Republic P-47 Thunderbolt: The Final Chapter. Latin American Air Forces Service 9780962586019, 0962586013

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By

ｾｩｲ｣｡ｦｴ

DAN HAGEDORN

Illustrations by Bob Boyd

THE REPUBLIC P-47 THUNDERBOLT: THE FINAL CHAPTER LATIN AMERICAN AIR FORCES SERVICE

by Dan Hagedorn

Front Cover Photo: Truly a priceless airplane and artifact if the serial number were to be believed. The real 44-20339/03 was shot down in Italy 13 April 1945. This aircraft, an MOAP 1953 delivery, is actually 45-49151. It is currently being restored to flying condition by Museu Aeroespacial in Rio. It will then be the world's only airworthy Thunderbolt still in the hands of a military air arm. (MUSAL) Front Cover Insignia: "Senta a pua" was the slogan on the insignia carried by aircraft of the 1st Brazilian Fighter $quadron. An expression of Brazilian cowboys, it translates literally as "give it the blunt spur". Its wartime adaptation was the equivalent of, "let 'em have it", or "give it the gun".

Edited by John W. Lambert

Copyright © by Phalanx Publishing Co., LTD. Library of Congress Card No. 91-62115 ISBN: 0-9625860-1-3 All rights Jeserved. No part of this work covered by copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems, without the written permission of the publisher. Published by: PHALANX PUBLISHING CO., LTD. 1051 MARIE AVENUE ST. PAUL, MN 55118 USA

Printed in the United States of America

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INTRODUCTION

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The Library of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, one of the finest aeronautical repositories in the w9rld, lists amongst its holdings not fewer than 21 titles dealing with the classic World War II fighter, the North American P-51 Mustang. The same library lists but eleven titles for the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, the Mustang's cohort and, according to many, an aircraft which has not received its due in the journals of aviation history. Ironically, the Thunderbolt was selected as the standard post-World War II fighter type for distribution under various forms of U.S. aid to many allied nations, while the Mustangs were, with but few exceptions retained by the USAF for use in Korea and with Air National Guard organizations. This account records, for the first time, the extensive use of the much maligned Thunderbolt in what is commonly referred to as Latin America, where the airqraft type served out its useful life span, final.ly ending the type's first-line military active service anywhere in the world. Most of the Thunderbolts went South under one form or another of U.S. aid. Some arrived via less obvious circumstances, and details of these adventures (which: included the CIA and rather hazy aircraft "brbkers") is presented here for the first time. i Finally, it should be emphasized that the detailed aircraft tables annexed herein, while perhaps of little utility to the casual reader, should be of great interest to historians and potential "Warbirders" who may wish to establish the true lineage of a growing number of "Jugs" being reborn and preserved for the enjoyment and education of future generations. . Dan Hagedorn PREFACE

Like its World War II stablemate, the North Earlyshotofa 12GAvCaP-47D-25-REin./taly. ,The aircraft has fourteen bomb mission "hash" American P-51 Mustang, the immortal marks painted just aft ofthe unitinsignia, "Senta a Pua!" This is the only aircraft noted with the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt served out its mission marks displayed in descending order. (NASM) . final days of active service in the colors of Latin American air arms. . But contrary to many previously published ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS J. Schoppe, James H. Shea, Col John R. accounts, which have spawned wide!yvarying The author and publishers would like to Stell, USAF, Gen P.D. Straw, USAF (Ret.) reports on the Thunderbolt's service in Latin express their thanks to the following Frank Strnad, Jorge J. Suarez, Col Julius B. America, the similarities often quoted for the Ing Adolph two classic warplanes in South America, individuals who contributed photos and lor Summers, USAF (Ret), data to this book: Frank N. Aldrich, AI Villasenor, Nick J. Waters III and CMSSgt Central and Caribbean American use were in fact very dissimilar. 1 I Anderson, Col. L.W. Chick, Jr. (USAF, Ret), Noble C. Wyninegar, USAF (Ret.). To put the F-47s use in Latin A\Tlerica in Very special thanks to the following, lng Roberto Vargas Cruz, John M. Davis, Col Albert Fahy Cpt George Farinas, Col without whom major sections of this story perspective, readers familiar with the massive E.J. Fox (USAF, Ret.) Mrs. Lynn 0 Gamma, would be far less complete: Jesus Antonio USA fielding of the the post-war jetst F-84, FUS Air Force Historical Research Center, Aveledo, Gen Jesus Ramon Aveledo Penso- 86, F-100, F-104 and F-16) as "thl;l chosen Col W.R. Hardee (USAF, Ret.), Col A.J. Jaau, Commander, Venezuelan Air Force, instruments" for standardization .amongst Heintz (USAF, Ret) Foster M. Henderson, CPT, Carlos Dufriche, Sgt Santiago Flores, NATO and other US allied countries,may find Col Delmore E. John (USAF,Ret.), Col USA, Leif Hellstrom, BG Rui Moreira Lima, it convenient to think of the F-47 in this Delmore E. John (USAF, Ret.), Alfredo J. Brazilian Air Force (Ret.) MG Mario Lopez, context as it applied to Latin America from Jurado, MSgt John R. Kerr (USAF Ret.), Dr. Chilean Air Force, Francisco C. Pereira, 1944 through the mid-1950's. The evolution ofthe policy which ultimately James H. Kitchens, USAFHRC, Dr. Gary Brazilian MUSAL, Luis Santos, (warbird Kuhn, University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse, finder extraordinaire) Leslie Sargent and led to the selection of the F-47 for US Col Gary D. Lape, USAF, Bill Lewis, Tim Savage,LTC Dell C. Toedt USAF distribution to Latin America can be attributed NARAMMRB (Suitland NRC), William S. (Ret.)and his gracious wife, Gloria, Ing. Jose to the foresight and momentum of cine man Marshall, WW. Martin, Dale Mathis, Howard Villela and Sandra L Yacura, friend and co- General Henry "Hap" Arnold, wartime Moores, Jr., BG Jooao E. Magallaes Motta, worker who typed and edited the final Commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces. General Arnold, as the result of his own Brazilian Air Force,(Ret.)BG Alberto A. Nido, manuscript. Finally, my love and heartfelt thanks to observations and with the reoommendations Puerto Rican ANG (Ret.), Cpt Jorge Delgado Panchana, Ecuadoran Air Force, Dr. Ruben my wife Kathleen, who spent many long of key staff officers and theater.commanders, D. Pastrana G., Carlos Planas, James V. evenings alone listening to the sounds of a personally approved the almost daring Sanders (Small Air Forces Observer) Leland distant typewriter. decision to equiptwo wartime Latin American

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fighter squadrons (one each from Brazil and Mexico) with these massive aircraft. It must be recorded that there was considerable domestic and even foreign opposition to this move. The decision was a resoundingly successful one, as the Brazilian and Mexican units performed very well and their achievement eased the way for post-war plans that General Arnold championed. But before getting to the larger scale wartime and post-war deployments of Thunderbolts to Latin American operators, the reader should first be provided with at least a thumbnail outline of the terms and various acronyms used in our subsequent narrative. A HOST OF ACRONYMS Unlike its more diminutive cohort, the Mustang, virtually all of the P-47/F-47 aircraft (will be referred to according to the last official prefix assigned by the USAAF of USAF before hand-over to the respective operator) which reached Latin American users were acquired through direct Government-to-Government programs. The first of these was, of course, the well known Lend-Lease (we will observe it as LL throughout) program of the war years and the immediate post-war period. This highly successful, worldwide initiative was followed by a uniquely Latin American Hemispheric plan called the American Republics Project (ARP), which functioned from 1946 through the beginning of subsequent Mutual Defense Assistance (MDAP) and Military Assistance Program (MAP) developments. The MDAP and its many permutations followed the ARP, and has often been loosely referred to as the Rio Pact agreement, as it related to Latin America. This program was the umbrella forthe balance of F-47 deliveries (and sales) of F-47s to Latin America under its several sub-programs, including Grant Aid (GA), Reimbursable Aid (RAP), Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and variations on these. These aid programs were formalized by two specific regional diplomatic initiatives,

and these are important because they provided the framework that facilitated the delivery of F-47's (and other aircraft) to Latin America. The first of these, the Act of Chapultepec, signed in March and April 1945 by Argentina, Bolivia, "Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the U.S., Uruguay, and Venezuela,was instrumental in guiding USAAF planners responsible for the American Republics Projects (ARP). The second, the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, often called the Rio Pact, was signed in September 1947 by all of the parties to the Act of Chapultepec (except Ecuador and Nicaragua) and is often quoted as the more important legislation affecting aircraft deliveries to Latin America. While this is largely true, the Treaty has often been attached to deliveries that either did not occur - or which in fact were not connected to the "Rio Pact" agreements. General Arnold was, at the direct request of the President, primarily responsible for a comprehensive standardization plan which, with the Chapultepec Agreements as a basis, in effect implemented the Air Forces programs for Latin America. His classic book, Global Mission, has interesting passages describing, the diplomatic difficulties encountered, U.S. planners were ready to implement a comprehensiveplan that, had it seen fruition, would almost certainly have had far reaching implications on events that subsequently occurred in our neighbor nations of the Western Hemisphere. EARLY POSTWAR PLANS Aside from Lend-Lease P-47 deliveries, dealt with in detail in the Brazilian and Mexican chapters, the first operational mention of the American Republics Projects reached Continental Division, Air Transport Command ( the USAAF element responsible for deploying the aircraft lin late September 1945. At that time, a total of 750 aircraft, of

all types, was the operative number, and these were to be selected and stored at various points in the U.S. for later use in filling commitments to Latin America. The ARP, unlike Lend-Lease, under which aircraft were shipped or flight-delivered by recipient nation aircrew, entailed a different sort of pioneering for USAAF planners and executive commands, and an account of it is surely a story in itself, sounding like a Latin American travelogue. By October 1945, following the lead of General Arnold, and less than a month after the term "ARP" had been coined, the Aircraft Distribution Office, Air Materiel Command, had requested that Air Transport Command (ATC) shift not fewer than 595 P-47D aircraft from various Continental Air Force locations to Independence, Missouri, for storage pending distribution. The ATC set plans in motion to station Control Officers along the Central American route, as far as the Panama Canal Zone, in order to monitor and expedite the movement of ARP aircraft, ultimately extending this service into South America proper, with a total of 18 officers detached. The first of these left Dallas 26 December 1945, and the first P-47s were expected to be ready to depart Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas, a scant two days later. Ferrying Division Control Officers were ultimately stationed, during ARP, at Brownsville, Texas; Veracruz and Tehuantepec, Mexico; San Jose, Guatemala; Managua, Nicaragua; Albrook Field, Canal Zone; and at authorized refueling stops at Turbo and Cali, Colombia; Salinas, Ecuador; Talara and Lima, Peru; and at Arica, Antofogasta and Vellanar, Chile. Deliveries of P-47s (as they were still designated by the U.S. atthis point) slowed to a halt almost immediately, however, as it was quickly learned that not all of the required political and diplomatic niceties had been observed, and USAAF staffers and State Department veterans exchanged some heated words until things were smoothed out in February 1946. In several cases, aircraft earmarked for a specific country got no further than Kelly Field, and, at most, Albrook Field in the Canal Zone. Others were stopped altogether until more detailed State Department involvement redefined the "actual" requirements of a number of Latin American governments. Maintenance enroute of such large numbers of aircraft soon presented problems. The Panama Air Depot at Albrook Field, which had initially been looked to for support, could not accommodate such a variety or volume of aircraft. To answer this need, ATC dedicated a Douglas C-47, outfitted as a "flying machine shop", with a highly qualified Engineering Officer on board, to literally fly the delivery route, trouble-shooting aircraft anywhere enroute. WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

When General Arnold and his planners ordered large numbers of Thunderbolts into temporary storage at the end of the war, with a view towards ultimate distribution under the 2d L T Jorge E.P. Taborada, from Rio de Janeiro, a four-year FAAB veteran, prepares to depart on ARP, the proposed delivery scheme (as of31 a mission in January 1945. Note the crudely applied unit insignia. (USAF) August 1945) looked like this: 2

Country

Number of Aircraft Subtype Condition

Brazil Mexico Chile Peru Argentina Venezuela Colombia Uruguay Bolivia Ecuador Paraguay Guatemala Nicaragua

131 30 80 55 100 45 30 30 30 30 15 12 7

TOTAL

595

P-47D-30 P-47N-25 P-47N-25 P-47D-30 P-47D-30 P-47N-20 P-47D-40 P-47D-30 P-47D-30 P-47D-30 P-47N-20 P-47N-5 P-47N-5

Used New New Used Used New New Used Used Used New Used New

This scheme intended to standardize on variants of the Thunderbolt throughout the Hemisphere,came close to realization in some instances, while in others it simply never happened. The plan is interesting for several resaons. For one, it included virtually every established air force in Latin America, save EI Salvador, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti (Costa Rica and Panama did not have air arms at this time). It also made a statement viz-a-viz the relative importance, in the planner's eyes, of each of the nations in their perceived ability to contribute to hemispheric security. By October 1947, this situation had stabilized and clarified considerably, and at last, the military planners and State Department professionals had reconciled and refined the original August 1945 plan, mitigated by some deliveries which had already taken place. It now looked like this:

Needing no translation, this 500 pound iron bomb is chalked "umsouvenir de FAB!" complete Marcos Obelho Magallaes, 21, had been in ｴｨｾ FAB four with evil eyes and devilish grin. Ｒ ｾ ｅ years when this photo was taken in Feb1954. (Hagedorn collection)

whom are named herein) and the USAAFI USAF flight personnel and crews who delivered them, a number of whom were interviewed in preparation of this book. Most MDAP deliveries were carried out by the 1737th and, to a lesser extent, 1739th Ferry Squadrons of the 1708th Ferry Group headquartered at Kelly Air Force Base. These movements were carried out by Project Numbers, according to the country receiving the aircraft (e.g. 2F-766, 2F-767, 2F-268, 2F738, and 3F504). Since there were no ferrying routes already established (the ARP experience had been expedited by the remnants of the early postwar infrastructure still largely in place), and Total 88 very little information was available on route This outline came very close to the actual facilities and flying conditions, route surveys Country Number Subtype ARP deliveries accomplished, and was gen- were conducted prior to actual delivery. On 10 January 1953, a route survey team, Brazil 25 P-47D erally referred to as the Interim Program, With ninety more approved by the USAF but' although in the final analysis, some nations headed byColonel Tarleton H. Watkins, Group not yet by the recipient government, twenty- listed received no ARP aircraft deliveries at . Commander, departed Kelly to study five P-470s had already been delivered un- all, due primarily to political impediments. conditions along the West coast of Central der Lend-Lease and no further deliveries These nations were Argentina, Bolivia (ex- and South America for the forthcoming were planned. cept for several C-47s), Paraguay, Haiti, the missions. Stops included Mexico City, Veracruz, Guatemala City, Managua, Albrook Mexico 0 Dominican Repuiblic, and Honduras. Field (Canal Zone), and back via Guantanamo Twenty-five had already been delivered unBay NAS in Cuba and Miami, Florida. der Lend-Lease and no further deliveries Colonel Watkins conducted another survey DELIVERY were planned. on 12 Februarywhich studied conditions along Chile 12 P-47D All P-47 aircraft delivered under ARP were the East coast, traveling via Miami to San All delivered fully combat equipped, including gun mounts, Juan, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, British Guyana, Peru 25 P-47D cameras, bomb racks, drop tanks and French Guyana, Belem, Natal, Salvador and All delivered standard navigational equipment. Wartime Rio, taking the opportunity to deliver a C-47 to Argentina 0 P·47D camouflage, if any, was removed and rocket Brazil in the process. Twenty five approved by the USAFbut not by The surveys concluded that delivery of Frails and associated equipment were not the recipient government. 47s via either route was workable; that support installed in the ARP aircraft. Venezuela 6 P-47D With the exception of the early post-war aircraft (B-25s, B-26s, HU-16s or C-54s ) Nineteen more approved by USAFbut notby Brazilian and Mexican Lend-Lease "make- would be necessary to carry spares and recipient government. up" aircraft, and some of the Peruvian, maintenance personnel; and thatflying would Colombia 8 P-47D Venezuelan, and Ecuadoran MSP/MDA be restricted to mornings only, due to freakish All delivered. aircraft, which were flight-delivered by host afternoon weather almost universally along Uruguay 0 country aircrew, all subsequent P-47/F-47 the routes. A final point was that drop tanks Opted for P-51 Os instead deliveries under the various aid programs would be mandatory (two 165 gal underwing Bolivia 0 P-47D Twelve approved by the USAF but not by the were performed by regular USAF aircrews. tanks on each aircraft). These epic ferry flights, mostly conducted Bolivian government. under the auspices of ARP, RAP, GA and LIFE CYCLE Ecuador 12 P-47D MDAP, are truly a story unto themselves, and All delivered or in country. were this history to be dedicated, such tribute Many readers will probably be surprised Paraguay 0 P-47D Twelve approved by the USAF but not by the would have to be shared between the Latin by the comparatively short service lives American pilots who flew the aircraft (many of experienced by most of the Thunderbolts that Paraguayan Government. Guatemala 0 P-47D Eight approved by the USAF but not by the Guatemalan government. Nicaragua 0 P-47D Seven approved by the USAF but not by the Nicaraguan government. Cuba 0 P-47D Four requested but not approved; eight had been identified for possible future commitment, however. Haiti 0 P-47D None requested nor approved, but three had been identified for possible future commitment.

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reached Latin American nations. Many previous accounts have led students of the subject to believe that Thunderbolts survived in service in substantial numbers well into the 1960s. This simply did not happen. As early as 1952, Lieutenant General T.D. White and Major General R.L. Walsh, USAF, of the Inter-American Defense Board, questioned the continued viability of supporting F-47s in Latin American inventories. Fortunately, General Walsh bought some time for the investment already made in the type in Latin American service, and the First and Second Line Aircraft Board approved the retention of 311 F-47s (194 F-47Ds and 117 F-47Ns), including at least 194 estimated as required for Latin America. All other F-47s in storage at the time - a considerable number - were reclaimed for support purposes, accounting for the relative scarcity of Thunderbolts surviving in this country, as compared with Mustangs. But acknowledging the growing obsolescence of the type, General Walsh noted, "there are no plans to support the aircraft indefinitely, only until such time as more modern types can be made available." As it developed, most F-47 users received MDAP replacements in the form of Lockheed F-80Cs and/or T-33As, or, in a few cases, North American F-86s, during the period 1955: 57, effectively sound ing the curtain call for the Thunderbolt in Latin America. The advent of jets - and not just American made examples - speeded the demise of the Thunderbolt more than any other factor, although, in May 1955, USAF officials announced that, after furnishing "Iife-of-type" spares for F-47s in countries in which the type was supported under Grant Aid, "items peculiarto F-47s would no longer be available in USAF stocks" although items common to F-47s and other types could still be requisitioned - supply allowing. Spares shortages and maintenance difficulties plagued the Thunderbolt's service in Latin America, and in some instances, earned the type a reputation that it did not deserve. In several cases the problem was so severe as to cause the complete withdrawal of the F-47 from service, in favor of less capable types.

SUBTYPES

With relatively few exceptions, the vast majority of Thunderbolts reaching Latin America were of the"non-razorback", bubble canopied P-47D-30, 0-35, or 0-40 blocks. In some cases (notably Brazil), a very diverse mix ofserial number sub-blocks were in service, mainly due to varied sources and length of service. In others, such as Cuba, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, virtually all of the aircraft were of the same serial block, many of them in sequence off the production line and direct from storage. Likewise, many of the post-war deliveries were essentially brand new aircraft, devalued only in that some had sat in open storage in less than ideal climate, for a number of years prior to IRAN-type overhaul and delivery, mainly by the Hensley Field-based TEMCO firm of Greenville, and Dallas, Texas. Others had seen ANG service prior to overhaul and distribution. On at least one occasion, the choice of sub-block became a rather heated issue (see Peru) , therefore it may be useful to examine the basic differences between P-47D-30 and P-47D-40 aircraft, the two most numerous major blocks delivered to Latin America. Some of these are key to recognition, chief amongst these being that P-47D-30s had facilities for installation of the Type AN/ARN-G Radio Compass, while the P-47D-40 did not. Other differences may be seen in Appendix A. BRAZIL

Unquestionably the first Thunderbolt to grace Latin American skies - and the only one of its subtype - was also very possibly the first P-47 to ever operate in regions south of the Continental United States. This aircraft RP-47B-RE 41-6037, which was flight delivered to Brazil by a young First Lieutenant of the Forca Aerea Brasileira (FAB) whose name has escaped the record, arrived at Camp dos Afonsos Air Base in November 1944. Unique in many respects, this already well-worn early model Thunderbolt was intended for ground instruction with the 1QGM I at a mechanic's training school at Sao Paulo. It was flown there by Captain J.E.M.

