Argentinian Air Force and Navy Air Arm

[gekho]

The Fleet Model 1 (originally the Consolidated Model 14 Husky Junior) and its derivatives were a family of two-seat trainer and sports plane produced in the United States and Canada in the 1920s and 30s. They all shared the same basic design and varied mainly in their powerplants. They were all orthodox biplanes with staggered, single-bay wings of equal span and fixed tailskid undercarriage. The model 11 was a version with Kinner R-5 engine. Ten units were sold to Argentina in 1931 and used as advanced trainers. They were retired in 1940.

 

[gekho]

The Supermarine Walrus was a catapult-launched, biplane amphibian with pusher propeller, developed from the Seagull. The Prototype desigjnated the Segull V had one 635hp Pegasus IIM2 engine, it was initially built as a private venture, this then became a production model for RAAF. The first production models in 1935 were the Walrus Mk I, redesignated from the Seagull V for service with the RAF and FAA; some fitted with ASV radar. The Walrus was rather rectangular in outline, and did not show that it was built by the same manufacturer as the Spitfire. It was the standard catapult- launched reconnaissance and SAR (Search And Rescue) aircraft for some time. 740 were built between 1936 and 1944.

The first two units, bought in 1940, were coded 2-0-1 and 2-0-2 and served until 1948. Eight more Walrus were acquired between 1946 and 1950, being transported by the cruiser "La Argentina". However, these new units were Mark.I; they were fitted with Bristol Pegasus IV engines and could reach a speed of 230 km/h.

 

[gekho]

In 1929-1930, Fairchild (Canada) designed an eight-seat transport known as the Model 81. The single prototype was powered by either a 575 hp Pratt Whitney Hornet or Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar. The design was a "one-off" and did not enter production. In 1934, the parent company had also developed the Super 71 variant of the Fairchild 71, but reception in the marketplace was lukewarm. Undaunted, the company continued to refine the design and produced the Model 82 the following year. This retained the stretched forward fuselage and separate flight deck that had been a feature of the Super 71, but increased passenger and load capacity. The resulting aircraft proved a modest success, with three sold to the government of Venezuela, one to the government of Mexico, and another seven going to various Canadian regional airlines. Variants with various powerplant changes followed, three of which were sold to the Argentine Navy. They were retired in 1947.

 

[gekho]

The Curtiss-Wright CW-16 "Light Sport" born in the United States in the early '30s as a high performance sport trainer, responding to Ted Wells designs and Herbert Rawdon respectively. The CW-12 and CW-16 share the same basic design as two-seater biplane in which instructor and pupil are located in tandem. The biggest difference between the two is that the front cabin of the CW-12 had a single seat, the CW-16 could accommodate two people side by side. Both versions were available with a variety of engines, although the most common would be equipped with the Wright Whirlwind 540-E, located in the export version "E" of the CW-16, introduced in our country for the well-known efforts of Lawrence Leon .

Acquired in the United States of America, a first batch of 15 aircraft were armed in the workshops of Punta Indio Naval Air Base, while another provision of 13 would be built under license in them. They were called "Kelito" in naval parlance as a family nickname, due to their small size and yellow color they were painted, which resembled a candy wrapper of the same name of the national firm NOEL. Completed their active duty, a copy of these aircraft built in our country was donated by the Navy Flying Club, Argentina to El Carmen, and while some are still in flying condition, we see a close at the Museum of Naval Aviation.

 

[gekho]

During 1934, the Fairchild company designed a business or executive aircraft with five seats, designated the Model 45. It first flew on 31 May 1935. The Model 45 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a conventional cantilever tail unit and a retractable tailwheel landing gear. The aircraft was powered by a 225 hp (168 kW) Jacobs L-4 radial engine and had a luxury five-seat interior as standard. Flight testing showed that the aircraft performed well although it was described as sedate. Fairchild upgraded the protoype with a larger engine, the Wright R-760 radial, for evaluation. In this configuration it was designated the Model 45-A. This configuration was placed in production, with about 16 units being completed. Argentina bought three units in 1937 for the Navy, to be used as VIP transport and photografic aircraft. They were retired in 1948.

