List of aircraft of the Portuguese Air Force

This list of aircraft of the Portuguese Air Force also includes aircraft that were operated by the Portuguese Army and Portuguese Navy aviation services, prior to the creation of the Air Force in 1952.

Aircraft inventory

Army Aviation

The Army's Aeronáutica Militar was the first military aviation service created in Portugal and much of the Portuguese aviation origins date back to it.

Aircraft	Qty	In service	Retired	Origin	Notes
Maurice Farman Type 1911-1912	1	1912	1916	France
Deperdussin Type B	1	1912	1916	France
Maurice Farman MF-11	3	1912	1917	France
Farman F.40	5	1916	1920	France
Morane-Saulnier Type H	1	1916	?	France
Caudron G.III	58	1916	?	France Portugal	50 built from 1922 at Alverca
Nieuport Ni-83	7	1917	?	France
Caudron G.IV	9	1918	1923	France
Breguet 14A-2	28	1919	?	France
Breguet 14T-2	1
SPAD SVII-C1	12	1919	1935	France	More units possibly received
Martinsyde F-4 Buzzard	4	1919	1933	United Kingdom
Nieuport Ni-21	8	1920	?	France
Nieuport Ni-80	3	1920	?	France
Breguet 16Bn-2	1	1921	?	France
Vickers Valparaiso II	4	1923	1933	United Kingdom
Vickers Valparaiso I	10	1924
Caudron C.59	1	1924	?	France
Fairey IIID	1	1924	1925	United Kingdom
Avro 548 AX Airdisco	2	1924	1933	United Kingdom
Avro 504K	27	1924	1937	United Kingdom
Dornier Wal	1	1927	?	Germany
Potez 25 Bidon	1	1928	1937	France
Potez 25A-2	35	1931	1943
Junkers W 34L	1	1928	1936	Germany
Farman F-191	1	1929	1934	France
Morane-Saulnier MS.130	1	1931	?	France
Morane-Saulnier MS.133	4	1931	?	France
Morane-Saulnier MS.233	15	1931	?	France	Built under license
Junkers A-50Ce Junior	1	1931	1940	Germany
Vickers Valparaiso III	13	1933	1943	United Kingdom	Built under license
de Havilland DH-82 Tiger Moth	11	1934	1952	United Kingdom Portugal	Small number of airframes built under license in Alverca; Transferred to PoAF
de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth	9
de Havilland DH-85 Leopard Moth	1	1934	?	United Kingdom	Aircraft named "Dilly", did Lisbon-Timor-Macau-India-Lisbon flight on December 25, 1934
Avro 631 Cadet	1	1934	1952	United Kingdom
Caproni Ca-100 Caproncino	1	1934	1940	Italy
Caproni Ca-113 Farfalla	1	1934	1939	Italy
Hawker Fury I	3	1934	1945	United Kingdom
Avro 626 Tutor	31	1936	1952	United Kingdom
Junkers Ju 52	12	1936	1952	Germany	Transferred to PoAF
Junkers Ju 52/3 mg3e
de Havilland DH-84 Dragon	3	1937	?	United Kingdom
Hawker Hind	4	1937	?	United Kingdom
de Havilland DH-88 Comet	1	1937	?	United Kingdom	Reregistered CS-AAJ Salazar
Junkers Ju 86K-7	10	1938	1948	Germany
Gloster Gladiator II	30	1938	1952	United Kingdom
Breda Ba-65Bis	10	1939	1941	Italy
Curtiss 75A-4 Mohawk	17	1941	1945	United States
Miles Master II/III	13	1941	1958	United Kingdom
Miles Martinet T.T.1	7	1942	?	United Kingdom
Lockheed P-38F Lightning	2	1942	1945	United States	Interned during WWII after an emergency landing in Lisbon
Lockheed P-38G Lightning
Supermarine Spitfire I	18	1942	1948	United Kingdom
Supermarine Spitfire VB	93	1943	1952		Transferred to PoAF
Bell P-400 Airacobra	15	1942	1950	United States	Interned during WWII
Bell P-39L Airacobra	4
Convair B-24/PB4Y-1 Liberator	6	1943	?	United States	Interned during WWII
Douglas C-47 Dakota	1	1944	1952	United States	Interned during WWII. Transferred to PoAF
de Havilland Hornet Moth	1	1943	?	United Kingdom
Bristol Blenheim IV	10	1943	1947	United Kingdom
Bristol Blenheim V	3
Lockheed Hudson III/VI	3	1943	?	United States	Interned during WWII
Hawker Hurricane IIB/IIC	?	1943	1954	United Kingdom
Westland Lysander IIIA	13	1943	1952	United Kingdom
Vickers Wellington X	1	1943	?	United Kingdom	Interned during WWII
Airspeed Oxford	19	1943	1952	United Kingdom	Transferred to PoAF
Miles Magister I	10	1946	1952	United Kingdom	Transferred to PoAF
Beechcraft Bonanza	1	1947	?	United States
Avro Anson T.1	10	1947	1952	United Kingdom	Transferred to PoAF
North American AT-6A Texan	48	1947	1952	United States	Transferred to PoAF
North American AT-6B Texan
North American AT-6C Texan
North American AT-6G Texan
SB-17G Flying Fortress	5	1947	1960	United States	Transferred to PoAF
Douglas C-54 Skymaster	9	1947	1978	United States	Transferred to PoAF
SC-54/HC-54 Searchmaster	9	1947	?	United States	3 used for spares
de Havilland DH-89A Dragon Rapide	1	1950	1952	United Kingdom	Transferred to PoAF
de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk	10	1951	1952	United Kingdom	Transferred to PoAF
Piper PA-18/L-21 B Super Cub	22	1952	1955	United States	Used by Army artillery for observation, already after dissolution of the Army Aviation and the creation of the PoAF in 1952. Transferred to PoAF only in 1955

