault and special operations helicopter lift. Grenada, in October 1983, was the Black Hawk’s first combat and the first combat for the new special operations aviators of Task Force 160. Night Stalker helicopters flew a raid on Richmond Hill prison that ran into heavy fire, and on 27 October an assault on the Calivigny barracks by the 75th Ranger Regiment went badly when the lead Black Hawk crash-landed and the two behind it collided with it. US losses across all services were 19 to 24 killed and 116 wounded. Outcome The island was secured within days; the operation exposed serious joint planning and communication problems. Wikipedia gives US deaths as 19–24 depending on the source.
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| Operation Prime Chancethe Persian Gulf tanker war160th Special Operations Aviation and Task Force 118 | 1987–1988 | Iran | AH-6/MH-6 Little Bird, OH-58D Kiowa Warrior | |||
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Night patrol and escort against Iranian mining and small boats, flying from ships and barges. During the tanker war, Army special operations Little Birds and later armed OH-58Ds of Task Force 118 flew at night from Navy ships and mobile sea bases to protect reflagged Kuwaiti tankers. Wikipedia’s regimental history credits the operation with pioneering shipborne night-vision and FLIR operations by Army helicopters. Outcome Reflagged tankers were escorted through the Gulf until the Iran–Iraq ceasefire of 1988. Engagements with Iranian vessels in 1987 are recorded in secondary sources but were not verified here and are omitted. |
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| Operation Just CausePanamaUS Army aviation incl. 160th SOAR | 1989–1990 | Panama Defense Forces | AH-64A Apache, AH-6/MH-6, UH-60and 1 more | |||
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Attack, air assault and special operations. Just Cause, launched on 20 December 1989, was the AH-64 Apache’s first combat. Night Stalker Little Birds flew the Acid Gambit rescue of the American Kurt Muse from the Carcel Modelo prison; the MH-6 carrying the team was hit and came down. Panamanian losses are disputed: 314 military dead, with estimates of civilian dead ranging from 202 to over 3,000 depending on the source. Outcome Noriega was removed from power. Civilian death estimates vary widely and are attributed to different sources.
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| Gulf WarOperations Desert Shield and Desert StormUS Army aviation (XVIII and VII Corps, 101st Airborne Division) | 1990–1991 | Iraq | AH-64A Apache, AH-1 Cobra, OH-58Dand 3 more | |||
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Deep attack, air assault, reconnaissance and lift. On 17 January 1991, Apaches of the 101st under Lt. Col. Richard Cody attacked Iraqi radar sites and fired some of the first shots of the war. In the 100-hour ground war 277 AH-64s took part and were credited with 278 tanks, alongside 130 OH-58Ds and 140–145 Cobras, and the 101st carried out a large helicopter air assault deep into Iraq. The Mohawk flew one last war before retirement. It was the high point of the Cold War aviation plan: the Apache and the Black Hawk did what they were bought for. Outcome Kuwait was liberated after a 100-hour ground war. Cobra numbers differ: 140 (Wikipedia, AH-1 article) or 145 (Wikipedia, OH-58 article). Tank kill claims are those reported by US sources.
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| Operation Gothic Serpentthe Battle of Mogadishu160th SOAR | 1993 | Somali National Alliance militia | MH-60L Black Hawk, AH-6/MH-6 Little Bird | 2 | ||
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Special operations assault, fire support and lift. On 3–4 October 1993 a raid by Rangers and special forces in Mogadishu turned into an all-night battle after two Night Stalker Black Hawks were shot down by rocket-propelled grenades. Little Birds flew close fire support through the night. Five members of the 160th were among the dead. Outcome The raid captured its targets, but the losses led to the US withdrawal from Somalia. Somali casualty figures are disputed and are not given here.
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| Task Force HawkKosovo and AlbaniaUS Army aviation (Task Force Hawk) | 1999 | Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | AH-64A Apache | 0 | ||
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Deployed AH-64 Apaches for deep attack on Serbian forces in Kosovo. Twenty-four Apaches deployed to Rinas airport near Tirana from 5 April 1999 to strike Serbian forces in Kosovo, but they were never committed. GAO’s March 2001 report listed 107 lessons and serious problems linking Army and Air Force command, control and intelligence systems; the deployment has been called both a blunder and a success. Outcome Withdrawn after NATO’s air campaign ended in June 1999. Apache losses in training accidents in Albania are reported elsewhere but were not verified here.