P·47D-25-RE 42-26756, later coded A4, at Tarquinia shortly after arrival in Italy - this aircraft flew over 100 missions and survived to go home postwar as FAB 4105. (Hagedorn Collection) 4

Motta in December 1944. The first truly modern fighter of any type to actually reach a Latin American country, and the first eightgun fighter South of the Rio Grande, this aircraft remained with the 1QGMI (later renamed Escola de Especialistas da Aeronautica or EEAer) until struck-of-charge (S.O.C.) in September 1967. Strictly speaking, Brazilian Air Force personnel had actually received the FAB's first Thunderbolts earlier - in October 1944but not in Brazil. This unusual turn of events resulted, of course, from the fielding of a Brazilian fighter unit in Italy during World War II, one of the brightest moments in the history of a proud and distinguished branch of service. Brazil, indeed, can lay claim to perhaps the most cosmopolitan aviation heritage in all of Latin America - dating from the great contributions of native son and aviation pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont. Her branches of service launched aerial sections on virtually the same historical timetable as the great powers, and incorporated worldclass ideas and equipment throughout. Fighter (or chasse/pursuit) aviation in the Brazilian Army led a markedly Francoinfluenced course through inception to the early 1930s, when U.S. influence began to be felt. Although relatively small in terms of numbers, especially when viewed against the sheer enormity ofthe country, the Servico de Aviacao Militar included French "chasse" class aircraft in its inventory as early as 1919. By 1922 it had organized its first dedicated fighter unit, la Esquadrilhade Caca, a unit of the Grupo de Esquadrilhas de Aviacao, with nine SPAD S.Vlls, at Santa Maria e Alegrete, Rio Grande do Sui, where it remained until disbanded and absorbed by the Escolade Aviacao Militar (EAM) in March 1928. By this time the Army aviation branch had been renamed the Arma de Aviacao do Exercito. . Between 1927-1930, virtually all Brazilian Army tactical aircraft were of French manufacture, from training and transport through observation, bombardment and combat, and the Nieuport-Delage NiD-72 was the standard fighter mount. No specific fighter unit was in being, as tactical types were grouped together at French Mission suggestion in the Esquadrilha Mista and all others in the EAM. The revolution of 1932 had far-reaching effects on Brazilian service aviation, perhaps chief among these being the introduction of U.S., British and German aircraft types. Besides the NiD-72s already cited, some U.S. built Waco Model CSOs, outfitted and intended from the outset as two gun fighter bombers, saw action in a ground attack role as part of the Grupo MistodeAviacao. Oddly enough, the revolutionary Constitucionalista forces were equipped with the same types, seized at Sao Paulo's military airfield at the outbreak. As a result of this bitter and divisive revolution, Brazil acquired a number of U.S. aircraft types which, had they arrived in time, might have been instrumental in ending the fighting - or preventing it in the first place. These included Boeing Model256 and Model 267 fighters (similar to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army F4B-4 and P-12 series then

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standard in the U.S. services) and versions of the Vought Corsair biplane series. By 1933, these equipped Regimentos de Aviacao of the again renamed service, now simply Aviacao Militar. ｾｨｔ Boeing fighters equipped the I Grupo, 1QReglmento de Aviacao at Rio, 2 consisting of two Equadrilhas, the only dedicated ''fighter'' unit in the service by 1933-34, and in January 1934 they started sporting the distinctive stardevice national insignia still in use today, having previously carried athree color roundel. Between the time of the arrival of the Boeing biplanes and the start of WWII, the Brazilian air arm was renamed again becoming Aeronautica do Exercito, Forcas Aereas Nacionais, and, finally, Forca Aerea Brasileira (FAB) in May 1941. During this nine year period, the sturdy Boeings, never more than 19 in service, constituted the entire deployable fighter strength of Brazil. ｬ｡ｲＬ･ｶｾｓ fighter types were evaluated by Brazil pnor to the outbreak of WW II, including Seversky, Curtiss, Vought and North American designs, but the only pre war purchase of a type near fighter capability were 30 North American NA-44s - armed export variants of the classic AT-6 design. The NA-44s in fact never served as a fighter type with the FAB, being employed as"general purpose" aircraft. Brazil's entry into the war did not become official until a declaration of hostilities on 22 August 1942, although cooperation with the United States and other Allied nations had been polite and proper since 1939. Hitler, in effect, pushed Brazil into the war through indiscriminate submarine warfare practiced in the South Atlantic and inside the Brazilian Security Zone. The declaration of war had been preceded by a gradual buildup of the Brazilian armed forces, and especially the FAB, atfirstthrough commercia:! purchases and domestic license production of some foreign aircraft types, and then later through Lend-Lease Defense Aid deliveries. . The United States had a keen appreciation for Brazil's strategic position with regard to the defense ofthe Caribbean (and the Panama Canal) and of mainland South America itself, not to mention its vast raw materials, riches needed for the Allied war effort. There was also considerable concern over Axis influence and the possibility of subversion and espionage. But these fears proved to be largely unfounded. Lend-Lease brought new life to the FAB. U.S. concern over a possible Axis leap across the South Atlantic to the" hump" area of Brazil resulted in the rapid dispatch of a token force of fairly effective aircraft for the FAB to aid in the defense measures being taken. This force, consisting of 10 Curtiss RP36As, two Douglas B-18s and six North American B-25s, formed the equipment of the Agrupamento de Avioes de Adaptacao a kind of operational training squadron charged with defensive operations from Fortaleza Air Base. This was the first modern "fighter" unit in the FAB, and its personnel later served as cadre, as the service expanded rapidly. The RP-36As and other modern types were soon followed by six Curtiss P-40E-1 s in April 1942, 10 P-40Ks in Novemberfollowed by 20 more in the first three months of 1943,

at Ta.rquin!a, ｾｩｨｴＮ view of a 1!!GAvCa P-47D shows the application of the overpainted BraZIlIan natIonal Inslgma to good advantage. (USAF)

ｊｦｾｩｬ･ｵｆ

and 10 P-40Ms in February. These were supplemented through the end of the war by two more P-40Ks in October 1944 and 41 P40N-1 s between September 1944 and March 1945. These Curtiss fighters served long and faithfUlly in FAB service, and constituted the primary air defense tool forthe country through the end of the war. With this experience on Curtiss fighters it is not surprising that the FAB had progressed to the point of assuming responsibility for coastal defense of its territory, a task borne in part through mid-1943 by U.S. forces, and it found itself strong enough to seek a more active role in the war against the Axis. Cooperation between Brazilian and U.S. diplomatic and military organs grew by leaps and bounds, aided in no small measure by the enthusiasm of the Brazilian Foreign Minister, President Vargas himself and various key U.S. officers and organizations. This very positive climate climaxed in an' agreementto select, train and field a Brazilian fighter unit for the European theater of operations. Decree No.6, 123 of 18 December 1943 created the 1QGrupo de Aviacao de Caca, followed nine days later by the decision to head up this bold undertaking under the command of MAJ Nero Moura, a former personal pilot to President Vargas and a very able young officer. Major Mouraand FABstaffersimmediately launched a service wide call for volunteers and by 3 January 1944 32 airmen ｾｲ･ｷ enroute to the USAAF Tactical School at Orlando, Florida, for cadre training in USAAF tactical operations. Training included 60 hours of instruction in Curtiss P-40s, a type with which some of the pilots were familiar

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Panama Canal at a place called Aguadulce, at that time a rather primitive sod field with very limited facilities. The 30th FS was special in several ways. It had been designated as, amongst other things, the fighter unit to which all new fighter jocks arriving from the States to Sixth AF were temporarily posted - for 30 days - for operational training. This unusual squadron was organized by Lieutenant Colonel (later General) G. P. Disosway, who was specially assigned to the Command from the CONUS forthat purpose. Its special status was the basis for its selection as the parent unit to train the Brazilian 1QGAvCa (as the unit designation was abbreviated). It was during this period that the 1QGAvCa could be said to have two identities. U.S. ＧＮｬ･ｮ ｯｾｲ ｰ ,as they completed the training of their BraZilian ｳｾ｡ｰｲｴｵｯ｣ were ､･ｴｾｯｰ out ｴｾ other USAAF Units ｾｉ Sixth AF, leaVing only ｴｮ｡ ･ｾｵ ｬｌ Colonel Dlsosway and Captains Ch,alrsell and John,as the U.S. element of the unit. For all practical purposes, for several weeks after being activated, the 1ｑｇａｶｾ｡ and the 30.th. FS ｾｲ･ｷ one and the same u.nlt, and participated In normal defenSive operations for the Panama Canal, mounted on a, rather large number of (more than 30) CUrtiSS ＬｂｾＴＭｐ C? and E models. ｕｾ to thiS pOint, none of the ｳｲ･｢ｭｾ of the ｾ -GA:,Ca had any concrete Idea where destinY '!lIght lead them, although the Brazilian ｹｲ｡ｮｯｬｾ ､Ｚ･ｰｸｅ Force ｡｣ｾｆＨ ｡ｩｲ ｾ ､･ｰｸｅ ｩ［＼ｲｬ･ ｳ｡ ｾ or FEB), a BraZIlian Army DIVISional Sized unit, was aware - at ､ｮ｡ｭ ｯｾ level asearlyas24May1944,thatltwouldprobably be deployed to Italy as part of the U.S. IV

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although the officers were stillynaware Panama on 26 June, the they were actually destined to take to 1QGAvCa was bundled up and moved by ship . . , to Camp Shanks, New Jersey, where the balance of the unit Brazilians endured a very uncomfortable Meanwhile, ｴｾ･ personnel wer; being assembled fortrans,port period of quarantine. Finally they were transported to Suffolk to Panama, where some 350, Brazll,lan Ｑｾｮ ｳｲ･ｰ ｾｬＮｵｯｷ un.dergo ｉｮｴ･ｾｳｬｶ Field, Long Island, where at last they met Ｑｾｮｯｬｴ｡ｺｩｮ ｧｲｯ ｧＬｾｉ ｬ｡ｲｴ with th: ｾＬｏｴｨ .Flghte:r their ｷ｡ｲｴｩｾ･ mounts, the huge P-47s.They G ), Sixth Air were descnbed by the enthusiastic Brazilians Squadron. (Flights A ｴｨｲｯｵｧｾ Force. ThiS unusual USAAF fighter squadron as" aviao pra macho" literally "very masculine was located less than 200 miles west of the aircraft". ' ｾ

5

A rare action view oftwo 19GA vCas taking off, D-5 "(camouflaged) to the right andprobably the Commander's aircraft on the left (one of two aircraft unpainted at this juncture). Billed as a "combat msision" the presence of a film crew to the left probably means a posed episode. (USAF)

There they stayed at Suffolk Field for just over two months, undergoing intensive training on their new mounts, each pilot averaging over 80 flight hours, while the ground crews adjustedtothe radically different equipment. The aircraft the unit trained on at Suffolk Field were not the aircraft they would take to war (the aircraft flown at Suffolk and - also briefly Westhampton, were mainly P-47Gs, identified in available records only by twodigit numbers(e.g. 22, 39, 51,55,59,64,67, 68,72,73,74,76-78,80-84-86,90-92, 94 and 99 - but included also at least one P-47D identified only as "11" and one P-47C identified Brazilian only as "1 ") nor were they part of ｾｨｴ Lend-Lease allotment, although It appears ｴｾｨ at lea::,t one of then; may have ｮｾ･ painted In FAB markings for publiCity purposes. . Q M,ost of th,e 1. GAvCa. ｰｬ ｯｾｳ ｨｾ､ ･ｬ｢｡ｲ ､Ａｳｾｯ｣ flying time by thiS ｾｴｬｏｐ With ｮｯｬｴ｡ ｾ ,backgrounds ｧｮｬｾ｡ｲ from alrl!ne to pnvate light plane expenence. According to Colonel (then Captain) Delmore E. John,4 "Few of the pilots had any fighter training," prior to coming to Panama and "extensive training in fighter tactics was needed to rate them". But, because the USAAF was rating fighter pilots with as little as 10 hours fighter timeatthisjuncture, the FABaircrewwere, by the time they finished, at Suffolk, considered combat-ready and on a par with any USAAF unit. It is interesting to note that many of the Brazilian pilots had Germanic and Italian surnames, not unlike many of their U.S. comrades-in-arms and some spoke fluent German and Italian, abilities which subsequently served some of them well. Q THE 1 GAvCa IN ITALY At last, on 10 September 1944, the unit embarked from Camp Patrick Henry, near Newport, Virginia, on the French steamer "Colombie", joining a convoy bound for the Mediterranean. The 1QGAvCA was destined to serve as a unit of the Allied Mediterranean Air Force's 12th Air Force (XXII Tactical Air Command) subordinate to the 62d Fighter Wing and 350th Fighter Group. The Group was composed of the 345th (Devil Hawk) ,346th (Checker Board) and 347th (Screaming Red Ass) Fighter Squadrons. The 350th had already earned high praise from ranking officers of the air and ground forces they had supported in the Mediterranean Theater but, in the words of their own War Diary, "the Group was paid one of its greatest compliments when, on 7 6

October, the 1st Brazilian Fighter Squadron arrived and was assigned to the operational control of the 35Oth". This proved to be an unusually wise decision on the part of Allied Commanders because, again in the 350th scribe's own words ..."all in the 'Group who helped the Brazilians start off enjoyed doing so because the Brazilians wanted to fight the common enemy, and fight him skillfully. Within a month, they operated like veterans, and, unlike U.S. units, they had very few replacements compared to our squadrons, and yet their courage and tirelessness was dauntless". Members of the 1QGAvCa advance guard had arrived at the 350th FG's base at' Tarquinia, northwest of Rome, on 4 October, presenting their credentials and getting acquainted. Staff members of the 350th immediately aided them in establishing camp in a pasture adjoining the 347th FS. The 350th itself was new to the P-47, having commenced re-equipment from Bell P-39s during October, following its move from Bastia (Corsica) to Tarquinia on 8 September. The actual arrival of the main body of the 1QGAvCa on 7 October was described in graphic terms in the 350th diary: "Like a huge tidal wave, 150 famished Brazilian airmen descended on the kitchen stoop for morning sustenance. Scurrying frantically through shelf and pantry, local cuisine operators managed to stuff the arrivals full of chow. These South American gentlemen were the ground crew of the 1st Brazilian Fighter Squadron, scheduled to cast their fortunes with the 350th FG." Equipment and supplies soon followed, and amazingly, the 1QGAvCa carried its colors into action for the first time on 14 October. It seems likely that borrowed 347th FS P-47s were used for this mission. The Brazilian National Colors had been hoisted over the "Brasileiros" camp that same day during a brief ceremony. Actual operations commenced on 31 October,(a scant eight months since training as a unit had commenced on P-40s in tropical Panama) with their own Lend-Lease supplied Thunderbolts, operating together with the other Squadrons of the Group, to familiarize themselves with the realities of the air war in Italy. On 6 November, the FAB unit suffered its first tragic loss in Italy when Second Lieutenant Cordeiro e Silva was lost, with his aircraft, to anti-aircraft fire in the Bologna area. By 11 November, the 1QGAvCa was operating missions wholly on its own - earlier missions having had mixed elements of cadre

pilots from other Group squadrons, and was selecting and attacking targets on its own initiative. On the second day of December, with Tarquinia a sea of mud from incessant rains, the entire 350th FG moved en masse some 200 miles north to Pisa's San Giusto airfield (APO 650), without a break in operations. This advance permitted the unit to make better use of its long-range abilities as the Allies pushed Axis forces up againstthe snow covered Appenines. The rough winter imposed most unusual hardships on the South American crews. Trained from the outset as an interceptor/ escort fighter unit, the 1QGAvCa operated in Italy (as did the 350th and the other three U.S. fighter groups engaged in the bitter Italian campaign) almost entirely as fighterbombers, carrying out the Theatre Commanders objective of interdicting enemy lines of communication, isolating his units, and demoralizing his forces through repeated attacks on rail traffic, road bridges, airfields, artillery positions, barracks, equipment and depots. On several occasions, the 1QGAvCa had the opportunity to support the gallant but hard pressed FEB, by now in the line and attacking Monte Castelo. On 20 February, the unit aided in breaking enemy resistance on a hill at the flank of the Brazilian ground troops. During operations that winter, the unit suffered additional losses. Three officers had been killed in accidents while still at Tarquinia.Otherlossestomenandequipment in operations are detailed in Appendix Band in the individual aircraft tables. The unit flew 445 missions (involving 2,546 individual offensive flights) and four defensive flights, dropping 4,442 bombs, 850 rockets, and firing 1,180,200 rounds of. 50 cal ammunition while answering to their unique Group radio call-up sign, "Jambock". Targets destroyed included two aircraft on the ground, as well as nine damaged, 13 locomotives, 1,304 motorized vehicles and large numbers of other very worthwhile targets, including one ship damaged. During the last month of the war in Europe alone, between 6 and 22 April 1945, the unit flew 5% of all XXII Tactical Air Command missions but accounted for 15% of the destroyed vehicles, 28% of the destroyed bridges, 36% of the damaged fuel depots and 85% of the damaged munitions depots claimed. Peak day for the squadron was unquestionably 22 April when, between 0830 in the morning and 2045 at night, 11 missions, involving 44 flights and 22 pilots, destroyed

The very first Latin American Thunderbolt RP-47B-RE 41-6037, later serialed FAB P-47B 4103 - shown at Sao Paulo in December 1944, shortly after arrival, obviously a very tired warrior. (Rui Moreira Lima)

Excellent study of 42-26762, a P-47D-25-RE, coded C1 (blue flight leaders aircraft - CPT Fortunato) in full 19GA vCa marks at Pisa, fully loaded and armed, displaying at least 47 bomb mission marks. It survived to return to Brazil as FAB 4110. (Tim Savage)

P-47D-25-RE 42-26450, technically the "first" FAB operational P-47, with unit code "1", denoting its use by the 1)GA vCa Commander. Note flak damaged patchwork on the rear fuselage, breaking the national insignia. Had at least 35 bomb mission hash marks at this point. Survived to become FAB P-47D 4104 at home. (Tim Savage)

One of the few Italian campaign 19GA vCa aircraft not camouflaaged, B3 was P-47D-30-RA 44-33093, one of the last delivered during the campaign, its squadron insignia not yet complete. This P-47 returned home as sin 4127, and was lost in an accident 24Nov49. (Tim Savage)

Over the deadly Po River Valley, sometime after 2Feb45, P-47D-30-RE A 1 and 42-26772, a P-47D-25-RE. Note that the "wings" on the fuselage insignia of the two camouflaged aircraft had been painted over. (Tim Savage)

Looking rather tired, 44-19662, a P-47D-28-RE, bears at least 40 mission marks, with Tte Meira 's name beneath the canopy frame. It returned home as 4119, surviving until at least May 1955. (Tim Savage)

Another view of 42-264501"1", the national insignia under the starboard wing almost appearing like an RAF roundel, due to the scrubbing of its USAAF "wings" together with its OD camouflage. Fitted for a long-range mission, it was flown almost exclusively by LTC Nero Moura. (Tim Savage)

