Bréguet 14, part one. South and Central American users.

 

The Bréguet 14 was a French bomber and reconnaissance biplane of the World War I. It was manufactured in large numbers during and after the conflict. It was used by the French Aéronautique Militaire (French Aeronautical Corps) but it was also exported to many countries all around the globe, among them, the following ones:

• Argentina: The Aeroposta Argentina (Argentine Air Mail) employed three Breguet 14 built by Latécoère for aerial mail duties. They arrived at Buenos Aires in late 1925 and served mainly in the Buenos Aires-Asunción  and Buenos Aires-Montevideo aerial routes. They were reported to be still in active in December 1934 when they were written off.
• Brazil: Brazil bought 16 Breguet 14 A.2 and B.2 in 1919. Four Breguet 14 B.2 served with 1a Esquadrilha de Bombardeio (1st Bombing Squadron), based at Santa María, Rio Grande do Sul, and six Breguet 14 A.2 served with the 3a Esquadrilha de Observaçao (3rd Observation Squadron), based at Alegrete, Rio Grande do Sul. Apart from those machines, six more Breguet were locally assembled. 
  They served until 1928 when those squadrons were disbanded and their aircraft sent to the Escuela de Aviaçao (Aviation School) at Campo dos Alfonsos, in Rio de Janeiro. 
  Another unit, Esquadrilha de Aperfeiçoamento (Operational Conversion Squadron) was based at Mogi das Cruzes, Sao Paulo, with six Breguet 14 A.2 in strength. This unit saw combat action during the Paulista Revolt of July 1924. During that month that squadron flew 11 bombing and reconnaissance sorties losing one aircraft to an accident. The Breguet remained there from August to September 1924 , this time as part of the Destacamento de Aviaçao (Air Detachment), of the Brazilian Army. 
  In 1927 every Brazilian Breguet 14 were withdrawn.
• El Salvador: One Breguet 14 B.2 was acquired from France in the mid-1920s. This machine was used for good will flights to both Honduras and Nicaragua in 1926. Unfortunately, it crashed in March 1927 while delivering smallpox vaccine to Managua.
• Guatemala: Three Breguet 14 were shipped to Guatemala by a French air mission in 1918. Anyway the main instructor with the mission died and the crates where the aircraft were, they were sent back to France unassembled. However, we drawn a what-if looking Breguet 14 in Guatemalan colours.
• Paraguay: One Breguet 14A.2 was employed by the Governmental Forces during the Paraguayan Civil War of 1922-1923. It was destroyed during a forced landing at the Ñu-Guasu airfield in the city of Luque, close to the capital, Asunción.  
• Uruguay: The Uruguayan Escuela Militar de Aeronáutica (Military Aeronautical School, forerunner of the Uruguayan Military Aviation) bought six Breguet 14A.2 in 1921. Three Breguet 14T Sanitaire (AKA Breguet 14TS. It was the aerial ambulance version) were acquired in 1927 and one additional 14TS was acquired in June 1928. The 14.A.2 served with the Escuela Militar de Aeronáutica until 1928 when they were replaced by the Potez 25. 
  The 14TS were regrouped in their own unit, named 'Aviación Sanitaria' (Sanitary Aviation), the first of that kind in South America. They served until 1931 when they were replaced by the Farman F.190

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bréguet_14

2. Flying Machines Press  - French Aircraft of the First World War

3. http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/user/every/paraguay-af-all-time-aircraft-used-listing.htm

4. https://www.histarmar.com.ar/AVIACION/EloyMartin/LOS-COMIENZOS-DE-LA-AVIACION-POLICIAL.pdf (translated)

5. https://www.fau.mil.uy/es/noticias/69-los-aviones-ambulancia-al-servicio-del-estado.html (translated)

6. Helion - 08 Aerial Operations in the Revolutions of 1922 and 1947 in Paraguay The First Dogfights in South America