The 711 Squadron "''Albatrozes''" () was a flying squadron of the

Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...

. Its primary mission was

Search and Rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

and it has had secondary missions tactical air transport and general air transport in the

Azores ) , motto= ( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem=( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

archipelago. During the time it was active it was the only operational squadron in the Portuguese military to operate both rotary- and

fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air Aircraft, flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate Lift (force), lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the wing configuration, shape of ...

History

The origin of 711 Squadron dates back to the first search and rescue squadron ( 41 Squadron) of the Portuguese Air Force based at

Lajes Air Base Lajes Field or Lajes Air Base (; pt, Base Aérea das Lajes), officially designated Air Base No. 4 (''Base Aérea Nº 4'', BA4) , is a multi-use airfield near Lajes and northeast of Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira Island in the Azores, Portu ...

( pt, Base Aérea Nº 6, BA6), in

, which operated SB-17G Flying Fortress,

C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian ...

Grumman HU-16 Albatross The Grumman HU-16 Albatross is a large, twin–radial engined amphibious seaplane that was used by the United States Air Force (USAF), the U.S. Navy (USN), and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), primarily as a search and rescue (SAR) aircraft. Origi ...

, and

Sikorsky H-19 The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (company model number S-55) was a multi-purpose helicopter used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom ...

.Mais Alto 348, p. 37 In 1976 two new squadrons were created to replace 41 Squadron:

503 Squadron 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on each h ...

"''Golfinhos''", designated then has Maritime Patrol and Transport Squadron ( pt, Esquadra de Transporte e Patrulhamento Marítimo), equipped with CASA C-212-100 Aviocar aircraft, and No. 42 Search and Rescue Squadron ( pt, Esquadra de Busca e Salvamento nº 42), later renamed 752 Squadron "''Pumas''", operating

Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter that was designed and originally produced by the French aerospace manufacturer Sud Aviation. It is capable of carrying up to 20 passengers as well as ...

helicopters. On October 19, 1993, with the merger of these two squadrons, 711 Squadron was activated.Despacho n.º 22/93. CEMFA. October 8, 1993. In addition to its primary search and rescue mission, the squadron executed transport and

medical evacuation Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

s between the islands of the archipelago. This missions resulted in 13,300 flights, 34,000 transported passengers, 700 tons of cargo and 2,759 lives saved in search and rescue operations, 20,095 medical evacuations during 24,038 flying hours. Since 1994, the squadron also supported the medical evacuation of pregnant women from islands without proper medical facilities to the archipelago's hospitals, which marked during its operational history 6 births aboard the Aviocar and 12 births aboard the Puma. With a reorganization in the operation structure of the Air Force in Azores, the helicopter flight of the squadron was deactivated on November 30, 2006, and was replaced by a detachment of 752 Squadron. Later, on April 11, 2007, the whole squadron was temporarily deactivated and the missions executed by its fixed-wing aircraft were taken over by a detachment of 502 Squadron. This temporary deactivation was due to the entry in service of the AgustaWestland EH-101 and

EADS CASA C-295 The CASA C-295 (now Airbus C295) is a medium tactical transport aircraft that was designed and initially manufactured by the Spanish aerospace company CASA. Work on what would become the C-295 was started during the 1990s as a derivative of ...

that were to replace the SA 330 Puma and C-212 Aviocar, respectively. Its objective was for two years to gain experience and test through the squadrons' detachments new concepts in maintenance for the aircraft to enter service. In 2008 the deactivation was made final and the squadron was disbanded and the 502 and 751 Squadrons detachments, part of the Azores Air Detachment ( pt, Destacamento Aéreo dos Açores, DAA) were made permanent.

References

Sources

* {{cbignore, bot=medic Portuguese Air Force aircraft squadrons

History

See also

References

Sources