19GA vCa Operations Officer's aircraft, "2" was 44-21093, a P-47D-30 -RE, here with both large drop tanks and rocket launchers. It became sin 4125, and was cannibalized for parts from May 1955. (Tim Savage) 7

not fewer than 97 motorized vehicles and 14 buildings occupied by the enemy as well as damaging one highway bridge, one pontoon bridge, one railway bridge and three artillery positions of great tactical importance. Major William Marshall, a member of the neighboring sister unit ofthe Group, the 345th "Devil Hawks" vividly recalls the 1QGAvCa and said, "I felt they, as a group, felt they had something to prove to the Americans flying alongside ofthem...they probably contributed as much 'kill' to the Germans in the Brennar Pass and all through the Po Valley as any other squadron." His only criticism was that "we did feel that they stayed with a target too long...perhaps they were braver than I was!" Probably the greatest tribute paid the men of the 1QGAvCa was uttered by General Arnold, in his book Global Mission: "I went to Pisa from Florence to inspect the Brazilian Fighter Squadron, under the command of Good look at an upgraded D-40's power plant, about to swallow one unsuspecting mechanic, Lieutenant Colonel Moura [he misspelled the literally up to his elbows in his work. Another 149th FS, VANG aircraft, 45-4911 ON went to Brazil name 'Maura']. The Brazilians...had shown as 4180. (Willie F. Hall) themselves capable of being accepted as part of the Army Air Forces team. They lost kept in reserve at the Naples depot. With the served by the USAAF to the Grupo. The 17 men in combat, and three to medical initial exception of the Commanders and Brazilians, unused to "GI" food, very quickly They were Operations Officers aircraft, which were observed that only an ostrich could stand problems, for a total of 20. 5 equipped with P-47s, and they flew them natural metal, all unit aircraft were standard such food. very, very well. This, and [General] Kenney's USAAF olive drab over gray, with modified As replacement aircraft were drawn from experience with the Mexican squadron in the US "star-and-bar" insignia to include the multi- the Naples depot, some were received sans Pacific, which also had a splendid record, would seem to prove that it is quite possible colored national Brazilian insignia in place of camouflage, but most were coded by to have a hemispheric Air Police Force." the US white star, plus the vertical yellowl squadron ("Esquadrilha") within the Grupo Prophetic words, which obviously revealed green Brazilian rudder stripes. Tothisscheme throughout their Italian service and some the source of Arnold's inspiration to field the were quickly added the distinctive insignia of even into postwar use for a time. [Note: it P-47 to Latin America as "the chosen the unit and the fighting slogan, "Senta a must be recalled that the FAB "Grupo" at this instrument" of his hemispheric air defense pua!" a slang greeting which originated in time was equivalent to a USAAF Squadron, a Northeastern Brazil in the Salvador-Ipitanga USAAF Group equaled an FAB "Regimento", plan. area, and which was adopted by some FAB a USAAF Wing roughly equated to an FAB AIRCRAFT OF THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN personnel stationed in that area. Literally "Brigada" and a USAAF Flight to an FAB translated, the phrase means "resolve to "Esquadrilha"]. Sources differ on the exact number of attack and destroy the enemy" (sometimes Unit coding was as follows: "A" (Red Thunderbolts that Brazil received under Lend- more colloquially expressed as "Let 'em have Esquadrilha), "B" (Yellow Esquadrilha), "c" Lease during the war, and this confusion can it!"). The accompanying art was designed by (Blue Esquadrilha) and "0" (Green be traced to the exigencies of a wartime Captain Fortunato C. de Oliveira (56 Esquadrilha). Each had a statutory strength theater's supply-and-demand, which missions). of six aircraft, and with 22 aircraft lost to all The story goes that Captain de Oliveira causes during the campaign, some probably sometimes had to override pure "ownership". Initially, the squadron aircraft totaled 67 - was inspired to use the ostrich caricature on were never properly coded (see details in of which 26 were "on line" and the balance his design as a result of the initial meals Appendices). Shortly before the Armistice, a general shortage of P-47s to replace losses in other Groups and Squadrons in Italy resulted in the disbursement of the remaining 19 aircraft in the Naples depot - nominally FAB property - to other Allied units. 1QGAvCa disassembled the 26 aircraft it had on hand at Pisa as of the Armistice and shipped them home (via the AAFSC/MTOO at Capodichino), an event most unusual in the history of the Thunderbolt, as very few actual combat veteran aircraft ever returned to the Western Hemisphere. The 19 aircraft forfeited at the Naples depot were almost immediately made good, as, soon after their victorious return to Brazil, agroup of 1QGAvCa pilots was flown to Kelly Field, Texas, aboard USAAF C-54s to take delivery of 19 virtually brand new replacement Lend-Lease aircraft, complete with 1QGAvCa "Senta a pua!" insignia. But the wartime achievements of the 1QGAvCa, which lived on after V-E Day, did not end with the cessation of hostilities and the "Parada da Vitoria" held in Rio on 18 July Gooddetail view of45-49090, ofthe 149th FS, VANG, which became FAB 4176. An old code, "DC", 1945. Forty-one years later, at a moving is just visible below the crewman climbing out of the cockpit, indicating former use by the 121 st ceremony attended by many former members FS DC ANG. (Willie F. Hall) 8

The furthest two of this quartet of handsome Virginia NG F-47D-30-RAs became Brazilian 4184 (45-49151) and 4190 (45-49302) in September 1953 after TEMCO upgrade to D-40 standard. Fate of the nearer two is unknown. (Willie F. Hall)

(or their survivors) and US allies at the FAB Santa Cruz AFB near Rio, the unit was presented with the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation, the award having been recommended by Major Generals Ariel Nielsen and Tom Darcy of the XXII Tactical Air Command in 1945. Truly a great day and an honor unique in all of Latin America. It would be unfair, even though not a part of the Thunderbolt saga, not to at least acknowledge the little known fact that another FAB unit also fought gallantly in the Italian Campaign, under equally demanding and difficult circumstances. These were the 30 officers and men of the la Esquadrilha de Ligacao e Observacao (1 aELO). They flew early model Piper L-4 aircraft as liaison and artillery spotters forthe FEB, operating initially from Landing Craft LCI-116 off Livorno. This may have a claim as Brazil's first aircraft' carrier.

POSTWAR FAB F-47 OPERATIONS With the end of the war, the FAB found itself the strongest air arm in Latin America, with an excellent mix of tactical, transport and training aircraft - and a seasoned cadre of combat veterans as well, both from the Italian deployment as well as the anti-submarine actions in coastal waters. In the immediate postwar era the 1QGAvCa was the largest fighter force south of the Rio Grande, with its 26 veteran aircraft shipped home from Italy, still proudly bearing full wartime markings, and the 19 replacement Lend-Lease aircraft flown down from Texas bearing (subsequently) diamond, heart, club & spade insignia on their cowlings. The subordinated elements of the Grupa had also been reorganized and expanded, with a 1Q,2 Q,and 3 QEsquadro replacing the wartime alpha designations of the Esquadrilhas (represented then as 2 QI 1QGAvCa etc). The 1QGAvCa aircraft bore the playing card insignia noted above, while the 2Q1QGAvCa aircraft still bore wartime

codes(e.g. A1 ,B2,C5, etc.).The 3 Q/1 QGAvCa was equipped with AT-6 aircraft only and existed for a comparatively short period of time. It should also be mentioned that at some point, aircraft of this 2Q/1 QGAvCa started using the "Rompe Mato" insignia in lieu of the "Senta a pua!" design. "Rompe Mato" means, roughly, "one who opens a trail in the jungle," or simply "Trailblazer". It also refers to a semi-deity in the Brazilian "voodoo" religion. However, this has not been proven conclusively to have been carried on P-47s. Use may have been restricted to Meteors with which the Grupo was subsequently equipped. The reorganization of the FAB in March 1947 however, resulted temporarily in the redesignation as the 9QGrupo de Aviacao , when FAB units were numbered numerically, in order from north to south. This was quickly recognized to be publicly viewed as a slight to the famous unit and, in 1949 it was redesignated again as the 1Q Grupo de Aviacao de Caca, stationed at Sao Paulo. This series of events has caused historians some confusion as, in October 1949 the unit which had (under the north to south system ) been designated as the 1QGrupo de Aviacao (stationed in Manaus) under the 1947 reorganization, was redesignated as the 9QGrupo de Aviacao. While designated as the 9QGAv however, unit strength was somewhat reduced due to attrition, and consisted only of two Esquadraos, the 1Qand 2Qwith a total of 34 P-47s remaining, as well as 17 AT-6s. Of these, nearly 46% were inoperable due to spares shortages. The unit at this time had 70 pilots and 1,129 other ranks. During this period, the FAB organized a special unit (in being by March 1948) within the 4QZona Aerea, based at Sao Paulo's Cumbica Air Base, called the Esquadrao Misto de Instrucao (EM I), whose purpose was to provide mounts for the personnel of the Curso de Tatica Aerea (Air Tactical School). Included among its equipment were at least three P-470s, six B-25Js , three AT6s and eight BT-15s.

A third unit associated with the Thunderbolt, about which little is known waas also briefly organized as of January 1949, referred to in U.S. intelligence documents as the "First Attack Squadron" with four P-47s (and six Douglas A20Ks) at Cumbica. These apparently were reassigned by 1 April to the EMI noted above. In the meantime, the FAB received 25 additional P-470s under the Interim ARP program (Project No 73002) mentioned earlier, . deliveries commencing in June 1947 and ending in November 1947. The new aircraft were based at Santa Cruz AFB at Rio, where they augmented the strength ofthe Esquadraos of the 1QGAvCa. It appears that only 23 of these were actually received, however, with the other two being lost (or delayed for a long period) in transit. The FAB also received badly needed spares for 30 P-47s earlier in March. Recapping, by 21 February 1952, FAB Lend-Lease and ARP-supplied P-47 strengthl acquisitions looked like this: P-470-25-RE P-470-27-RE P-470-28-RA P-470-28-RE P-470-30-RE P-470-30-RA F-470-40-RA Total

7 3 2 2 5 2 30 (all of which had been built as P-470-30RAs) 51

(It should be noted here that an FAB orderl bulletin dated 25 November 1952 changed the FAB designation for its Thunderbolts - no matter when acquired - from P-470 to F-47.) U.S. intelligence estimates forthe post-war period through 1950 were highly complimentary of the efficiency of the 1QGAvCa, in spite of chronic spares shortages. One report stated that "in spite of the fact that most of the veteran wartime pilots have been transferred to other units, this unit maintains a very efficient and effective status of operational readiness," a tradition perpetuated by alumni of this outstanding unit into virtually every facet of post-war Brazilian national life. 9

A final batch of 25 F-47D-40s - primarily refurbished ex-Virginia Air National Guard aircraft - were programmed for delivery to the FAB under the U.S. Fiscal Year 1952 MDAP program as GrantAid aircraft (Project MAP2F683). These started arriving by October 1953, their receipt, unfortunately for the Thunderbolt, coinciding with Brazilian acquisition of British Gloster Meteor F.Mk8 jets. U.S. MDAP Grant Aid at this time was programmed to support two fighter squadrons, totaling 50 aircraft. The arrival of the Meteors was a portent of things to come for the F-47s. The 1Q Esquadrao of the 1QGAvCa was almost immediately re-equipped (the first four, twoseat Meteor T.Mk.7s, and two single-seat F.Mk.8s arriving in June 1953) and passed their well-worn Thunderbolts to the 2 Q("PifPaf") Esquadrao. The 3QEsquadrao was to be equipped with the 25 "new" F-47s arriving under GA, the last of which actually arrived in November 1953. This last aircraft was not delivered with the other 24 due to it having caught fire in the U.S., requiring additional maintenance prior to delivery. Upon receipt, itwas found to need yet additional repairs. An MDAP Survey Team had visited Brazil in March 1952 to assess the FAB's needs and capabilities within that program. Forty of the existing Thunderbolts were to be MDAPsupported for parts and operational equipment. The team judged the FAB'sdepot maintenance capabilities for its Thunderbolts to be "good", including engine overhaul production, although it was only operating at about 25% capacity due to a shortage of parts. The team was not so praising of field maintenance which, it stated, is practically non-existent as conceived by the USAF. The FAB's purchase of Meteors, mentioned earlier, was not unique in Latin

America. The British were active in promoting such sales allover Latin America at this time, offering attractive barter and purchase arrangements for Vampire, Meteor and Canberr? jets, all at a time when U.S. policy was in high gear to standardize on F-47s and B-25s. " Thus it may be fairly argued that the death knell of the Thunderbolt in Brazil and elsewhere may be laid at the foot of this very successful British sales drive. The Commander of the Caribbean Air Command, Brigadier General Emil C. Kiel, went so far as to state "if these countries do not receive U.S. jets soon, we can anticipate requests for RAF missions to replace the USAF and in any case lose our struggle to standardize for hemispheric defense." The official U.S. response to the almost overnight outmoding of its only recently delivered F-47s was to issue, in June 1953, information to all Latin American countries (except Argentina and Guatemala) on the pricing and availability of U.S. built jets, purchasable under Reimbursable Aid. This interesting list included the Lockheed F-80C and T-33 variants, Republic F-84F and North American F-86F. By this time, the FAB was slowly but surely winding down its Thunderbolt fleet, although an effort was being made to keep those in service in top condition. Overhauls and some modifications were conducted at the Parque de Aeronautica dos Afonsos (PAF - the Depot at Rio) and at Parque de Aeronautica de Sao Paulo PSP -at Marte, SP). This included installation, retroactively, starting the first half of 1953, of rocket rail equipment on all 1QGAvCa aircraft, diagrams and USAF T.O.s for which had been provided under MDAP. As re-equipment with jets accelerated, the Thunderbolt lost its preeminent position in the prestigious 1QGAvCa, and by November 1953, all remaining Thunderbolts were

Embarassing moment for a proud warrior, 45-49151N (most National Guard aircraft at this point carried an "N" suffix to the USAAF serial), which became Brazilian 4184, in August 1953, reveals stenciling details, gun sight mounting, and the way to make a four point landing in a Jug. (Willie F. Hall)

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transferred from the units to the two Depots in Rio and Sao Paulo for complete overhaul prior to re-issue to a newly formed unit stationed in southern Brazil. Progress on the overhaul program was slow, only three having been completed by April 1954. The new unit, the 2 QEsquadrao do 5QGrupo de Aviacao (2 Q/5 QGAv), based at Natal ( which had already received some former 1Q/1 QGAvCa F-47s displaced by Meteors) could only muster thirteen F-47s. Almost all of them were from among the twenty-four 1953 MDAP-supported aircraft, the balance of its statutory strength of twentyfive aircraft still being at the depots. It should be noted that, strictly speaking, the 2Q/5 QGAv and the 1Q/4 Qwere not fighter units, but rather operational training units. The F-47 which is pedestal mounted at Fortaleza bears the unit insignia formerly carried on F-80s and T-33s there, but it is not known if the F-47s ever actually wore it while in service there. Thus the last FAB unit to be mounted with the F-47s was the Fortaleza based 1Q Esquadrao do 4 QGrupo de Aviacao (1 Q/ 4QGAv), to whom all Natal-based 2Q/5 QGAv aircraft were transferred in 1956. The FAB operations plan stipulated that the 1Q/4 QGAv would be equipped with 20 F-47s and four Lockheed T-33As, but as spares sources became ever more unreliable, the inevitable order came on 14 October 1957from the FAB Chief of Staff that all F-47s were to be deactivated, the process for which dragged on into 1958. It is not generally known that Brazil was actually intended to receive an additional twenty five F-47D-40 aircraft under the FY5253 MDA program for Title IV countries. Brazilian acquisition of 70+ Meteors however caused the cancellation of this increment which were already "in the pipeline", to the benefit of Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. Five Boeing B-17s, previously on loan to the FAB were substituted for accounting purposes for the canceled F-47D-40s. But that is not the end of the FAB Thunderbolt saga. Not less than forty FAB F-47s remained more or less intact (and many fully airworthy) into 1958. Officially, 18 were Struck-offCharge in March 1958, four in July, four in August and 14 in December while not fewer than nine were preserved as monument or museum aircraft. The last two F-47s to be officially Struckoff-Charge, ironically, included the very first FAB Thunderbolt, F-47B 4103 - which was retired 14 September 1967 from its long tenure as an instructional airframe. It was preceded on 2 May 1966 by F-47 4171, also in use for ground instruction. The closing chapter is not yet written, however, as the FAB is now in process of restoring to airworthy condition our front cover illustrated F-47 4184 (45-49151). It also served as an instructional airframe and museum piece. If successful, this will be the solitary airworthy Thunderbolt on earth still in active service with its last parent air arm.

Members of the FAM's 201 Escuadron in a most uncomfortable and unaccustomed ｬｯ｣｡ｾ･ Pocatello, Idaho - in 1944, where initial training of the u'!i! was. con'!'!cted. P-47s .used durmg training only mounted six guns, and none have been positively Identified. (Ing. Enrique Velasco via Santiago Flores)

MEXICO Of the major Latin American nations with a military aviation heritage, Mexico and her aviators must be credited with one of the most impressive performances in transitioning a unit into a combat-ready status from very spartan origins. , Unlike the traditional powers of Latin America, Mexico had - until World War II virtually no history of ｰｵｲｳｩｾｧｨｴ･ aVi.at!on in the accepted sense, acquIring, or bUilding only a very few examples between the time of the birth of its aviation forces and 1944. These isolated examples included a single Ansaldo A.1 Balilla acquired in 1921 and a single indigenous design that- was experimental only. . Mexico instead, opted for aircraft and organizadonal structures that suited its peculiar needs and budget, and an examination of equipment choices through the years quickly reveals a decided preference for single-engined, two-seat general purpose aircraft, ranging from Bristol F2B Fighters (newly built examples, surprisingly, delivered in January 1928), two exotic Bristol Model 93B Boarhound lis, variants of the U.S. deHavilland DH-4, and Douglas 0-2 to the Vought Corsair series. This varied collection represented the primary combatant types used through the 1920s and 1930s. The Mexicans clearly did not perceive a need for single seat fighters, as no realistic threat was at hand. While the need for long range recon and light bombardment types, useful in countering chronic insurgency and other internal problems, was fairly obvious. In fact, in the years immediately preceding her entry into WW II Mexico had operated only a veryfew monoplanes of any, type, none of which were single-seaters. MexIco formally entered the war on 28 May 1942, prompted as Brazil was, by Axis attacks on her shipping. At the outset of hostilities her Air Force included six hard working Ryan STM trainers and the 22 Bellanca Model 28-90B "Flash"

aircraft, which could probably best be described as high-speed, two place recon aircraft. The Bellancas (the first Mexican service aircraft with retractable undercarriages) were planned to carry only modest armament and were only used very briefly, due in no small part to two fatal accidents with the type. Oddly enough, these aircraft represented something of a windfall to the Mexicans, as they were originally intended for shipment to the Spanish Republicans - but hostilities in Spain ended before they could evade embargo problems. . The somewhat understaffed Mexican Army aviation element wasn't exactly sure what to do with these unwanted and, as it developed, dangerous aircraft. In fact, at a time when the rest of the world was moving with ever-gathering speed towards monoplane, all-metal aircraft as primary combatant types, Mexico was negotiating for 15 Canadian Car and Foundry (C.C.F.) GrummanG-23 biplanes, yet another design, ｡ｬｴｨｯｾｧ it two seat, general ｰｾｲｯｳ･ was billed as a "fighter". From available evidence it appears that these aircraft came very close to contractfulfillment, but ultimately

they did not reach Mexico, as Canada had more pressing needs even for such obsolescent types as these. With her entry into the war, Mexico almost immediately benefited from infusions of modern Lend-Lease aircraft in considerable number. By June 1944 these included thirty Douglas A-24Bs, a total of seventy-four variants of the North American AT-6B, AT-6C and AT-6D, fifty-two Fairchild PT-19Aand Bs, eighteen Beechcraft AT-11s, two AT-7s, ten each Vultee BT-13As and BT15s, twenty Interstate L-6, six Vought-Sikorsky OS2U-3, four Lockheed C-60As and three Fairchild UC-61 As, a total of 229 aircraft. Coincident with the arrival of the LendLease equipment, the Fuerza Aerea Mexicana (FAM) was reorganized fr.om the old Regimiento Aereo system, which had been officially deleted 20 January 1940, to an Escuadron Aereo system. Six of these units AT-6 were organized initially, mainly ｷｩｴｾ variants and remnants of pre-war equipment, but later included A-24Bs and OS2U-3s. These units were deployed as tactical elements mainly on the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific coasts of Mexico, to contribute Mexico's first wartime operations in Allied defense of the Western Hemisphere. During late 1943 and into mid-1944, Mexican losses to Axis submarines, especially tankers, had inflamed national sentiment. President Avila Camacho and his government initiated talks with the U.S. concerning the possibilities of Mexico - like Brazil fielding ,an operational unit to participate on the active war fronts. The first manifestation ofthese very positive talks resulted in recruiting for personnel to man such a unit. Following rigorous selection ent!tled ｲ･ｾｩｐ processing, a special Ｌｴｩｮｾ Grupo de Perfeccionamlento (First Training Group), redesignated as the Escuadron Aereo 201 on 1 January 1945 (and later Escuadron Aereo de Pelea 201) was formed under the overall control of a headquarters element designated as the Fuerza Aerea Expedicionaria Mexicana. The Escuadron itself was commanded, throughout its wartime service by Captain (P.A.)6 Radames Gaxiola Andrade, while the FAEM overall was led by Colonel (PA) Antonio Cardenas Rodriguez. The Escuadron and FAEM personnel departed Mexico City, after great fanfare, for training in the U.S. by special train on 24 July 1944. Arriving at San Antonio, Texas, aircrews were given further aeromedical examinations at Randolph Field while specialists were dispatched to other training centers.

