Islamic Republic of Iran Army (IRIA)In general, the units of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army were in very poor condition. Most were down to only 50% of their strenght (some even less) and under command of lower-ranking officers, as all the generals of the former Imperial Iranian Army were removed from their posts after the revolution in 1979. During the early days of the war there was a considerable chaos within the chain of command, which led to a situation in which most of larger units were scattered into small battle-groups, that fought in cooperation with local militias and without a coherent overall command.
In September 1980 the IRIA had following units garrisoned along the Iraqi border:
- 16th Armored Division, based in Ghazvin, with three ABs equipped with M-60A-1 MBTs and M-113 APCs, including 1st in Ghazvin, 2nd in Zanjan, and 3rd in Hamedan.
- 81st Armored "Kermanshah" Division, with three ABs equipped with Chieftain MBTs and M-113 APCs, including 1st in Kermanshah, 2nd in Islam-Abad-Gharb, and 3rd in Sar-e-Pol-e-Zahab.
- 92nd Armored "Khuzestan" Division, with three ABs equipped with Chieftain MBTs and M-113 APCs (including 283rd Arm Cav. Bn), including 1st west of Khorramshahr and south of Ahwaz, 2nd west of Dezful, and 3rd west of Ahwaz.
- 21st Infantry Division, based in Tehran, established as combination of the 2nd Guards Brigade and the 1st Infantry division in Tehran, with total of four mechanized formations (including brigades of the former 1st Guards Division and Independent Guards Brigade, and 141 Infantry Battalion)
- 28th Infantry Division, with one AB (equipped with M-60A-1s MBTs), two MBs (equipped with M-113s), and a reconnaissance regiment (equipped with Scorpion LTs and M-113s), deployed in the areas of Sanandaj, Saquez and Marivan.
- 64th Infantry Division, garrisoned in Orumiyeh, and covering the Oromiyeh, Mahabad, Piransahr and Salmas areas.
- 77th Infantry Division, consisting of one AB (equipped with M-47s) and two MBs (equipped with BTR-50s), garrisoned in Khorasan, and covering the Soviet and Afghan borders, as well as remaining eastern Iran.
- 37th Armored Brigade, based in Shiraz
- 88th Armored Brigade, based in Zahedan (equipped with Chieftain MBTs), covering the borders to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
- 30th Infantry Brigade, with HQ in Gorgan.
- 84th Infantry Brigade, with HQ in Khoramabad, but deployed in field and covering the Ilam area, connecting the positions of the 81st and 92nd ADs.
- 23rd Special Forces Brigade, with HQ in Tehran, deployed along the Iraqi border in 13 separate detachments.
- 55th Airborne Brigade, based in Shiraz, with a battalion deployed in Sardasht, and a company each in Sanandaj and Dezful.
- 11th Independent Artillery Group, deployment area unknown.
- 22nd Independent Artillery Group, deployed in Khuzestan.
- 33rd Independent Artillery Group, deployment area unknown.
- 44th Independent Artillery Group, deployment area unknown.
- 55th Independent Artillery Group, deployed in Khuzestan.