Naval Aviation

The Navy's Aviação Naval (Naval Aviation) was created in 1917. In 1993, the Naval Aviation was reborn with the creation of the Esquadrilha de Helicópteros da Marinha (Navy's Helicopter Squadron), which operates the helicopters that serve on board the Navy's ships.

Aircraft	Qty	In service	Retired	Origin	Notes
F.B.A. Type B	3	1917	1918
Donnet-Denhaut D.D.8	18	1918	1923	France	Eight left by the French Aeronavale at Aveiro
Tellier T.3	5	1918	1928
Georges Levy G.L.40HB-2	2	1918	?	France	Left by the French Aeronavale at Aveiro
Felixstowe F.3	3	1920	1922	United Kingdom
Curtiss HS-2L	4	1921	1931	United States	Left by the United States Navy at Horta. Started flying in 1923
Fairey IIID/IIID Mk.2	6	1922	1931	United Kingdom
Fokker T.IIIW	4	1924	1933	Netherlands
Avro 504K	3	1925	1927	United Kingdom	The first wheel aircraft
C.A.M.S.37A	8	1927	1935
Hanriot HD.41H	8	1927	1935
Macchi M.18	9	1928	1934
de Havilland DH-60HG Gipsy Moth	8	1929	1942	United Kingdom	Bought four directly from de Havilland. Other four were built from parts after the loss of the first four in accidents
Fleet F-10	26	1933	1953		Several batches
Fleet F-10B
Fleet F-10G
Junkers K 43W	5	1933	1941	Germany Sweden	Manufactured in Sweden
Hawker Osprey III	8	1935	1942	United Kingdom
Blackburn Shark IIA	6	1936	1938	United Kingdom
G.A.L.Monospar S.T.12	1	1936	1943
Avro 626	12	1939	1950	United Kingdom
Grumman G-21B Goose	12	1940	1952	United States	Transferred to PoAF
Grumman G-44 Widgeon	12	1941	1952	United States	Transferred to PoAF
Short Sunderland I	1	1941	1944	United Kingdom	Interned after force landing in Portugal due to storm
Fleet 16	5	1942	?	United Kingdom
Miles Martinet T.T.1	4	1943	1952	United Kingdom	Transferred to PoAF
Airspeed Oxford II	12	1943	1952	United Kingdom	Transferred to PoAF
Bristol Blenheim IVF	12	1943	?	United Kingdom
de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth	30	1943	1952	United Kingdom	Transferred to PoAF
Bristol Beaufighter TF.X	17	1945	1946	United Kingdom
Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan	7	1947	1952	United States	Transferred to PoAF
Beechcraft D-18S	5	1948	1952	United States	Transferred to PoAF
North American SNJ-4	8	1950	1952	United States	Transferred to PoAF
Curtiss SB2C-4 Helldiver	14	1950	1952	United States	Used only for spares
Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver	24				Transferred to PoAF
AgustaWestland Super Lynx Mk.95	5	1993		United Kingdom	The first aircraft of the reborn Naval Aviation

Air Force

The Portuguese Air Force (PoAF) was founded in 1952 as the result of the amalgamate of the Aeronáutica Militar and Aviação Naval. With the merger many aircraft were transferred from these earlier aviation services to the Air Force, having been in service before 1952.

