1988 British Army Lynx shootdown

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.

Background

Since 1976, after a relentless series of roadside bombings and ambushes on military convoys, the British Army declared the area of South Armagh, roughly below a line stretching from Newtownhamilton to Newry, out of limits for military vehicles. Some exceptions were made, such as undercover civilian-type vehicles or, in certain occasions when heavy equipment or materials should be transported, lorries had to move through a series of checkpoints to reach their destination safely. Therefore, all military movement and resupply missions across South Armagh had to be carried out by helicopter. This decision bore criticism from both politicians and military officers, since this gave the IRA de facto control of South Armagh. This situation made the British security base at Bessbrook Mills, County Armagh, the busiest heliport in Europe, with an average of 600 flights in and out per week.

Due to this heavy reliance on air supply, the shooting down of helicopters had become a high priority for the IRA in this and other border regions. Most of the attacks on British Army helicopters carried out by the IRA during The Troubles took place in South Armagh.

In October 1979, the AAC in Northern Ireland replaced the Scout with the more versatile Lynx AH1.