Rare in-flight shot of four 201 Esc. P-47Ds over the ':'1. Note that only ｾｭ･ ("!8'J has the "petal" painted on and (the only instance noted) also has ｴｨＡｾ ｮｕＢＧＮ｢･ｾＬｯｮ f! white h,?rlzontal ｰ｡ｮｾＱ o.n ･ｾｴ fin. Note also the differing positions ofthe fuselage mvaslon stripes relative to the US Inslgma. (NASM) 11

By October, following initial intensive screening and evaluation at Randolph, aircrews were shipped off to Pocatello, Idaho, where actual hands on training in Republic P47 Thunderbolts commenced - the aircraft selected as the mount the Mexicans would take to war. There is a humorous sidelight to the Mexican's fairly brief stay at frigid Pocatello. Arrangements had been made to make our Spanish-speaking allies as much at home in Idaho as possible, including Spanish language movies atthe Base PX theater. Unfortunately, for U.S. servicemen, this courtesy to the FAM contingent did not end with the departure of the Mexican contingent. Bill Weiszbrod, on leave in Pocatello nearly 13 months later said thatthe base theater was still showing Spanish language films in November 1945. In a typical wartime SNAFU, the contractor had been signed to show at least one Spanish language film per week, even though the intended audience had been gone for over a year. From Majors Field, following graduation on 22 February 1945, the unit was railed to Camp Stoneman in Pittsburgh, California, still in doubt as to their ultimate destination. They departed from San Francisco via the USS Fairiste for a point "somewhere in the Pacific". It should be noted here that Mexico suffered her first wartime military casualties outside of Mexico during this training phase, when Lieutenants (PA) G.E. Salido and Javier V. Martinez were killed in accidents. After 33 grueling days at sea, the first contingent of the FAEM disembarked at Manila Bay, The Philippines, on 30 April 1945 and were met by General George Kenny, CG of the Fifth Air Force. Headquarters were established at Fort Stotsenberg, near Clark Field, while the squadron personnel themselves were moved by rail to Porac airfield, where they were to operate as an element of the 58th Fighter Group, Fifth Air Force.

After settling in, initially using borrowed equipment, the unit entered into a theater training phase lasting from 7 May to 6 June 1945, under the guidance of Colonel Arthur W. Kellond, USAAF, and a number of other U.S. personnel who had joined the unit before its departure> from the U.S. During this "shakedown" period, two more FAM officers were lost through training accidents, Lieutenants (P.A.) Jose Fuentes Espinoza and Fausto Vega Santander. Finally, the first operational mission was flown on 4 June, when a building housing enemy troops and a machine gun position were destroyed in Northe'rn Luzon. Throughout its fairly brief operational life in the P.I., Escuadron 201 operated a mix of "borrowed" and "owned" Lend-Lease aircraft, including some early, razor-backed P-47D variants. A description of the known "borrowed" and "owned" aircraft is contained in the individual aircraft Appendices. From its first operation until 30 June, the unitflew a total of 35 ground support missions ( the four USAAF pilots seconded to the Escuadron participated in 26), dropping 625 1,000 pound ANM-65 bombs and expending 106,934 .50 cal machine gun rounds. Although in combat for a few weeks the unit conducted itself well underdifficultconditions. See Appendices C and D. By the end of July 1945, Escuadron 201 had 28 pilots assigned and, during that month, flew 37 training flights, attempting to maximize training opportuhities, even though local offensive operations had ceased with the end of Japanese resistance in the P .1. Of the 15 aircraft on hand, 11 were airworthy. During the month of June, the rather confusing shuffle of aircraft - all to satisfy the bookkeepers - showed the Escuadron using 14 "borrowed" aircraft. On the 24th, five FAM-owned aircraft were received, four more arriving June 30th. Four of the "borrowed"aircraft were then returned to the parent 58th FG unitsothat by the close of the

2!!Sgt Manuel Alcantar poses with "Pancho Pistolas" at Clark Field, emblazoned on the outer wing panel of a Japanese fighter, in late 1945. Sgt. Alcantar had been honorably discharged from the US Army in order to join 201 Esc. after having made combat paradrops with US units at Casablana, Bizerte and Sicily. The colorful "mascot" , borrowed from the Disney movie "The Three Cabal/eros" re-emerged in ｰｯｳｾｷ｡ｲｳ･ｲｶｩ｣･Ｎ (USAF)

month, aircraft strength stood at 18 (nine FAM and nine "borrowed"). Mexico had nominally been allotted 30 P-47Ds under Lend-Lease as of 17 July 1945, but unlike the Brazilian aircraft, these were not individually identified as such on Individual Aircraft History Cards maintained by the USAAF. The unit had operated with a peak strength of 32 pilots, and an average of 17 P-47s while assigned to the 5th Fighter Command. They were transferred from Porac airfield back to Clark Field on 30 July 1945, from which limited flying continued. By October, the Escuadron still found itself on station at Clark Field, awaiting movement home with thousands of other Allied warriors. By then, the paperwork shuffle had been resolved, and all 17 aircraft on hand with the unit were FAM property, including one flown in from Zamboanga., On the 12th, all 17 P47s were handed over to the 45th Service Group, USAAF, for disposition. A decision had been made to replace the FAM P-47 Lend-Lease allotment of 25 aircraft, with virtually factory fresh examples in the U.S. This decision was prompted, at least in part, by the failure of a little-known scheme, hatched shortly after Mexico's entry into WWII in June 1942, which makes for an interesting excursion into "what-if" for aero-historians. Considerable correspondence had been exchanged from mid-1942 to the time the Escuadron was due back from the Far East between the Mexican Government and the U.S. State Department, with a view toward Mexico acquiring the patent rights and machine tools for production, in Mexico, of the Republic P-43 "Lancer" design. As the war progressed, however, this initiative died quietly, mainly due to logistics ｰｲｯ｢ｬ･ｭｾ CPT 1/0 (PA) Radames Gaxiola Andrade, Commander of the 201 Escuadron (de Caza) in the inherent in the plan and the fact that Escuadron Philippines, with his mechanic, SGT D. Chavez, showing the manner of titling used while in the 201 had, by then amassed considerable experience in the P-47. Clearly the Pion "owned" aircraft. 44-33737/21 is visible in the background. (Santiago Flores)

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A loaner from USAAF surplus stocks, P-47D-28-RA, Ser. 42-28523 still carries certain markings of 41 st Sq, 35th FG. seen here at Parae, P.I. on 26Jun45, "Me Darfin" collected a Jap victory flag with prior "owner" CPT Morgan R. Beamer. (USAF)

Thunderbolt was a far superior aircraft type which was still available under unused Mexican Lend-Lease credits.

POSTWAR FAM THUNDERBOLT SERVICE Like their Brazilian comrades-in-arms, the FAEM personnel returned home to hero's welcomes, and many of the wartime unit members served on with the FAM after the war. The newspaper "EI Nacional" reported on 24 August 1945 that pilots and wound crew members of the unit as well as families of deceased members, were to be presented with plots of ground for homes as a reward for their wartime sacrifices.

One of the veteran's first tasks was to take delivery of 25 like-new P-470s at Laredo and Greenville, Texas, during the last week of November 1945, returning them to Veracruz. Four of the aircraft went to the new International Airport at Mexico City then under construction. The Thunderbolts sat idle for nearly four months (bearing only their FAM national insignia and USAAF seriaks on natural metal) due to the poor condition of the FAM's runways at its Mexico City facilities and the almost complete lack of 100 octane aviation fuel there and at Veracruz. On 13 March 1946 Major Radames Gaxiola Andrade, still the Escuadron CO, flew one of the four aircraft at Mexico City.

CPT Pablo Rivas M. of Mexico City and CPT Roberto Legorreta S. of Jocotitlan, shortly after both landed from Escuadron 201's first Luzonstrike (USAF)

Though he lost power on take-off, he recovered nicely and proceeded to "beat up" the field, coincidentally making the first "operational"P-47flight in Mexico and thrilling a crowd of Mexicana Airline employees and FAM personnel. Rumors persist that the 25 aircraft obtained against Lend-Lease in November 1945 were P-47Ns. In fact, even some early post-war U.S. intelligence reports reflect this. These are completely in error. All twenty-five were in fact P-470-35-RA aircraft. The FAM is also unique in that it is the only Latin American Thunderbolt operator which did not obtain P-47s under MOAP, ARP, or GA programs, its Lend-Lease increment providing its sole source throughout the life of the type in FAM service.

Tte Reynaldo Perpz of Mexico City and Tte Fernando Hernandez-Vega of Juarez also participated in 201 Esc. 's first combat mission. (USAF)

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The P-47D-28-RA in the foreground, 42-29088"74" (in 41/35 unit markings) has not been positively identified as one of the P-47Ds loaned to 201 Esc. in the Phi/lipines, but the invasion stripes seem to support the possibility. Six Lend-Lease FAM P-47D-30-RAs are in the background including 44-33710 - an almost brand new aircraft when this photo was taken in mid-1945. (NASM)

Escuadrilla "A" of 201 Esc, with its own dis- Two early, borrowed razor-backed P-47Ds of the Mexican 201 Escuadron at Porac Airstrip, PI, tinctive insignia (I. to r.): 1S!Tte Graco Ramirez undergoing maintenance 26 June 1945. (USAF) (Mexico City), 1S!TteCarlos Varela (Mexico City), 1S!Tte Fernando (Juarel) and CPT Roberto Legurreta (Jucotitlan) at Clark Field about July 1945. (USAF)

"18" being groomed by 201 Esc personnel, bearing the penultimate markings as worn by the unit on its own aircraft while in the P./. (USAF) 14

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A Mexican P-47D-30-RA(44-90049) with most US stencils in place, named "Trigolele", a caricature ofAlley Oop above the name. (Santiago Flores)

Close-up look at "Exotica", PZT-1015, perhaps a memory of a special Filipino maiden. Pin-up nose art is extremely rare in Latin America. (Santiago Flores)

Fine study ofPZT-1 009.Unit insignia is incomplete,caricature of Disney inspired "Pancho Pistolas" not yet added in circle. (Ing. Jose Vil/ela) PZT-1 001/1, its secondpost-warscheme starting to show extreme wearand-tear, thunders along a taxiway at Mexico City about 1952. (Santiago Flores)

Exceptions are the rule in Latin America. PZT 1010, with what appears to be a fully colored cowling, seen with "petaled" PZT-100B and one other in September 1953. Anti-glare panel extends the distance of the spine and over the lip of the cowl. (Ing. Roberto Vargas Cruz)

Post-war FAM Thunderbolt use can best be described as a process of gradual attrition, which was complicated by high-level ambivalence over control of such a powerful weapon in a nation where politics were sometimes volatile. By late May 1946, all 25 were again concentrated at Veracruz, but by June1947 the unit had been transferred back to Mexico City where seventeen (plus a single AT-6 which had been assigned since August) were on hand. The other eight aircraft were assigned to the Escuela de Aviacion Militar at

In a somewhat later configuration, PZT-1001 now has unit emblem and red bands on wings, rear fuselage and fin, edged in black. The perennial "petal" on the cowl has been refreshed and edged (in red). (Santiago Flores)

Mexico City and Guadalajara. Five had apparently been earmarked for training use as early as December 1946. Through the first year ortwo following the end ofthe war, the FAM Thunderbolts retained their USAAF serials on their fins, with the national insignia of Mexico in six positions and standard Mexican tricolored rudder stripes. Initially, only two aircraft were otherwise adorned with the cowl-petal design reminiscent of the style used in the P.1. during the war and the numerals "1" and "2", presumably the Escuadron Commanders and

XOs aircraft. Gradually, all of the aircraft gained these cowl petal colors, with individual aircraft numbers up through at least 20 being known. Thereafter, FAM Escuadron de Pelea 201 P-47s were marked in a variety of colorful schemes. The numerals on the cowl petals gradually gave way to a new post-war FAM serial system involving a three character acronym on the fin atop a four digit individual aircraft serial number. The acronym "PZT" indicated type and function: Persecussion de Zona Thunderbolt or Zone Defense 15

November 1945 view of the Lend-Lease batch of 25 P-47D-35-RAs delivered to the FAM at home, still bearing USAAF serials and a few with petaled cowls and unit numbers. Nearest is 44-89945 with "2" on its petal zone. (lng. Enrique Velasco via Santiago Flores)

Thunderbolt. Serials assigned were 1001 through at least 1023. Serials 1024 and 1025 would logically have rounded out this sequence, but two Thunderbolts had been lost to accidents by 1 January 1949. One of them had crashed in the sea on 4 January 1948 near Naotia,Veracruz, killing the pilot. By October 1948, the Escuadron Commander was 1QCPT Reynaldo Perez Gallardo, a wartime member of Escuadrilla "B". Escuadron and FAM P-47 strength remained static through mid-summer 1950 at 16 aircraft in the fighter squadron and a further seven in depot and training status. By this time, pilots trained on the P-47 during the war were leaving the squadron' through promotion, transfers and separation from the service, and training replacements posed some unique problems. Since no twoseat Thunderbolts were available, new pilots would train successively in AT-6 and A-24B aircraft, landing in both types without the aid of flaps, with the instructor in the rear seat in an attempt to simulate P-47 handling characteristics as nearly as possible. The unit rotated periodically to Las Bajadas, Veracruz, for gunnery and ordnance practice using "bombs" made locally from tree trunks. At about th is juncture, the aircraft adopted bands painted on the wings, around the rear fuselage (with the national insignia superimposed) and horizontally across the fin, in the colors of the four Escuadrillas into which the Escuadron was still nominally divided; yellow, dark red, green and blue, along with the recently developed Escuadron insignia portraying "Pancho Pistolas" (from the Walt Disney film "The Three Caballeros") carried on both sides of the forward fuselage. Prior to this time, roughly between 1950-54, the unit insignia had been a fighting cock. The cowl petals were retained but instead of the earlier white, they correspond to the Escuadrilla color, as did the prop spinners. Some time prior to the adoption of this overall scheme, many of the Escuadron's aircraft carried nose art of one form or another, a practice unique on P-47s that saw service in Latin America. This was apparently confined to the aircraft of various wartime veterans and ranged from simple names (usually female) to more explicit images. With the Mexicans, . many of these were matched with specific aircraft, some apparently named for places in the P.1. by wartime veterans.They include: "Adena", "Mindanao", "Luzon", "Cigarra", "Aracuany" , and "Jujuzarat", and appear to have only been carried between 1946 and 1950. By June 1950, at which time the Escuadron was commanded by Major (PA) 16

Amador Samano Pina, another wartime Escuadrilla "C"vet, the FAM leadership, aware that budget constraints and serviceability problems would become ever greater, had started considering the possibility of disposing of its remaining P-47s in favor of twenty-five F-51 Mustangs. In fact, by July, the Peruvian Air Attache in Mexico had gone so far as to initiate talks with the FAM High Command for the outright purchase of P-47s, a move the USAF Liaison Office advised against strongly since the Mexican Lend-Lease Account was still not completely settled. A trade-in for F-51 s with a California firm was also discussed, but it all came to naught. The Mexican press had been giving much space at this time to the need for Mexico to rewith first class aircraft. equip her air ｦｯｾ｣･ These negotiations, between General Antonio Cardenas Rodriguez (former wartime commanderofthe FAEM inthe P.I.) and a Mr. Wilson Brown involved the trade-in of the entire remaining FAM P-47 inventory. According to North American Aviation Corporation, the only known source for such numbers of Mustangs at that time was a Mr. Finklestein (apparently fronted as "United Nations Engineering Corporation") who claimed to have 100 Mustangs for sale "as is, where is" at $12,500. Finklestein had offered these 100 Mustangs to NAA under these conditions, but the company declined. Finklestein allegedly had connections with arms supplies to Israel during 1947 and these 100 aircraft were thought to have been originally intended for Haganah forces. Brown also had connections with Haganah activities, in Mexico, in 1947. He was also accused of being active in the purchase of arms for revolutionary elements in Central America, and the U.S. State Department's concern was that the FAM P47s, if traded in against Mustangs, might end up in such circumstances. In fact, with Mexico's requirements under MDAP somewhat in limbo, at the very time that the FAM was considering disposing of its P-47s, the Joint Mexico-U.S. Defense Council (an organization born during WWII) advised Brigadier General Alberto Salina C., FAM Cin-C, on 31 October 1950, that "the U.S. Government was reserving - for a short time only - 35 F-47Ds (and 10 AT-11s) on an 'as iS,where is' basis forthe FAM. The Mexicans bought the AT-11s but said "No thanks," to the Thunderbolts. FAM determination to rid itself of its now somewhat tired P-47s continued, and by January 1951, the service was allegedly negotiating the sale of the best 17 aircraft, through the Iba Corporation of Miami, Florida

to Trujillo's Aviacion Militar Dominicana, at a cost of $15,500 each, fly-away. The deal included all armament and even painting on the AMD insignia, and President Aleman had purportedly signed the necessary export licenses. Peter Ethier, a U.S. citizen and former USMF WWII pilot had been contracted to fly the aircraft to the Dominican Republicvia Miami - three at a time, with the aid of two other pilots of his choosing. The Mexican government did advise the U.S. State Department of its intent to sell the aircraft, but cited the buyer as Mitchell Mobile Hangar Corp. of New York. The U.S. State Department did not approve this sale - again because of the unresolved Lend-Lease account proble ms, as well as the somewhat shadowy U.S. connections in the deal. From this point on, FAM P-47 operations went downhill, as more and more aircraft succumbed to minor accidents and spares shortages, as well as severe budgetary constraints which limited the FAM's ability to alleviate these problems. By June 1945, only 12 P-47s were still on hand with the Escuadron (as well as 13 T-6s) now stationed permanently at Las Bajadas, Veracruz, and not a single one was judged combat ready. Four of these (including PZT 1003,1 006,and 1016) participated in the grand opening of the new Mexico City International Airport on 1 June 1954. Between 1954 and 1957 most of the remaining airworthy Escuadron P-47s were painted over all Mexican olive drab, with yellow bands on the wings and rear fuselage, and standard six position national insignia and rudder stripes, but with the vertical fin painted a very light green, some with the unit insignia and some without. Several were also apparently painted a light gray during this period also and may have been trainers. By 30 June 1957, nine Thunderbolts remained, by now bearing the added indignity of being replaced by North American T-28 trainers, although this hardy type was admirably suited to limited FAM needs at the time. Strength remained at nine through 1 June 1958, when the decision was made to finally retire the type, and all but two were scrapped. PZT 1016 and PZT 1008 were earmarked for permanent display at Base Aerea Militar No. 1 and Colegio del Aire respectively. Replacements for the now lionized Thunderbolts finally arrived, to relieve the Escuadron de Pelea 201 T-28s in December 1960 in the form of fifteen nimble ex Canadian deHavilland Vampire F.3 jets, although the latter were not assigned to Escuadron de Pelea 201, a new unit being created to operate them.

