Every war the Albanian Air Force and the royal air corps before it have faced
Albanian military aviation has never flown in combat: the royal air corps did not fly against the Italian invasion of 1939, no combat flying is recorded in the unrest of 1997, in which the air force lost control of its bases, and in 1999 Albania only hosted allied forces. 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 Italian invasion of 1939 to the Kosovo crisis of 1999.
| Conflicto | Años | Contra | Avión principal | Salidas | Avión perdido | |
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| The Italian invasion of AlbaniaApril 1939Royal Albanian Air Corps | 1939 | Italia | Albatros C.XV/L.47 | 0 | ||
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Did not fly; the air corps’ few aircraft had never entered full service. King Zog’s kingdom created an air corps under the army after 1928 and bought five Albatros C.XV/L.47 aircraft, but according to Wikipedia they were never put into full service. When Italy invaded between 7 and 12 April 1939 it committed about 400 aircraft, and on 6 April 100 Italian aircraft had dropped leaflets over Tirana, Durrës and Vlorë. Wikipedia’s invasion article credits Albania with five aircraft and records no Albanian air activity. The corps disappeared with the kingdom. It is a reminder that Albanian military aviation really begins in 1951, not 1928. Resultado Albania was occupied within five days and the air corps was abolished. Casualty figures for the invasion differ widely between sources. No Albanian air combat is recorded.
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| The 1997 unrest in Albaniathe collapse of the armed forcesAlbanian Air Force | 1997 | Shenyang F-6, Chengdu F-7A, MiG-15/F-5 trainersy 1 más | ||||
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No combat flying is recorded; the air force lost control of its bases as the armed forces disintegrated. The collapse of pyramid investment schemes in early 1997 turned into an armed uprising in the south. According to Wikipedia, on 4 March two air force pilots flew their aircraft to Italy, saying they had been ordered to attack civilians; their account was not checked against an official Albanian source. The government’s attempt to use the army failed and, in Wikipedia’s words, the forces disintegrated while civilians looted military sites; UNDP figures cited there speak of about 656,000 weapons taken from depots. Rebels took Kuçovë with 19 MiGs on 10 March. At Gjadër the control tower and other buildings were destroyed on 12 March and the military abandoned the base on 16 March. The damage finished an air force that was already short of spares and fuel; within eight years every jet was grounded. Resultado The armed forces disintegrated; an Italian-led multinational force (Operation Alba, 15 April–11 August) restored order. Jet flying at Gjadër ended by 2000. The number of aircraft destroyed (seven) and seized (19) come from two different Wikipedia articles and may count different things. The pilots’ names and aircraft types were not confirmed.
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| Kosovo crisis and Operation Allied ForceAlbania as host nationAlbanian Air Force (host nation only) | 1999 | 0 | 0 | |||
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Did not fly combat missions; Albania made Tirana airfield available to the US Army’s Task Force Hawk. During NATO’s air campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 24 March to June 1999, Albania, not yet a NATO member, served as a host nation while Kosovar refugees crossed its border in large numbers. The US Army’s Task Force Hawk deployed to Rinas, Tirana’s airport, from 5 April to 24 June with AH-64 Apaches, refuelling sites and rocket artillery; it never fired a round in combat and is remembered, in Wikipedia’s words, as both one of the largest blunders and largest successes of the US military. The Albanian Air Force itself had no modern aircraft to offer and flew no missions. The Yugoslav government stated its losses as 1,008 soldiers and police killed; Human Rights Watch counted 489–528 civilian deaths from the bombing. Serbia does not recognise Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence; many states do. Resultado Yugoslav forces withdrew from Kosovo in June 1999; Task Force Hawk left in late June. Listed for completeness: the Albanian Air Force did not take part. Figures are attributed to the Yugoslav government and Human Rights Watch as quoted by Wikipedia.
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Cada cifra, verificada
- Ministria e Mbrojtjes: 68 vjet Arma e Aviacionit (23 April 2019)Official history: 1914 Lohner order cancelled; air surveillance company 14 February 1947; 24 April 1951; jet unit at Kuçovë 1955; transport regiment 1957; Rinas regiment and aviation school 1962; helicopter regiment with over 30 Mi-4 in 1967; Gjadër regiment 1974; 1970s strength; helicopter delivery dates 2001–2015; NATO 50 million euros for Kuçovë.
Cifras verificadas el 30 de septiembre de 2026. Back to the Albanian Air Force.