 

[Wayne Little]

 

[gekho]

Designed to meet a requirement of the New York, Rio, and Buenos Aires Line (NYRBA) for an aircraft to serve the coastal routes in South America. Consolidated designed the Model 17 Fleetster. The Fleestster had a streamlined all-metal monocoque fuselage with a wooden wing. The powerplant was a 575 hp (429 kW) Pratt Whitney R-1860 Hornet B radial engine. It was available as a landplane or seaplane and could accommodate up to eight passengers, although the three NYRBA aircraft were fitted with two full-width seats each for three passengers. A parasol-wing version (the Model 20 Fleetster) was also developed with the wing supported by four short struts. The open cockpit was moved to behind the passenger cabin and the space used as a cargo compartment. In 1932 a carrier-borne dive bomber version (Model 18) was evaluated by the United States Navy as the XBY-1, it was not ordered but was the first stressed-skin aircraft, and the first aircraft with integral fuel tanks in the wings operated by the Navy. A single unit served with the Argentinian Navy; acquired in 1932 and coded T-204 first, and later 2-GT-3, it was retired in 1936, when it was donated to the Agriculture Department.

 

[gekho]

Like its forerunner, the Super Universal was a conventional, high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fully enclosed flight deck and cabin. Standard undercarriage consisted of fixed tailskid type with divided main units, but it was also available as a twin-pontoon seaplane. The Super Universal was received enthusiastically in the marketplace, selling better than any other of Fokker-America's designs (some 80 aircraft), and required the company to expand its factory space to keep up with demand. A further 15 aircraft were built by Canadian Vickers, and around 100 by Nakajima with some of these Japanese aircraft seeing military service as the Ki-6. The United States Navy also evaluated the Super Universal for military service, under the designation XJA-1, but decided not to purchase the type (the JA designation was later re-used for the Noorduyn Norseman). A single unit was bought in 1931 for the Navy. It was used for logistic support, reconnaissance and photografic duties. This aircraft operated in the south of the country, under a very bad climatological circumstances. It was retired in 1942.

 

[gekho]

The Grumman J2F Duck (company designation G-15) was an American single-engine amphibious biplane. The J2F was an improved version of the earlier JF Duck, differing by having a longer float. The J2F-1 Duck first flew on 2 April 1936 powered by a 750 hp (559 kW) Wright R-1820 Cyclone, and was delivered to the US Navy on the same day. The J2F-2 had a Wright Cyclone engine but boosted to 790 hp (589 kW). 20 J2F-3 variants were built in 1939 for use as executive transports for the Navy with plush interiors. Due to pressure of work following the United States entry into the war in 1941, production of the J2F Duck was transferred to the Columbia Aircraft Corp of New York. They produced 330 aircraft for the Navy and US Coast Guard. Several surplus Navy Ducks were converted for use by the United States Air Force in the air-sea rescue role as the OA-12 in 1948.

15 units were acquired between 1939 and 1940. The differences between the G-15 and G-20 were only on the propeller. They served on Observation Squadron of the Fleet and some of them were embarked in the argentinian navy cruisers between 1939 and 1947, when they were replaced by the J2F5 and 6.

 

[gekho]

The V-142 was a single-engine biplane, two-seat attack and dive-bombing or horizontal. It has a conventional fixed landing gear suitable for landing on aircraft carriers. Similar to the SBU-2 of the U.S. Navy. 14 units of these biplanes were purchased in 1937, integrated between 1937 and 1945 Attack Squadron FA # 2. Were passed to the BAPI integrating Bombardment Squadron plummeting in 1946/48.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Excellent!

 

[Gnomey]

Good stuff!

 

[gekho]

The Reliant is a three-place high-wing land monoplane powered with a Lycoming Model R-680-13 Engine. The engine is fitted with an 8'6" constant speed propeller and the conventional landing gear is equipped with hydraulically-operated brakes. Wing flaps are vacuum-operated." 1,327 were made from 1933 to 1941, in different models, from SR-1 to SR-10. The final model, the Stinson Reliant SR-10, was introduced in 1938. The SR-10 was used by the U.S. Army in World War II as a utility aircraft, designated UC-81, and as trainer designated AT-19. They were also used by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force for light transport and communication duties. After the war they were sold on the civilian market as the Vultee V-77. The V-77 was a spartan version of the SR-10 with the 300hp Lycoming R680-E3B, a single door on the left side and the traditional "Bump" cowl was replaced with a simpler smooth cowl.

Two units were bought in 1937 for the Argentinian Navy; the aircraft coded 1-E-67 was destroyed in an accident in 1941, while the other one flew with the Navy until 1944, when it was replaced by a Vultee BT-13 A. They were used as light transports, basic trainning and as reconnassaice aircrafts.