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ECUADOR Chronologically, the next Latin American nation to acquire Thunderbolts, after wartime operators Brazil and Mexico, was the Pacific Coast nation of Ecuador, nestled between mighty Colombia on the north and hostile Peru to the south. Ecuador's military aviation tradition prior to WWII was somewhat halting compared to its larger or wealthier neighbor states, and at several stages in its development came to almost a complete halt. Pre-war Ecuadoran military aviation was influenced heavily, in turn, by French, Italian, and in the 1930's non-governmental U.S. influences. Largely a training organization at best, the single largest group of anyone type operated between creation and 1941 consisted of ten Italian built Meridionali (Romeo) Ro-37bis biplanes, multi-purpose aircraft, which were a handful for their Ecuadoran crews, and which suffered a number of accidents due to mechanical failures of various origins. Fighter aviation, assuch, did not materialize in any form until 1941, aside from the acquisition, primarily through donations, of single examples of WW I vintage SPAD, Nieuport-Macchi 17 and Hamiot HD-1 designs during the 1920s, none ofwhich ever mounted armament. In 1936 however, Ecuador became determined to create a small but efficient air service capable of providing at least some response to its powerful neighbor to the south, Peru, which had been making territorial claims against large sections of Ecuadoran land. The government contracted with the CurtissWright Corporation to fulfill this need, and subsequently purchased its first modern equipment, which included quantities of CW16E biplane trainers and six monoplane CW19Rs which the Ecuadorans called "Sparrows", and came closest to a modern fighting aircraft they had enjoyed up till that time. With the approach of war, and probable cut-off of foreign sources of equipment, Ecuador, like other states, had to cast around almost desperately, for aircraft, especially after the border war with Peru of 1941, in which Ecuador lost considerable territory. Eventually, acting through the agency of Guisseppi Bellanca, the Ecuadorans managed to locate a hodgepodge selection of four assorted models of the basic Seversky SEV-1 (P-35) design, all former racers or demonstrators which, although essentially similarto the P-35 fighter design, did not even have guns fitted at the time of purchase. These four aircraft, despite chronic fuel leakage problems, together with the surviving CW-19Rs and commercially acquired CW22Bs, formed Ecuador's first designated fighter unit. To this odd collection were added six Curtiss-Wright SNC-1 s (U.S. Navy version of the CW-22B) and small quantities of North American AT-6B and Os some of which also served with this first fighter unit, courtesy of the Lend-Lease program. By the end of WWII the Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana (FAE) had grown to a rather quick maturity and, though still small by South American standards (second only to Paraguay in terms of aircraft strength) it was now a well-

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Upon landing at Kingston, Jamaica in June 1953, L T Toedt discovered that the FAEC repairs to his undercarriage weren't quite complete. The aircraft was repaired and eventually joined its mates in Ecuador. (L TC Dell C. Toedt)

rounded organization with a defined infrastructure and a comparatively well trained cadre of pilots and crews. Identified early as a participant in the American Republic Projects (ARP), mainly because of her assistance in making available the vital Galapagos Island airbase, one of the cornerstones of Panama Canal defense, as well as the large coastal air and naval patrol base at Salinas, Ecuador was to receive twelve P-47D aircraft (as well as one C-47A and an AT-7). Although paid for in November 1946 (ahead of neighbors Peru, Colombia and Chile) at $6,500 each, political considerations dictated that all four west coast nations should receive their ARP Thunderbolts as nearly as possible atthe same time. Thus, the FAE's aircraft did not in fact arrive in Quito at Mariscal Sucre Air Base until April-June 1947 and then only after the U.S. Mission Chief transmitted an urgent appeal to the U.S. State Department, reporting that FAE officers were threatening to resign if something was not done to expedite the delivery of the aircraft they had already paid for. The aircraft, flown in from Albrook Field, Canal Zone, were covered under ARP Project' No 73001 and at the time of delivery represented more than 33% of the total FAE inventory, and certainly the most powerful single weapon, as a unit, that Ecuador had ever possessed. Initially, all twelve were stationed on the grass field at Quito, high in the beautiful Andean capital of the country, and operated at minimum weight, due to the altitude and short field, not to mention the rather hairy approach to the landing area. Later, for political purposes, two of the P-47s were detached; one to Guyaquil and oneto Salinas. The unit operating the P-47s, according to Leland Schoppe, a member of the U.S. Mission in Ecuador from mid-1948 until mid 1950, was known only as the Ecuadron de Caza, and this unit received the lion's share of the Missions' efforts during that period. The President of Ecuador, a graduate of Stanford University, was striving to improve the educational level of his country and as a result, the military budget was cut to the minimum, thus idling the Escuadron de Caza, supplied with the least economical of the FAE's aircraft . The Mission's Fighter Advisor, Major William J. Hovde, (ETO P-47 ace with 10.5

kills and much revered by FAE pilots) became so frustrated by the inactivity that he put in for a curtailment of his tour with the Mission and volunteered for duty in Korea.? By May 1948 the FAE had lost one P-47 to an accident, but the remaining 11 still constituted the most numerous type in the 39 aircraft Air Force. Anotherwas lost by January 1949 but strength remained static mainly due to inactivity, until mid-1949. At that time, in an attempt to form at least a token bomber force (again to match neighbors Peru and Colombia), the FAE gained approval for the purchase of three North American B-25s from the U.S. Foreign Liquidation Commission (FLC). However before the deal was consummated, and on the advice of the U.S. Mission which wisely pointed outthe added costs in manpower and operating expenses that the Mitchells would incur, the FAE requested to alter the approval to read three (or four) F-47s to make up for attrition. These four aircraft were approved under one of the very last ARP cases (9SF-116) on an "as is-where is" basis, and Captain Fernandez of the FAE selected 44-

Nose of the FAE-403 (digit "3"just visible on the cowl chin) , one of the first three ARP P-47D-30s for Ecuador. (FAE via COL Gary Lape)

17

32897,32797,32873, and 32912 from stored aircraft on 2 May 1949. (32698 was rejected on 2 May 1949.) With these ARP supplied P-47s the FAE managed to create a professional corps of pilots and technicians that would prove, in retrospect, to be viewed as the period in which the modern FAE was born. With the help of the small but very enthusiastic USAF Mission, the FAE crews managed to wring the most out of their Thunderbolts and, at the same time, create an esprit that survives to this day. This utilization was not without its price. By January 1953 the extremely poor condition of the surviving 10 ARP-supplied P-47s was such that the USAF Mission advised that "the FAE shops would be overwhelmed in attempting to overhaul the aircraft". Still based at Quito and referred to now as the Ecuadron de Caza-Bombardero, the unit also mounted ten assorted AT-6s. With the birth of MOAP, U.S. planners recognized quickly that some relief for the hard-pressed FAE would soon have to be forthcoming. Accordingly, as early as May 1953, U.S. MOAP requests included six F470-40 aircraft programmed for Ecuador, coming under Plan VI of the Fiscal Year (FY) 1952 MOA Material Program for Title IV countries. Of course these six aircraft would have actually arrived in Ecuador in Calendar Year 1953 had delivery gone ahead as scheduled. Brazil's program deviation however (see Brazilian chapter) permitted a substantial increase in the allotment of aircraftto Ecuador, Chile, and Colombia, and resulted in the FAE receiving eleven (rather than six) F-470-40s. Flight delivered by pilots of the USAF Ferrying Squadrons accompanied by a USAF

Douglas B-26 pathfinder, actual arrival was in June 1953 and not a moment too soon. As of April of that year, only 5:20 hours had been flown (that month) on the best of the surviving ARP P-47s due to their poor condition. Almost immediately after arrival, twentyLieutenants were checked two young ､ｮｯｾ･ｓ out on the aircraft by Mission personnel. The Escuadron de Caza-Bombardero now boasted twenty Thunderbolts (as well as a varying number of AT-6s) and 25 crews, although not all were rated as qualified fully on the type. By July 1953, eight of the 11 "new" F-47s had experienced 100 hour inspections, and were Temporary Duty (TOY) atSalinas, being utilized intensively in the Mission designed program for rating the FAE's fighter pilots. Plans were also on-going for the overhaul of the nine remaining ARP-supplied P-47s. Through the end of that month, 17 new pilots and seven experienced pilots had been checked out on the F-470-40s. Going into August 1953, the FAE Thunderbolts had flown more since the arrival of the 0-40s than in the preceding 18 months, and Mission personnel reported that "remarkable progress was being made". The new life breathed into the FAE as a result of the arrival of the 0-40s had a number of interesting side effects including by September 1953, the emergence of unit designations for, FAE units. The Thunderbolt equipped unit had been designated as the 10Q Escuadron, 100 Q Ala de Caza-Bombardero (10th Squadron of the 1OOth Fighter-Bomber Wing) MOAP planners were guided by an overall hemispheric defense plan, which outlined "Tab" forces which each MOAP eligible participant would reasonably be expected to mount. Ecuador's Tab Force, as of the end of

1953, was one Fighter-Bomber Squadron, optimally equipped with 25 F-47s - although in fact only nineteen were on hand. Nine of these were in need of rehabilitation. Overhaul of the nine remaining ARPsupplied P-47s(plus one recoverable hulk) was a major goal of the USAF Mission from November 1954 through January 1957, being assigned their Project Number 54-7. By January 1956 only 30% of the needed work had been completed mainly due to erratic assignment of personnel and a shortage of hangar space. The FAE depot only allowed one aircraft to be worked at a time. An associated Mission Project, No. 54-8, which commenced in July 1954, led to the training of two FAE pilots as test pilots for the P-47s. These were possibly the first such pilots formally trained in Latin America. These test pilots quickly earned their keep flying two F-47s more than 40 hours at sea level from Salinas to try and isolate the chronic problems being encountered at the time with the faulty turbo-exhaust tubes. These potentially catastrophic problems with the turbo-exhaust tubes had led to an interesting recommendation by the USAF Mission, and the sea-level tests noted above were a part of it. In effect, the Mission recommended that all FAE F-47s be operated only out of Salinas and at altitudes not in excess of 10,000 feet, the tests having shown that the aircraft functioned normally below 10,000 feet without the equipment. As a result, f!!l turbo-exhaust systems were removed from FAE Thunderbolts at this point, with the intention that they serve out the rest oftheir service lives as low altitude interdiction fighter bombers. However, the Mission assisted the FAE in locating a commercial supplier in the U.S. (TEMCO) who could

Spectacular setting as a backdrop for two of Ecuador's ARP-supplied P-47D-30-RAs, FAE 401 is at left (note serial under chin) before mighty Cotapaxi. Note FAE roundel under starboard wing ofaircrafat at right. Otherwise, only marks were standard rudder stripes, and three digit serial on fuselage. (USAF) 18

replace the systems in twelve of the aircraft, permitting them to continue to operate throughout mountainous Ecuador. In spite of these exertions, the turboexhaust repairs and total overhaul projects noted above, funded to continue through January 1958, were gradually shunted onto a back burner by the FAE as a general lack of interest manifested itself. The FAE was, like Brazil, bringing jets on line. Training operations had continued on into 1954, overhaul of the ARP supplied aircraft grinding along, with two of them finally being worked in the FAE Depot area by March. Through the first quarter of that year, 120 hours had been flown in the F-47D-40s on aerial gunnery, bombing and formation training missions. The USAF Mission Tactical Training program (Mission Project 54-1) had commenced in April 1954 and was considered completed by 1 June 1956, when the 10Q Escuadron de Caza-Bombardero was considered combat capable by USAF standards, a very laudable and seldom witnessed event in Title IV MDAP experience. Trouble cropped up in April 1954 however, possibly as a result of the high utilization rate during the months since arrival of the D-40s. By then 214 hours had been flown since the first of the year, but the entire unit was grounded during the last week of April following a fatal accident attributed to engine failure - the sixth engine failure since the arrival of TEMCO overhauled F-47D-40s. The aircraft remained grounded while a flurry of messages were exchanged between the USAF Mission, Headquarters in Panama and Washington, and the Air Materiel Command (AMC). By June 1954 eleven newly overhauled engines had reached the FAE through a special MDAP supplemental project, to put the aircraft back in commission and hopefully restore the FAE's faith in the type, the U.S. MDAP system, and the hard pressed Mission. Meanwhile, the FAE Depot continued the tedious and painfully slow process of what amounted to rebuilding the old ARP-supplied P-47s only two of which were completed and returned to service by December 1955. The 'quick fix' rushed to the FAE in June 1954 (noted above) was followed by nine more R-2800-59s and a special team from AMC to install and inspect the new and existing engines as well as the FAE maintenance procedures. The FAE thus ended June 1954 with eight operational and nine non-operable Thunderbolts with 25 trained crews. FAE Thunderbolt operations continued despite these calamities at a somewhat more relaxed pace into 1956 when, by 31 December, they could still count 17 aircraft. But all had again been grounded by continuing difficulties in processing replacement stacks, as well as further explosions in the turbo exhaust section of the rear fuselage, which had been an on going but thought to be fixable problem. By the closing months of 1956, the FAE was planning to move the F-47 unit to Taura Air Base, near Guayaquil, although transition and tactical training would continue at Salinas. The arrival of jets seems to have squelched this move.

Ecuadoran ARPThunderbolts completely devoid of markings, except stenciling and pilot's names, with CPT G. Fernandez nearest aboard P-47D-40-RA 45-49334, which became FAE-402. (FAE COL Gary Lape)

After the groundings and spares problems detailed above, 12 aircraft were finally returned to service in early 1958 and, still based at Quito, were by now operated as the 108Q Esquadron de Caza, including in its strength five T-6Ds. Remarkably all 12 F-47s were considered combat ready. By June 1958 the unit had been transferred to General Ulpiano Paez Air Base at Salinas, making way at Quito for the Gloster Meteor FR9 jets acquired from England in 1955, and the Lockheed T-33As and F-80Cs which had been programmed as rep'lacements for the Thunderbolts under MDAP. Deliveries of the first T-33As had started in November 1956. As of December 1958 the Thunderbolt unit was no longer considered combat ready mainly, due to now overwhelming maintenance difficulties. However, fifteen new pilots were due to begin transition to the type (one can easily imagine their motivation) in a regimen totaling 45 hours each in formation, divebombing and gunnery. While the F-47s had been grounded, gun pods and bomb racks were mounted on two T-6Ds to help the F-47 pilots stay current in gunnery and attack skills. Many experienced F-47 pilots had been transitioned onto T-33s and Meteors, and two F-47s had been salvaged as a result of explosions and fire in the exhaust turbo system. One ofthe last functions of the FAE's F-47s was perhaps the ultimate indignity. They served as tow-target tugs for the FAE's F80Cs from 1957 to final grounding. As a little known precondition to the ultimate delivery of the F-80s, Ecuador was required to agree to scrap all of its remaining F-47s. This occurred between the end of 1958 and July 1959, the aircraft last serving, at least nominally, as tugs on the strength of Escuadron 2110 at Quito, with a mix of Meteors and T33s. All that remains of the F-47s service in Ecuador is a single .50 caliber machine gun, salvaged by an FAE general and later donated to the infant FAE Museum at Quito.

PERU After Brazil, and not counting the Thunderbolts used in the Philippines by the Mexican Expeditionary Force and not returned to the Western Hemisphere, Peru was the second largest operator of Thunderbolts on mainland South America. Historically, Peruvian military aviation has been characterized from its earliest foundations by progressive, well modeled organization and equipment. Peru has never been without some form of fighter/ pursuit! chasse aviation organization in its modest but adequate structure. As in the other major Latin American powers, Peruvian aviation was influenced by the ebb and flow of various foreign missions, seeking to capitalize on the new markets for products and influence major arms sales. The earliest of these was an Italian Mission, represented by the Ansaldo house, which brought with it in 1919 four or five variants of the Ansaldo A. 1 Ballila fighter (best sources indicate one A.1 Ballila and four A.300s) which were supplemented through the first three years of the 1920s by aircraft donated to the young Peruvian aviation element of the Army by various national interest groups represented by Great Britain and France. s These WW I designs, supplemented by other types from a variety of sources, remained the primary Peruvian mounts through the 1920s until growing tensions over the Leticia region with Colombia prompted a rather frantic modernization and rearming campaign in the early 1930s. By this time pursuit aviation had all but vanished through attrition and war. This renewal came in the form of three Curtiss-Wright Sea Hawk lis (often erroneously identified as P-6s) in 1932 - the same type aircraft acquired in larger numbers by Colombia - and three exotic Vought V80Ps, all mounted on floats and operated with other types during the rather frustrating campaign - by the Grupo "Ancon". 19

Realizing that she was outgunned in the air by a well manned and well armed Colombian air force, Peru quickly sought additional world class pursuit aircraft but these did not arrive until well after the crisis. They included 12 French built Nieuport-Delage NiD626C-1, sesquiplanes in 1933, a single Italian Caproni Ca-113 in June 1934, 12 Caproni Ca-114s in January 1935; and six NiD-123s in February 1935 These aircraft together formed the first Peruvian unit specifically organized and identified as a fighter unit (2 2 Escuadron) by June 1936, but changed simply to Escuadron de Caza by September 1937, when six of the NiD-626s and 12 Ca-113/114 aircraft remained. The latter types remained after the Nieuports were withdrawn as trainers as late as August 1943 when three remained airworthy. Peruvian territorial claims again prompted major arms purchases near the end of the 1930s and Peru became the first Latin American nation to mount monoplane, retractable gear fighters when seven North American NA-50As were received in 1939. The single seat fighter development of the basic NA-16 trainer design subsequently served with the Escuadron 41 and XII Escuadron, four of them surviving as fightertrainers as late as June 1950. At least one of' these rare fighters still exists on a pylon in Peru. This gradual stepping stone of pursuit aviation development in Peru probably comes closest, within Latin America, to the evolution of the genre within the major powers during the same period, and was continued, in the WW II years, by a very substantial, almost surprising allotment of 30 Curtiss P-36Gs commencing in September 1942. These aircraft were former Free Norwegian Hawk 75A-4/8s for the most part. TheHawkswereregardedwithgreatpride and fondness by the airmen of the (then) Cuerpo de Aeronuautica Peruana (CAP), and initially equipped a new unit, the Escuadron de Caza 21. It was redesignated as the 11 2 Escuadron de Caza in a post war reorganization by October 1946 when the unit was stationed at Talara. With post war assurances of substantial ARP aircraft deliveries, the CAP (it became the Fuerza Aerea del Peru, or FAP, in July

receipt was somewhat restricted by a number of factors. As early as the close of 1947, the service experienced the first of several critical shortages. In this case it was the proper lubricantforthe turbo-superchargers. Critical shortages would, from time to time, ground the operating unit en masse. By January 1949, only one CAP Thunderbolt had been lost. This occurred on 26 January when its pilot, Tenente J. Constantini of Escuadron de Caza 11, lost control and dove straight into the beach near Chiclayo from 2500 feet. This loss was quickly followed by one more in the same month, in a mid-air collision. The aircraft piloted by Captain Suarez lost its tail (although he bailed out successfully) and the other aircraft landed with only light damage. Early in 1949, the CAP reorganized and the Talara based P-47 unit was redesignated as Escuadron de Caza 12. The unit lost two more aircraft in training by 1 April 1950, by which time the CAP's remaining P-36Gs and NA-50As were worn out and thought was being given to strengthening the now somewhat depleted first line P-47 strength. Of twenty-three still on hand at that time, not fewer than eighteen were out of service. To maintain pilot proficiency, the unit was . augmented by two AT-6s. The CAP (represented by Colonel Bernales) signed a contract in May 1950 for 42 additional F-47s and an option on 25 more plus spares. Diplomatic and financial wrangling delayed this initiative to the point that the Peruvians broke the agreement in August, 1951. When it became apparent that new Thunderbolts would not be forthcoming quickly from the U.S., the Peruvian Air Attache in Mexico City negotiated with Mexican officials about the possible purchase of the FAM's surviving Thunderbolts during the summer of 1950. These arrangements came to naught when complications over the unpaid balance on the Mexican Lend-Lease account surfaced. Meanwhile at home, the CAP was renamed as the Fuerza Aerea del Peru (FAP) in July 1950. ltwas one of the last Latin American air arms to modernize its formal title in line with other world air forces. FAP Thunderbolt operations stabilized somewhat between 1950 and 1952. The operating unit strength remained static at 23 aircraft (nominally). Serviceability was enhanced considerably as a result of the Bostick Report (USAF) of January-June 1952. The report concluded that Grant Aid would continue to support the 22 intact P-47D-40s on hand. One aircraft had been cannibalized for spares following a crash at sea 15 May 1952, killing the pilot. Other spares had been procured under Reimbursable Aid. The report noted that, "P-47s are flown only an average of three to five hours per month, which accounts for the high percentage of surviving aircraft from the 25 delivered in 1947...ifthese aircraft were flown 50% of normal USAF flying hours, only 10% would still be in flying condition after a very short time." Meanwhile, Peru had become eligible for MDAP participation. The trail leading to the A very late photo of FAP 544 (TF-47D-30-RA) in full Escuadron de Caza 13 markings, and now second batch of 25 FAP Thunderbolts is sporting rudder stripes a/so. FAP 442, from the earlier ARP (1947-) supplied batch, is in the almost a case study in the complexity of the background with Escuadron de Caza 12 marks. (Dr. William Kuhn & William Green) inter-governmental negotiations wh ich

20

1950) was, both on paper and in fact, one of the best equipped, best trained and best maintained organizations in all of Latin America. This standing, coupled with intensive experience on its P-36s, elevated it to a level of efficien'cyalrnost equal in combat-seasoned fighter organizations to Brazil and, to some extent, Mexico, and certainly made the acceptance and integration of its initial, ARPsupplied Thunderbolts in late July 1947 a less challenging transition than some of its neighbors who also accepted the type at this juncture. Colonel (USAF Ret.) Julius B. Summers, Jr., one of the ARP Project Officers detailed to expedite delivery of Peru's first P-47Ds recalls that "One ofthe most interesting facets of our training program was the tactic we used to getthe Jugs into and outof Limatambo airport at Lima." "Having no let-down pattern, we would fly along the coast south [from Talara] until we came up on a large cross cut into the mountains to the west. Then, we would fly to the east, letting down almost 400 feet per minute until we came out below the (almost constant) overcast - usually at around 500 feet. We would then turn back to the west making sure to clear the shoreline, which was around 400 feet high - with one pesky smokestack standing some 50 feet higher and then make a left turn into Limatambo. Our usual procedure was to tack four P-47s on the wing of one B-25, in close formation, and lead them to the landing. The system worked,asweneverlostanyJugsondelivery." Foliowingdelivery,theARPteam,besides instructing CAP personnel in operations and maintenance, joined some English speaking Peruvians to translate a number of manuals on the spot. They worked primarily at Limatimbo, Talara (el Pato) and Chiclayo, with Talara being the main base after appropriate ceremonies at Limatambo, Lima and Talara (el Pato) had the only really long runways in Peru at that time, most of the others having been built by PanAm and Panagra, with a standard one-kilometer length. Landing was, in the words of Lieutenant Colonel (USAF Ret.) James H. Shea "a little tense in a Jug or B-25." Peruvian operational experience with its P-47Ds during the first six years following