Aircraft	Qty	In service	Retired	Origin	Notes
de Havilland DH-82 Tiger Moth	30(?)	1952	1954	United Kingdom Portugal	Received from Aeronáutica Militar and Aviação Naval
de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Junkers Ju 52	12	1952	1972	Germany	Received from Aeronáutica Militar
Junkers Ju 52/3 mg3e
Amiot A.A.C.1 Toucan	15	1961		France
Miles Master II/III	?	1952	1958	United Kingdom	Received from Aeronáutica Militar
Miles Martinet T.T.1	?	1952	?	United Kingdom	Received from Naval Aviation
Douglas C-47 Dakota	29	1952	1976	United States	One aircraft received from Aeronáutica Militar in 1952. Remaining aircraft bought in 1958
Hawker Hurricane IIB/IIC	151	1952	1954	United Kingdom	Received from Aeronáutica Militar
Airspeed Oxford	?	1952	1957	United Kingdom	Received from Aeronáutica Militar
Airspeed Oxford II					Received from Naval Aviation
Supermarine Spitfire VB	?	1952	?	United Kingdom	Received from Aeronáutica Militar
Miles Magister I	8	1952	1956	United Kingdom	Received from Aeronáutica Militar
Avro Anson T.1	10	1952	?	United Kingdom	Received from Aeronáutica Militar
North American AT-6 Texan	257	1952	1978	United States	Received from Aeronáutica Militar
North American SNJ-4					Received from Naval Aviation
Harvard Mk III		1956		United States	Former British Fleet Air Arm aircraft
North American T-6G Texan		1961		United States	Former-French Air Force aircraft
Harvard Mk IV		1964		Canada	Former-Luftwaffe aircraft
Harvard Mk IIA		1969			Former-South African Air Force aircraft
Harvard Mk III
SB-17G Flying Fortress	5	1952	1960	United States	Received from Aeronáutica Militar
Douglas C-54 Skymaster	8	1947	1952	United States	Some received from Aeronáutica Militar
SC-54/HC-54 Searchmaster	10	1952	?	United States	Received from Aeronáutica Militar
de Havilland DH-89A Dragon Rapide	1	1952	1968	United Kingdom	Received from Aeronáutica Militar
de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk	10	1952	1997	United Kingdom	Received from Aeronáutica Militar
	66			Portugal	Built under license by OGMA; As of 1997 six airframes refurbished
Grumman G-21B Goose	9	1952	1960	United States	Received from Naval Aviation
Piper PA-18/L-21 B Super Cub	22	1955	1976	United States	Received from the Portuguese Army Artillery arm
Piper PA-18/L-18 SL21A	5
Piper PA-18-125 Super Cub		1954
Grumman G-44 Widgeon	12	1952	1962	United States	Received from Naval Aviation
Fleet F-10G	1	1952	?	United States	Received from Naval Aviation
Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan	6	1952	1977	United States	First units received from Naval Aviation
Beechcraft D-18S	15
C-45 Expeditor		1959	1976
Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver	6	1952	1952	United States	Received from Naval Aviation
Republic F-47D Thunderbolt	50	1952	1956	United States
Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star	28	1952	1991	United States
de Havilland Vampire T.55	2	1952	1962	United Kingdom
PV-2C/D Harpoon	42	1953	1975	United States	Only 34 flown
Republic F-84G Thunderjet	125	1953	1974	United States
Grumman SA-16A Albatross	3	1954	1962	United States
Sikorsky UH-19A	2	1954	1960	United States	First helicopter operated in Portugal. Used only in search and rescue operations in Azores. Removed from service after an accident on October 4, 1959
Sud Aviation Alouette II	7	1958	1976	France	More received for the Portuguese Republican National Guard
North American F-86F Sabre	65	1958	1980	United States
Canadair T-33A-N Silver Star	5	1959	1960	Canada
Hunting Jet Provost	1	1959	1959	United Kingdom	Received PoAF markings for demonstration but wasn't bought
Lockheed RT-33A	2	1960	1982	United States
Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune	12	1960	1977	United States
Auster D.5/108&180	76	1960	1976	United Kingdom
Nord Noratlas N.2502	12	1960	1978	France
Nord Noratlas N.2501D	18
