, colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , flying_hours = , website = , commander1 = General Joaquim M. N. Borrego , commander1_label = Chief of Staff of the Air Force , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol = Roundel of Portugal

, identification_symbol_label =

Roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of diff ...

, identification_symbol_2 = Fin Flash of Portugal

, identification_symbol_2_label =

Fin flash Military aircraft insignia are insignia applied to military aircraft to identify the nation or branch of military service to which the aircraft belong. Many insignia are in the form of a circular roundel or modified roundel; other shapes such as ...

, aircraft_attack = , aircraft_bomber = , aircraft_electronic = , aircraft_fighter = F-16 Fighting Falcon , aircraft_helicopter = , aircraft_helicopter_attack = , aircraft_helicopter_cargo = , aircraft_helicopter_multirole = EH-101 Merlin,

Kamov Ka-32 The Kamov Ka-27 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and currently in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-29 a ...

, aircraft_helicopter_observation = , aircraft_helicopter_trainer = , aircraft_helicopter_utility = AW119 Koala , aircraft_interceptor = , aircraft_patrol = P-3C CUP+ Orion , aircraft_recon = C-295MPA Persuader , aircraft_trainer = TB 30 Epsilon, DHC-1 Chipmunk , aircraft_transport =

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...

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 ...

Falcon 50 The Dassault Falcon 50 is a French super-midsize, long-range business jet, featuring a trijet layout with an S-duct air intake for the central engine. It has the same fuselage cross-section and similar capacity as the earlier twin-engined Falcon ...

, aircraft_tanker = , aircraft_general = The Portuguese Air Force ( pt, Força Aérea Portuguesa) is the aerial warfare force of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Locally it is referred to by the acronym FAP but internationally is often referred to by the acronym PoAF. It is the youngest of the three branches of the

Portuguese Armed Forces The Portuguese Armed Forces ( pt, Forças Armadas) are the military of Portugal. They include the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the other unified bodies and the three service branches: Portuguese Navy, Portuguese Army and Portuguese Air ...

. The Portuguese Air Force was formed on 1 July 1952, when the former (Army Aviation) and (Naval Aviation) were united and formed an independent air branch of the Armed Forces. However, the remote origins of the FAP go back to the early 20th century with the establishment of the first military air unit in 1911, the Military Aeronautics School in 1914, the participation of Portuguese pilots in World War I, the establishment of the Army, and the Navy aviation services. The FAP is commanded by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CEMFA), a subordinate of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces for operational matters and a direct subordinate of the Minister of National Defense for all other matters. The CEMFA is the only officer in the Air Force with the rank of

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

(

four-star rank A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, colonel general, army ge ...

). Presently, the FAP is an entirely professional force made of career personnel (

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

and NCOs) and of volunteer personnel (officers, NCOs, and

enlisted rank An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States ...

s). As of 2015, the FAP employed a total of 5,957 military personnel, of which 1,677 were officers, 2,511 were NCOs, and 1,769 were other enlisted ranks. Additionally, the Air Force further included 842 civilian employees. Besides its warfare role, the FAP has also public service roles, namely assuring the Portuguese Air Search and Rescue Service. Until 2014, the FAP also integrated the National Aeronautical Authority (AAN). The AAN is now a separate body, but continues to be headed by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, with the Air Force assuring most of its activities, namely the air policing service. Its aerobatic display teams have been the for jet aircraft and the for helicopter, being both however currently inactive since 2010.

History

Beginnings

The remote origins of the Portuguese Air Force lie in the origins of the Portuguese military aeronautics. Bartolomeu de Gusmao presenting his invention to the Court of John V

Bartolomeu de Gusmao presenting his invention to the Court of John V

Portugal was directly linked with the history of aeronautics since its early beginnings. In 1709, the Portuguese priest

Bartolomeu de Gusmão Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão (December 1685 – 18 November 1724) was a Brazilian-born Portuguese priest and naturalist, who was a pioneer of lighter-than-air airship design. Early life Gusmão was born at Santos, then part of the Portugue ...

requested a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

for a device to move through the air, which consisted of a kind of

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries ...

. The patent was granted on 19 April 1709 and small scale models of this device were tested with success on several occasions, including before the court of King

John V of Portugal Dom John V ( pt, João Francisco António José Bento Bernardo; 22 October 1689 – 31 July 1750), known as the Magnanimous (''o Magnânimo'') and the Portuguese Sun King (''o Rei-Sol Português''), was King of Portugal from 9 December 17 ...

. Accordingly, with some opinions, a real scale device would have performed a crewed flight over the city of Lisbon, taking off from the

São Jorge Castle Saint George's Castle ( pt, Castelo de São Jorge; ) is a historic castle in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, located in the ''freguesia'' of Santa Maria Maior. Human occupation of the castle hill dates to at least the 8th century BC while th ...

and landing at the Cotovia Hill. This may have been the first manned flight in history. In 1876, General Augusto Bon de Sousa proposed the use of aerostats as means of observation and communication. This proposal was implemented in 1886, with the beginning of the use of Lachambre balloons by the Army Engineering School at Tancos. The organization of the Army Telegraphic Service of 1900 assigned it the charge for the aerostation service, namely the specific competency for establishing air communications. The history of the Portuguese military aviation proper is deeply connected with the foundation of the Air Club of Portugal (AeCP) on 11 December 1909, by 30 aviation enthusiasts, the majority of them being Army officers. The AeCP became one of the major boosters of the development of aviation in Portugal in the early 20th century, including its military use. The AeCP sponsored Abeillard Gomes da Silva in the design and building of the first Portuguese

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...

, financed by the War Ministry and tested at the Army School of Engineering,

Tancos Tancos is a Portuguese ''freguesia'' ("civil parish"), located in the municipality of Vila Nova da Barquinha. The population in 2011 was 243, In 1912, the

Portuguese Government , border = Central , image = , caption = , date = , state = Portuguese Republic , address = Official Residence of the Prime Minister Estrela, Lisbon , appointed = President ...

received its first airplane, a Deperdussin B, offered by the Portuguese-born Colonel Albino Costa of the Brazilian Army. The Government further received a Maurice Farman MF4 offered by the ''O Comércio do Porto'' newspaper and an

Avro 500 The Avro Type E, Type 500, and Type 502 made up a family of early British military aircraft, regarded by Alliott Verdon Roe as his firm's first truly successful design. It was a forerunner of the Avro 504, one of the outstanding aircraft of the ...

offered by the

Portuguese Republican Party The Portuguese Republican Party (, ) was a Portuguese political party formed during the late years of the constitutional monarchy that proposed and conducted the substitution of the monarchy with the Portuguese First Republic.midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

Miguel Freitas Homem of the naval purser branch applied for admission to any course that would qualify him as an aviator. He was the first member of the Portuguese Military to formally request to be an aircraft pilot. In the same year, by request of the AeCP, the legislator

António José de Almeida António José de Almeida, GCTE, GCA, GCC, GCSE (; 27 July 1866 – 31 October 1929), was a Portuguese politician who served as the sixth president of Portugal from 1919 to 1923. Early career Born in Penacova to José António de Almeida ...

presented a

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

to the

Portuguese Parliament The Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese: ''Assembleia da República'', ), commonly referred to as simply Parliament (Portuguese: ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral parliament of Portugal. According to the Constitution of Portugal, the parliament ...

for the creation of a Military Aviation Institute. Despite the non-approval of the bill, the War Ministry appointed an ''

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.) Com ...

'' commission, made up of officers of the Army and Navy (including some members of the AeCP), intended to study the basis for the creation of aviation, balloon and

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

schools. By the Army Order of 12 February 1913, this became the permanent Military Aeronautics Commission, attached to the Army Telegraphic Service. Finally, the Parliament issued Law 162 of 14 May 1914, which created the Military Aeronautics School (EMA, ), including aviation and aerostation services. The EMA would include a Staff, aeronautical troops (including the Aerostation Company and a Navy Section), and technical and support staff. The Law foresaw the existence of a Military Aeronautical Service from which the EMA would be dependent. However, while the Aeronautical Service was still not organized, the EMA would be under the inspection of the chairman of the Military Aeronautics Commission. After the formal creation of the EMA, the next steps were to implement it. One of the first steps was to train aviators to serve as the future instructors, with 11 officers being selected for that (nine from the Army and two from the Navy) and sent to several U.S., French, and British aviation schools, where they were certified as aircraft pilots. Another important step was the building of the facilities for the EMA. The study of the Military Aeronautics Commission pointed to Alverca as the best option to install the school, with Vila Nova da Rainha (a village of the Azambuja Municipality) as the second best option. Both places satisfied the requests of being located in flat grounds (allowing the installation of

airfield An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...

and

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s), in the riverside (allowing the operation of

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

s) and near the railway (facilitating the communications). Due to budget restraints, the second option was chosen, with the construction of the EMA installations starting at Vila Nova da Rainha on 15 April 1915. On 17 July 1916, lieutenant Santos Leite performed the first Portuguese military airplane flight, in the Deperdussin B that had been offered in 1912. EMA and its first course was opened in October of the same year, with naval lieutenant aviator

Sacadura Cabral Artur de Sacadura Freire Cabral, GCTE (23 May 1881 – 15 November 1924), known simply as Sacadura Cabral (), was a Portuguese aviation pioneer. He, together with fellow aviator Gago Coutinho, conducted the first flight across the South A ...

as the chief of the pilots and with Major

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...

