Boeing Stearman Model 75, part four. The Stearman in America, part one. South American users.

 

The Boeing Stearman Model 75 is an American two-seater biplane trainer of the 1930s that was employed by many countries all around the world, among them, the following ones:

• Argentina: In 1936 the Argentine Navy acquired sixteen new Stearman Model 76D, powered by the 320 hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior. They were assigned to the Naval Aviation School and served until 1949 whe, according to some historians, were donated to various flying clubs, however, there were not Model 76s registered in Argentine civil aviation.
  Many years later, in 1947, the Argentine Navy bought thirty Boeing-Stearman Model 75 (AKA PT-17/N2S Kaydet), with thirty additional machines two years later, in 1949. These sixty machines were ex-American machines equipped with radial engines such as the Continental R-670-4 or R-670-5 yielding up to 220 hp of power. They were mainly assigned to the Naval Aviation School, with a detachment to Comandante Espora Naval Air Base (Province of Buenos Aires). From the mid-1950s onwards they were employed for general purposes and, since they were ageing considerably, they were gradually replaced by the North American Texan from 1954 until 1962 when the last Model 75 was sold to private owners.
  One of the Model 76, equipped with floats and registered as 1-E-41, became famous for being the first Argentine aircraft to fly to the Antarctica on 6th February 1942. 
  This flight took off from the ship ARA 1º de Mayo (an old modified steam ship) and was performed by Frigate Lieutenant Eduardo Lanusse at the controls and Corporals Erik Blomquist, Antonio Silva and Mario Pappe as mechanics, radio operator and photographers. This was seen as a national milestone but, unfortunately, in April 1942 both Lanusse and Blomquist died in a fatal accident while piloting 1-E-41.
  
  
• Brazil: During the second half of the 1930s the Brazilian Army Aviation sought to modernize their Military Aviation School, so in May 1937 the first machines of the Stearman Model A76C3 (attack variant equipped with bomb gear and a defensive machine gun were shipped to Rio do Janeiro. By early 1938 all thirty of them were assembled and assigned to the Army Aeronautics School, where they served as basic trainers. 
  However, as they were equipped with bombing gear and a defensive machine gun, they were also employed in the bombing trainer role, ground attack and aerial photography.
  Not all of the Brazilian Model 76s were employed by the Aeronautics Schools, some were also employed by the Training Squadron of the 7th Aviation Regiment, in Belem, and some others with the 4th Aviation Regiment, at Belo Horizonte, however, their presence there was brief and were reassigned back to the Aviation School. 
  Some years later, in October 1940 the Brazilian Army Aviation was transitioning to become an independent branch (the Brazilian Air Force), so many North American NA-72 trainers were ordered and, with the creation of the Ministry of Aeronautics, on 20th January 1941, the Stearmans were passed on to the Brazilian Air Force (BAF).
  With the BAF served a total of twenty Stearmans A-75 and twenty-seven A-76 which, as stated, had previously served with the Brazilian Army Aviation. 
  These machines served until 1948 and 1950 as they were employed as basic trainers by the Aeronautics School. In 1942 the Model A-75-L3s were replaced by the newly-acquired Fairchild PT-19, while one year later, in 1943, th A-76C3s were replaced by the Vultee BT-15 and, finally in 1944, the A-76C3 were definitely replaced by the T-6 Texan and the Stearmans were withdrawn to secondary administrative roles, being definitely written off in 1950.
  
  
• Bolivia: In 1942 Bolivia acquired around twenty PT-17s which served for a long period of time, until 1963. It is known that they acquired six PT-17s from Argentina. 

Sources:

1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing-Stearman_Model_75

2nd https://issuu.com/federacionargentinadecamarasagroaer/docs/revista_37_opt/s/15636721 (translated)

3rd https://www.marambio.aq/primervueloargentino.html (translated)

4th Aeronaves Militares Brasileiras 1916-2015 (translated)

5th https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anexo:Aeronaves_militares_históricas_de_Bolivia

Supermarine Spitfire. American Users, part one. The Spitfire with No.164 Squadron and Argentina.

 

To write about the Spitfire's usage with Argentina means to write about the operational history of No.164 (Argentine-British) Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF). 
This squadron was activated on 6th April 1942 as a gift squadron from the British diaspora in Argentina, hence its motto in spanish, "Firmes Volamos" (firmly we flight). It was activated at RAF Peterhead, in Scotland and was initially equipped with the Spitfire Mk.Va flying mostly shipping patrols. In May, they were rebased to RAF Skeabrae, in the Orkney Islands, where they were re-equipped in September with the Spitfire Mk.Vb,. There they faced some occasional clashes against Luftwaffe fighters. In February 1943 they were rebased from RAF Peterhead to RAF Fairwood Common, in Wales to be re-equipped with the Hawker Hurricane as the squadron was to perform ground-attack duties. 
It wasn't until June 1945 that the squadron switched again to aerial interceptor role and changed the Hawker Typhoon with the Spitfire Mk.IX, which kept them, together with some Mk.XVIe until August 1946 when the squadron was disbanded. 