I f

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precede such arms transfers, and is recorded here in summary as a typical illustration of such. As mentioned above, the U.S, Department of State had transmitted to MDAP planners a note from the Peruvians as early as 26 February 1951, requesting forty-two F-47Ds with spares and maintenance equipment. Pricing and availability of these aircraft was made by the USAF and duly forwarded to Peruvian authorities. An additional pricing and availability study was made by the USAF on 21 August 1951, this time for twentyfiveThunderbolts with spares and equipment because of a reduction in the number of aircraft required by Peru. A check was subsequently deposited by Peru to cover the twenty-five aircraft, and the funds allotted to the USAF. Meanwhile, the U.S. Ambassador in Peru, in a telegram dated 13 January 1952, requested information on the anticipated delivery date ofthe purchased aircraft. In reply, the State Department stated that the FAP Air Attache in Washington had been advised by the USAF that, inadvertently, orders had been placed for the rehabilitation of twenty-five F-47D-30 aircraft instead of -40s as requested by Peru The matter of substitution of D-30s for D40s and other specific points relating to the transaction, had been discussed with the FAP's representatives as early as 4 January and the USAF advised the State Department that they would ask the FAP if they would accept the twenty-five D-30s (already, in fact, rehabilitated) or be willing to wait the 10 months for rehabilitations of twenty-five D40s. The USAF took the heat for this mix-up, and addressed a formal letter to the Peruvian Embassy on 16 January discussing the proposed substitution and listing the differences between the two subtype blocks. The FAP rejected the USAF solution, insisting on the D-40s they had paid for and work then proceeded on these. The result was an increased cost of $240,000 for the project (Case OMA-Peru-14 and 14/1) and this was absorbed by a reduction in the number of F-47D-40s being furnished under these RAP cases and incl usion of the "whole" aircraft

Three F-47Ds -40-RAs, all from the 1952-53 batch of RAP aircraft. FAP 539,522, and 524 at a 1954 firepower demonstration dropping napalm bombs. Note the scalloped red cheat/ine running aft from the cowling and the early (but not unique) "bullet" antenna fairing on 522's spine. ("EI Comercio" via Javier Goto)

in the Peruvian Grant Aid program. Thus, the second batch of twenty-five FAP Thunderbolts consisted of nineteen RAP-supplied aircraft, and six GA-supplied examples. Case 14/1 was for spares for 1,000 hours for seventeen F-47Ds to be applied to the best 17 survivors of the first, ARP-supplied batch. Unfortunately this was not the end of this embarrassing episode. . In October 1952, Lieutenant Colonel Roger M. Carter of the USAF Mission to Peru had traveled to Kelly AFB, Texas to act as liaison. between the FAP officers and USAF authorities in taking receipt of the twenty-five rehabilitated aircraft. Many discrepancies

were found in the aircraft by Lieutenant Colonel Carter after a "safety-in-flight" inspection and after correction ofthese the Peruvians insisted on making their own inspection. Many additional discrepancies were found and this accounted for additional delays with the result that delivery did not occur until December 1952. The nineteen TEMCO-rehabilitated F47D-40s supplied under RAP enabled the FAP to create a second fighter unit - Escuadron de Caza 13, based initially at Limatimbo. The aircraft arrived to great fanfare at Lima on 27 March 1953 (although thirteen had been flown down by FAP personnel from Kelly in December 1952). Six more actually arrived in early March 1953 bringing the FAP fighter strength to forty-four P-47 and F-47 aircraft and eighteen P-36Gs. The six Grant Aid F47D-40s included in the package were flight delivered to the FAP on 8 July 1953, although one of these which suffered an accident on the ferry flight at Kingston, Jamaica, was not finally received until 19 November 1953. The final six FAP programmed Thunderbolts, for a total of fifty-six, arrived in May 1953, just ahead of the other six GA aircraft cited above. These had been part of seventeen aircraft originally intended for Brazil which had traveled no further than Albrook AFB, Canal Zone. These six aircraft, incidentally, were valued at $368,000 for MDAP accounting purposes. By now FAP Thunderbolt operations had settled into a steady regimen, and with more reliable spares sources and freshly refurbished examples, morale and proficiency soared. This hiatus was to be relatively shortTwo FAP pilots with an ARPproject officerat Talara circa 1947. While training the recipient crews, lived, however. The FAP utilized an airframe life extension most ARP aircraft retained full US insignia. Note the anti-glare panel extending back the spine program, initially following delivery of the first and stenciling detail. (COL Julius B. Summers, Jr.) 21

of the MDAP F-47s, conducting all training on just two aircraft - one from each squadron. A typical monthly utilization rate was February 1953 when 45 hours were logged on the pair in use. Following receipt of the bulk of the new aircraft and after new pilot proficiency had been established, the two Escuadrons de Caza, with 21 each of the best remaining aircraft, were averaging 21 hours per P-47 by June 1953. This intensive six month period came to an abrupt halt in August, however, when the aircraft were grounded after discovering that practically all of the older Thunderbolts had faulty rear exhaust tubes leading to the supercharger. This shock was almost immediately followed by the detachment, for political reasons, of Escuadron de Caza 13 and its almost "new" F-47s from Talara to Lima. Up until its grounding, Escuadron 12 had been concentrating on night flying (something of a novelty for FAP pilots) and air-to-ground gunnery with, according to U.S. Mission personnel, "quite satisfactory proficiency." Plans had also been nearly final to mount Mk6 rocket adapters on the aircraft, which had been locally fabricated based on USAF supplied blueprints. The U.S. Mission and MDAP officials conducted a crash program to fix the burgeoning' exhaust tube problem and, by September, had nearly achieved this - a remarkable engineering and logistics accomplishment - with thirty-six of the forty-seven P-47s and F-47s on hand being operational and logging 465 hours that month alone. By mid-1954, scarcely a year after the arrival of the latest batch, FAP Thunderbolt operations were already in jeopardy, the advent of jets just over the horizon. FAP planners were already working on initial steps to integrate the first three (of many) Lockheed T-33As expected in March 1955 to be closely followed by North American F-86 Sabres which were very advanced for Latin America. The first of these arrived through June and July 1955. British Hawker Hunters did not begin arriving until February 1956 and the F47s "real" replacements, Lockheed F-80Cs until March of 1958.

As of June 1954 the Escuadron de Caza 12 was still at Talara ( by then renamed Base Aerea "Captain Montes") with fifteen of its twenty-three P-47s operational. Escuadron de Caza 13 was at Limatimbo also with fifteen operational birds out of twenty-four on hand. The units had.,completed training for all pilots on the K-14 and K-18 gunsights, but only twenty-three of the FAP's Thunderbolts had these sights, (seventeen with the K-14 and six with the K-18.) The other twenty-four were equipped with the old N3C. Also in May and June 1954, perhaps sensing that their best days were gone, serious maintenance problems began to manifest themselves on ill! of the thirty-one TEMCO refurbished aircraft received in 1953. Since arrival, seven had experienced total engine failure at Talara. Five in 1953 were considered fairly routine, but of two in the month of May 1953 alone, one was a complete loss. Once again, the FAP began a gradual slowdown in utilization and maintenance enhancement with the aid of the U.S. Mission and closed the year (1954) with a fairly commendable total of 4855 hours flown on the type. From this point on,with every passing day, the FAP came to view its Thunderbolts as fighter bombers, then ground support, and finally fighter-trainer aircraft, as career oriented, first class aircrew sought to pass on to the jets. By 1 July 1956, 46 were still on hand (many were not airworthy) but two crashes in 1957, both related to engine failure didn't help matters. Both ofthe 1957 accidents occurred on 30 August. The first (FAP 545) landed at Piura with its engine on fire. Its pilot, Major Aranibar, suffered injuries and the aircraft completely burned out. The other was lost over the Pacific near Sechura. It was also attributed to engine failure, but pilot Alferez D. Miranda was rescued. By June 1958 its designated MDAPsupplied and supported fighter-bomber replacements (F-80Cs) had arrived and it would have seemed that the FAP would retire the thirty-two remaining F-47 type aircraft. However, viewed as national assets, and with a good supply of spares and salvageable

aircraft on hand, the type remained operational in the inventory as fighter-trainers. No other single-seat replacement quite filled the bill as well Two more crashes, one on 14 February 1961 at Piura, killing Alferez R. Pereyra Block, and another on 6 June 1963 at Hacienda San Carlos, Piura, killing Major R. Bravo, only served to cast a shadow on the reputation of the legendary aircraft among both novice and veteran pilots. Finally, in June 1966 twelve were still nominally counted on strength at Piura. This remote base had the reputation of the FAP's equivalent to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. It sported several semi-complete B-26s, F47s and other types in various stages of disrepair. This is where one was recovered for shipment, by USAF C-130 aircraft, to the USAF Museum from whence one was drawn fordisplay in Lima (marked arbitrarily as FAP450). Six were sold to Colonel Ed Jurist of the Confederate Air Force in 1967. The aircraft did not finally leave Peru for the trip to Texas until September 1969, in company with not less than 50,000 pounds of spare parts. The rest of the aircraft were scrapped or reduced to spares, thus ending the last "operational" service of the Thunderbolt anywhere in Latin America. . COLOMBIA

Colombian aviation history is filled with a host of unusual and unique events, largely involving single-seat combat aircraft. Military aviation in Colombia didn't really commence until 1919-1920 with the aid of a well organized and rather ambitious French mission which brought with it, among other types, four classic Nieuport 17C-1 biplanes of Great War vintage. These aircraft were viewed with awe by the fledgling Colombian aviators, who preferred the much more docile and predictable Caudron G-III and G-IV trainers. The quartet of Nieuports were all lost, mainly by members of the French Mission while stunting and by November 1922 Colombian fighter aviation came to a complete haltfor ten years. The little known Leticia Incident of 19311933, a border region dispute with Peru, prompted Colombia to launch a massive (by South American standards) armaments mobilization, much to the glee of U.S. and German aircraft manufacturers (notably Curtiss-Wright, Consolidated, Bellanca, Junkers and Dornier). III equipped to actually field the large but well balanced assortment of combat, recon and training aircraft procured, the Colombians managed to hire two obscure contingents of mercenary aviators to man the aircraft. One was a group of Americans led by Colonel Jesse Rothrock. The other group consisted mainly of Germans. A number of Colombian aviators also flew quite well and others were trained by the mercenaries. The largest single groupof aircraft acquired at this time was (at least) 27 Curtiss Sea Hawk II biplane fighters, with interchangeable fixed wheel or twin float undercarriages, the first of which was delivered in October 1932. One of the first ARP-supplied Peruvian P-47D-30-RAs, 45-49404 as it appeared shortly after A significant number of these classic and arrival at Talara. Most of the ARP supplied Thunderbolts were very low-time aircraft, stored near esthetically pleasing aircraft saw action against the end of the war specifically for post-war ARP deployments. (COL Julius B. Summers, Jr.) the Peruvians, and were still the Colombian's

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only significant single seat fighter aircraft when the first of the P-47s arrived 15 years later. Colombia can also lay claim to having acquired examples of the Republic fighters' genealogical forbearers, when, in July 1936, she bought three (not six, as frequently cited) exotic Seversky SEV-3M-WW two place, monoplane, amphibian fighters. The Fuerza Aera Colombiana (FAC) had a terrible time with this trio from the start. They were afraid to fly them, considering them underpowered, hard to land and too fragile. Their biplane stable mates, the Sea Hawks, were much preferred mounts and outlasted their technically more advanced "replacements". Colombia did not receive any combatant types under Lend-Lease during WW II although a significant number of AT-6B, C and variants were considered "operational" types by the FAC. They did, however, benefit well from the post-war ARP initiative of the U.S. Plans for post war modernization under ARP had taken shape as early as September 1946 and finally evolved to include eight P47D aircraft on Project 94490-S including four spare engines at a cost of $6,500 each. The engines and spares were priced at $8,254.47. These aircraft were officially handed over on 21 July 1947. The Colombians actually paid for seven P47s. An eighth aircraft (45-49445) which'had been intended for the Venezuelan ARP program, crashed enroute to its pre-position delivery point on 12 September 1946 in Colombian territory. Forexpediency, the hulk was transferred to the FAC as a spares source and it appears it was eventually returned to service. These initial aircraft were heavily utilized during their first two years of service, and all still miraculously survived by May 1948. By October of that year, in line with efforts to further expand and modernize the Colombian armed forces, the U.S. agreed to make available an additional fifty-two aircraft of various types, including thirty-two P-47s although only twelve of these could be budgeted by the FAC. These twelve aircraft had to undergo a rather lengthy refurbishing program in Dallas (at TEMCO) and were finally received in two batches of six during the second half of 1949. By this time all FAC Thunderbolts were located at the FAC's Madrid Air Base, organized into a unit and referred to only as the Escuadron de CazaBombardero. The FAC's earliest known loss of a Thunderbolt did not occur until August 1950, something of a tribute to the service, which had been alerted in March 1949 and made combat ready as a result of another series of incidents on her Southern border. Colonel A.J. Heintz, Chief of the USAF mission at the time, relates that during this anti-guerrilla action, the Guerrilla "Jefes" were holding a council of war in a house in the Magdalana Valley. A P-47 dropped a bomb on the place, but the projectile went straight on through the flimsy structu re into the ground and did not detonate. This event was confirmed to him by one of the Jefes when they surrendered following the assumption of power by General Rojas. The seven Guerrilla Jefes surrendered personally to Colonel Heintz in the latine of FAC headquarters.

The border tensions and the guerilla activity obviously influenced the FAC's drive to acquire the additional Thunderbolts which were covered under provisions of one of the very last ARP Projects, No. ARP-9SF-45. The border alert sorties and related deployments were not without cost, however, because by 1 May 1950, with a total of fifteen P-47s left, not less than nine were inoperable. Four had been lostto various causes between January and May 1950. These were all nominally assigned to the Maintenance and Supply depot at the FAC German Olano Air Base at Palanquero together with a C-47, an AT-11, twelve AT-6s, seven PT-19s, two B25s and three BT-15s. It is not generally known that Colombia participated in a tangible manner in the U.N. effort in Korea, fielding an infantry battalion and small naval units in the anti-Communist It was one of the few Western effort. Hemisphere nations to make such a commitment. This sacrifice benefited Colombia in a rather unusual manner according to Colonel Heintz. "We had been alerted [in 1952] to expect a rather large group of F-47s to transit Colombia enroute to Chile [under MDAP] and we were tasked to assist them on their way. I contacted our Headquarters in Panama, pointing out the Colombian commitment to the Korean Police Action and managed to elicit a decision to divert the entire group of F47s to Colombia." "When the flight arrived at Techo, the main Bogota field at the time, they circled in a tight, beautiful formation before crowds of dignitaries". For at least a day, the U.S.A. could do no wrong in Colombia. "After landing," Colonel Heintz went on, "I overheard the flight leader tell his pilots to go and check out the FAC pilots on the planes and cockpit. A bit later, one of his pilots returned, and I overheard him say, 'Hell, they were born in the cockpit.' 'He didn't know the Colombians had already been operating Thunderbolts at their base in Palanquero for nearly six years." . With the advent of the MDAP, FAC Thunderbolt operations and acquisitions became rather complex. By June 1952, thirteen F-47s still remained on the FAC Air Order of Battle, and the Bostick Survey report of that period recommended funding of maintenance and spares support for those

thirteen aircraft for one year and supply of five newly refurbished aircraft as well. These five "new "aircraft did not immediately materialize, however. Instead, through Colonel Heintz' intervention, MDAP offset a total of fourteen additional F-47D-40s to the FAC. Eleven of them arrived en masse, as related earlier, in May 1953 swelling total strength to twentytwo. Of these fifteen were airworthy and the other three were flown in to Bogota and on to Palanquero 15 September 1954. Dale Mathis, a former memberofthe USAF Ferry unit that delivered many of the MDAP aircraft, participated in the eleven plane flight from Albrook Field to Bogota. He recalls that "We no sooner landed, signed off our Form 1s than the FAC had loaded up the aircraft, armed them and flew off into action." In fact, the aircraft probably went to Palanquero where most airworthy F-47s were kept armed at all times as a matter of policy. Just prior to the arrival of this final set of aircraft, MDAP assistance had begun to be felt in other ways as well, when badly needed parts arrived, allowing six Thunderbolts to be returned to service. Likewise, pilot proficiency, an ongoing concern, had become the prime objective of the USAF Mission. As of January 1953 ten pilots had completed a special course aimed at alleviating this persistent problem. By February 1953 the Panalquero based Thunderbolt unit had been officially designated as the 1QEscuadron de Caza and, with the 1QEscuadron de Bombardero Ligiero (equipped with only two B-25s, also at Palanquero) was the hub of FAC power in the country. In May 1953 the FAC initiated a life extension program for it s F-47s, similar to that instituted in Peru. Of the twenty-two F47s on hand, two of the oldest were selected, intensively maintained and used to fly all training missions averaging fifty-one hours that month alone. In spite of this, attrition was inevitable. One aircraft went out of service following a major accident at Barranquilla and was shipped to Palanquero where it was completely rebuilt with parts from one of the old derelict, ARP supplied P-47s not carried on the MDAP support program. The high in-commission rate continued into January 1954 although a landing accident at Palanquero damaged both aircraft then in

Fully marked, prior to adoption of wings on the FA V national insignia, 8-A-36 runs up prior to a flight. Note absence of rocket stubs and that red cowl marking only extends back about half the chord of the cowl. (FA VIJesus Antonio Aveledo)

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use as high intensity trainers, reducing the average inventory to eighteen. By March 1954 the FAC had launched a program to purchase sufficient SCAR Rocket Adapters to equip all of the aircraft in the unit. This and other initiatives were frustrated, however, when plans were announced early in 1954 to purchase jets under MDAP. Six Lockheed (Canadair) T-33A-Nswere received in December of that year, with a predictable siphoning off of the most experienced F-47 drivers. The effect of this move, and other equipment purchases, became almost immediately apparent, as, by April 1954 the F-47s had flown only twenty-two hours total since the start of the year because of a shortage of qualified pilots. Only ten were available to the unit. The situation in May scarcely improved, although seventeen hours were flown that month alone. The prime reason was FAC purchase of twenty T-6Ds in the U.S., requiring many experienced pilots to take part in the delivery. In the final analysis, FAC F-47s only averaged seven hours each during the first six months of 1954, and this dropped to one hour per month between June and December. New aircraft deliveries, transition training, and runway construction at. Palanquero (the' F-47s had been operating exclusively off of turf) all contributed to the decline. With eighteen aircraft on hand, only twelve qualified pilots were assigned. Of the eighteen F-47s remaining at the end of 1954, fourteen had been MDAP supplied and four, amazingly, were old ARP aircraft. Of these, fourteen were rated by the USAAF Mission as "combat ready" had sufficient crews been available. 1955 saw the end of FAC Thunderbolt operations, all 18 surviving aircraft being grounded permanently in December. The arrival of the T-33A-Ns, Canadian CL-13B Sabres, Douglas B-26s and expansion of the air transport element of the FAC all conspired against continued investment in the Thunderbolts, and the budget and availability of the MDAP and USAFtocontinueto support this type quickly dried up. The eighteen survivors continued to be counted on the FAC AOB (Air Order of Battle) through June 1957 but as plans advanced to supply 16 Lockheed F-80Cs in March 1958, the designated MDAP supplied replacement for the F-47s, the FAC unceremoniously

shoved all but one of the survivors into the Rio Magdalena, which runs near the EI Dorado Air Base at Palanquero, thus ending ten years of Thunderbolt service. One aircraft is exhibited, in good condition, at the o!-Jtdoor facility of Colombia's air museum. VENEZUELA Chronologically, the next Latin American nation to obtain Thunderbolts was Venezuela. She received six P-47Ds under ARP Project A40039 and 94547-S almost exactly a month after Colombian deliveries, formal hand over occurring on 28 August 1947. These six aircraft had actually been programmed for delivery as early as 8 May 1947 following a USAAF demonstration team's visit in October, but were delayed due to pending improvements to the airfield at Maracay, their first designated base of operations. Venezuela thus entered into the modern, high performance combat aircraft era after a rather unusual prelude, since the majority of operational types acquired previously had tended to be predominantly of multi-purpose type. In fact, prior to 1935 only one single seat "chasse" type had ever been operated, a single Hanriot HD-1 ,arriving with the French Mission in April 1920 and surviving unti! about December 1923. An ambitious modernization scheme, featuring mostly French contemporary stateｯｦＭｴｨｾ ｡ｲ ｹｰ･ｳＬ commenced in the mid-1930s and Included modest numbers of bombers, two seater general purpose, bomber transport, coastal recon and fighter types, the latter in the form of a trio of aquiline Dewoitine D.500V monoplanes. The D.500Vs are historically significant for a number of reasons, but chiefly because they we re the first modern, low-wing monoplane fighters (albeit with fixed undercarriages) to enter service with any Latin American air service. Delivered in November 1935, one of them survived as late as September 1942. The Venezuelan government supplemented its air strength in April 1938 with the first of ten Italian Fiat C.R. 32 fighters, some of which survived until the arrival of the first of the Thunderbolts. The Venezuelan transition to P-47s was eased somewhat by procurement of versions of the North American NA-16. Venezuela had been one of the earliest operators of the type, and later benefited from Lend-Lease

deliveries of similar AT-6 variants Vultee BT15s, and some nimble Curtiss Wright SNC1s. The transition was not without cost, as within a week of formal handover, Tenente Jesus 1. Monsalve was killed when his aircraft crashed at Las Palmas (Mesa de Guanipa), Anzoategui. Monsalve had graduated from the Escuela de Aviacion in 1945. A second aircraft, flown by one of the USAAFMission members, Lieutenant William Perez, USAAF (a WW II veteran born in Maracaibo, Venezuela) crashed 28 October 1947 at Boca de Rio killing the pilot and reducing the Venezuelan P-47 strength to four aircraft. A replacement aircraft seems to have been supplied for the lost aircraft as Fuerza Aerea Venezolana (FAV) P-47 strength stood at five by 5 May 1948. By late 1948 the political situation in Venezuela had stabilized and with oil revenues increasing due to growing post war demand, the FAV found itself in a position to negotiate with the U.S. Foreign Liquidation Commission (FLC) for an additional twenty-two aircraft under the auspices of the continuing ARP Interim Program. It is interesting to note that these twentytwo aircraft, including fourthatwere intended from the outset for cannibalization (even though overhauled with the others for flight delivery) were virtually all Evansville, Indiana built aircraft. They had been universally redesignated as TF-47Ds on USAAF Individual Aircraft History Cards and had experienced very low USAAF utilization. Almost without exception, they followed the same late-war and post-war itinerary: Norfolk, Virginia (from whence they would have been shipped overseas had the war continued), Richmond, Seymour-Johnson, Independence Missouri (a major post-war storage site) and finally selected for post-war deployment under ARP and stored at Tinker Field in Oklahoma. ,In an unusual departure from prior procedure Colonel Marcana and Tenente Ramirez of the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, in the company of a Mr. McKelvais ofTEMCO, toured Tinker AFB and hand picked twenty-two aircraft. Unfortunately, because of the confusion between the U.S. Commanders at Tinker and AMC, the FAV understood itwas paying for F47D-40s when in fact they were not. This misunderstanding was the cause of considerable diplomatic traffic into 1950.