Ribeiro de Almeida as the chief of mechanics. The first students started flying in November, with Army lieutenant

Sarmento de Beires José Manuel Sarmento de Beires (4 September 1892 – 8 June 1974) was a Portuguese Army officer and an aviation pioneer. Sarmento de Beires became famous for piloting the first night-time aerial crossing of the Atlantic, in April 1927. The fir ...

being the first one. 1916farman-f40-01z

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, an air unit was planned as part of the

Portuguese Expeditionary Corps The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP, Portuguese: ''Corpo Expedicionário Português'') was the main military force from Portugal that fought in the Western Front, during World War I. Portuguese neutrality ended in 1916 after the Portuguese ...

fighting on the Western Front, but its activation was cancelled due to the refusal from the British Government to provide the needed aircraft. With this cancellation, several of the Portuguese airmen who were to integrate that air unit, instead volunteered to fly in French aviation units, where they had the

baptism by fire The phrase baptism by fire or baptism of fire is a Christian theological concept originating from the words of John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11. It also has related meanings in military history and popular culture. Christianity The term ''bapti ...

of the Portuguese military aviation. Serving in French squadron SPA 65, in November 1917, captain Óscar Monteiro Torres became the first Portuguese pilot to be killed in an air combat, when his

SPAD S.VII The SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and r ...

was shot down, after himself having shot down two German planes. In

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, in the operations against German Eastern Africa, from September 1917, the Portuguese forces included a small flight of

Farman F.40 The Farman F.40 was a French pusher biplane reconnaissance aircraft. Development Developed from a mix of the Maurice Farman designed MF.11 and the Henry Farman designed HF.22, the F.40 (popularly dubbed the Horace Farman) had an overall s ...

airplanes, this being one of the earliest employments of military aircraft in Africa. In 1918, a flight of Caudron G.4 was also deployed to Angola to support the Portuguese forces engaged in the

South-West Africa campaign The South West Africa campaign was the conquest and occupation of German South West Africa by forces from the Union of South Africa acting on behalf of the British imperial government at the beginning of the First World War. Background The ...

, but arrived after the end of the conflict. This flight however gave origin to a permanent air unit based in Angola. The Portuguese Navy started to have its own aviation service on 28 September 1917, although by that time it already had flying activities performed by the Navy Section of the EMA. The Army's Military Aeronautical Service was also finally fully organized on 29 June 1918, in the scope of which the EMA was to be subdivided in separate aviation and aerostation schools and the first Portuguese aircraft factory was established.

The Military Aeronautics

By the Decree 4529 of 29 June 1918, the Portuguese Army's Military Aeronautical Service () – already foreseen when the Military Aeronautics School was created in 1914 – was organised. It included the Directorate of Military Aeronautics, the Military Aeronautics Technical Commission, the Military School of Aviation, the Military School of Aerostatics, the aeronautical troops and the Aeronautical Materiel Park (PMA). The Directorate of Military Aeronautics was headed by a senior officer (pilot aviator, aerostat pilot or aeronautical engineer), who directly reported to the

War Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...

. The aeronautical troops would include aviation and aerostatics units, including the already existing Aerostatics Company and the newly created Composite Aviation Depot Flight (EMAD). The EMAD was responsible to train pilots and observers and to prepare the creation of future air units, being initially installed at Alverca and then transferred to

Tancos Tancos is a Portuguese ''freguesia'' ("civil parish"), located in the municipality of Vila Nova da Barquinha. The population in 2011 was 243,OGMA aviation industry. By the initiative of the local colonial authorities, the Caudron G.4 expeditionary flight that had been deployed to Angola due to World War I became a permanent air unit of the colony in 1918, as the Initial Colonial Flight, based at

Huambo Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa (English: ''New Lisbon''), is the third-most populous city in Angola, after the capital city Luanda and Lubango, with a population of 595,304 in the city and a population of 713,134 in the municipality of Huambo (Cens ...

. This unit was increased in 1921, with the reception of Caudron G.3 reconnaissance and

Breguet 14 Breguet or Bréguet may refer to: * Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer **Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker **Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work * Bréguet ...

bomber airplanes, becoming the Angola Group of Aviation Flights (GEAA), which existed until being disbanded in 1924. On 7 February 1919, the Group of Aviation Flights "República" (GEAR) was created. This was the first permanent operational aviation unit in the Portuguese Mainland, including a combat flight – equipped with

fighters – and a bombardment and observation flight – equipped with

bombers. It was installed at

Amadora Amadora () is a municipality and urbanized city in the northwest of the Lisbon metropolitan area and 10 km from central Lisbon. The population in 2011 was 175,136, in an area of 23.78 km² (9.2 sq mi). It is the most densely populated mun ...

, for which an airfield was built. In 1920, the Military School of Aviation was transferred from Vila Nova da Rainha to Granja do Marquês (

Sintra Municipality Sintra (, ) is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of . Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populated ...

), the site of what would become the still existing

Sintra Air Base Sintra Air Base ( pt, Base Aérea de Sintra) , officially designated as Air Base No. 1 ( pt, Base Aérea Nº 1, BA1), is a Portuguese Air Force base located in the Sintra Municipality, Portugal. The base is home to a flight training squadron an ...

. The Decree 9749 of 30 May 1924, defining that the director of the Military Aeronautics could be a colonel of any arm of the Army (and not necessarily an officer aviator), caused revolt among the aviators, culminating in the uprising of the GEAR. The uprising was quelled by other military units, with the officer aviators being arrested. These incidents led to the temporary disbandment of the Military Aeronautical Service by the Decree 9801 of 15 July 1924. Breguet Bre

By the Decree 10094 of 19 September 1924, the Military Aeronautics (AM) was reorganised, becoming a full arm of service of the Army, with the same status as the cavalry, artillery, engineering and infantry arms. The military aeronautics arm included the Inspectorate General of the Military Aeronautics, the AM Technical Commission, the aviation and aerostatics troops, the aeronautics schools and courses, the AM establishments and the AM services. The inspector general of the AM would preferably be a general or a colonel with all the conditions to be promoted to general, a graduate in one of the aeronautics courses, who would assume the role of the aeronautics commandant general in the headquarters of the field army. The tactical aviation unit continued be the flight (), each including seven pilots and respective aircraft, headed by a captain. Several flights could be grouped to form groups of aviation flights, each headed by a senior officer. The troops of the arm were defined at that time as being a fighter flight, a bombardment flight, an observation flight, a training and depot aviation flight and an observation aerostatics company. The aeronautics schools and courses would be the Military Aeronautics School (including an aerostatics section) and the mechanics and specialists courses functioning at the PMA. The Military Aeronautics School would only be activated in 1928, by the transformation of the Military Aviation School and the disbandment of the Military Aerostatics School. The AM establishments were the PMA and the Aeronautical Material Storage. The AM included the meteorological, the communications and liaison and the photo-topographical services. In 1924, the fighters of the GEAR were transferred to the EMAD at Tancos, which became the No 1 Fighter Flight in 1926 and then the Independent Group of Protection and Combat Aviation (GIAPC) in 1927. In 1927, the GEAR was disbanded and gave origin to two separate units, the Information Aviation Group (GAI) and the Independent Bombardment Aviation Group (GIAB), this being transferred to Alverca. By the Decree 11279 of 26 April 1926, the Military Aeronautics School was again divided into separate aviation and aerostation schools. With this reorganization, the Military Aviation School started to include training programs for non-officer military pilots and for civil pilots. It thus became the first civil aviation school in Portugal. In 1925, Carlos Bleck would graduate from this school, becoming the first civil pilot to receive its brevet in Portugal. In 1928, Maria de Lourdes Sá Teixeira would also graduate in the Military Aviation School, becoming the first Portuguese

woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

pilot. The new organization of the Portuguese Army of 2 August 1926, established by the Decree 12017, defined that the superior technical body of each arm became a directorate of the arm. So the Directorate of the Aeronautics Arm was established, being headed by a general. This Directorate continued to have only a mere technical authority over the AM units and other establishments, which continued to be under the command of the territorial Army commands of the area where they were based. By this new organisation the PMA was transformed in the OGMA. Vickers Valparaiso III

During this period, the Portuguese Military Aeronautics aviators entered in the

History of Aviation The history of aviation extends for more than two thousand years, from the earliest forms of aviation such as kites and attempts at tower jumping to supersonic and hypersonic flight by powered, heavier-than-air jets. Kite flying in Chi ...

by performing a number of pioneer flights. Among these were the first flight to

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

performed by Brito Pais, Sarmento Beires and Manuel Gouveia in 1924, the first night-time flight across the Atlantic performed by Sarmento de Beires, Jorge de Castilho and Manuel Gouveia in 1927, the first flight to

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...

performed by Moreira Cardoso and Sarmento Pimentel in 1930, the first flight to

Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea ( pt, Guiné), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a West African colony of Portugal from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as Gu ...

and Angola, performed by Carlos Bleck and Humberto da Cruz in 1931 and the first flight to

Portuguese Timor Portuguese Timor ( pt, Timor Português) was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies. The first Europeans to arrive in the ...

performed by Humberto da Cruz and António Lobato in 1934. In 1935, the AM performed air visits to the colonies, projecting a significant air force to Angola and to Mozambique to mark the Portuguese military presence in Africa. Taking off from the Amadora airfield, this air visit included a

Junkers W 34 The Junkers W 34 was a German-built, single-engine, passenger and transport aircraft. Developed in the 1920s, it was taken into service in 1926. The passenger version could take a pilot and five passengers. The aircraft was developed from the J ...

transport aircraft Transport aircraft is a broad category of aircraft that includes: * Airliners, aircraft, usually large and most often operated by airlines, intended for carrying multiple passengers or cargo in commercial service * Cargo aircraft or freighters, fix ...

