Its first aircraft were Soviet Yak-18 trainers produced after World War II and initially used at Laprakë on the outskirts of the Albanian capital of Tirana.

After the Albanian–Soviet split ended the possibility of acquiring new Soviet planes, Albania's ally China supplied it with replacements and spare parts.

[6] Following the Sino-Albanian split, combat readiness of the fleet quickly declined with shortages of spare parts.

[7][8][9] In August 1949, during the Albanian-Greek border incident, anti-aircraft units of the same regiment shot down another Greek plane.

[10][11] In April 1952, a Greek pilot, Nikos Akrivojanis, was captured by Albanian Air Force soldiers.

Major Howard J. Curran was intercepted and forced to land on the unfinished runway of the Rinas airport.