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| War in AfghanistanOperation Enduring Freedom and Freedom’s SentinelUS Army aviation, active, Guard and Reserve; 160th SOAR | 2001–2021 | Taliban and al-Qaeda | CH-47D/F, MH-47, UH-60/HH-60and 4 more | |||
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Air assault, lift at high altitude, medevac, attack and reconnaissance, special operations. Night Stalkers inserted the first special forces into the Hindu Kush in October 2001 and resupplied the fight at Tora Bora. For twenty years Chinooks hauled troops and supplies at altitudes where few helicopters work, and the 101st’s aviation brigade alone deployed five times. On 2 May 2011 the 160th flew the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan, losing one helicopter on landing without casualties. On 6 August 2011 Taliban fighters shot down Extortion 17 in the worst single loss of American lives of the war. Outcome US forces left Afghanistan in 2021. The exact Army aircrew count aboard Extortion 17 is given inconsistently in the source and is not stated here.
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| Iraq WarOperation Iraqi FreedomUS Army aviation; 160th SOAR | 2003–2011 | Iraq (2003) and Iraqi insurgent groups | AH-64D, OH-58D, UH-60and 3 more | |||
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Deep attack, air assault, escort, medevac and special operations. The 101st’s aviation crossed into Iraq on 21 March 2003 and flew record-distance air assaults during the advance on Baghdad. The deep attack near Karbala on 24 March 2003 became a warning about sending attack helicopters against an alert air defence: 31 Apaches came back damaged and one did not come back. Night Stalkers flew the first strike on 19 March, the Jessica Lynch rescue on 1 April, and supported the capture of Saddam Hussein in December. For the rest of the war Kiowas, Apaches and Shadow drones flew over the cities, and the Gray Eagle deployed for the first time in 2010. Outcome US forces withdrew in December 2011.
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| Operation Inherent ResolveIraq and Syria160th SOAR and US Army aviation | 2014– | Islamic State | MH-60M, MH-47G, AH-64 | |||
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Special operations raids and support to forces fighting the Islamic State. Wikipedia’s regimental history lists Night Stalker operations in Iraq and Syria from 2014, beginning with the unsuccessful attempt to rescue James Foley and other hostages on 4 July 2014. Outcome Ongoing in reduced form. Army attack helicopter operations against the Islamic State were not verified from the sources checked and are not described. |
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| Operation Absolute Resolvethe capture of Nicolás Maduro160th SOAR | 2026 | Venezuela | MH-47G Chinook, MH-60M DAP | 0 | ||
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Carried the assault force that captured Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores. Early on 3 January 2026 Night Stalker MH-47Gs and MH-60M Direct Action Penetrators flew Delta Force into Caracas under cover of a large air operation. One helicopter was hit by ground fire; its pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, kept control despite leg and hip wounds and later received the Medal of Honor, according to Wikipedia. Washington described the raid as law enforcement with military support; the Venezuelan government called it a kidnapping. Outcome Maduro was taken to the United States; Delcy Rodríguez became acting president. The Army aviation details come from Wikipedia citing news agencies; no official Army account was checked. All casualty figures are the claims of the governments named.
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| 2026 Iran warthe F-15E crew rescue160th SOAR (as reported) | 2026 | Iran | ||||
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Took part, according to Wikipedia, in the rescue of a downed F-15E crew in April 2026. After a US Air Force F-15E was shot down over Iran on 3 April 2026, US special forces supported by 155 aircraft rescued the pilot the same day and the weapons system officer 48 hours later. Wikipedia’s article on the 160th SOAR says Night Stalker elements took part. Overall casualty claims differ sharply between Washington and Tehran and are not repeated here. Outcome The war began on 28 February 2026; a ceasefire from 8 April collapsed on 8 July. Army aviation’s role is reported only by Wikipedia; no official statement was checked. |
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Nothing matches that search.
Every figure, checked
- U.S. Army: Army AviationMission statement ("find, fix and destroy any enemy through fire and maneuver"); Aviation a basic branch in 1983; Army Air Forces in the Second World War with 2.4 million personnel and 80,000 aircraft.
- Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association: home pageAbout 40,000 helicopter pilots served in the Vietnam War.
- Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association: Helicopter losses during the Vietnam War (updated 31 December 2018)5,607 helicopters lost of about 12,000 that served (all services); UH-1 4,422, OH-6A 964, AH-1G 303, CH-47 251, OH-58A 48; 2,165 pilots and 2,712 other crew killed, 4,877 in all; 6,994 Huey tail numbers, almost all Army.
- GAO-01-401: Kosovo Air Operations – Army Resolving Lessons Learned Regarding the Apache Helicopter (2 March 2001)107 lessons identified; interoperability problems between Army and Air Force command, control and intelligence systems.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Back to the United States Army Aviation Branch.