Auster D.5/160	99	1961	1976	United Kingdom Portugal	84 built under license by OGMA
Dornier Do 27 A1/A3/A4/B1	146	1961	1979	Germany
Max Holste M.H.1521 Broussard	4	1961	1977	France
Douglas DC-6A	4	1961	1978	United States
Douglas DC-6B	6
Saunders-Roe Skeeter	10	1961	1961	United Kingdom	Delivered in July from German Army Aviation Corps and German Navy stocks, never flew due to being non-airworthy and lack of spares to be rebuilt
Cessna T-37C	30	1961	1992	United States
Sud Aviation Alouette III SA 319	140	1963		France
B-26B Invader	7	1965	1975	United States
B-26C Invader
Fiat G.91R/4	40	1965	1993	Italy
Cessna 310B	1	1969	1974	United States
Cessna 182C	1	1969	?	United States
Sud Aviation SA-330C Puma	13	1969	2011	France	Retired in 2006, re-entered service in 2008 in Azores, finally retired in 2011
Aérospatiale Puma SA-330S1 Puma		1971
Cessna 206	1	1969	?	United States
Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six	4	1970	1974	United States
Cessna 401B	1	1971	1974	United States	Used PoAF markings in special missions
Cessna 185A Skywagon	5	1971	1974	United States	Received from South African Air Force
Boeing 707-3F5C	2	1971	1976	United States	Transferred to TAP
CASA C-212-100 Aviocar	24	1974	2010	Spain	Replaced by CASA C-295M
Cessna Skymaster FTB-337G	32	1974	2007	United States
Fiat G.91R/3	70	1976	1993	Italy	Only 34 flown, others were used for spares
Fiat G.91T/3	26				Only 11 flown
Northrop T-38A Tallon	12	1977	1994	United States
Lockheed C-130H Hercules	6	1977		United States
Lockheed C-130H-30 Hercules
Vought A-7P Corsair II	44	1981	1999	United States
Vought TA-7C Corsair II	1	1982	1984		One example (s/n 154404; c/n B-044), nicknamed "Pomba Branca" (white dove), leased from the USN for pilot conversion
Vought TA-7P Corsair II	6	1984	1999
Fournier RF-10	4	1984		France
Dassault Falcon 20	3	1984		France	Currently only one in service
Lockheed P-3P Orion	6	1985	2011	United States	Replaced by former-Dutch P-3C Update II.5/CUP-CG. One being used for crew training by CFMTFA.
Alexander Schleicher ASK 21	4	1986		Germany
Aérospatiale Epsilon TB-30	18	1989		France Portugal	Assembled in Portugal by OGMA
Dassault Falcon 50	2	1990		France
Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jet A	50	1993		France Germany	Former-Luftwaffe aircraft, offered by Germany for the use of the Beja Air Base — BA11
General Dynamics F-16A OCU Fighting Falcon	17	1994		United States	Converted and updated to Mid Life Update (MLU) standard (F-16 AM) by the Air Force workshops at Monte Real Air Base and OGMA
General Dynamics F-16B OCU Fighting Falcon	3
CASA C-212-300 Aviocar	2	1994	2011	Spain	Replaced by C-295MPA
LET L-23 Blanik	3	1996		Czech Republic
de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk Lycoming engine	6	1997		United Kingdom Portugal	Refurbished from existing de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk aircraft
General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon	21	1999		United States	Updated to Mid Life Update (MLU) standard (F-16 AM) by the Air Force workshops at Monte Real Air Base and OGMA
General Dynamics F-16B Fighting Falcon	4
Advanced Ceramics Research Silver Fox	2	2004		United States	Used by the Portuguese Air Force Academy for research and development of aeronautical components and UAV systems
AgustaWestland EH101	12	2005		United Kingdom Italy
Lockheed P-3C Update II.5/CUP-CG Orion	5	2006		United States	Former-Dutch Navy aircraft. Receiving electronics upgrade to CUP+ standard
CASA C-295	12	2008		Spain
ANTEX-M	?	2008		Portugal	Unmanned Air Vehicle prototype developed by the Portuguese Air Force Academy. At least four built and operated

See also

• Portuguese military aircraft serials
• Portuguese Naval Aviation
• Portuguese Air Force
• Portuguese Colonial War
• OGMA
• UALE

References

Sources

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