Background
Since early December 1989, the British Army had been on alert in and around County Tyrone after a credible threat was made by a suspected member of the IRA about an imminent attack. [1] On 13 December, a major assault took place when an IRA team, riding on an improvised armoured truck, raided a permanent vehicle checkpoint manned by members of the King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) regiment near Derryard, County Fermanagh, a few yards from the border with the Republic. Two soldiers were killed in an attack that involved the use of machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and a flamethrower. [2] While British officials focused on members of the IRA from County Monaghan, in the Republic, supported by others from Clogher, County Tyrone, [1] author Ed Moloney asserts that the culprit was a flying column made up of IRA volunteers from different brigades, commanded by the East Tyrone Brigade's Michael "Pete" Ryan, who himself was shot dead in 1991 in the Coagh ambush. [3] The execution of hit-and-run raids by the IRA was "professional" and "calculating", according to British military sources. [1]
Shootdown incident
On 11 February 1990, a patrol of the King's Own Scottish Borderers was sent to investigate a suspicious column of vehicles close to the border with the support of an unarmed Gazelle helicopter [4] from the 656 Squadron, Army Air Corps. [5] The motorcade was actually a diversionary manoeuvre set up by the East Tyrone Brigade to lure the troops into an ambush. [4] As usual during the KOSB tour in Northern Ireland, the soldiers would be backed up by a helicopter. The main mission of the helicopters was to airlift patrols to different locations during a single day. Another key role was to scan the terrain for potential enemy ambushes and to block the IRA getaway by landing reinforcements on their escape route. [1] It was never determined whether the Provisionals had previously planned the shooting of the Gazelle or the helicopter became a target of opportunity. [4]
At 16:30, a local witness heard 50 to 60 shots fired, then she saw the helicopter skimming over an open field just north of the border, [6] near Derrygorry, in the Republic. The Gazelle, serial number ZB687, [5] was hit by several rounds and lost oil pressure. The crew were forced to crash-land the machine, which broke up on impact. [7] The RUC and British Army sealed off the scene as an investigation was mounted. [4] The official report confirmed that the Gazelle had been on a reconnaissance flight. [8] Three crew members were wounded in the crash, [6] one of them a sergeant major from the KOSB, who suffered spinal injuries. None of the injured was hit by gunfire. [4] Another crewmember survived unscathed. [5] The incident was covered by an ITN news report, which shows the helicopter wreckage being examined by Army technicians. The remains were kept under armed guard for further forensic analysis for several days before being removed from the field. [4]
The Provisional IRA claimed in a statement that they had fired 300 rounds at the aircraft [4] from two heavy machine-guns and three automatic rifles. [9] Some sources have speculated whether the machine-guns were either Soviet-designed DShKs, part of the Libyan shipments to the IRA in the 1980s, or American M60s. [4] The Gazelle was eventually written off. [5] It was the first helicopter brought down in Northern Ireland by hostile fire since June 1988, when a Lynx was brought down in South Armagh. [4]
Aftermath
The Gazelle shootdown raised fears that the Provisional IRA could have in mind another high-profile action before the end of the KOSB tour. [4]
After this and other attacks on security forces along the border in 1990, especially against permanent vehicle checkpoints, the troops were issued with .50 Browning machine guns and M203 grenade launchers. [10] By 1992, the use of long-range weapons by the Provisionals, like mortars and heavy machine-guns, had forced the British Army to build its main checkpoints along the border one to five miles within Northern Ireland to avoid assaults launched from inside the Republic. [11]
From 1990 until the first Provisional IRA ceasefire in 1994, there were several IRA actions involving heavy weapons in the border areas of Tyrone and Fermanagh, not far from the site where the Gazelle crashed, at least four of them involving British Army helicopters. on 15 February 1991, a Lynx came under machine gun fire while extracting British troops a few miles south of Clogher, in County Tyrone. More than 360 rounds were fired from across the border. The helicopter was forced to abort the landing and return to base. [12] [13] On 19 July 1991, the crew of a Wessex successfully dodged a surface-to-air missile at Kinawley, County Fermanagh. On 15 March 1992, a Provisional IRA unit fired more than 1,000 rounds at two helicopters from across the border near Roslea, County Fermanagh. [11] In 1993, two helicopters were fired at in different circumstances, one of them with heavy machine guns on 8 January at Kinawley after a mortar attack on a British Army outpost, [14] and the other with automatic rifles on 12 December near Fivemiletown, County Tyrone, after an ambush where two RUC officers from Clogher barracks were killed. [15]
The East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), also known as the Tyrone/Monaghan Brigade was one of the most active republican paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland during "the Troubles". It is believed to have drawn its membership from across the eastern side of County Tyrone as well as north County Monaghan and south County Londonderry.
This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) from 1970 to 1979.
The South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) operated during the Troubles in south County Armagh. It was organised into two battalions, one around Jonesborough and another around Crossmaglen. By the 1990s, the South Armagh Brigade was thought to consist of about 40 members, roughly half of them living south of the border. It has allegedly been commanded since the 1970s by Thomas 'Slab' Murphy who is also alleged to be a member of the IRA's Army Council. Compared to other brigades, the South Armagh IRA was seen as an 'independent republic' within the republican movement, retaining a battalion organizational structure and not adopting the cell structure the rest of the IRA was forced to adopt after repeated intelligence failures.