After the war, in 1947, Jaime Storey, an Argentine citizen who was interested in the Spitfire, bought a PR.XI, which was registered as LV-NMZ and, with additional fuel tanks, it flew from RAF Hurn, in Dorset, England to Buenos Aires, Argentina in a flight that took place between the dates of 29th April 1947 and 7th May 1947. This machine was donated to the University of Cordoba, together with a Mk.IX which was bought by Henri Henequin (CEO of Henequin & Co) and tried to sell it to the Argentine Air Force back in 1946 and, for that purpose, it was painted with the Argentine roundel and fin flash. This machine, however served as a source of spare parts for the aforementioned PR.XI. 
The Argentine Air Force also ordered ten Spitfire T.IX trainers in 1950 but it was cancelled and the Fiat G.55b were acquired instead.

Sources:

1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._164_Squadron_RAF
2nd https://www.3040100.com.ar/spitfire-en-la-aviacion-argentina/ (translated)
3rd https://www.elgrancapitan.org/portal/index.php/articulos3/segunda-guerra-mu/1363-spitfires-en-argentina (translated)

Martin 139, South American and European Users

 

The Martin 139 (known in service with the United States Army Air Corps - USAAC) as B-10, was an American all-metal bomber, one of the first mass-produced in the 1930s that saw service with various countries. On this post we're covering the next ones:

• Argentina: Both Argentine Comando de Aviación del Ejército (Army Aviation Command) and Armada Argentina (Argentine Navy) used the Type 139. 
  In the mid-1930 the Army Aviation Command sought to modernise their bomber fleet and, in February 1937, after having studied other choices, they signed a contract with Martin for a total of 22 machines, which were designated by the company as Martin Type 139WAA (with the demonstrator being denominated just as Type 139WA). The bombers were assigned to the Regimiento de Aviación Nº1 (No.1 Aviation Regiment) at El Palomar Air Base, close to the capital, Buenos Aires and Regimiento 1 de Bombardeo (Bombing Regiment 1) of Villa Reynolds in the province of San Luis. They served until 1954, however, by that year the last three ones were being used as target tows. They were replaced by the native IAe-24 Calquin.
  The Argentine Navy acquired also a total of 12 new aircraft, plus a demonstrator, designated by the company as Type 139WAN. The contract was signed on 24th December 1936 and they were delivered in November 1937. They were assigned to two newly-formed bomber squadrons, one based at Punta Indio Naval Air Base, close to Buenos Aires and other one based at Comandante Espora Naval Air Base, close to Buenos Aires too. 
  This type was chosen by the Navy as the fuselage featured watertight compartments that could help with floatability in case of an emergency landing on sea and the type could also be fitted with EDO-made floaters. They also were the first airplane to feature a retractable landing gear to operate with the Argentine Navy. They all served until 1949.
• USSR: One aircraft, denominated by Martin as Martin Type 139WR, powered by two Wright R-1820-F53 Cyclone engines and Hamilton screws was bought by the Soviet Union for evaluation purposes. It seems that the performance of this machine wasn't satisfactory as no further machines were ordered by the Soviets and nothing is known about the fate of the aircraft. As there doesn't seem to be any graphical evidence of the type serving in Soviet colours, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Republic of Spain: The Spanish Republican Government had closed a deal for several Martin 139WSP (denomination given by the company), just before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. This deal also included the licensed production of the type by CASA, however, it was eventually blocked by the US State Department and the type was never delivered. When the Soviet Tupolev SB Katyusha appeared over the Spanish skies, many sources initially misidentified it as a "Martin Bomber"(which shouldn't come as a surprise as the Soviet aircraft types were kept under secrecy back in the 1930s).
  The presence of the 139WSP in the Spanish Civil War is even quoted by many authors and there are even some manipulated photographs, made with obvious propaganda purposes. We decided to draw a fictional version of the type serving with the Republican side.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_B-10

2. http://www.amilarg.com.ar/martin-139.html (translated)

3. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920135216/http://bioold.science.ku.dk/drnash/model/Spain/didnt.html

4. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/b-10-foreign.htm

Junkers Ju.52 in Argentina

 

The Junkers Ju.52/3m is a German transport aircraft manufactured and developed by Junkers. With 4.485 units having been manufactured, it comes no surprise that the type was widely exported to, among many other countries, Argentina.

In September 1938 the Comando de Aviación del Ejército (Army Aviation's Command) sent a representation to Germany in order to buy 5 Ju.52/3m which were being produced for the Luftwaffe. 