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Venezuelan Thunderbolts in an early line-up view following activation of Escuadron de Caza 36. Of eleven aircraft on line, only three have their unit codes applied to the nose (including 11-AX-36),several others having their codes in smaller characters on their fins. Taken at Boca del Rio AB 10Dec50, the first five aircraft in line are believed to be the survivors of the ARP-supplied P-47Ds. (FAVIJesus Antonio Aveledo) 24

At any rate, Otto Witbeck, representing TEMCO and the FAV, duly arrived at Tinker and signed for the aircraft selected on an "as is where is" basis. The upshot of all this was that the aircraft, following rather peremptory inspection by TEMCO , were flown to Miami where their engines were further refurbished (or replaced, in some cases) prior to their ferry flight home by FAV aircrew. The first four of this second batch of 22 aircraft arrived in Venezuela by 29 June 1949 by which time the "unit" operating the aircraft - hitherto referred to only as the Escuadron de Caza - had been reorganized as the Grupo Aereo 9 (Caza y Reconicimiento Misto) at Maracay. In its strength it counted the four airworthy, newly arrived TF-47s (the surviving earlier ARP supplied examples were all unserviceable) as well as sixteen T-6, six AT11 , and two BT-13 ai rcraft. The last eight TF-47s (of the total batch of 22) and probably the eight "as is where is" aircraft were finally due to leave Miami for home on 18 December 1949. But as related by (then) Tenente Agustin Berzares, the ferry flight was not without incident. "Eight F-47 pilots and two B-25 pilots were gathered on a cold morning in December - to be precise 18 December 1949 - at Base Operations of 'Flamingo' at Miami International Airport, where we listened to a briefing our formation leader had prepared for our ferry route from Miami to Boca del Rio having as alternative emergency stops Camaguey in Cuba and Ciudad Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. "The B-25s served as mother ships, transporting the support personnel and essential logistics items, the flight being organized by elements - two F-47s each side of a B-25. I was to be the leader of the second element ( to the left of the mother ship). We were, however, still to navigate individually in order to be ready to follow separate courses in case of bad weather or unforeseen circumstances - but we were not to lose contact of the formation if VFR conditions prevailed. "The first leg of the route was uneventful and after an hour and twenty minutes, we all landed at Camaguey to refuel and check maintenance. "Everything looked promising for the rest of the flight - the sky cleared and the feeling of 'coming home' had spread among us, with expressions of optimism all over. "Twenty minutes later, we were flying in formation at 11,000 feet over Eastern Cuba, making corrections in our flight path from left to right in order to avoid a cumulus cloud formation located in our path, and maintain our prescribed interval. "I felt a bit uncomfortable and thought about loosening the parachute harness from the seat but a sixth sense advised me to maintain them properly adjusted. "Everything was normal and quiet until impact - a sound like two cars colliding - but the impression that escaped me was more desperate and intense. I never saw the other aircraft. [Tenente Araque who continued the flight.] I immediately lost my view to the port side and, probably due to the sudden imbalance of my aircraft, went into a pronounced dive descending to near 5,000 feet before I finally bailed out.

Lineup of six Escuadron de Caza No. 36 Thunderbolts and two Escuadron de Bombardero No. 40 B-25Js at Boca del Rio in full marks. Note slightly differing flashes on the wheel doors. (FA VI Jesus Antonio Aveledo)

"Getting out was not easy, despite the fact that the canopy was destroyed during the collision - centrifugal force tying me down to the seat, three attempts being necessary until finally, using the seat as a point of leverage, I abandoned the aircraft. "Like being in a swing, I descended until I hit the ground, without any other concern but to observe the fields around me in order to select an appropriate landing zone - somewhat concerned about some forested area ahead of me. "The forest, as it happened, was my landing site - part of a cattle ranch. As I was picking up the 'chute, I heard the unmistakable sound of a furious bull coming towards me. I was obliged to seek shelter in a much more expeditious way than the one that cost me the loss of my aircraft. What an afternoon! I lost my aircraft in the air, and, as a matador, my dignity on the ground!" Thus, by 1 January 1950 the FAV's Grupo 9 could muster fourteen Thunderbolts of which nine were rated "combat ready" by the USAF Mission following another loss on 25 November 1949, when Rafael Maria Ferrer Reyes' aircraftwentdown in Lagode Valencia, Carabobo state. Peak strength and heyday of the Thunderbolt in FAV service was reached in April 1950 when unit strength stood attwentyfour P-47 aircraft, as well as sixteen AT-6s, six AT-11 s, two BT-13s and ominously, one deHavilland Vampire. Two Vampires had arrived at Maiquetia on 9 December 1949. From the arrival of the Vampires, the Thunderbolt's days in FAV service were numbered. USAF Mission personnel were determined to use the ARP and FLC supplied mounts as best they could to aid in the continued training program and to maintain the fleet of F-47s as the most viable and numerous of the tactical aircraft then available to the FAV. The Mission staff had been intimately involved with the FAV's procurement of the large batch of twenty-two aircraft. To sight one example, Lieutenant Colonel James F. Roberts, USAF Materiel Advisor spent the entire month of October 1949 in Texas and Florida where he assisted FAV personnel in the inspection of the aircraft purchased and overhaul of the engines at Miami. First Lieutenant Dexter M. Green, Colonel Robert's assistant, test flew most of the eighteen TF-47s at Dallas, and served as one of the ferry pilots When a group of five were flown down to Venezuela.

Part of the impetus behind this quietly furious pace was Venezuelan politics. A huge "Dia de la Fuerza Aerea" (Air Force Day) demonstration was planned for 10 December 1949. It was the largest such event ever held to that time in Venezuela. Witnessed by the entire ruling Junta Militar and large crowds of citizens at Boca del Rio it offered live fire power demonstrations including bombing and air-to-ground gunnery. Following this strenuous exercise, day to day FAV F-47 operations fell into a more pragmatic, operational cycle. In March 1950 training and maintenance exertions caused the USAF Mission to request assignment of an additional skilled aircraft mechanic who specialized in F-47 maintenance. By April, after the airpower demonstration and intensive training, many items necessary forThunderbolts were in critically shortsupply. Colonel Roberts had used the lull to complete the harmonization of the guns on all of the aircraft, and First Lieutenant Richard A. Atkins, Assistant Operations Advisor, had directed U.S. style training of the entire tactical group in formation flying, and further transition training. This all culminated in a nearly perfect mass fly-over during the General Miranda holiday celebration of 26-31 March, during which the new Escuela Militar was dedicated in Caracas. The FAV was again reorganized about this time to rationalize the assignment of the much larger number of standard types entering the inventory, Grupo 9 and 10 being split into Escuadrons mounting B-25s (Escuadron de Bombardero B40), C-47s (Escuadron de Transports T-1), a reconnaissance squadron (R-1 )with Beech AT-7s and AT-11 sand Escuadron de Caza No. 36 with F-47s. The Escuadron was further divided into Escuadrillas "A" and "B" signified by marking unit codes of serial numbers carried on each aircraft (e.g., 1-A-36 to 15-A-36 and 1-B-36 to 15-B-36) although not all numbers in sequence were used, and some other higher numbers were used as a ruse to confound the intelligence services of potential adversaries. It has often been reported that an organization entitled Escuadron de Caza 10 was formed within the FAVwith F-47s butthis is completely without foundation and the sou rce ofthe information is unknown, although a Grupo de Bombardero y Transporte Misto 1Owas in being circa October 1950, equipped with fourteen B-25s, twelve C-47s, a solitary VIP C-54, and a BT-13 hack.

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By the end of June 1950totalavailableF47 strength of Escuadron de Caza No. 36 stood at nineteen. Not less than nine of these were inoperable for one reason or. another, and another five - those lost through normal debilitating accidents - were being used for spares. Accidents continued to take their toll on the dwindling number of serviceable aircraft, Alferez Jesus Garcia Seguira crashing at Valencia, Carabobo state on 22 March 1951 and Tte Rafael Ascanio Gonzalez Lagreca being lost at Parapapa de Ortiz, Guarico state. The FAV thus ended 1951 with between seven and eight airworthy Thunderbolts, growing numbers of deHavilland Vampires entering service and Venoms and English Electric Canberra interceptor variants on the horizon. The flight personnel roster of the unit remained remarkably stable throughout the period 1949-1954 - somewhat surprising considering the problems inherent in training and manning an air arm of what amounted to a one-squadron, prop driven fighter element. For the record, these men are listed in Appendix E. Many later rose to positions of great importance in the FAV and the Venezuelan Government, their final rank being listed in parenthesis. The Thunderbolt unit also formed its own aerobatics team during this period. Nospecial markings were used and composition was rather fluid. However, out of this, the "Escuadrilla de Vampiros" and later special teams were formed flying Vampires and other types. With the termination of ARP support and Venezuela forging its own independent path in aircraft procurement (mainly British jets), 1952 was the final year of FAV F-47 operations, Escuadron de Caza No 36 being officially deactivated by Command Communique No. 782 dated 10 December 1952. Fighter aviation from that date on was concentrated in a new unit, Escuadron de Caza No. 35 which operated Vampires and was commanded by Major Alaberto Delgado Ontiveros, an excellent F-47 pilot. This new unit never operated F-47s, contrary to published reports. The last three months of FAV F-47 service were their most eventful. In an incident involving the Armada de Republica de Colombia, (ARC -the Colombian Navy) frigate "Almirante Padilla" had arbitrarily challenged Venezuelan coastal waters near the small group of islands called Los Monjes at the mouth of the strategic Lago Maracaibo oil region. 9 Escuadron de Caza No. 36 was deployed to Oro airfield on "maximum alert". The unit was fully armed, including some indigenously manufactured napalm bombs and countered repeated feints by the "Almirante Padilla" and other ARC vessels, as well as some FAC aircraft ( types not specified but possibly including Thunderbolts) . All eight of the best airworthy aircraft literally patrolled the area continuously, probably using up what little vitality remained in their weary airframes. Gradually, the tension eased, especially following a signal to the Colombian frigate which stated, essentially: Leave the area to avoid "accidental" bombing by F-47s "on maneuvers in the area". The FAV fighter unit was aided during "Operation Caiman" by

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Escuadron de Reconocimiento R-1, equipment shortcomings foiled the possibility Venezuelan naval forces, as well as the Army of a truly unique transition. and National Guard which occupied Los Chile received her first, single seat "scout" Monjes del Sur to display Venezuelan .aircraft and monoplanes in 1917 in the form of resolution. the first six of twelve Bristol M1Cs, supplied Individual aircraft involved in this operation by Great Britain in partial compensation for a included:5 -A-36, 10-B-36, 12 -A-36, 22- B- Chilean battleship which had been 36,and at leasrtour others unidentified. expropriated by the Royal Navy while under FAV Thunderbolt operations thus came to construction during WW I. a halt, although eight intact examples were One of these diminutive aircraft gained still nominally counted on the AOB as late as eternal fame when young Tte Godoy, 30 June 1954. Seven ofthem were announced exhibiting the spirit of fighter aviation, took off for sale by 1 January 1956. (without authorization) and proceeded to fly These final examples were being disposed the frail craft across the Andes Cordillera into of legally since they were non MDAP, neighboring Argentina, returning home a hero. purchased aircraft. Interest was shown by The M.1 Cs were joined in October 1918 both Nicaragua (which received other forms by eight examples of the classic RAF SE-5A of aid from Venezuela during this period) and (another example was acquired as late as Chile, which was sufferingsevere shortages 1922) and a single French SPAD S-XIIIC-1 in its own F-47 fleet. In fact, Foster M. two months later. Henderson, former member of the U.S. During the 1920s, with the nimble M1.Cs Mission, recalls preparing "five or six" of the and SE-5As as service mounts, the Chileans FAV Thunderbolts for sale to Chile, although imported a number of test examples of it appears the sale never actually transpired. advanced foreign designs in order to evaluate Four F-47s intact, remained on display in Venezuela at various sites as late as 1975, trends and formulate policy for future and three remain today. The fourth aircraft equipment purchases. These included single was sold to Jean Sales in France (in part examples ofthe angular, inverted-gull winged exchange for a replica Caudron G -III for the Dornier DoH Falke in 1922-23, and a Junkers FAV's new museum's flying example) and A.20 in December of 1924. Although a two . two others, dismantled, are stored at EI place aircraft (and a "fighter" only by modern Libertador Air Base outside Maracay. Dr. definition) the Junkers was a monoplane of all M.D. Schulke of Orlando, Florida negotiated 'metal construction and a very potent aircraft unsuccessfullyforthree of these aircraft circa for its day. The first major equipment upgrade as a 1972. Other negotiations for retrieval of one or another of these remaining veterans are result ofthese ongoing evaluations, and timely replacements for the surviving SE-5As, came ongoing at this writing. in the form of a large batch of Vickers-Wibault Type 121 s delivered from September 1926. CHILE The Vickers was a parasol, all metal French The last major Latin American Country to design of rather fragile construction and receive ARP, post war deliveries of appearance. These parasol fighters were only in service Thunderbolts, Chile has perhaps one of the most consistent and efficient histories of fighter until about September 1932, having been aviation development to be found in all the supplemented as early as February 1927 by eight each of the Curtiss P-1 A and P-1 B region. The evolution of this story reads almost Hawk versions, which outlasted the French like a textbook step-by-step progression design. Chile is also frequently cited as leading to the arrival of the P-47s with the having acquired examples of the Curtiss Sea exception of the war years, but unforeseen Hawk II biplane between 1932-35, but the

Beautiful shot ofFAC-759 shortly after delivery (the MDA supplied, second use ofthe serial). Note the anti-glare panel the length of the spine, and the two-color prop spinner. (FACh)

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three aircraft usually mentioned (some say four) all appear to have actually gone to Peru for the Leticia emergency, the "Chilean connection" merely serving as a means to avoid an embargo on arms sales to a belligerent. The P-1 , in-line D-12 powered versions of the Hawk served well and faithfully in Chile, and established an excellent service record, in company with a large number of similarly powered Falcon recon-bombers, some of which were assembled at a Curtiss "factory" in Chile. By the mid 1930s however, the Hawks were decidedly obsolescent, and Chile was actively seeking replacementtypes, ordering a number of North American NA-49s configured as two place combat aircraft from the U.S. in 1939 ( not delivered until April 1940), and ordering twenty Italian Breda BA65 fighter attack aircraft (some of which were configured as single seaters). The Bredas were delayed repeatedly and did not finally arrive until December 1938. The BA-65s, highly touted by the Italian sales team, were intended to be the primary Chilean combat mounts for some years to come, but trouble was experienced with the type from the outset. The resulting political furor, fueled by two fatal crashes, resulted in all remaining BA-65s being grounded permanently in November 1939 after less than eleven months in unit service. This forced the NA-49s, soon to arrive into a more demanding role than the light attack mode for which they were equipped. Lend-Lease deliveries to Chile during WWII, although substantial and including twelve Douglas A-24B dive bombers, did not include any Curtiss P-40s (or any other fighter types) as has often been alleged. Thus Chile spanned the war years from 1939-1946 withoutaoysingle-seatfightertypes in service, the only period in its history so served. The ARP program for Chile was one of the earliest to be formalized and six P-47Ds were in the country under Project 94526-S as early as 1 July 1946, but were not formally"turned over to the FACh (Fuerza Aerea de Chile) until29 September 1947, although they carried FACh national insignia prior to that date. It took more than a dozen Thunderbolts to see twelve into Chilean hands, however. At least four aircraft intended for Chile flew into the sea in foul weather between Panama and

Good study of freshly overhauled TF-47D-30-RA (now up to D-40 standard by TEMCO) 45-49250/ FE-250 at Dallas. It became FAC-756. (LTC Dell C. Toedt)

Ecuador and another was lost elsewhere enroute. The commander of the U.S. ARP team (referred to by the FACh as the Mission Aerea Norte Americano, or MANA), Colonel Albert F. Fahy, recalls that the ferry flight starting at Kelly Field in San Antonio was by way of Managua, Nicaragua, Albrook Field, Canal Zone, Cali, Colombia, Lima, Peru and Antofogasta, Chile, arriving finally at Quintero with the six P-47s, ten B-25Js, six C-47s, and two OA-1 Os without mishap Quintero, named for the small resort 35 miles north of Valparaiso on the coast, had been (and still is) one of the FACh's primary operating bases. The field in 1946-47, consisted of two hangars, an officers' club, a dining hall and barracks with a single 3,900 foot concrete runway, approached from the north over Bahia Quintero or the south over low hills. Colonel Fahy recalls the FACh officers they trained, with fondness, the Commander of the first eleven FACh pilots trained on the type, Major Pancho "Huaso" (Cowboy) Guevara being described as, "six foot two, an extrovert with a great personality, a real leader and excellent pilot with a good sense of humor and fair English, a real follow me type of officer." Ten years later he became the Commanding General of the FACh. The English language Tech Orders were translated into Spanish by a rather unusual process. The mass of TOs were divided into 30+ packets and given to the FACh mechanics detailed to the P-47s with instructions to get

them translated and report back within three weeks. Colonel Fahy had nothing but the highest praise for these ground crews, who "owned" their airplanes Training on the type proceeded better than could be expected and was aided by strong command interest on the part of the FACh commanding general who saw to itthat the P-47 element got the cream of the personnel pool. Training was mainly checkout and solo, formation flying, cross-country and low/high altitude operations with special emphasis on emergency procedures. The training paid off in a spectacular way. A special review was held in January 1948 commemorating the formal completion of the ARP transition training, before thousands of officials, families and friends, It concluded with a final fly-past and pull-up at 1,000 feet by the P-47s peeling off for a 180 degree turn to approach in-line and land over the bay at Quintero. On pull-up one of the pilots had his engine quit cold. His shouted MAYDAY was repeated to the crowd over the PA system. He made a 360 degree turn out of his initial 180, deadsticked it in, and landed on the first third of the Quintero runway with a completely dead prop. The crowd went wild and a hero was born. It turned out that the pilot had failed to switch tanks on call from the flight leader, his auxiliary measuring half full upon investigation. Captain Royce Priest a WW II P-51 pilot with the U.S. Mission,was a great influence on the FACh P-47 pilots according to Colonel Fahy. Captain Priest served as a flight leader during an FACh celebration at EI Bosque Air Base, near Santiago, on 18 September 1947, a national holiday. FACh pilots flew most of the ARP types during the demonstration, but Captain Priest made a lasting impression when, as a finale, he performed a solo aerobatics routine which concluded with a low-pass at 300 mph inverted., followed by an inverted pull-up, pitch out and perfect roll out on landing. ARP had obviously been well received by almost every recipient nation, but, although it included a 'two year' spares package with each type, there was no established infrastructure for follow-up spares source delivery. By January 1949, all FACh P-47s (twelve) MDA quartet of TEMCO refurbished F-47D-40s take a break on delivery to Chile, probably at were concentrated in a massive, multi-role Talara, Peru, in July 1953. Nearest is 45-49219/FE-219 (which became FAC-750) with 45-49379 unit atQuintero designated Grupo de Aviacion behind, which probably became FAC-766. Groups of F-47s were escorted by a navigating 8-25 No.2, which included on its strength all of the or 8-26 and an SA-16 Albatross on long over water stretches. (LTC Dell C. Toedt) P-47s as well as three PBY-5s, eight OS2U27