and eight

Vickers Valparaiso The Vickers Valparaiso was a British light bomber biplane of the 1920s. It was designed by Vickers as a development of its Vixen for export, being sold to Portugal and Chile. Development and design The Vickers Valparaiso was a derivative of th ...

light bomber A light bomber is a relatively small and fast type of military bomber aircraft that was primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance. The earliest light bombers were intended to dro ...

s, with 12 pilots and seven aircraft mechanics, commanded by colonel aviator Cifka Duarte. In the scope of the readjustment of the Army units and size established by the Decree-Law 28401 of 31 December 1937, the Military Aeronautics underwent a major reorganisation. The AM would now include the Command General of the Aeronautics (with the Antiaircraft Land Defence Command attached to it), air bases, field bases, information aviation flights, fighter aviation flights, bombardment aviation flights (the flights could be independent or grouped), the Aerostatics Company (usually attached to the artillery arm), the Practical School of the arm, the Aviation Materiel Storage, the Aerostatics Materiel Storage (attached to the Aerostatics Company) and a personnel mobilisation depot (attached to the Command General). The creation of the Command General of the Aeronautics - headed by an AM brigadier or general who reported directly to the Minister of War - was one of the major features of this reorganisation. Unlike the previous superior bodies of the AM which only had technical authority over the units of the arm, the Command General now had full command over all the air forces and other bodies of the AM. This meant that the AM started to have a chain of command separated from the rest of the Army, gaining a high degree of autonomy and coming to be considered an almost independent branch. Another feature of this reorganization was the structuring of the AM in air bases, with the creation of the

Sintra Sintra (, ) is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of . Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populated ...

, Ota and Tancos air bases, as well as the Lisbon Field Base. The Practical School of Aeronautics was attached to the Sintra Air Base. By this organisation, each fighter flight () would have 15 pilots (6 officers, 6 NCOs and 4 corporals) and respective aircraft, while each bombardment flight () would have 10 pilots (5 officers, 3 NCOs and 2 corporals) and five bombers. Besides the pilots, each flight would also include around another 70 members, including mechanics, radio-telegraphists and service support personnel. The Sintra Air Base included the Practical School of Aeronautics, with a School Group mainly equipped with

Avro 626 The Avro 626 is a single-engined British biplane trainer aircraft produced by Avro during the (1918-1939) inter-war period. Design and development The Model 626 was developed by Avro from the company's Model 621 (Tutor) for export to smalle ...

and

de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...

. Later, Sintra Air Base would also include an independent assault aviation flight equipped with

Breda Ba.65 The Breda Ba.65 was an Italian all-metal single-engine, low-wing monoplane used by ''Aviazione Legionaria'' during the Spanish Civil War and '' Regia Aeronautica'' in the first half of World War II. It was the only Italian ground-attack aircr ...

ground-attack aircraft. The Ota Air Base - inaugurated in 1940 and until then temporarily installed in Alverca - succeeded to the then disbanded GIAB and came to include a night bombardment group with

Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German Aeros ...

bombers, a day bombardment group with

Junkers Ju 86 The Junkers Ju 86 was a German monoplane bomber and civilian airliner designed in the early 1930s, and employed by various air forces on both sides during World War II. The civilian model Ju 86B could carry ten passengers. Two were delivered to S ...

bombers and a fighter flight with

Gloster Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed private ...

fighters. The Tancos Air Base succeeded to the GIAPC and was intended to be a fighter and observation aviation unit. The Lisbon Field Base was planned to function in the facilities of the

Lisbon Airport Humberto Delgado Airport , informally Lisbon Airport and formally Portela Airport, is an international airport located northeast of the city centre of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. The airport is the main international gateway to Portuga ...

- at that time under construction, being inaugurated in 1942 - and to station a fighter flight. The growing of the Lisbon suburban area limited the use of the Amadora airfield, ending with it being deactivated and the GAI disbanded. After the inauguration of Ota, Alverca ceased to be an operational air base, becoming a logistical air field dependent from the Aviation Materiel Storage, supporting this body and also the OGMA. From 1940, the air bases became numbered as they are still today, with Sintra, Ota and Tancos, becoming respectively the No 1, No 2 and No 3 air bases. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

(1936-1939), a number of Portuguese pilots and airmen served in the Nationalist Aviation. During this conflict, the Portuguese Government sent a Military Observation Mission to Spain intended to merely observe the new tactics and new weapon systems that were being employed, including the use of aviation and antiaircraft defences. Some members of the Mission, including some officer aviators, however ended by actively engaging in military operations. Besides these, other AM personnel volunteered as "

Viriatos Viriatos, named after the Lusitanian leader Viriathus, was the generic name given to Portuguese volunteers who fought with the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War.

", these being mainly NCOs aviators who served as officers in nationalist aviation units. By the Decree 29155 of 19 November 1938, the course of military aeronautics was created in the Army School (military academy). Until then, the future officer aviators had to graduate in the course of one of the other arms and only then be transferred to the AM. Junkers JU-52 FAP

Portugal was not directly involved in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but had to defend its neutrality. The war caught the AM in the beginning of a modernisation plan that could not proceed due to the start of the conflict, meaning that it largely lacked modern aircraft. One of the major Portuguese military priorities became the deterrence of a possible invasion of the strategic Azores Islands, which were coveted both by the

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

and by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

, with both having plans to invade them.

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

wanted to use the Azores as the base for the ''Amerika'' Bomber, with their seizure being included in the German planned operations ''

Felix Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...

'', ''Ilona'' and ''Isabella''. The Allies wanted to use the Azores as an air and naval base to control the North Atlantic in the scope of the Battle of the Atlantic, having plans to invade them if the Portuguese government refused to cede their use. This invasion was part of the planned British operations ''Alloy'', ''Shrapnel'', ''Brisk'', ''Thruster'', ''Springboard'' and ''Lifebelt'' and of the US Operation Grey. Faced with the imminent danger, the Portuguese authorities decided to reinforce the Azores garrison, sending there a great part of the available Army forces and most of the AM combat aircraft, including all its fighters. In June 1941, two expeditionary fighter flights – each with 15 Gloster Gladiators – were organised and deployed, as well as five Ju 52 bombers. One of the fighter flights and the bombers became based at Santana airfield ( Rabo de Peixe),

São Miguel Island São Miguel Island (; Portuguese language, Portuguese for "Saint Michael"), nicknamed "The Green Island" (''Ilha Verde''), is the largest and most populous island in the Portugal, Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The island covers and has a ...

and the other fighter flight became based at

Achada Achada is a ''freguesia'' ("civil parish") in the municipality Nordeste on the island of São Miguel in the Azores. The population in 2011 was 436, in an area of 11.89 km. History The area known as ''Achada'', once referred to as ''Achada ...

airfield,

Terceira Island Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 53,311 inhabitants in an area of approximately . It is the location ...

(soon transferred to the newly built Lajes airfield). In October 1941, the AM received Curtiss 75 Mohawk fighters, with 12 forming a third expeditionary fighter flight to the Azores, being stationed at Rabo de Peixe. In 1942, the Rabo de Peixe and the Lajes airfields became, respectively, the No 4 and No 5 air bases. P-38 Portuguesa

The sending of all the few available AM fighters to the Azores meant that Mainland Portugal remained without air defence. This issue would be gradually solved from 1943, thanks to the good relations of the Portuguese authorities with the Allies and the granting of air facilities at Lajes for the operation of anti-submarine aircraft. The AM then started to receive modern fighters including

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by t ...

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

and

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

bombers (which replaced the Junkers Ju 86). The fighter and bomber flights that were formed with them were identified by a two-letter code that was painted on the fuselages. By the end of World War II, the AM included the BA1, Sintra as a training unit, the BA2, Ota with fighter flights MR (Spitfire), RL (Spitfire), XZ (Spitfire) and OK (Airacobra) and with bomber flight ZE (Blenheim), the BA3, Tancos with Information and Reconnaissance Group (

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's ...

) and Fighter Flight GL (Hurricane), BA4, Rabo de Peixe, with expeditionary fighter flights No 1 (Gloster Gladiator) and No 2 (Mohawk) and with the Ju 52 flight (used mainly in the air transport between Azores islands), BA5, Lajes with Expeditionary Fighter Flight No 2 (Gloster Gladiator), Lisbon Field with Fighter Flight VX (Hurricane) and Transport Aircraft Section ( Consolidated B-24 Liberator,

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and prim ...

and

Douglas C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...

) and Espinho airfield with Fighter Flight RV (Hurricane). The Lajes Air Base largely contributed to the Allied victory in Europe, first in its use by the British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

in the elimination of the German submarine threat in the North Atlantic and then in its use by the

United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF) in the air connection between the US and Europe and North Africa, enabling it to reduce the time of flight and largely increase the number of logistic flights that were able to supply the troops fighting the Axis. Already after the War, by the Ordinance 12194 of 19 December 1947, the AM suffered its last major re-adjustment of its units still under the Army tutelage. As part of this, the BA4 (Santana Air Base) was disbanded, with its aeronautical facilities being transferred to the Ministry of Communications to become the civil airport of

. With this disbandment, Lajes was re-designated "No 4 Air Base (BA4)". By this time, Lajes was already one of the major air bases of the AM, including the longest runway in the world and well developed support facilities that included a seaport and a military hospital. From 1945, it was open to civil air traffic, serving as the civil airport of Terceira island. The AM activities operated from Lajes became increasingly focused on maritime search and rescue operations, using Boeing SB-17 Flying Fortress and

Douglas 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 a ...

aircraft. Since 1944, its main user had become however not the Portuguese aviation, but the USAAF. Besides its importance for the Allied victory in World War II, Lajes would continue to be strategically crucial for the US Military in future conflicts, especially in the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

Berlin airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

and

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. In the scope of the re-organization of 1947, the Monte Real airfield (future

Monte Real Air Base Monte Real Air Base, officially designated as Air Force Base No. 5 ( pt, Base Aérea Nº 5, BA5), is a Portuguese Air Force (PoAF) air base located in Monte Real, Leiria, Portugal. Its mission is to guarantee the readiness and deployment of the ...

