 | The New Naval Aviation: 1946 - 1982 |
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However, by the end of the war, replacement of the existing aircraft had become an urgent necessity. In August, five Douglas DC-2 (actually C-39 with DC-3 tail assembly, wing center section and cargo doors) operated by the airline AVENSA were purchased, so as to relieve the few old transports in service, but much more clearly had to be done. Thus it was that US assistance, which followed the signature of the Rio Pact in 1947 and comprised technical advisers (who later helped to re-organise the service) and small numbers of aircraft, was very welcome. Deliveries included ten Vought F4U-5 Corsair fighters, later supplemented by radar-equipped F4U-5N and -SNL; ten Grumman FGF-5 Hellcats, some of which were later presented to the Paraguayan Navy; eight Martin PBM-5A Mariner patrol amphibians for the Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Exploración (Naval Air Reconnaissance Squadron); twenty-three Stearman PT-17 primary training biplanes; nine Vought OS2U-3 Kingfisher observation seaplanes (ex USN Bu5932 to 5940); and small numbers of Beechcraft C-45 and Grumman JRF Goose light transports, Beechcraft AT-11 crew-trainers, and Vultee BT-13 and North American AT-6/SNJ Texan trainers; some of the latter, fitted with underwing racks for light bombs, serving briefly as coastal patrol aircraft.
In 1946, a civil-owned Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina was sold by its Canadian pilot to the Argentine Navy, which was so pleased with its performance and reliability that it was decided to equip the Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Exploración with the type. Twelve US Navy surplus PBY-5A Catalinas were accordingly obtained in 1947, refurbished with parts from other machines, and put into service with the Escuadrilla, under the control of the 2' and 3' Escuadras Aeronavales, at Base Aérea Naval (BAN) Comandante Espora and BAN Punta Indio respectively. They were extensively used for patrol, training, photo survey, rescue and transport, being relegated to training duties as the PBM-5S Mariners and Lockheed P2V-5 Neptunes became available. By 1962, there were only two still in use, both as transports with the Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Propósitos Generales (General Purpose Squadron).
In 1948, the Argentine Navy became the first Latin American naval air arm to introduce helicopters into service, six Bell 47D having been delivered to the I I Escuadra Aeronaval. A specialised helicopter unit, the Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Helicópteros, was formed in October 1955, still within the II Escuadra Aeronaval; in 1979 it was split into two separate Escuadrones
A significant step forward was taken in 1958 with the purchase of the British light aircraft carrier HMS Warrior which became the ARA Independencia. Its first deployed unit was the F4U-5 equipped 2' Escuadrilla de Ataque, which thus became the first carrier-based squadron of any Latin American air arm.
The Argentine Navy, like the other services, benefited from the long rule of Juan Domingo Peron to a great extent. Peron's aim was to establish Argentina as a self-sufficient country, with its own aeronautical industry and powerful armed forces; and, luckily enough, his successors, however opposed they might be to Justicialismo principles, were also keen on maintaining this policy. In 1958, eight ex Royal Air Force Coastal Command Lockheed P2V-5 Neptunes were acquired for the I Escuadrón de Exploración of the II Escuadra Aeronaval at Puerto Belgrano, eventually replacing the surviving PBM-5A Mariners. During the same year, twenty ex US Navy Grumman F9F-2 Panther jet fighters (the Aviación Naval first jets) were delivered for use by the 1' Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque; and ten years later, an adequate tactical support force was formed with sixty Sud Fennecs (a ground-attack conversion of the North American T-28A), which were divided between the Escuela de Aviación Naval and the 2' Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque. The latter unit eventually operated from the 16,000 ton ARA 25 de Mayo, formerly the Dutch aircraft carrier HrMs Karel Doorman.
In the 1960s, obsolete aircraft were gradually disposed of and replaced by more modern equipment. Acquisitions comprised replacement P2V Neptunes, a trio of Grumman HU-16B Albatross amphibians, and eight Macchi MB.326GB jet trainers with attack capability to replace the surviving F9F-2 Panthers. The first three helicopters (Sikorsky S.55), to which numbers of Bell 47 were later added, were replaced by Sikorsky HSS-1 and Sud Alouette Ill, followed by four Sikorsky S.61D4 (the export version of the SH-3D in US Navy service). Two Westland Lynx Mk.23 were ordered in 1972 (though delivery did not in the event take place until 1978), and in early 1980 an order was placed for three late-model SA.330 Pumas. The US supplied Douglas A-40 Skyhawks were complemented by fourteen Dassault Super Etendard strike fighters, ordered in the first part of 1980, but not all delivered by early 1982, when many aircraft were lost in the Falklands conflict. See the appendix on page 285.