The first three Ju.52 arrived in Argentina in 1939 and in October they were assigned to the newly created "Escuadrilla de Transporte" (Transport Squadron) belonging to the "Grupo 1 de Observación" (No.1 Observation Group) based at El Palomar Air Base, in Buenos Aires. Shortly later the two remaining machines were delivered. All five of them were delivered unassembled by boat and were assembled at Fábrica Militar de Aviones' (FMA) factory, in Córdoba.

Given that Germany was in the middle of the World War 2, spare parts and engines were running short, the Junkers were re-engined with FMA E-1 radial engines which were a licensed copy of the American Wright Cyclone SGR-1820F.2. Between the years 1939 and 1945, they served with the Argentine Army's Aviation Command in the transport role, but also with Aeroposta Argentina (Argentine Air Mail) flying in every occasion under neutrality markings (though Argentine declared war on Germany… on 27th March 1945!). 

After the War, the Fuerza Aérea Argentina (Argentine Air Force) was created , which takes into property the Ju.52 together with ten additional second-hand machines bought from the Brazilian company Cruzeiro do Sul in 1946, which were BMW engined.

With the first machines, back in 1940, the first flights of LASO (Líneas Aéreas del Sudoeste - Southwestern Airlines), LANE (Líneas Aéreas del Noreste - Northeastern Airlines) and SADE (Servicio Aeropostal del Estado - State's Aeropostal Service) took place, which were all merged in 1945 into LADE (Líneas Aéreas del Estado - State's Airlines). All of this while they were still serving with the Air Force in military transport flights, cargo transfer and even paratrooper drop as they were the first transports assigned to the Argentinean paratrooper unit, created in 1943. 

Between 1947 and 1948 they were employed as crop dusters (with additional crop dusting gear fitted in a workshop at the city of Quilmes) to fight the locust plague which was ruining plantations in the Argentinean North and Northeast. 

By late 1948 nine aircraft were transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture and the remaining two were kept serving with the Air Force until as late as 1963.

Sources:

1. http://www.amilarg.com.ar/junkers-ju-52.html (translated)

2. https://www.zona-militar.com/foros/threads/junkers-ju-52-3-m-en-argentina.10321/ (translated)

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_52

4. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerolíneas_Argentinas (translated)

Airspeed AS.65 Consul, part one, various users

The Airspeed AS.65 Consul was a British light twin-engined airliner of the post World War 2 period. It was a civilian conversion of the Airspeed AS.10 Oxford surplus trainers.
The Consul was used by many nations and, in this case, international organization:

• Argentina: After the war, the Argentine Air Force bought ten Consuls (some source claims it was just five of them) which were delivered between June and December 1947. They were used as light transports. They served in that role through the 1950s and two of them suffered accidents. They were written off and scrapped some time during the 1950s.
• New Zealand: After the war, the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) bought six Oxfords which were converted in 1948 to Consuls. They served with the No.42 Squadron RNZAF until the mid-1950s when they were either sold or scrapped.
• United Nations: The United Nations' commission in Israel operated six Consuls in the Middle-East. They were leased by Mortons, Chartair International Airways and Air Enterprises in 1947 to 1949. They were painted totally in white and bore the letters UN plus a number bearing from 90 to 100. While serving as a transport for the UN personnel, one was lost in a crash in a remote area of Lebanon on 11th February 1949.

Sources:

1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Consul

2. http://www.britishaviation-ptp.com/airspeed_as65.html#prodlistAll

3. https://www.gacetaeronautica.com/gaceta/wp-101/?p=5991 (translated)

4. https://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/GibbinsBryan/10665.htm

5. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/airspeed_oxford_&_consul.pdf

6. https://loudandclearisnotenought.blogspot.com/search/label/Airspeed%20Consul%20%2F%20Oxford (translated)

7. https://blackbusheairport.proboards.com/thread/663/airspeed-oxford-consul-blackbushe

8. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/nz-serials/nzconsul.htm

Airspeed AS.10 Oxford, part seven, American Users

The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a British twin-engined multi-role aircraft that was designed and manufactured by Airspeed Ltd. With more than 8.500 machines manufactured it was exported to many countries, among them, the following ones:

• Argentina: The Argentine 'Fuerza Aérea Argentina' (Argentine Air Force) bought three ex-Royal Air Force Oxfords in 1947, together with some more Airspeed Consuls. They were modified to be used as air ambulances, delivered in 1948 and assigned to the 'Agrupación Transporte' (Transport Group). They served through the 1950s and were phased out shortly later. 
• Canada: Twenty-five Oxfords were ordered by the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1938. They were taken from British stocks and sailed unassembled to Canada one year later, in 1939 to be assembled at Canadian Vickers in Montreal. They were initially assigned to the Canadian Central Flying School, but later, as part of the Commonwealth Air Training Scheme, they were assigned to Nos. 32, 34, 35, 36, 37 and 39 Service Flying Schools as trainers. 
• United States of America: The United States Army Air Force (USAAF) employed a total of 137 Oxfords loaned from the Royal Air Force. Most of them were used as communications and general-purpose aircraft by USAAF units stationed in the United Kingdom. From June 1942 onwards they were also used for beam approaching training. By the end of 1944 as the American types were available and delivered, the Oxfords were returned to the Royal Air Force.
  An unknown small amount of Oxfords were also loaned to the USAAF by the Royal Australian Air Force for use by those USAAF units stationed in Australian soil. The United States Navy also used two Oxfords in some unit stationed in the United Kingdom.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Oxford#Operational_history

2. https://aviationsmilitaires.net/v3/kb/aircraft/show/1112/airspeed-as10-oxford (translated)

3. http://www.asociacionatta.com.ar/aviones/avion16.htm (translated)

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_Commonwealth_Air_Training_Plan_facilities_in_Canada

Supermarine Walrus, part one, foreign and civilian users

The Supermarine Walrus was a British single-engined amphibious biplane reconnaissance aircraft that was designed by Reginald J. Mitchell, the same one who designed the Supermarine Spitfire and flew for the first time in 1933. It was designed to be used as a fleet spotter on board of cruisers and battleships. It was used by many foreign countries:

• Argentina: After the end of the war, the United Kingdom sold eight Walrus and two of them to operate on board the ARA La Argentina (C-3) cruiser until as late as 1958. The remaining six operated with the Argentinean Navy from shore bases.
• Australia (Civilian): As the Royal Australian Navy had a surplus of Walruses after the war, a single aircraft that was in storage was issued to the Royal Australian Air Force's Antarctic Flight in 1947, to operate from Heard Island. It flew just one time and was badly damaged by a storm. It was recovered in 1980, restored between 1993 and 2002 and nowadays is at display at the Royal Australian Air Force Museum.
• Egypt: Apparently the Royal Egyptian Air Force had some Walruses in inventory that served through the World War II. However, as we couldn't find graphical evidence about them, the drawing should be considered as completely speculative.
• United Kingdom (Civilian): The most famous case of a British civilian Walrus was the brief use that United Whalers, a whaling company, gave. They operated from the factory ship MV Balaena which operated in Antarctic waters and was equipped with surplus navy aircraft catapult. Those aircraft were slightly modified as they were equipped with electrical sockets to power the electrically heated suits worn by the crew under their inmersion suits. A small petrol-burning cabin heater was also installed to maintain crew confort during flights that could take up to five hours. 

Sources:

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

2. https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=588

Avro Lancaster - Argentinean & Egyptian users

Today we post two users of this excellent British bomber, Argentina and Egypt.
Just after the World War II the Argentinean Air Force began a modernization process mixing some interesting native designs like the FMA IAe 33 Pulqui II, designed by Kurt Tank or some foreign aircrafts like the Gloster Meteor, making it the first South American country to operate jet fighters. Aditionally a number of Avro Lancaster and Avro Lincoln bombers were adquired, making that way a powerful strategical bomber force in the region. Initially the Lancasters were bought as a placeholder for the Avro Lincoln.
They were all delivered in 1948 and unconfirmed sources claim that they were used in the Revolución Libertadora (The Liberating Revolution) of 1955. Apparently some of them were used as a freight transport and they were all either written off or scrapped during the late 1950s or early 1960s. Apparently they served until 1966 with the Argentinean Air Force in the Grupo 4 (Group 4) based at El Plumerillo Air Base, in Mendoza serving together with the Avro Lincoln.
Regarding Egypt, some Lancasters were delivered to Egypt between November 1949 and the first half of 1950 at the Royal Egyptian Air Force at Almaza. However, the shortage of spare parts and the corrosion inflicted by the sand and the inexperience of the Egyptian pilots, made the flights of these bombers very infrequent. By the time of Suez Crisis of 1956 it's believed that Egyptian Lancasters weren't operational. When the crisis scalated, and the Operation Musketeer was launched, they were considered a big threat to ignore them so they were targeted by fighter-bombers of No. 804 and No. 810 Fleet Air Arm Squadron operating from HMS Bulwark. Two Egyptian Lancasters were destroyed and a third one was damaged in that strike. It's unknown what happened to the rest of REAF's Lancasters but apparently six more of them were destroyed during a raid of Fleet Air Arm's Sea Hawks.

Sources:
1. http://www.lancaster-archive.com/lanc_postwar-argentina.htm
2. http://www.lancaster-archive.com/lanc_postwar-egypt.htm
3. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action  52 - Lancaster in Action