) – at that time under construction – became dependent from the BA1, Sintra. Portugal joined

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

in 1949 as one of its founders. With this joining, the AM increasingly came under the influence of the US air forces, adopting many of its standards. Since its early beginnings, the AM constantly evolved towards an increasing autonomy, with an implicit aim to become an independent branch of service. Important milestones in that journey had been the granting of the status of arm to the AM in 1924 and its operational autonomy regarding the rest of the Army achieved in 1937. By this time, there was a unanimous opinion that the conditions for the AM to completely separate from the Army and to become an independent branch of the Armed Forces had been obtained. Finally, on 1 July 1952, the AM was established as an independent branch, at the same time controversially integrating the much smaller naval aviation. This branch kept initially the designation of "Military Aeronautics", but from 28 December 1956 it became officially designated "Air Force".

The Naval Aviation

Besides the former Military Aeronautics, the former Portuguese Naval Aviation was the other ancestor of the present Portuguese Air Force. The aviation activities performed by the Portuguese Navy started with the establishment of the Military School of Aeronautics (EMA). The naval officers

Artur de Sacadura Cabral Artur de Sacadura Freire Cabral, GCTE (23 May 1881 – 15 November 1924), known simply as Sacadura Cabral (), was a Portuguese aviation pioneer. He, together with fellow aviator Gago Coutinho, conducted the first flight across the South A ...

and António Joaquim Caseiro were part of the group of the eleven first Portuguese military aviation pilots, with the first one becoming the first chief of the pilot instructors of the EMA. The EMA included a Navy Section, which received the first naval aircraft (two

FBA Type B The FBA Type A and the similar Type B and C were a family of reconnaissance flying boats produced in France prior to and during World War I. Development All three were unequal-span pusher biplane flying boats with a single step hull with ash ...

flying boats) in January 1917. These aircraft started flying activities in March of the same year. The Navy's Aviation Service () was created by the Decree 3395 of 28 September 1917, with the first naval air station being activated at the Bom Sucesso dock, near the

Belém Tower Belém Tower ( pt, Torre de Belém, links=no, ), officially the Tower of Vincent of Saragossa, Saint Vincent ( pt, Torre de São Vicente, links=no) is a 16th-century fortification located in Lisbon that served as a point of embarkation and dis ...

in Lisbon. In the scope of World War I, the flying boats started the performance of anti-submarine patrols off Lisbon harbor. During the War, additional naval air stations were installed at São Jacinto peninsula, Aveiro (operated together with the French naval aviation), at Horta, Azores, at

Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality ('' concelho'') and economic capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67, ...

, Azores (operated by the United States Navy) and at

Culatra Island Culatra Island is a barrier island located in the Ria Formosa in the Algarve region of Portugal. It has an approximate population of around 700 people divided across three communities of Farol, Hângares and Culatra. Geography & Layout The islan ...

, Algarve (never fully activated). By the Decree 3743 of 5 January 1918, the Navy's Aviation Service became the Naval Aeronautics Services (). On 23 August 1918, a Tellier T.3 flying boat of the naval aviation - that was chasing an enemy submarine spotted from Roca Cape - was lost at sea with the death of its crew. At the end of World War I, the naval aviation was operating 18 flying boats (FBA type B, Donnet-Denhaut D.D.8 and Tellier T.3), mainly from the Bom Sucesso Naval Air Station. With the end of the conflict, the São Jacinto and the Ponta Delgada air stations were transferred to the Portuguese Navy, together with some of its materiel, including ex-French Donnet-Denhaut D.D.8 and

Georges Levy G.L.40 Georges Levy G.L. 40 HB2 was a three-seated France, French, amphibious biplane aircraft that was designed in 1917. The aircraft was designed by Blanchard and Le Pen and therefore the aircraft was also known as the Levy-Le Pen. Le Pen was Maurice J ...

flying boats. In 1919, in the scope of the civil conflict between Republicans and Monarchist, the naval aviation bombs and disables a section of the Porto-Lisbon railway near Espinho, in order to cut the supplies of the Monarchist forces that were advancing to the South. This was the first aerial bombing performed by the Portuguese military aviation. During the 1920s, the naval aviation took its share of pioneer flights, mainly by the initiative of Sacadura Cabral. In 1922, the Sacadura Cabral and Gago Coutinho entered the History of the World Aviation by performing the

first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic The first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic was made by the Portuguese naval aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral in 1922, to mark the centennial of Brazil's independence. Coutinho and Cabral flew in stages from Lisbon, Portugal, to Rio ...

. Due to the frequent piracy attacks to the local navigation and the civil conflicts affecting China, in 1927 the Portuguese Navy reinforced its station at

, including an air force of

Fairey III The Fairey Aviation Company Fairey III was a family of British reconnaissance biplanes that enjoyed a very long production and service history in both landplane and seaplane variants. First flying on 14 September 1917, examples were still in u ...

floatplanes, with a naval air station being installed at

Taipa Island Taipa ( zh, t=氹仔, ; pt, Taipa, ) was a former island in Macau, presently united with the island of Coloane by reclaimed land known as Cotai. Administratively, the boundaries of the traditional civil parish Freguesia de Nossa Senhora do Ca ...

. This air force was deactivated in 1932, but it would be reactivated in 1937 due to the Civil War and the Japanese invasion of China. The naval aviation and the only ever existing Portuguese

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

had an important role in subduing the Army officers' rebellion against the government of the National Dictatorship, which occurred in April 1931. Operating from the ''Cubando'' cargo ship, transformed in an improvised seaplane carrier, four CAMS 37 flying boats of the naval aviation carried out an important task of reconnaissance and support of the Government's landing forces. Through the reorganization of the Naval Aeronautics, established by Decree-law 27059 of 30 September 1936, the operational force of the service became the Navy Air Forces (FAA, ). During World War II, the naval aviation participated in the military effort to defend the strategic Azores islands, that was under a serious threat of being invaded both by the Axis and by the Allies. Grumman G-21 and Grumman G-44 amphibious aircraft were used in the coastal patrols and also in the search and rescue of survivors from ships that were torpedoed by submarines. In 1943, a land-based naval air strike unit was activated at the Lisbon Airport, being initially equipped with

light bombers, latter replaced by Bristol Beaufighter. After Portugal became one of co-founders of NATO, the naval aviation received

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver is a dive bomber developed by Curtiss-Wright during World War II. As a carrier-based bomber with the United States Navy (USN), in Pacific theaters, it supplemented and replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless. A few surviv ...

dive bombers in 1950, organizing with them, an anti-submarine warfare unit, initially based at the São Jacinto Naval Air Station. With the inauguration of the new Naval Air Station at Montijo, in 1953, the anti-submarine units would start to operate from this base, already equipped with

Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon The Lockheed Ventura is a twin-engine medium bomber and patrol bomber of World War II. The Ventura first entered combat in Europe as a bomber with the RAF in late 1942. Designated PV-1 by the United States Navy (US Navy), it entered combat in ...

, latter replaced by

Lockheed P-2 Neptune The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and ...

. By that time however, the Portuguese naval aviation was near its end. In the scope of the Portuguese deep military reforms of the late 1940s and 1950s, which included the integration of the several branches of the Armed Forces, placing them under a unified chain of command headed by the Minister of National Defense and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the process of creating an independent air branch was also at an advanced stage. In 1952, the Government advanced with the integration of the naval aviation in the new air branch of the Armed Forces (which was initially designated "Military Aeronautics" and only later "Portuguese Air Force"), but keeping it as an autonomous entity inside that branch, partially linked to the Navy. This entity was the Aeronaval Forces (), which included the roles, units, aircraft and personnel of the former Naval Aeronautics. The Aeronaval Forces ended however to be disbanded and fully integrated in the Air Force in 1958.

Army Artillery Light aviation

The separation of the Military Aeronautics from the Portuguese Army did not bring an end to the aviation in this branch, as the Army activated and maintained for a brief period of time a small separate aviation service. This service originated in the need identified by the Army to continue to keep an aviation service equipped with light aircraft under its direct control, for the artillery air observation role. Plans were then made to create the artillery observation light aviation as part of the artillery arm and so separated from the Military Aeronautics. In 1952 - at the same time that the Military Aeronautics was becoming independent, ending its links to the Army - the Army Minister Abranches Pinto boosted the activation of this light aviation service, with the acquisition of 22 Piper L-21 Super Cub observation and liaison aircraft and the sending of artillery officers to be trained as pilot-observers at the US Army aviation schools. At the same time, an airfield was built in the grounds of the Army Artillery School at

Vendas Novas Vendas Novas () is a municipality in the District of Évora in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 11,846, in an area of 222.39 km2. The city has 10,235 inhabitants. The present Mayor is Luís Dias, elected by the Socialist Party. The munici ...