 

[gekho]

The Argentinian Navy acquired three units on 1937. By that time this magnificent product of the Curtiss was having a successful life, and the Navy used one of them as a transport and parachute aircraft, another one as VIP transport and the last one as flying ambulance. They were the pioneers of the Aeronaval Transport Command, and after many years of services, they were retired in 1947. These three Condors were the last ones built at the Curtiss´s St. Louis factory, and they were bought to transport the Wrights engines, due to their big deck.

 

[gekho]

Originally designed as a two-seat civilian biplane for pilot training and sport flying, the Stieglitz (German for Goldfinch) prototype first flew in 1932. After test and modifications to increase the plane's strength and improve its flight characteristics, the final Fw 44 design proved to have excellent maneuverability and aerobatics capabilities. Famous German pilots of the 1930s including Ernst Udet, Gerd Achgelis and Emil Kopf all flew the Stieglitz in aerobatic displays and air shows in Germany, and flight schools and flying clubs placed orders for the new plane in large numbers. The demand was so great that Focke-Wulf opened a new factory just to build the Stieglitz. Orders also came from a dozen other countries and in some, Fw 44s were produced under license.

A second version of the design was the Fw 44B, which used an Argus As 8 four-cylinder inverted inline air-cooled engine of 120 horsepower. This gave the plane a more slender, aerodynamic nose that the bulkier Siemens radial engine. This model was produced in limited numbers and followed by the Fw 44C. The final C model was powered by the Siemens radial engine and was produced in the largest numbers. With a fuselage of welded steel-tube and wings of wooden spars and ribs, the Stieglitz design was fabric covered with metal panels behind the engine. The two cockpits were open, with the pilot or student pilot flying from the rear cockpit and a passenger or instructor in front.

In 1940 four units were acquired and delivered to Argentina, being used mainly for trainning and acrobatic duties. They were later used as a general purpose aircrafts until 1958. By that time they were stored and in 1967 the last survivor was donated to the Veronica Aeroclub.

 

[gekho]

The Martin B-10 was the first all-metal monoplane bomber to go into regular use by the United States Army Air Corps, entering service in June 1934. It was also the first mass-produced bomber whose performance was superior to that of the Army's pursuit aircraft of the time. The B-10 served as the airframe for the B-12, B-13, B-14, A-15 and O-45 designations using Pratt Whitney engines instead of Wright Cyclones.

When the B-10 design was released for export in 1936, several countries purchased the export version of the bomber, the 139W, for their armed forces. Argentina bought 35 Martin 139Ws, including 12 for the Argentine Navy. After many years of service, the obsolete bombers were used for various types of training. The B-10 displayed at the USAF Museum was the last used as a ground-training tool for Argentine engineering students at the "Jorge Newberry" National School of Technical Education, No. 1, in Buenos Aires.

 

[Gnomey]

Nice stuff!

 

[vikingBerserker]

Excellent!

 

[gekho]

The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, was an American designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of the both the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation of combat aircraft—a sleek monoplane design making extensive use of metal in its construction and powered by a powerful radial engine. Obsolete at the onset of World War II and best known as the predecessor of the Curtiss P-40, the P-36 saw only limited combat with the United States Army Air Forces, but it was used more extensively by the French Air Force, both during the Battle of France and by the Vichy France armed forces, and also by the British Commonwealth (where it was known as the Mohawk), and Chinese air units. Several dozen also fought in the Finnish Air Force against the Soviet Air Forces. With around 1,000 aircraft built, the P-36 was a major commercial success for Curtiss. This article also covers the YP-37 and the XP-42 prototypes based on the P-36.

Argentina bought a number of the simplified, fixed landing gear Hawk 75Os, (intended for rough-field operations and ease of maintenance) and purchased a manufacturing license for the type. These aircraft used the same engine, Wright Cyclone R-1820-G5 as the Martin 139WAA's (B-10) and Northrop 8A-2s used by the Argentine Army Aviation at the time. Usually armed with 1 x 11.35 mm Madsen machine gun and 3 x 7.65 mm Madsen light machine guns, there was provision for up to 10 bombs of 30 pounds each on underwing pylons. The last Argentinian Hawks remained in service until November 1954.

 

[gekho]

The Douglas DC-2 was a 14-seat, twin-propeller airliner produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Corporation starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247. In 1935 Douglas produced a larger version called the DC-3, which became one of the most successful aeroplanes in history. Five used units were bought in Venezuela. When the planes arrived to Argentina, they were in very bad conditions and it was decided to replace their engines, being fitted the Glen Martin B-139 WAN. They were destinated to the Naval transport Squadron, operating between 1946 and 1958. Four of them were sold in 1959.