In 1969 the prolonged spate of violence that broke out in Northern Ireland and became known as ‘The Troubles’ was countered militarily by Operation BANNER which would run until 2006. The Army Air Corps made a crucial contribution to Operation BANNER providing helicopters and fixed wing aircraft that carried out intelligence gathering and surveillance, moved troops around ‘bandit country’ and fought back against terrorist groups. A generation of Army Air Corps aircrew and groundcrew cut their teeth in Northern Ireland and the lessons they learned were carried forward to operations in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.