Timeline of Ulster Defence Regiment Operations - 1987

1987

• January - The regular company in Keady-Middletown is withdrawn and replaced by a rotation of permanent companies from 1/9 UDR, 7/10 UDR and 11 UDR.
• April - The Regiment is placed on limited callout following a spate of bombings and the killing of a High Court judge.
• 8 May - 2 UDR seal off the village of Loughgall after an 8 man PIRA ASU enters with a bomb in a mechanical shovel. The IRA unit is ambushed by undercover soldiers in the RUC Station who kill all eight and two civilians. The 2 UDR patrols remain in cordon around the village throughout the night.
• July - 6 UDR mount a two day search operation near Castlederg and find a 600 lb landmine.
• August - 5 UDR find 5,4oolbs of explosives during two searches.
• October - During a period of extensive flooding 6 & 11 UDR are deployed to assist the public by evacuating those stranded and providing sandbags, pumps, food, heaters and putting out fires caused by electrical short circuits. Over 500 UDR soldiers are delpoyed over a 30 hour period. 6 UDR become involved in an operation to clear a device made up of 3,500 lbs of home made explosives hidden in a stolen slurry tanker.
• 8 November - 4 UDR soldiers rush to barracks to volunteer for duties following an explosion at the war memorial in Enniskillen.
• 23 November - 2 UDR seal off the border at Middletown-Keady using their own permanent cadre, companies from 1/9 UDR, 7/10 UDR and a battery of gunners in support of a major operation by British & Irish security forces searching for underground arms bunkers on both sides of the border. Dug into fields and ditches the UDR cointingent kept up their support of this operation for several months into 1988.
• December - 5 UDR on checkpoint duty outside Limavady stop a car containing 40 lbs of explosives, two grenade launchers, eleven grenades, detonator cords, detonators and timers. The patrol arrests four men.