Kevin Coen was a volunteer in the Sligo Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who was killed in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, by the British Army.
Barrack buster is the colloquial name given to several improvised mortars, developed in the 1990s by the engineering unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).
On 13 December 1989 the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) attacked a British Army permanent vehicle checkpoint complex manned by the King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) near the Northern Ireland–Republic of Ireland border at Derryard townland, a few miles north of Rosslea, County Fermanagh. The IRA unit, firing from the back of an armoured dump truck, attacked the small base with heavy machine-guns, grenades, anti-tank rockets and a flamethrower. A nearby Army patrol arrived at the scene and a fierce firefight erupted. The IRA withdrew after leaving a van bomb inside the complex, but the device did not fully detonate. The assault on the outpost left two soldiers dead and two wounded.
This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) from 1980 to 1989. For actions before and after this period see Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions.
This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), from 1992 to 1999.
The Clonoe Ambush was a military action between the British Army and the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) that occurred during The Troubles in Northern Ireland. On 16 February 1992, an IRA unit attacked the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) security base in the village of Coalisland in County Tyrone, and was ambushed shortly afterwards by the Special Air Service (SAS) in the grounds of a church in the village of Clonoe whilst attempting to make its escape, resulting in several IRA fatalities.
The Coagh ambush was a military confrontation that took place in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, on 3 June 1991, during The Troubles, when a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) active service unit from its East Tyrone Brigade was ambushed by the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS) at the village of Coagh, in County Tyrone, whilst on its way to kill a part-time member of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR). The ambush resulted in the deaths of all three IRA men involved.
On 17 February 1978, a British Army Gazelle helicopter, serial number XX404, went down near Jonesborough, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, after being fired at by a Provisional IRA unit from the South Armagh Brigade. The IRA unit was involved at the time in a gun battle with a Green Jackets observation post deployed in the area, and the helicopter was sent in to support the ground troops. The helicopter crashed after the pilot lost control of the aircraft whilst evading ground fire.
The Battle of Newry Road was a running gun battle between British Army helicopters and Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) armed trucks, fought along the lanes east of Crossmaglen, County Armagh, on 23 September 1993. The engagement began when an IRA motorized team from the South Armagh Brigade attempted to ambush three helicopters lifting off from the British Army base at Crossmaglen, one of them carrying the 3rd Infantry Brigade Commander.
On 2 May 1974 the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) attacked a British Army base manned by the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) near the Northern Ireland–Republic of Ireland border at Clogher, County Tyrone. The IRA unit engaged the small base with automatic weapons, rockets and improvised mortars. Ferret armoured cars were deployed to the scene and a fierce firefight erupted. The IRA withdrew behind the border with the Republic. The assault on the outpost killed greenfinch Eva Martin and wounded another UDR soldier.
The following is a Timeline of British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) undercover operations during Operation Banner during the 1969 – 1998 Northern Irish conflict in Northern Ireland that resulted in death or injury. Including operations by the SAS, 14 Intelligence Company, the Military Reaction Force (MRF), RUC Special Patrol Group and Special Branch.
On 23 June 1988, an Army Air Corps (AAC) Westland Lynx, serial number XZ664, was shot down by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) near Aughanduff Mountain, County Armagh, in Northern Ireland. A unit of the IRA's South Armagh Brigade fired at the British Army helicopter using automatic rifles and heavy machine guns. The disabled helicopter was forced to crash-land in an open field; the aircraft and its crew were eventually recovered by British forces.
Throughout the protracted conflict in Northern Ireland (1960s-1998), the Provisional IRA developed a series of improvised mortars to attack British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) security bases. The organisation also purchased both light and heavy machine guns in order to hamper the British Army supply of border bases by helicopter. The IRA fitted vehicles, specially vans and trucks, with both types of weapons. Vans, trucks and tractors were modified to transport concealed improvised mortars to a launch area near the intended target and fire them, while light and heavy trucks were employed as firing platforms mounting machine guns, particularly M60s and DShKs. Improvised armoured vehicles and heavy equipment were also used to penetrate the perimeter of fortified security bases. The IRA vehicles were often disguised as belonging to civilian companies or even government agencies.
On 12 December 1993, a unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army's (IRA) East Tyrone Brigade ambushed a two-men unmarked mobile patrol of the RUC in Fivemiletown, County Tyrone. Two constables were shot and killed instantly. A military helicopter was also fired at by a second IRA unit in the aftermath of the incident, during a follow-up operation launched in the surroundings of the town by both the British Army and the RUC. A number of suspects were questioned, but the perpetrators made good their escape. The action occurred just three days before the Downing Street Declaration.
This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), in 1990 and 1991.
On 13 February 1991, an Army Air Corps (AAC) Westland Lynx Mk7, serial number ZE380, was shot down by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in the vicinity of Crossmaglen, County Armagh, in Northern Ireland. The IRA's South Armagh Brigade ambushed the aircraft while approaching the joint British Army-RUC base in Crossmaglen using automatic rifles, general-purpose machine guns and heavy machine guns. The severely damaged helicopter was forced to crash-land in an open field; the aircraft and its crew were eventually recovered by British forces.