Islamic Republic of Iran Army Aviation (IRIAA)Kermanshah/Bakhtaran Army Aviation Group, main base Shahid Ashrafi Esfahani, in Kermanshah
- 1 Company, AB.205 and AB.206
- 1 Company, Bell 214C
-1 Company, Bell 209/AH-1J
Esfahan Army Aviation Group, main base Shahid Vatanpour (named so in 1981), near Esfahan, and Shahid Ashtari/4th Army Aviation Support Base
- 1 Company, AB.206
- 1 Company, Bell 214C
- 1 Company, Bell 209/AH-1J
- 1 Company, CH-47C
Kerman Army Aviation Group, main base Masjed-Suleyman
- 1 Company, Bell 214C
- 1 Company, Bell 209/AH-1J
Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) TFB.1, Mehrabad IAP (Tehran)11th TFW
- 11th OCU "Instructors", F-4E & RF-4E (detachment at TFB.4 in 1981)
- 12th TFS, F-4E & RF-4E
1st ERW- 1 TRS, (E)C-130E
- 1 TRS, RF-4E and RF-5A (only nominally: all aircraft were deployed with different units of 21st, 31st and 61st TFWs)
1 TTW- 11th TTS, C-130E/H
- 12th TTS, C-130E/H
- Tanker Squadron, Boeing 707-3J9C and Boeing 747-2J9F
- Base Flight, Bell 214A & HH-43
- 1 TTS, Fokker F.27M
1 Training Wing
- 1 TS, T-33A
- 1 TS, Beech F33
TFB.2, Tabriz IAP (Tabriz)
21st TFW
- 21st TFS, F-5E/F
- 22nd TFS, F-5E/F
- 23rd TFS, F-5E/F
- Detachment, RF-5A (assigned to any of the three TFS')
- Detachment, C-130H
- 1 COIN Sqn, O-2A
- Base Flight, Bell 214A
* TFB.3, Shahid Nojeh AB (former Shahorkhi AB, near Hamedan)
31st TFW
- 31st TFS, F-4E & RF-4E
- 32nd TFS, F-4E & RF-4E
- Base Flight, Bell 214A
32nd TFW- 306th TFS, F-4D (sent to 71st TFS in December 1980)
- 308th TFS, F-4D (sent to 72nd TFS in December 1980)
- 33rd TFS, F-4E & RF-4E (from December 1980, with F-4Es from 71st TFS; detachment at TFB.4 from early 1981)
- 34th TFS, F-4E (from December 1980, with F-4Es from 91st
and 101st TFWs; detachment at TFB.9 in 1988)
- Base Flight, Bell 214A
* TFB.4, Vahdati AB (Dezful)41st TFW
- 41st TFS "Lions", F-5E/F
- 42nd TFS "Devils", F-5E/F
- 43rd TFS "Tigers", F-5E/F
- 306th Detachment (71st TFS), F-4D (periodically from October 1980)
- 308th Detachment (72nd TFS), F-4D (periodically from October 1980)
- Detachment from 21st TFW, F-5E (temporarily deployed in October/November 1980)
- Base Flight, Bell 214A
* TFB.5, Kermanshah (by 1980 used by IRIAF only as emergency airfield; instead, TFB.5 became one of main IRIAA bases)
- no units permanently deployed
* TFB.6, Bushehr IAP (Bushehr)61st TFW
- 61st TFS, F-4E & RF-4E
- 62nd TFS, F-4E & RF-4E
- 61st TTW, C-130H
- Base Flight, Bell 214A
* TFB.7, Hor AB (Shiraz)71st TFW
- 71st TFS, F-4E (replaced for F-4Ds from 32nd TFW)
- 72nd TFS "Flying Lions", F-14A (replaced by F-4Ds from 32nd TFW; all F-14s to 73rd TFS' detachment at Mehrabad in 1981)
- 73rd TFS, F-14A
71st TTW
- 71st TTS, C-130E/H
- 72nd TTS, C-130E/H
- 73rd TTS, Fokker F.27M
- Base Flight, Bell 214A
- Unknown number of, P-3C
* TFB.8, Khatami AB (later Shahid Baba'ie AB; Esfahan)
81st TFW
- 81st TFS, F-14A
- 82nd TFS, F-14A
- Base Flight, Bell 214A
* TFB.9, Bandar Abbas AB (Bandar Abbas)
91st TFW
- 91st TFS "Sharks", F-4E
- 92nd TFS, F-4E
* TFB.10, Chah Bahar AB (Chah Bahar)
101st TFW
- 101st TFS, F-4E (disbanded in 1980, crews sent to TFB.3; reformed in the 1990s with remaining F-4Ds)
- 101st TTS, C-130E/H
* TFB.11 Omidiyeh AB (Aghajari) (construction incomplete and not operational at the start of the war; was to see larger deployment of IRIAF units only from 1981)
51st TFW (in formation)
- 51st TFS, F-5E/F (in formation)
- 52nd TFS, F-5E/F (in formation)
* TFB.12 Masjed Soleyman (used by IRIAF as dispersal airfield or for basing of an F-5E-detachment from 41st TFW, as well as for larger detachment of IRIAA helicopters)
- no units permanently deployed
Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN)- 3 Marine Battalions
Islamic Republic of Iran Naval Aviation (IRINA)* NAS Chahbahar
- Unknown number of Bell 206
-Unknown number of MH-53
-Unknown number of AB.212ASW
Data from
www.ACIG.org