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aircraft (as well as the ever present seven AT6s), although two other ｾＷＴＭ on hand were beyond economical repair. ThiS tC?tal dropped to nineteen by December, of which the U.S. Mission judged twelve to be combat ready by U.S. standards. . Some time during this period, an aerobatiCS team was organized within the Grupo but few ｳ｡ｾ details are recorded, and it ｹｬｾｮ･ｲ｡ｰ dissolved in 1955 after only limited performances. Between December 1953 and June 1954, F-47 operations were somewhat curtailed, by the specter of the future - jets then being introduced throughout the region - and serviceability was hampered by the transfer of skilled crews to newly arrived British deHaviliand Vampire two seattrainer variants. The Thunderbolts, consequently, had an extremely low utilization rate during the six Most of the MDA 1953 deliveries to Chile, plus the surviving ARP aircraft, at Quintero circa 1953, months leading up to July 1954, three hours a total of 14 aircraft on line. (FACAh) Chile received seventeen F-47D-40s under or less per aircraft. The unit pilot strength had , ,. 3s,sevenAT-6s,fourN3N-1s,seyenBT-13s, Grant Aid provisions of the MDAP dropped to eleven. Operations continued as priOrities two PBY-5As and ten B-25Js - ｖＱｲｴｵｾｬｉｹ g)J ｾｦ commencing on 19 July 1953, but ｯｾｬｹ ｾｹ the changed, but were heavily ｩｮｦｬｵ･｣ｾ､ the combat capable and airworthy aircraft In fourteen arrived by that date, one each ｧｮｬｾ｡ｨ the FACh except trainers and transports. been delayed for various reas,ons at Anca, Vampires and the first four of a Significant This organization was, however, tailored Chile, Lima, Peru and AlbrookAlr Force Base, number of Lockheed T-33As which arrived in mainly to consolidate training and Canal Zone. All weredeliveredbytheendof October 1956. By this time the FACh was already looking ahead to its first pure-jet maintenance under ARP ｾ｡ we!1 as support August. , fighter, the MDAP supplied Lockheed F-80Cs functions, and was soon rationalized by type. One aircraft, which departed the Ｎｾｕ In fact, by 1 April 1949 the P-4 ｳｾ had been . intended for Chile (45-49209), crashed In that began arriving in early 1958. FAChThunderbolt operations had never organized into a purely fighter Ｌｴｬｾｕ Grupo ･ｾ Cuba enroute, and was turned over to ･ｾｴ ｨｧｾｯ ｴｬ｡ reached the point of armed Ｌｾ｡｢ｭｯ｣ Aviacion No.5, also at QUintero, (stl!1 Cuban government ｾｳ a wreck, although ｾｴｉ possessing four AT6s as well), and this Unit Individual Aircraft History Card showed It occasional tensions with neighboring Argentina sent a few F-47s up to glare at continued to ｾｴ｡ｲ･ｰｯ the type for only a short disposed of to Chile on project ｾｐＭＲｆＷＶＮ time, - a reorganization putting the P-47s and MDAP support for the remaining ARP p_ Argentine flyers feinting alonQ the rugged , B-25s back together again briefl,y ｾ Grupo de 47s had preceded the arrival of the seventeen border between the two countnes. A total of thirteen F-47Ds were stili Aviacion NO.5 before the definitive fighter TEMCO refurbished F-47D-40s and had been unit, Grupo de Aviacion No. 11, was officially instrumental in keeping three in excellent nominally on the AOB at 30 June 1957, but created. condition through at least January 1953, twelve of these were finally struck-off-charge By January 1950, two P-47s had been utilization averaging twenty- one hours per on 31 December 1958 and reported available lost one while on exercises with naval vessels month at that time. The unit (Grupo 11) had for MAP redistribution (which never took " . off the coast (serial number 756) and one in fourteen pilots at the time sharing these three place). Today two monument aircraft survive In a training accident. This occurred after coveted aircraft. the use ofthis classic, With the arrival of the "new" F-47s.' and a Chile to ･ｴ｡ｲｯｭ ｾ｣ Grupo11l had settled into the "new", ｨｃｾｆ remembered Ｌｾｦｲ｣ｩ｡ in Chilean three digit serializing system. Up to thiS !Ime, more reliable support network, new life was and ｹｬ､ｮｾｦ the aircraft had retained their abbreviated breathed into Grupo 11 and by June 1954, skies, both of them in good condition, although as the unit could field twenty-one air worthy not faithfully marked. USAAF serials, with FACh markings Ｌ､ｾ｡ an interim measure, carried individual aircraft numbers (although not universal,ly applied) in a straight numeric sequence which had been the FACh practice for some years (e.g., "1" "2" "3" "4" etc)

,ARP ｾｲ｡ｰＧｳ and 'supply shortcomings had begun to manifest themselves as early as the end of 1949 when, with ten P-47s still on hand only one was airworthy due to lack of parts, although the four AT-6s were all active and being used to keep the pilots somewhat current. By the end of January ｾ 950, a second aircraft had been made airworthy AT-6s h.ad been lost) a.nd (although one of ｾｨｴ this situation remained static through Apnl . Another aircraft was lost by July, again only returning FACh to the position.of ｧｾｩ､ｬｯｨ one airworthy fighter of nine assigned. However the unit had been reinforced with AT-6s, for a total of five, and had two ｾｲｯｭ formally been constituted as Grupo de Aviacion No. 11 de Caza. Further attrition continued, as supplies and parts trickled in from gover,nment and commercial sources, until MDAP programming came to the rescue. O,nly ｾ･ｶ ｳ of the ARP-supplied P-47Ds survived until 1952.

In flight view ofFACh-750 shortly after delivery (the MDA supplied, seco'!d use ofthe serial). Note the anti-glare panel the length of the spine, and the two-color prop spmner. (FACh)

Ultra-rare, wartime in-flight view of 44-33721118 of Mexico's 201 Escuadron over the Philippines. This is one of the finest studies known of the definitive wartime marks of the unit. (NARS)

Evidence of the Thunderbolt's "Achilles' Heel", the warped and blistered turbo exhaust tube outlet on Cuban F-47D-30-RA FAEC 469 in its chocolate-DO camouflage (44-33190). (J. Quintero)

The 1!!GAvCa 's P-47s can probably lay claim to being the only Thunderbolts ever hangared in a Zeppelin shed. Shot taken from high on the catwalk at Rio's old Hindenberg hangar. (BG Magallaes Motta via Carlos Dufriche)

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A veteran of the Italian Campaign, formerly 42-26779, a P-47D-27-RE, retained its wartime code ＨＢｃＳＧｾ and is seen here probably while in use with the EMI-CTA, hence its day-glow style orange chevron. It also carried the FAB national insignia in all four wing positions, and, unusually, rather far aft on the fuselage. This aircraft was wrecked at Fartaleza Air Base 19 July 1957

An F-47D-35 RA of the Fuerza Aerea Ejercito de Cuba at Campo Colombia in June, 1953. So far as is known, this was the only FAEC Thunderbolt to have a two-color (red/yellow) cowling, others being painted entirely blue, white, red, green or yellow. The unit emblem of the "10 de Marzo Escuadron de Persecucion" was added later. 'FAEC' appeared under the port wing and on the upper right wing panel, with the then current, relatively new national insignia on opposite wing panels and the fuselage sides.

Lead aircraft of a trio of Fuerze Aerea del Peru P-47s that took part in a fire-power exercise in Peru in the early 1950s, the others being FAP 539 and 522. Only this lead aircraft was equipped with an antennae of this type and with the red upper fin. Roundels were otherwise carried in the standard wing positions of the day.

One of the first four P-47D-30-RA 's delivered to the Fuerza aerea Colombiana in 1947 under the ARP as seen in 1951 at Cali. It is the only known FAC P-47 with a yellow cowl- all of the other known examples have had red or partially red cowls. The national insignia at this point was carried only on the four wing positions.

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Mexican PZT-1016 "Panchito " as itappearedat Veracruz on 6 December 1951, the red diagonal band on the fuselage, bandon wing and white "petal" on the nose showing considerable wear and tear, while the national insignia had been freshly painted. This was at one time the Squadron Commander's aircraft, which may account for the special red bands.

One of the last two Mexican P-47Ds as marked while in service with Esc. 201 at Veracruz in 1957. With the exception of the yellow bands around either wing inboard of the guns and on the rear fuselage, and the fin and prop spinner a color called "pistachio green, " the aircraft was originally "Mexican Olive Drab" overall.

TF-47D-30-RA 8-8-36 ofthe Fuerza Aerea Venezolana as it appeared in 1949. The roundel ofthe time (prior to the addition ofthe "wings 'J was carried in all four wing positions, and the serial code, which was a number-within-unit system, on the forward fuselage and on the vertical fin. The only other concession to adornment was a jagged red flash on the undercarriage door.

Probably the most colorful Thunderbolt in Latin American service, Dominican Air Force serial 1124 coded "A" was identical to most other FAD F-47s with the exception of the absence of a rear fuselage band and the stars on the vertical fin were mere gold outlines, whereas all other known aircraft carried small white stars in this position. Note also the small red/white/blue band running the chord of both wings and horizontal tail surfaces, which have not been shown on previous FAD Thunderbolt color views. 31

Another view of post-war Italian campaign veterans at BASC, B3 (4433093), which bec ame FAB P-47D 4127 foremost - unusual in having its bomb mission hash marks on the starboard side (50 missions) and crews' names. (pilot: Ten. Canario). (BG Magallaes Motta via Carlos Dufriche)

"At home" but still bearing full Italian Campaign marks, an early postwar lineup of 1!2GAvCa veterans, now with the "new" four digit serials roughly applied to the fins in small yellow characters - and the "wings" deleted from the national insignia in all positions. (GEN Magallaes Motta)

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l2

Very rarely illustrated, 1QGAvCa postwar codes, here red "diamond 2" at BASC with postwar serial on the fin too small to distinguish. Note that fuselage national insignia is no longer carried (BG Magallaes Motta via Carlos Dufrische)

Ferry pilots prepare to depart the TEMCO facility near Dallas with two freshly refurbished F-47D-40s. A Ithough they appear to be paintedgray, the aircraft were merely "cleaned up" and ,in fact, were natural metal. The nearest, 45-49403/FE-403, became FAE-415. (LTC Dell C. Toedt)

Although red seemed to predominate, as on this unidentified FAD-F47D (probably 1125/A), at least four each had orange, medium blue green and yellow cowls and trim at one point. (Ola Thorn via Leif Hellstrom)

Extremely rare shot ofa yellow-trimmed Dominican F-47D, FAD-1113/B on the line at San Isidro with an Escuadron de Caza Ramfis P-51D and four red trimmed Escuadron de Caza-Bombardero F-47D circa 1954. (Ola Thorn)

Three of the four TEMCO refurbished F-47Ds upon arrival at Bogota, Colombia in the Spring of 1953. The fin of 44-90292 in the foreground - the only "stock" F-47DD-40-RA to go to Colombia. (Dale Mathis)

The first time Dell Toedt's F-47D-40 bent its prop at Havana, Cuba, June 1953. (LTC Dell C. Toedt)

03 at MUSAL (Brazil) is in fact Italian veteran 4109. The green upper surface was originally standard US 00. (Sandra Oliveira dos Sanatos)

Honorable retirement. Although displayed as wartime C5/44-19660 (which was in fact written off 27June 1946 after returning from Italy), it is actually 42-26757. Note Zeppelin hangar in the background, identifying the site as BASC. (MAP)

Marked as wartime 42-267621C1, but with a post-war "Ace of Clubs" insignia carried exclusively on FAB Lockheed F-80CCs and T-33As, this monument at Pirassununga is probably actually 45-49346, last serialed as 4191, an MOA aircraft supplied in September 1953. (John Kerr)

Although marked as F-474194/C1, this aircraaft, pedestal-mounted at the Museu da A.S.A. at Pirassununga, it is probably actually F-47 4191 (45-49346) which has since been transferred to the MUSAL. (Alberto Fortner via George Farinas)

Believed to be the sole surviving Thunderbolt in Peru today, FAP-450 is rather crudely pieced together, with the marks of Grupo Aerea de Caza 11 which never operated the type, on the fin. (Javier Goto)

Main float from a former Uruguayan Navy Vought-Sikorsky Kingfisher sharing a ramp with Peruvian F-470-40-RA 45-49458 (ex-FAP 451) at Howard AFB 1971. (Jimmy Stark)

One of the most colorfully marked warbirds on the airshow circuit, NX444SU was formerly N470C, FAP-115, FAP539 and 45-49181. If you count the spurious serial "226418" the aircraft has had six identities, possibly a record. (W.B. Slate)

FAC TF-470-40-RA FAC750 as noted at the "Fiesta del Aire" at Los Cerrillos in February 1989, in very good condition. (George Farinas)

iJ'

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Recent view of the former PZT-1012 (44-90205), at one time named "Fantasma,"and indeed- now bearing a "fantasy" camouflage scheme, as well as a version of the Pancho Pistolas" unit insignia with yellow background instead of white, and oddly placed "PZ- T" high on the rear fuselage, at the Colegio del Aire plaza. (Dr. Ruben D. PastranaG.)

One of the two surviving F-47D-35-RAs in Mexico, the former PZT-1016 (44-90217) is displayed in quasi-wartime marks honoring her fallen aircrewat Santa Lucia's Base Aerea Militar No.1. (Guido E. Buehlmann)

Freshly repainted Colombian F-47D-30-RA FAC-861 at the FAC Museum. For reasons unknown, the aircraft has since been re-serialed FAC-826, which was a Curtiss Sea Hawk II serial. (Guido E. Buehlmann)

Bolivian FAB-007 as she appeared for years at La Paz's EI Alto military compound. Unquestionably the oldest P-47D in Latin America, she never flew in FAB service. (Guido E. Buehlmann)

Full side view of the colorfully marked monument aircraft, 8A36, with Escuadron de Caza No. 36 unit insignia on the fin, although there is no pictorial evidence that this emblem was carried on P-47s. (Jesus Antonio Aveledo)

Full right side view of 15B36. The script under the canopy is a dedicatory to the school. (Jesus Antonio Aveledo)

One of the three F-47D-30RAs surviving in Venezuela. There were four - one went to Jean Solis in France in exchange for a replica, flyable Caudron G-I1I. 10B36 is at the FA V's Maracay Museum in good condition, and was formerly TF-47D-30-RA 44-32809. (Guido E. Buehlmann)

Another view of 8A36 is in good condition at the FA V's Escuela Superior de Fuerza Aerea in Caracas. Poetic license has been taken with its markings. (Jesus Antonio Aveledo)

PUERTO RICO Readers may be surprised to see the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico included in this narrative. However, a moment's reflection on the history and international status of this proud Caribbean society and the evolution of its Air National Guard element leads to the conclusion that, by anyone's definition, it is a Latin American air force. The creation of what has since evolved into the present day 156th Tactical Fighter Group, Puerto Rico Air National Guard, can be directly attributed to two factors: Puerto Rico's emergence as a center of pro-U.S. interests in the turbulent Caribbean area, and her tremendously rich and varied contribution to the Allied war effort in WW II especially in terms of her young men. Following the end ofWW II itwas apparent that the post war Puerto Rican National Guard establishment would be able to draw on very substantial numbers of experienced military veterans of all ranks, branches and specialties, including pilots and aircrew. Included among these was one Captain Alberto A. Nido, a veteran P-51 pilot with the little known 9th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (Provisional), Ninth Air Force, whose personal story leading up to his USAAF commission by way of the RCAF is truly fascinating and deserving of a book in its own right. Little did he know then that he would eventually become known as the "Father of the PRANG". Captain Nido and Commonwealth National Guard officials were aware that more than enough former USAAF personnel of all ranks had returned home to the island after demobilization to form an aviation unit within the well established National Guard infrastructure. After considerable effort, Federal recognition was finally extended to the proposed unit on 23 November 1947 for the creation of the 198th Fighter Squadron (Augmented) Puerto Rico National Guard (the "Air" was added later) with Captain NidI? as its first Commander. (He held the post until retirement in 1960). Equipped initially with a variety of standard USAAF types including examples of the Aeronca L-3, North American AT-6, Douglas C-47 and B-26, the primary tactical mounts for the squadron were to be Republic P-47s, primarily the longer legged P-47Ns ｩｮＮｶ･ｾ of the over water distances that the Unit might conceivably be tasked to patrol.

The unit formally inherited the lineage and honors of the wartime 463rd Fighter Squadron, 507th Fighter Group, 20th Air Force, in keeping with a National Guard Bureau and USAAF practice that still continues today. Its base, through April 1958, was the Isla Grande Airport at San Juan. The earliest known tactical aircraft assigned to the squadron was a P-47D-30RA ( the only "D" model known to have carried PRNG marks). It was followed from the last half of 1947 through late 1949 by not fewer that twenty three F-47Ns of various blocks, the Thunderbolt remaining the standard mount until at least July 1954, when transition to F86Es and T-33As commenced, making this the last U.S. connected service unitto operate Thunderbolts. The unit converted to Combat Wing structure on 1 November 1950, a month after it had been mobilized by the Commonwealth Governor in a little known operational commitment. A prison break out by violently anti-U.S. Puerto Rican Nationalist elements had set the stage for what very possibly may have been the only incidence of U.S. National Guard aircraft firing their guns in anger against a genuine threat of insurrection. The Nationalists, reasonably well armed and organized, had established strongholds in the small towns of Jayuya and Utado some fifty miles southwest of San Juan, after bombing police stations in the region, killing a number of officers and setting many fires. The Governor ordered the State Adjutant General to mount two flights of four PRNG F47Ns in conjunction with PRNG ground troops equipped with tanks and heavy weapons (and directed by Doug las B-26 control aircraft carryi ng a general officer) to strafe the environs of the two towns, with explicit orders to avoid hitting any of the local populace. This was accomplished by diving low over concentrations of mainly galvanized steel roofed dwellings and firing as they pulled up, so that the shell casings hit the roofs -the electrifying effects of which can only be imagined. . This action, which amounted to a very convincing show of force, occurred early on the morning of31 October 1950, and Governor Munoz Marin declared that the "revolt" had been ended by 4 November demobilizing the Guard on the 7th. It is interesting to note that the PRNG F47s also had 5 inch HVAR rockets mounted during this exercise, but only for effect. None were fired.

MAJ Alberto Nido, CO of the 198th FS, PRNG, with Governor Luis Munoz Marin, at the time of the insurrection of October 1950. Note the cowling leading edge was painted, as were the cowl flaps, and deflection gun stripes lap over the leading edge ofthe starboard wing. (PRANG via Luis Santos)

As a precaution Governor Munoz Marin also ordered that patrols be flown along the coast around the entire island for a period, in order to interdict any subsequent landing or re-supply attempt from Cuba and from whence the original arms supplies were believed to have originated. This action carne within a year of the units' first large scale joint service exercise, "PORTREX", which had taken place in February 1950 and which was valuable training for the events of October and November. Besides the squadron, the exercise had involved major U.S. Navy and USAF elements, including Lockheed P2V Neptune, Fairchild C-82 and other regular units in squadron strength. By August 1952, the unit role had changed to fighter bomber with an appropriate alteration to the unit designation, Alberto Nido having been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. The designation was altered once again in November 1952, when the unit began to be called the 198th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (Augmented), sole equipment still being the venerable F-47Ns. The transition to jets in 1954 was at least partially expedited by the transfer from unit strength of eight of its F-47Ns to Nicaragua at the instigation of the CIA and the U.S. State

PORTREX in 1950. Exercise umpires ruled that the venerable Classic view of three PRNG F-47Ns ready to take off at R