, to serve as the base for this unit. Eight of the L-21 became permanently based at Vendas Novas, being piloted by the few available pilot-observers of the artillery arm and used in the observation and direction of artillery fire against targets beyond the visual range of the ground observers. The remaining aircraft were only used in large Army maneuvers, when they were piloted by Air Force pilots. By the influence of the US Army aviation doctrine, the concept of Army light aviation evolved and it was anticipated that it would also be equipped with

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s and it would have other missions beyond the artillery observation. The process of the raising of the Army light aviation was however terminated in 1955, with its mission being assumed by the Air Force. The Army L-21 were then transferred to the Air Force, where they formed an Army cooperation flight based at the Tancos Air Base.

The Independent Air Branch

Fap-instrucao-pilotos-north-american-t-6-texan

The creation of the independent air branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces occurred in the scope of the deep military and defence reforms implemented in Portugal, arising from the lessons learned in World War II, from the Portuguese participation in NATO and from the

. By the Decree-law 37909 of 1 August 1950, the Portuguese Government was reorganised and started to include the role of

Minister of National Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

and, under this, the role of Undersecretary of State for the Air Force () to be only filled upon the reorganisation of the air forces. The status of the Government member responsible for the air forces is however inferior to those responsible for the Navy and the Army, who keep the rank of ministers. Besides foreseeing already the existence of an independent air force, this act created ''de facto'' the Portuguese Armed Forces as an integrated organisation encompassing the Navy, the Army and the foreseen third branch, establishing an unified chain of command for all the branches, under the military coordination of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. An independent air branch is finally created by the Portuguese Parliament through the Law 2055 of 27 May 1952, at this time, maintaining the designation "Military Aeronautics", inherited from the former Army aviation. The Military Aeronautics was defined as being aimed at the defense of the air space of the Portuguese homeland and of its overseas territories and at cooperating with the land and naval forces. At Government level, it was administered by the Undersecretary of State functioning in the Government Presidency Office, under the responsibility of the Minister of National Defence. The SEA included the Office of the Under-Secretary of State, the Directorate General and the Aeronautical High Command. At this time, no specific incumbent was appointed Under-Secretary of State for the Aeronautics, with the Minister of National Defence Santos Costa temporarily assuming the direct management of the SEA. The military head of the Military Aeronautics was the Chief of Staff of the Air Forces, who had the rank of general, reported directly to the Under-Secretary of State and directed both the Directorate General of the SEA and the General Command of the Air Forces. By a curious coincidence, the

President of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, Presidente da República Portuguesa, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, an ...

at the time was general aviator

Craveiro Lopes Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes (; 12 April 1894 – 2 September 1964) was a Portuguese Air Force officer and politician who served as the 12th president of Portugal from 1951 to 1958. Early life and career Born in Lisbon, he was a son o ...

. So, in promulgating Law 2055, Craveiro Lopes indirectly caused himself to cease to be an Army officer and become an officer of the new air branch. During 1952, the Law 2055 is complemented by a number of other legislative acts intended to refine the framework of the organisation of the air branch, including the Law 2056 of 2 June (defining the recruiting and military services in the air forces), the Decree-law 38 805 of 28 June (defining the organisation and responsibility of the SEA) and the Decree-law 39 071 of 31 December (defining the general norms relative to the personnel of the Military Aeronautics). Namely, the Decree-law 38 805 establishes the 1 July 1952 as the day for the transference of the air assets, bodies and infrastructures of the Army and Navy ministries to the SEA, this date marking so the effective creation of the independent air branch. The following Army units were transferred to the Air Force: * General Command of the Aeronautics, Lisbon - integrated in the SEA and disbanded at 9 September 1952; * Aeronautics Materiel General Storage, Alverca * Aeronautics Materiel General Workshops (OGMA), Alverca * Independent Fighter Aviation Group, Espinho - with two squadrons of

fighters. Its aeronautical infrastructures became the Base Airfield No. 1 in 1953, being deactivated in 1955; * Air Base No. 1,

- serving as the Military School of Aeronautics and focused on training; * Air Base No. 2, Ota - with two fighter squadrons equipped with the recently received Republic F-47 Thunderbolt, as well as squadrons of

and

Junkers Ju 52/3m Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer. It was founded there in Dessau, Germ ...

. It would soon receive the first Portuguese jet aircraft, forming the Operational Fighter Aviation Group, which included two fighter squadrons with Republic F-84G and a fighter training squadron with

Lockheed T-33 The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

. This unit would also include the and flight demonstration teams. After the activation of the Monte Real Air Base, Ota would cease to be an operating fighter base and become a training base, housing the Air Force specialist technicians training unit from 1960; * Air Base No. 3,

Tancos Tancos is a Portuguese ''freguesia'' ("civil parish"), located in the municipality of Vila Nova da Barquinha. The population in 2011 was 243,Air Base No. 4, Lajes - supporting transport, reconnaissance and

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 ...

missions, with a composite squadron equipped with Boeing SB-17G Flying Fortress, C-54, and the first helicopter operated by the Portuguese Armed Forces, the Sikorsky UH-19; * All other aeronautical infrastructures depending from the Army (including the military facilities at the Lisbon Airport, home of the Military Air Transports units and which became the Base Airfield No. 1 in 1955 and the Monte Real airfield, which would be inaugurated as the Air Base No. 5 in 1959, becoming the main operating base of the Portuguese fighter aviation). From the Navy, a number of units were also transferred as follows: * High Command of the Navy Air Forces, Lisbon - integrated in the SEA and disbanded at 9 September 1952; * Directory of Naval Aeronautics, Lisbon - co-located with the previous, also integrated in the SEA and disbanded at 9 September 1952; * Admiral Gago Coutinho Naval Aviation School, São Jacinto, Aveiro - being equipped mainly with D.H. Tiger Mouth and North American SNJ-4 and continuing to serve as the anti-submarine training base of the Air Force. Provisionally serving also as operational naval air station, stationing the

anti-submarine unit. From December 1953, it became also known as No. 5 Air Base, latter becoming the No. 2 Base Airfield and then the No. 7 Air Base; * Lisbon Naval Air Station, Lisbon - under transference from the Bom Sucesso Dock and Lisbon Airport facilities to the new air base at Montijo, where it became the Commander Sacadura Cabral Naval Air Station. The base was initially equipped with flying boats moved from Bom Sucesso (including Grumman G-21B and G-44) and with land based aircraft moved from the former Flight B at Lisbon Airport (including Airspeed Oxford and Beechcraft AT-11/D-18S). It became the air-naval cooperation base of the Air Force, being home of its

PV-2 Harpoon The Lockheed Ventura is a twin-engine medium bomber and patrol bomber of World War II. The Ventura first entered combat in Europe as a bomber with the RAF in late 1942. Designated PV-1 by the United States Navy (US Navy), it entered combat in 1 ...

and latter

P2V Neptune The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and P ...

anti-submarine squadrons. From December 1953, it became also known as No 6 Air Base; * All other aeronautical infrastructures depending from the Navy Sikorsky

The Military Aeronautics would include air forces for independent operations, air forces of cooperation and training units. The air forces for independent operations included the fighter, warning and control, search and rescue, transport and eventually bombardment units. The air forces of cooperation included units of cooperation with land forces and units of cooperation with naval forces, namely in the defence of the maritime communications against submarines. These air forces could be assigned, respectively, to the Army and to the Navy, with the air forces of cooperation with the naval forces being available to the Navy for their employment in case of war and for operational training in times of peace. The air forces were under the command of the General Command of the Air Forces - headed by the Chief of Staff of the Air Forces - and would normally be grouped in air bases, with each air base usually stationing squadrons or groups of squadrons of the same type. Under the General Command of the Air Forces, two subordinate commands were established, these being the Command of the Operational Air Forces and the Air Forces Instruction and Training Command. In

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

, the air forces would constitute formations designated "air forces in operations", which would include groups headed by lieutenant-colonels, squadrons headed by majors and flights headed by captains. The newly created squadron () replaced the flight () as the main tactical air unit, with a standard fighter squadron including usually 25 aircraft, comparing with the 15 of the previous fighter flights. It was foreseen that the groups could be grouped in air groups () or regiments headed by colonels and in air brigades headed by generals. The supreme command of all air forces in operations would be assumed by the Chief of Staff of the Air Forces. The personnel of the Military Aeronautics was divided in two separate branches, these being the Airland Forces () and the Aeronaval Forces (), with these last being responsible to assure the air forces of cooperation with the naval forces. While the Airland Forces were fully integrated in the Military Aeronautics, the Aeronaval Forces had a special status, continuing to be partially linked to the Navy. This branch was made of naval personnel detached from the Navy in extraordinary deployment, except the sergeants aviators and some other specialised personnel non existent in the Navy. The special status of these personnel meant, that besides continuing to be part of the Navy, their members had naval ranks and wear naval uniforms. The third anniversary of the independent air branch was marked by, probably, the most serious disaster of the Portuguese military aviation. On 1 July 1955, a formation of 12 F-84G jets was flying over several Portuguese cities, as part of the anniversary commemorations, when it entered in a group of low clouds over

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...

, with eight of the aircraft ending up in hitting the Carvalho mountains near

Vila Nova de Poiares Vila Nova de Poiares () is a municipality in the Coimbra district, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 7,281, in an area of 84.45 km². Parishes Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (''freguesias''): * Arri ...

, causing the death of the eight pilots.

