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Uruguayan Air Force
Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya
Active 1 April 1935 - Present
Country Uruguay Uruguay
Branch Air Force
Role "To defend the honor, the independence, and the peace of the Republic, the integrity of its territory, its constitution and its laws. To be an exemplary Air Force, though small according to the possibilities of the country, with a high degree of professionalism and skill, with modern and suitable equipment, capable of dissuasion and being a pride to the nation."[1]
Size 3,000 personnel
Garrison/HQ Captain Boiso Lanza Air Base, Montevideo
Motto(s) "La aviación vanguardia de la Patria"
Aviation vanguard of the homeland
Mascot(s) Tero
Anniversaries 17 March: Air Force Day
10 August: Day of the Martyrs of Military Aviation
Commanders
Current
commander
Gen. Washington R. Martínez
Insignia
Roundel Roundel of Uruguay
Fin Flash Flag of Artigas
Aircraft flown
Attack IA-58
Fighter A-37
Patrol EMB-110
Trainer T-41, SF.260, PC-7, B-58
Transport C-130, C-212, EMB-120, UH-1, Bell 212, AS-365, U206, D50

The Uruguayan Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya or FAU) is one of the three main branches of the Armed Forces of Uruguay under the Uruguayan Ministry of Defense. The current head of the force is General of the Air Enrique A. Bonelli.

History[]

Military aviation in Uruguay was born on 17 March 1913 when the Military Aviation Academy (Escuela de Aviación Militar) was formed at a small airport 50 km from Montevideo. The first aircraft were a Farman Longhorn biplane and a Blériot XI monoplane. As with many other Latin American countries, flight instruction was initially performed by a European (in this case French) instructor. Ten army officers formed the select group chosen to be the first Uruguayan military aviators. Among them were Cpt Juan Manuel Boiso Lanza and Lt. Cesáreo L. Berisso. Boiso Lanza was the first fatality of the FAU, dying in a plane crash on 10 August 1918; he later became the namesake of Cpt Boiso Lanza Air Base in Montevideo, the current FAU headquarters. Berisso became the first commander of the Air Force flight school and was later the namesake of Gen. Cesáreo Berisso Air Base in Carrasco, the headquarters of Air Brigade I.

Along with two other young officers, Adhemar Saenz Lacueva and Esteban Cristi, they gained their military aviator rating in Argentina and Chile and formed the Military Aeronautical School on 20 November 1916. This school was the only military aviation facility in Uruguay until 1935. Several European aircraft types were used in fairly large numbers during the twenties, among them sixteen Avro 504Ks, thirteen Breguet 14s, five Castaibert 913-IVs, twenty-eight Nieuport 27s. These pioneering years saw many air routes opened and an overall increase in the awareness of the military potential of this nascent force.

In 1935 the school was transformed into the Military Aeronautics division (Aeronáutica Militar,) and five units were created as well as several airbases. Typical aircraft of the thirties and forties were European types like the Potez XXV A.2 TOE, the SPAD S.VII and S.XIII, the de Havilland DH 82A, and the IMAM Ro.37; but this era also saw the transition to aircraft of American pedigree. Beech AT-11 and Douglas C-47 transports, Waco JHD and NAA Texan trainers, and NAA B-25J bombers were used in this period. The arrival of F-51 Mustangs in the early 50s notably enhanced the capabilities of the air force. There were now nine Aviation Groups and the Military Aeronautics division was officially renamed the Military Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Militar) on 4 December 1952. This change in nomenclature was important because it signified the independence of the branch from the army command structure. The new force was reorganized into three commands (tactical, training, and material) and a brigade structure was implemented along with a fully staffed headquarters.

The Uruguayan Air Force grew from this foundation. Later, some new units were created such as the Aerial Commands, but no radical changes were made. The FAU received its first jets when Lockheed T-33s and F-80s arrived in 1955 and 1958.[2] The FAU also employed the de Havilland Chipmunk, using 10 from 1954 to 1962. The first helicopters were Bell 47s and Hiller H-23Fs, followed by the venerable Bell UH-1B Hueys, Eurocopter BO-105 .

Organization[]

Today the FAU comprises about 3000 personnel organized into three brigades and various support groups.

Air Brigade I was founded as Nº1 Aeronautics on 1 April 1936. It originally consisted of eight Potez XXV biplanes. Today, the brigade includes the Central Office for Assistance and the Carrasco Central Coordinator for Rescue. It also includes
Nº3 Squadron (Transport) and
Nº5 Squadron (Helicopters).
Air Brigade II includes
Nº1 Squadron (Attack Aircraft),
Nº2 Squadron (Fighters),
the "Advanced Flight" Squadron, and
the "Liaison" Squadron.
Air Brigade III includes
Nº7 Squadron (Observation & Liaison).

