List of attacks on British aircraft during The Troubles
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This is a list of attacks on British aircraft, both civilian and military, during The Troubles, an armed conflict that took place in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century and also known internationally as the Northern Ireland Conflict. The page also records instances in which the target were airstrips or helipads. All the incidents listed took place as part of the Provisional IRA armed campaign in Northern Ireland, most of them carried out against British Army Air Corps helicopters. The strategic goal of the IRA was to make the continued deployment of British garrisons in South Armagh and other border areas untenable. Since the mid-1970s, all resupply of these bases had to be conducted by helicopters departing from the heliport at Bessbrook Mills barracks because improvised explosive devices and ambushes severely restricted the British army's ability to move troops and supplies by road.[1][2] The South Armagh Brigade made the southern area of County Armagh the most dangerous operational area for British helicopters in Northern Ireland.[1][2]