The air branch becomes the Portuguese Air Force

On 7 July 1955, Kaulza de Arriaga was appointed to be the first Undersecretary of State of Aeronautics. This Army engineer officer will mark the deep development of the air branch. After the experience acquired in four years as an independent branch of the Armed Forces, the air forces suffer an important reorganisation, through the Decree-law 40949 of 26 December 1956. In the scope of this reorganisation, the branch receives the alternative name of "Air Force", which will prevail over "Military Aeronautics", with this last designation falling into disuse. From then on, the branch will be known as the "Portuguese Air Force" (FAP, ). The title of the military head of the FAP slightly changes from "Chief of Staff of the Air Forces" to "Chief of Staff of the Air Force". The General Command of the Air Forces and the Directorate General of the Under-Secretariat of State were disbanded, being replaced by the Air Force Staff (EMFA, ). The air regions and zones - that were already foreseen when the independent air branch was created - are finally created, with the transitory Command of the Operational Air Forces and the Air Forces Instruction and Training Command being disbanded. In its respective territories of jurisdiction, each air region command is responsible for the mobilisation of personnel and other resources for the Air Force, for the air defence, for the air cooperation with land and naval forces and for the air transports. The air zones commands are responsible for the air defense, cooperation with the land and naval forces and other functions delegated on them by its parent air region command. The Portuguese national metropolitan and

overseas territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

is divided in the following air regions and zones: * 1st Air Region, Lisbon - covering Continental Portugal, 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 ...

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

and

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

; ** Continental Portugal and Madeira Air Zone - commanded directly by the 1st Air Region command; ** Azores Air Zone - covering the Azores isles; ** Cape Verde Air Zone - covering the Cape Verde islands and latter also the Portuguese Guinea, becoming the Cape Verde and Guinea Air Zone. * 2nd Air Region,

Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...

- covering

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...

; * 3rd Air Region,

Lourenço Marques Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088 ...

- covering

and

North American F-86F Sabre, Portugal - Air Force JP6283305

Meanwhile, the foreseen warning system is developed and their infrastructures built, becoming the Air Defence System (SDA, ). Originally, it was planned to include a central command and a network of

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

sites. The first radar site at Montejunto is activated in 1955 and the central command infrastructures in

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in ...

, Lisbon are activated in 1956, with other radar sites being activated in the following years. The final organisation and architecture of the SDA are clarified in 1957. It comes to include: * GDACI 1 - No 1 Detection, Warning and Interception Direction Group: ** 10 Squadron, Monsanto Mounts, Lisbon - Sector Operations Centre; ** 11 Squadron, Montejunto Mountains - detection and control radar station; ** 12 Squadron, Pilar peak, Paços de Ferreira - detection and control radar station; ** 13 Squadron, Serra da Estrela peak - detection and control radar outpost; ** 14 Squadron, Fóia Mountain - detection and control radar station (foreseen, but only activated many years later) The GDACI 1 covered Continental Portugal and was under the command of the 1st Air Region. A GDACI 2 under the command of the Azores Air Zone, with radar sites in the

(21 Squadron) and

Santa Maria Island Santa Maria () is an island in the eastern group of the Azores archipelago (south of the island of São Miguel) and the southernmost island in the Azores. The island is known for its white sand beaches, distinctive chimneys, and dry warm weath ...

(22 Squadron), was also foreseen, but it was never activated. The possible integration of units of

paratroopers A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...

in the air forces was already foresee in the legislation which created the independent air branch in 1952. On 9 July 1955, a group of 188 Portuguese military personnel receives the paratrooper brevet in the Spanish Military Parachute School at

Alcantarilla Alcantarilla () is a town and municipality in southeastern Spain, in the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia. The town is only 7 km away from the capital of the region, the city of Murcia, and one of its peculiarities is that it is c ...

, in the graduation ceremony these elements being awarded with

green beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of the Second World War. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF wh ...

s, becoming the first

beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret rema ...

users in the Portuguese Armed Forces. By the Decree 40 395 of 23 November 1955, the

Portuguese Paratroopers The Portuguese Paratroopers ( pt, Tropas Paraquedistas) are an elite infantry assault force, representing the bulk of the airborne forces of Portugal. They were created in 1956 as part of the Portuguese Air Force, being transferred to the Port ...

are finally organised. The Paratroopers were part of the SEA, but were under the command of the Ministry of the Army for the purpose of its employment in the ground and respective training. The initial unit - the Paratroopers Battalion - was activated on 1 January 1956, being barracked at Tancos, with the nearby Air Base No 3 being responsible to provide the means for its air transportation and launching. The organisation of these troops would be adjusted by the Decree 42 073 of 31 December 1958, ceasing its links to the Army, with the Paratroopers becoming under the complete command of the Air Force, where they will stay until 1993. The organisation of the FAP suffers an adjustment defined by the Decree-law 41492 of 31 December 1957. Among other adjustments, this act terminated with the separation between the Land Air Forces and the Naval Air Forces branches, creating an unified establishment for the FAP. While the officers aviators of the Land Air Forces were automatically integrated in the unified establishment, the officers aviators of the Naval Air Forces would only integrate in it if they expressly required, returning to the Navy establishment if not. Many of the naval aviators opted to maintain themselves in the Navy, with some of them remaining however in extraordinary deployment in the Air Force until reaching the limit of age or rank. The last remaining Navy aviators would leave FAP in the early 1960s. In 1958, FAP started to receive its first

North American F-86F Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

transonic Transonic (or transsonic) flow is air flowing around an object at a speed that generates regions of both subsonic and supersonic airflow around that object. The exact range of speeds depends on the object's critical Mach number, but transoni ...

jet fighters. Captain Moura Pinto does the first F-86F flight on 22 September 1958 and, two days latter, the same pilot does the first Portuguese supersonic flight, by doing a dive with one of the Sabres. The F-86F are transitorily based at Ota, while the planned fighter air base at Monte Real was still under construction. In the late 1950s and already partially foreseeing the conflicts that would arise in the Portuguese overseas territories, the FAP increased its effort to implement itself in those territories, as it was planned since its creation as an independent branch. In April 1959, marking the return of the Portuguese military aviation to Africa, the FAP carried away the Exercise Himba. This included the deployment of six

, two

Douglas C-47 Dakota The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military-owned transport aircraft used to su ...

and six

aircraft to Angola, as well as a force of 80 paratroopers. In Luanda, with the local population assisting, this force carried away simulations of airborne assaults and of bombardment and attacks against ground targets. Similar demonstrations were also done in other cities of Angola. As part of this effort, FAP developed the Military Air Transport (TAM, ) in order to assure the military air connection between European Portugal and the overseas territories. Initially, already existing C-47 and C-54 aircraft were used for this role, although with limitations. FAP then acquired the more capable

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with t ...

in the early 1960s. However, an effective air connection with the Overseas would only be implemented in the early 1970s, when FAP was able to acquire Boeing 707 intercontinental jets and with them finally replace an important part of maritime transport. In the late 1950s, FAP also initiated the activation of the 2nd and 3rd air regions and of the Cape Verde and Guinea Air Zone. A network of bases and other airfields were implemented in Angola, Mozambique, Portuguese Guinea, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe, in the early 1960s, with a number of flying units being installed in those bases. On 4 October 1959, the important Air Base No 5 at

Monte Real Monte Real is a town (''vila'' in Portuguese) and a former civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government b ...

is inaugurated, stationing the 501 Operational Group, which included the F-86F squadrons transferred from Ota. From then on and until today, Monte Real will become the main operating base of the FAP's fighter aviation squadrons. Other air bases in construction were that of Beja (Air Base no 11) and that of Ovar (Maneuver Airfield no 1), which would be inaugurated, respectively, in 1964 and 1966. These two bases would not have Portuguese air assets permanently based there for many years, the first stationing jet training air units of the German Air Force and the other serving as a NATO forward naval air base. In 1961, the Air Force becomes again a pioneer amongst the Portuguese Armed Forces with the recruitment of the first female military personnel, these being the paratrooper nurses. These female paratrooper nurses would soon be employed in combat operations in Africa.

The Air Force in the Overseas War

From 1961 to 1975, the Portuguese Air Force was deeply engaged in the three

theaters of war ''Theaters of War'' is a 2022 American documentary film that examines the influence of the Pentagon and CIA in shaping Hollywood and television scripts, making use of the Freedom of Information Act to acquire internal state files. The film also ...

of the

Portuguese Overseas War The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...

, both with aviation and paratrooper forces. In the Overseas War, the Air Force had both strategic and tactical air missions. The strategic mission consisted of the inter-territorial connection between European Portugal and the

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and

theatres, using

DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with ...

and later Boeing 707 aircraft. After acquiring the Boeing 707 in the early 1970s, the Air Force was able take a large share of the transport missions that until then were made through the use of merchant ships, reducing the connection time between the different territories. The tactical missions undertaken by the Portuguese Air Force in the three theatres of war were: * Attack missions (independent, reconnaissance, support and escort), using F-86,

F-84 The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thu ...

and

Fiat G.91 The Fiat G.91 is an Italian jet fighter aircraft designed and built by Fiat Aviazione, which later merged into Aeritalia. The G.91 has its origins in the NATO-organised NBMR-1 competition in 1953, which sought a light fighter-bomber (offici ...

fighters,

and

B-26 Invader The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during several major Col ...

bombers and

North American T-6 The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

light attack aircraft. Armed helicopters and

Dornier Do 27 The Dornier Do 27 is a German single-engine STOL utility aircraft that was designed and manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier and Fairchild-Dornier). It was notable for being the first mass-produced aircraft in Germany following the ...

light aircraft armed with

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

s were also used in some of these missions. * Reconnaissance missions (visual and photo), using light aircraft like the OGMA/Auster D.5 and the Do 27, but also using B-26, PV-2,

P-2 Neptune The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and P ...

