Supermarine Spitfire. European Users, part seventeen. The Spitfire in Portugal.

 

During late 1942 eighteen Spitfires, which were ordered before the beginning of the war, were delivered to Portugal, to form the bulk of their Aeronáutica Militar (Military Aeronautics - Portuguese Army's aerial branch). Those Spitfires were given the registration numbers of 370 to 387 and were assigned to equip Squadron XZ. Portuguese squadrons were marked with a set of letters that also served as a code painted on the aircraft. 
By virtue of the treaty that granted the Allies the right to use the bases in the Azores islands, Portugal was going to receive, for free, 36 Spitfire Mk. Vb, among many other aircraft. 
Those 36 Mk. Vb were shipped between October 1943 and January 1944.
Eventually thirty-three aircraft were delivered, were given the registration numbers of 1 to 33 and were assigned to aerial base of Ota (located in a civil parish close to Lisbon and officially called as 'Base Aérea Nr. 2'), where they were employed to form two new squadrons (Squadrons RL and MR) that were part of the Fighter Group stationed there.
In 1947 sixty more Spitfire Mk. Vb (mostly of the LF sub-variant) were bought from Royal Air Force's surplus. This new batch received the numbers of 34 to 92. 
Some were assigned to form a new squadron, Squadron ZE, while the rest were sent to supplement the numbers of the already existing ones. 

On 1st July 1952 the Portuguese Air Force (Força Aérea Portuguesa) was created and, as a result, the Aeronáutica Militar ceased to exist, resulting in a deep reorganization of every Portuguese aerial unit. 
Three Spitfire squadrons were merged into two (Squadrons 20 and 21), this time designated with numbers and still based at Ota. At the same time, the aircraft designation system was changed, with the Spitfires receiving a four digit code, in which the first digit indicated the category of the aircraft (in the case of the Spitfire it was the number 4 - 'fighter'), the second the type within the category (Spitfire - 3), while the other remaining two were the aircraft's own number. Example given, the previous Spitfire number 26, was now 4326. 
Anyway one year later, in 1953, the Spitfires were written off service.

Sources:

1st AJ-Press - Monografie Lotnicze 40 - Supermarine Spitfire Part 3 (translated)

2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Supermarine_Spitfire_operators#Portugal

de Havilland Vampire. Part Eleven. Portuguese and Swiss users.

 

The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter designed and developed by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was mainly used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) but also by many other users all around the world, among them, the following ones:

• Portugal: Two early Vampires T.55 with framed canopy and no ejection seats were ordered and delivered with evaluation purposes  in 1952. The Portuguese Air Force (PAF) however, decided towards the Lockheed T-33A as their main jet trainer and the two T.55s were part of a jet training squadron  until 1961 when they were written off and sold to Katanga where they were delivered via South Africa in September.
  One Vampire FB.Mk.9, previously belonged to the South African Air Force, was donated to the Portuguese Air Museum at Averca. 

• Switzerland: The Swiss Air Force (SAF) was one of the most extensive users of the Vampire, together with the RAF. They operated the Vampire for a total of 45 years. Between October 1945 and March 1946 a technical delegation made a series of visits to the UK, where they agreed that the Vampire would meet their requirements for a jet fighter.
  Three Vampire F.Mk.1 were procured for trials between July 1946 and July 1947. These were flown extensively by the Swiss and were kept in active until 10th April 1961.
  Seventy-five Vampire FB.Mk.6 were ordered in late 1948 and they were delivered during the following year. In May 1950 the wing of the SAF equipped with Vampires was declared operational. One-hundred more machines were also ordered in 1949 but an agreement was reached to manufacture them under license at Emmen, Lucerne. 
  One NF.10 demonstrator was acquired in early 1951 and was employed for aerial radar and navigation techniques training. It was also used as a testbed for navigation and radio equipment and eventually ended its days as a ground instructional frame in the early 1960s.
  Three Vampires T.11s were ordered for evaluation purposes in 1953 and were assembled at Emmen between September 1953 and January 1954. Seven additional T.11s were ordered. These were of the late kind, fitted with ejection seats. Twenty Vampires T.11s were also built at Emmen between July 1958 and June 1959. In as late as 1967 the SAF also bought some surplus T.11 from the RAF. They were refurbished at Emmen to T.55 standard and were delivered by November 1969. 
  The de Havilland Venom took over the fighter role in 1954 and the Vampires were modified to the fighter-bomber role equipped with either underwing bombs or rockets. In 1960 every Swiss T.11 was required to be updated to new safety standard with new canopies and ejection seats. In this year too, three more FB.Mk.6 were assembled from spare parts left at Emmen. In 1971 and 1974 fifty-nine FB.Mk.6 were updated with avionic upgrades and a new UHF radio which was mounted in a re-profiled nose, similar to the of the de Havilland Venom. 
  Various T.55s were also subject to upgrade programmes equip them with Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) devices between 1966 and 1979 while some other were modified to carry the AS-11 missile and TV cameras.
  Every single-seat Vampire was relegated to the trainer role in 1968 when the first Hawker Hunters arrived. In 1978 twelve FB.Mk.6 were assigned to the Zielfliegerkorps 5 (Aerial Target Corps) to serve as target for anti-air units. 
  The Vampire wasn't officially retired from service with the SAF until 12th June 1990 and by that date there were still 59 single-seat and 30 trainers on strength. Most of them were sold to private buyers in the UK, USA and Scandinavia.

Sources:

1st Hall Park Books - Warpaint 27 - De Havilland Vampire

2nd: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Vampire

3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_de_Havilland_Vampire_operators

Miles M.14 Magister. Part four. More European users

 

The Miles M.14 Magister is a British two-seat elementary trainer aircraft designed and built by British aircraft manufacturer Miles, which was used by many foreign users, among them, the following ones:

• Latvia: The Latvian Aviation Regiment (Latvian Air Force of the 1930s) had two Magisters in strength. When the USSR invaded in June 1940, they were captured and tested by the VVS (Soviet Air Force). Later, in June 1941, when Germany invaded, they were re-captured by the Luftwaffe which employed them in the Sonderstaffel Buschmann. Their ultimate fate is, however, unknown.
• Portugal: The Portuguese Arma da Aeronáutica Militar (Military Aeronautical Arm) operated ten Miles Magister supplied by the British during the World War II. They were in active service as trainers until the early 1950s.
• USSR: The VVS evaluated some ex-Baltic Magister planes for a brief period of time. When Germany invaded, they were re-captured by the Luftwaffe.

Sources:

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

2. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/other2/i17.html (translated - there's a mention both Latvian and Soviet Magisters)

3. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235039699-miles-m14a-magister-estonian-air-force-1938-1940-rs-model-172/