 | South Atlantic Neutrality Guardian: 1939 - 1945 |
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| South Atlantic Neutrality Guardian: 1939 - 1945 |
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By 1939, the Servicio de Aviación Naval (Naval Air Service) as the force was now called, comprised an Escuadra Aérea de la Defensa del Río (River Plate Air Defence Squadron) at Punta Indio, consisting of a fighter Escuadrilla with Dewoitine D.21 and the P2Y-3 equipped Escuadrilla de Patrulleros;
An Escuadrilla de Caza del Area Naval del Plata (River Plate Area Fighter Flight) at Mar del Plata with Dewoitines; a Grupo de Transporte and bomber and reconnaissance Escuadrillas at Puerto Belgrano, Punta Indio and Ushuaia; the Escuela de Aviación Naval at Puerto Belgrano, and a patrol detachment and a medical centre at Mar del Plata.
There were also Grumman JF-2 equipped detachments aboard the cruisers ARA Almirante Brown and ARA Veinticinco de Mayo, and the then recently delivered cruiser ARA La Argentina had two Supermarine Walrus biplane amphibians on board. The Second World War brought the Servicio some serious problems, as it had to fly regular neutrality patrols along Argentina's long coastline in obsolete aircraft which had to be kept serviceable despite a chronic shortage of spares. The fact that that these duties were maintained throughout the war speaks highly for the air and ground crews of the Aviación Naval.