, C-47 and other aircraft prepared for air photo reconnaissance; * Tactical transportation missions (assault, manoeuver, general and

casualty evacuation Casualty evacuation, also known as CASEVAC or by the callsign Dustoff or colloquially Dust Off, is a military term for the emergency patient evacuation of casualties from a combat zone. Casevac can be done by both ground and air. "DUSTOFF" is ...

), using

Alouette II Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar'' Aerospace * SNCASE Alouette, a utility helicopter developed in France i ...

, Alouette III and Puma helicopters, OGMA/Auster D.5, Do-27 and other light aircraft and

Nord Noratlas The Nord Noratlas was a dedicated military transport aircraft, developed and manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer Nord Aviation. Development commenced during the late 1940s with the aim of producing a suitable aircraft to replace the nu ...

and C-47 heavy aircraft; * Other missions (liaison,

control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controllin ...

, operational air command post, VIP transportation and others), using several types of aircraft. AssaltonaMatadaSanga

The missions were carried away from a well developed network of air bases and other airfields. By the early 1970s, in the Angolan theatre there was a central air base, two sector air bases, eight satellite airfields and nine other airfields. In the Guinean theatre there was a central air base, three satellite airfields and other three airfields. In the Mozambican theatre, there was a central air base, four sector air bases, seven satellite airfields and five other airfields. Besides these, there was a high number of other air fields and runways, with almost all isolated military garrisons having their own. The air connections between the theatres and European Portugal were further supported by transit airfields in

São Tomé Island São Tomé Island, at , is the largest island of São Tomé and Príncipe and is home in May 2018 to about 193,380 or 96% of the nation's population. The island is divided into six districts. It is located 2 km (1¼ miles) north of the ...

, São Tomé and Príncipe and in

Sal Island Sal (Portuguese for "salt") is an island in Cape Verde. Sal is a tourist destination with white sandy beaches and over 350 days of sunshine a year. It is one of the three sandy eastern islands of the Cape Verde archipelago in the central Atlantic ...

, Cape Verde. In Angola and Mozambique, Volunteer Air Formations (FAV, ) units were formed, composed of civilian volunteer pilots who assisted the Air Force in several missions, mostly transport and reconnaissance, using both civilian and military light aircraft. The Air Force also participated in ground and air-ground operations with its paratrooper forces, which became one of the main shock forces of the Portuguese Armed Forces. These troops, in the beginning of the War were mainly launched by parachute to the operations areas, but later were mainly employed in air assault operations using Alouette III and Puma helicopters. Besides the four regular paratrooper battalions (one in Angola, one in Portuguese Guinea and two in Mozambique), the Air Force was also involved in the creation of the paramilitary elite Paratrooper Special Groups in Mozambique. In order to terminate the guerrilla infiltration in the Angolan northern border, a special composite aviation/paratrooper unit - integrating trackers, paratroopers, helicopters and light aircraft - was created, this becoming the Counter Infiltration Tactical Unit (). Mainly due to the international arms embargo to Portugal, the Air Force had to struggle with a limitation of means, being obliged to extend the use of old aircraft or to employ aircraft that were not suited for the kind of warfare that was being fought. As an example, in 1972, to cover Angola - a territory with almost the size of all the Western Europe - the FAP had available only 30 helicopters, 44 light aircraft, 13 transport planes, six light bombers and four jet fighters, most of these being old aircraft from the 1940s and 1950s. On the other side, the nationalist movements that opposed Portugal were generously supported by the Soviet Union, by other Communist countries and even by some countries of Western Europe, receiving

state of the art The state of the art (sometimes cutting edge or leading edge) refers to the highest level of general development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field achieved at a particular time. However, in some contexts it can also refer to a level ...

equipment, what made them to be in many cases equipped with more modern weapons than the Portuguese. A large challenge faced specifically by the Air Force was the increasing antiaircraft capacity of the nationalist forces. This evolved to a dramatic situation in the Guinea theater, when the PAIGC forces received SA-7 ''Strela''

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

s and began using them against the Portuguese aircraft. The Portuguese pilots were able to evade the first detected missile launches, but in March 1973, a Fiat G.91 jet is hit and shot down, followed by another G.91 in the same month and then by two Dornier Do 27 and one T-6 in the following month. This originated the loss of FAP's

air supremacy Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of comm ...

, limiting its air activities, namely in the air support to the ground forces and the air casualty evacuation, what caused a negative impact on the morale of the Portuguese forces, especially amongst the constantly flagellated border garrisons. After the initial surprise, the Air Force was however been able to quickly fully resume air operations, adopting mitigating measures, like the changing of the flight profiles or the painting of the aircraft with anti-radiation paint. The use of surface-to-air missiles by the nationalist forces and the threat of possible air attacks launched from the bordering countries hostile to Portugal, raised the need for the FAP to be equipped with supersonic fighters. The

Dassault Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach number, Mach 2 ...

was identified as the only fighter with the needed characteristics that was able to be acquired, as other possible alternatives were denied to Portugal. A secret process of acquisition of Mirage III was then launched but ended however in being suspended due to the termination of the conflict in 1974. Near the end of the conflict, the FAP was finally able to launch a program to replace some old assets by modern aircraft. Namely, CASA C-212 Aviocar were acquired to replace the Nord Noratlas and

C-47 Dakota The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

in the intra-theatre transport role, while Reims Cessna FTB337G Milirole were acquired to replace the T-6 in the armed reconnaissance and to complement the Do 27 in the liaison and forward air control roles. These aircraft however only arrived after the end of the conflict and so ended not to be employed.

Late Cold War

Portuguese A-7P Corsair II in flight c1984 II

Partly due to the Overseas War, on 25 April 1974, middle rank officers of the Portuguese Armed Forces launched a military coup that became known as the " Carnation Revolution" and overthrew the Estado Novo regime. This led to a re-orientation of the Portuguese policy towards the grant of independence to the Overseas territories, with

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

s being quickly negotiated and agreed with the several nationalist movements. The independence of the several territories followed, occurring between September 1974 (Guinea-Bissau) and November 1975 (Angola). In the middle of the turmoil of the Revolution and the turbulent independence process, the FAP still had to perform some air operations to counter the violation of the Angolan northern border by foreign forces, to support the withdrawal of the Portuguese forces scattered across the several territories and to aid the evacuation of the hundreds of thousands of Portuguese civilians that had fled from those territories. The FAP gradually withdrew from the several Overseas territories, delivering its bases and part of its aircraft to the authorities of the new countries. A reverse process occurred however in Portuguese Timor, to where FAP had to send a detachment of Alouette III helicopters and another of paratroopers to aid the local authorities in the independence process of what would become

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

and which was degenerating in a civil conflict. These two detachments ended up becoming the only relevant forces with which the Portuguese Governor could count. When Indonesia launched the invasion of East Timor on 7 December 1975, the FAP detachments were with the Governor in

Atauro Island Atauro ( pt, Ilha de Ataúro, Tetum and Indonesian: ''Pulau Atauro'' or ''Ata'uro''), also known as Kambing Island ( id, Pulau Kambing), is an island and municipality ( pt, Município Ataúro, links=no, tet, Munisípiu Atauro, links=no or ...

, withdrawing with him to aboard two Portuguese warships, with the helicopters being destroyed and abandoned on the island. By 1976, the around 850 aircraft inventory that the Air Force had in 1974, was reduced to a third, with most of the old assets being phased out and part of the new ones (especially Alouette III helicopters) being sold. The 2nd and 3rd air regions and the Cape Verde and Guinea Air Zone had been disbanded, as well as their air bases and other units. The FAP had to re-orient itself from the focus in the counter-insurgency operations in Africa to a focus in the defence of Western Europe against a possible threat from

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

forces, in the scope of the Cold War. In the scope of this, a major reorganisation of the Air Force started in 1977. This included the creation of the national air command, headed by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and, under it, the creation of the Operational Command of the Air Force (COFA), by the transformation of the 1st Air Region Command. In the process, the

Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air for ...

was also created, assuming gradually the responsibility for the training of the FAP officers, until then trained in the

Military Academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

. The reorganization also focused on the flying units, with the creation, disbandment and dislocation of several squadrons. The changes also felt in some details, like the changing of the aircraft paint schemes (with most of them adopting the Southern NATO camouflage scheme) and the changing of the flying units designation system. The squadrons ceasing so to be designated by a number that reflected the number of their base and started to be designated by a number that reflect their primary mission and type of aircraft flown. The reorganisation of the FAP was accompanied by its re-equipment. This included the reception of C-212 Aviocar and

aircraft that replaced the remaining Nord Noratlas, C-47, DC-6 and Boeing 707 and the reception of Reims Cessna FTB337G that replaced the remaining Do 27 and T-6. Besides the transport versions, some of the C-212 Aviocar were specially fitted for the execution of

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

and

geophysical survey Geophysical survey is the systematic collection of geophysical data for spatial studies. Detection and analysis of the geophysical signals forms the core of Geophysical signal processing. The magnetic and gravitational fields emanating from the E ...

missions. Later, C-212 of the maritime patrol version would also be acquired. Due to the obsolescence and eminent phasing out of the F-86 Sabre and the P-2 Neptune, plans were also done to acquire

Northrop F-5 The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models, the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants and t ...

fighters and Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft. As part of the fighter acquisition program, the FAP received 12

Northrop T-38 Talon The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first, and the most produced, supersonic trainer. The T-38 remains in service in several air forces. The United States Air Force (USAF) operates the most ...