The Uruguayan Air Force also includes Service divisions for Logistics, Communications and Computer Science, Information, Infrastructure, Maintenance, Meteorology, Health, Remote Aerospace Sensors, and Transport. The FAU is involved in search and rescue, disaster assistance, and transportation to remote locations within the country.

The Uruguayan Air Force currently has five bases. Air Brigade I is based at Gen. Cesáreo L. Berisso Air Base at Carrasco International Airport (SUMU) near Carrasco; Air Brigade II is based at 2nd Lt. Mario W. Parrallada Air Base at Santa Bernardina International Airport (SUDU) in Durazno; Air Brigade III, the high command, and the Command School (Escuela de Comando y Estado Mayor Aéreo) are based at Capitán Boiso Lanza Air Base (SUBL) in Montevideo; Air Squadron 7 is based at Ángel S. Adami Airport (SUAA), also in Montevideo; and the EMA is based at Gen. Artigas Air Base(SUGA) in Pandodisambiguation needed.[3]

The Aeronautics Technical School (Escuela Técnica de Aeronáutica) is located in Toledo Sur in the Department of Canelones.[4]

Aircraft Inventory[]

Uruguayan Air Force C-130B Hercules Lofting

Uruguayan Air Force C-130B Hercules

Uruguayan Air Force Cessna OA-37B Dragonfly (318E) Lofting

Uruguayan Air Force Cessna OA-37B Dragonfly

Aircraft Origin Type Versions In service[5] Notes
Cessna A-37 Dragonfly United States
attack/fighter A-37B
12 (16 delivered) Air Brigade II, Nº2 Squadron
FMA IA 58 Pucará Flag of Argentina Argentina attack A-58 5 (6 delivered) Air Brigade II, Nº1 Squadron
Lockheed C-130 Hercules United States transport/utility C-130B 2 Air Brigade I, Nº3 Squadron
Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante Flag of Brazil Brazil transport/utility C-95 3 Air Brigade I, Nº3 Squadron
Beechcraft Twin Bonanza United States transport/utility D50 1
CASA C-212 Aviocar Flag of Spain Spain transport C-212-200 2 Air Brigade I, Nº3 Squadron
Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia Flag of Brazil Brazil transport EMB 120 1 Air Brigade I, Nº3 Squadron
Cessna 206 Stationair United States utility/liaison U206H 10 Air Brigade II, "Liaison" Squadron; &
Air Brigade III, Nº7 Squadron
Beechcraft B58 Baron United States trainer/liaison B-58 2
British Aerospace 125 Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom VIP transport 700A
600A
2[6]
Aermacchi SF.260 Flag of Italy Italy trainer T-260 EU 12
Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer Flag of Switzerland  Switzerland trainer AT-92 5 (6 delivered) Air Brigade II, "Adv. Flight" Squadron. One crashed, no replacement has been procured.
Cessna T-41 Mescalero United States trainer T-41D 7 Air Brigade III, Nº7 Squadron
Aerospatiale AS 365 Dauphin Flag of France France liaison/transport AS 365 1 Air Brigade I, Nº5 Squadron
Bell 212 Twin Huey United States transport/utility Bell 212 4 Air Brigade I, Nº5 Squadron
Bell UH-1 Iroquois United States transport/utility UH-1H 13 Air Brigade I, Nº5 Squadron

Rank structure[]

Officers wear their rank insignia on their sleeves; the insignia are nearly identical to that used by the RAF and air forces of Commonwealth nations.

Equivalent NATO Rank Code Rank in Spanish Rank in English Commonwealth equivalent US Air Force equivalent
OF-8 General del Aire Lieutenant General Air Marshal Lieutenant General
OF-7 Brigadier General Major General Air Vice-Marshal Major General
OF-5 Coronel Colonel Group Captain Colonel
OF-4 Teniente Coronel Lieutenant Colonel Wing Commander Lieutenant Colonel
OF-3 Mayor Major Squadron Leader Major
OF-2 Capitán Captain Flight Lieutenant Captain
OF-1 Teniente Primero First Lieutenant Flying Officer First Lieutenant
OF-1 Teniente Segundo Second Lieutenant Pilot Officer Second Lieutenant
OF-D Alférez Ensign Acting Pilot Officer

[7]

See also[]

References[]

  1. Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya, (2008). [1]. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
  2. Air International August 1990, p. 73.
  3. Aeroflight, (2008). [2]. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
  4. Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya, (2008). [3]. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
  5. "World Military Aircraft Inventory", Aerospace Source Book 2007, Aviation Week & Space Technology, January 15, 2007.
  6. Uruguay; AF orders two HS-125 for VIP flight - Dmilt.com, May 24, 2013
  7. [4]
  • "Shoestring Top Cover...The Uruguayan Air Force". Air International, Vol. 39 No. 2, August 1990. pp. 65–73.

External links[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Uruguayan Air Force and the edit history here.
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