jet trainer A jet trainer is a jet aircraft for use as a trainer, whether for basic or advanced flight training. Jet trainers are either custom designs or modifications of existing aircraft. With the introduction of military jet-powered aircraft towards the e ...

s - its first supersonic aircraft - to prepare its pilots to operate the foreseen F-5 fighters. However, instead of the F-5, the FAP ended to receive Vought A-7P Corsair II to be primarily used in the

air interdiction Air interdiction (AI), also known as deep air support (DAS), is the use of preventive tactical bombing and strafing by combat aircraft against enemy targets that are not an immediate threat, to delay, disrupt or hinder later enemy engagement of ...

and in the tactical air support maritime operations missions, in order to respond to the compromises assumed with NATO. The lack of fighters, meant that the A-7P were also used in the air defense missions, despite lacking the adequate characteristics for that role. Portugal remained so without an effective national air defence, from the retirement of the last F-86 in 1980 to the introduction of the F-16 in 1994, with FAP not being able to respond to many violations of the Portuguese air space during that period. Besides the A-7P, the FAP continued to operate the Fiat G.91 in the

close air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...

and battlefield air interdiction roles, with one of the squadrons equipped with this aircraft being based at Lajes, to guarantee also the air defense of the Azores islands. The acquisition of the maritime patrol aircraft also delayed, with FAP receiving the P-3P Orion only in 1988. From the phasing out of the P-2 Neptune in 1977 to the acquisition of the P-3 Orion, the air patrolling of the enormous Portuguese maritime area was carried away mainly by using C-130 and C-212 Aviocar, including aircraft equipped with MAD. The process of the modernisation of the Air Force also included the launching of the SICCAP/PoACCS (Portugal Air Command and Control System) project, which was a pioneer in adopting the new architecture and concept of the NATO ACCS, being intended to replace the old SDA air defense system. As part of these project, the air surveillance and detection units were re-equipped, including the reception of new radars and the air control centre at

was enhanced. In the 1980s, the Portuguese Air Force collaborated in the firefighting of the increasing number of

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

s that affected the large forest areas of Portugal. For this, FAP acquired the

MAFFS The Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) is a self-contained unit used for aerial firefighting that can be loaded onto both military cargo transport Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Embraer C-390 Millennium, which then allows the aircraft to b ...

aerial firefighting Aerial may refer to: Music * ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush * ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down Bands *Aerial (Canadian band) * Aerial (Scottish band) * Aerial (Swedish band) Performance art * Aerial sil ...

system to be installed in its C-130 aircraft. Despite the MAFFS equipped C-130 being a fundamental and cheap tool of the Portuguese forest firefighting system, its intervention stopped to be required by the civil protection authorities, with the role being transferred to private aerial firefighting companies.

Recent

The end of the Cold War caused the Portuguese Air Force to accompany the shift of the focus of the Portuguese Armed Forces from a conventional war in Europe against the Warsaw Pact forces to the international

peace enforcement Peace enforcement is the use of military force to compel peace in a conflict, generally against the will of combatants. To do this, it generally requires more military force than peacekeeping operations. The United Nations, through its Security Coun ...

missions. The FAP started to participate in a number of missions by itself or in support of missions led by the Army and the Navy. Most of these missions have been carried away under the scope of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, NATO, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and the former- WEO. Recent FAP international operations include the NATO Assurance Measures Romania, the

Baltic Air Policing The Baltic air-policing mission is a NATO air defence Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) in order to guard the airspace above the three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Mission Within the Alliance, preserving airspace integrity is con ...

, the

Icelandic Air Policing Icelandic Air Policing is a NATO operation conducted to patrol Iceland's airspace. As Iceland does not have an air force, in 2006 it requested that its NATO allies periodically deploy fighter aircraft to Keflavik Air Base to provide protection o ...

, the

Operation Active Endeavour Operation Active Endeavour was a maritime operation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It operated in the Mediterranean Sea and was designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction. It had collateral benefit ...

, the

Operation Atalanta Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is a current counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the E ...

and the

Operation Sea Guardian Operation Sea Guardian is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) maritime security operation taking place in the Mediterranean Sea. In July 2016, at the Warsaw Summit, NATO announced the transition of the Article 5 counter-terrorism Operat ...

. Besides the multilateral missions, FAP also participated in national unilateral military operations abroad, including those carried out in Angola (1992) and in Guinea-Bissau (1998). With the end of the Cold War, the Portuguese Air Force suffered new changes, aiming at the rationalising its forces. This included the deactivation of some air bases - including

Tancos Tancos is a Portuguese ''freguesia'' ("civil parish"), located in the municipality of Vila Nova da Barquinha. The population in 2011 was 243,São Jacinto (becoming a civilian airfield) and Ota (becoming the

Military and Technical Training Center of the Air Force The Military and Technical Training Center of the Air Force ( pt, Centro de Formação Militar e Técnica da Força Aérea) or CFMTFA is the unit responsible for the military, humanistic, technical and scientific training of the personnel of the Po ...

) -, the transfer of the Paratroopers to the Army and the privatization of the OGMA aircraft workshops. The 1990s also saw the FAP ceasing to have the exclusivity of the military air activities in Portugal, with the activation of the Navy's Helicopter Squadron and the creation of the Army Light Aviation Group (that ended by never becoming operational). In 1993, the Air Force received 50

Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced jet trainer co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform trainer and light attack missions, a ...

, which replaced the remaining

in the close air support role and the

Cessna T-37 The Cessna T-37 Tweet (designated Model 318 by Cessna) is a small, economical twin-engined jet trainer type which flew for decades as a primary trainer for the United States Air Force (USAF) and in the air forces of several other nations. The ...

in the advanced training role. In 1994, FAP finally received the first General Dynamics F-16 fighters, with them regaining an effective air defense capacity. A second batch of F-16 would be received in 1998. The F-16 gradually replaced the A-7P Corsair II, initially in the air defense role (transitorily assumed by these in the 1980s) and later also in the ground attack role, with the last Portuguese Corsair II aircraft being retired in 1999. Already in 2005, the FAP received AgustaWestland EH-101 helicopters to replace its Aerospatiale Puma. The EH-101 are mainly used in the search and rescue role, being based at the

Montijo Air Base Montijo Air Base ( pt, Base Aérea do Montijo) - officially known as Air Base No. 6 (''Base Aérea n.º 6'') or BA6 - is a military air base located in Montijo, Portugal. The base is home to three transport squadrons and one helicopter search and ...

, with some permanently deployed 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, Portug ...

, Azores and Porto Santo Military Airfield, Madeira. However, due to maintenance issues with the EH-101, some of the Puma helicopters had to be reactivated in the 2008-2011 period, to assure the SAR missions from the Azores. This was followed by the introduction of the EADS CASA C-295, which replaced the C-212 Aviocar. Also former-

Netherlands Naval Aviation Service The Netherlands Naval Aviation Service ( nl, Marineluchtvaartdienst, shortened to MLD) is the naval aviation branch of the Royal Netherlands Navy. History World War I Although the MLD was formed in 1914, with the building of a seaplane base ...

P-3C CUP Orion maritime patrol aircraft replaced the P-3P Orion fleet. The F-16 fleet has completed the Mid Life Update conversion and update, with the fighters now in service with two squadrons at

. Besides its usual role of air policing of the country, a recent new type of important missions for the FAP have been the air security of high visibility events happening in Portugal, aiming to protect them especially against terrorist attacks using renegade aircraft. Major air security operations have been carried out for such events as the

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

, the 2010 Lisbon

NATO summit A NATO summit is a summit meeting that is regarded as a periodic opportunity for heads of state and heads of government of NATO member countries to evaluate and provide strategic direction for Alliance activities. NATO summits are not regular ...

and the 2010

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

visit to Portugal. For these missions, FAP employed the SICCAP air control and command system, which coordinated the action of F-16 fighters responsible to intercept fast flying aircraft and of armed helicopters intended to intercept slow flying aircraft. Depending on the mission, FAP was supported and coordinated the action of NATO AWACS aircraft, by Portuguese Navy anti-aircraft frigates and by Portuguese Army antiaircraft units. The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet aircraft are phased out in the FAP, with the last flight occurring in January 2018, without being replaced by another aircraft. Without any advanced jet trainers in service, the Portuguese fighter pilots started to be trained in foreign countries, as a stop-gap measure. Meanwhile, the FAP is looking for possible alternatives within its budget constraints, including the renting of jet trainers or the establishment of an international fighter pilot training school with its costs shared by participant air forces of several countries. In the early 2019, the FAP received its first AW 119 Koala helicopters, acquired to replace the Alouette III in the training and SAR roles. Besides the AW 119 Koala, there are also plans to acquire armed helicopters to be used in the Army cooperation role. In July 2019, the Portuguese Government confirmed the order of five

Embraer KC-390 The Embraer C-390 Millennium is a medium-size, twin-engine, jet-powered military transport aircraft designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. It is the heaviest aircraft the company has constructed to date. Work on ...

jet-powered transport aircraft, which will start to replace the C-130 aircraft from 2023.

General organization

The general organization presently in force for the Portuguese Air Force was established in December 2014. Accordingly, with this organization, the FAP is commanded by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and includes: * the Air Force Staff; * the central bodies of administration and management; * the air component command; * the bodies of advisement; * the Inspection General of the Air Force; * the base bodies; * the elements of the operational component of the system of forces; * the bodies and services regulated by particular legislation. In terms of planning, the FAP is structured in three levels of responsibility: * Long term planning — it is of the responsibility of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force seconded by the Vice-Chief of Staff, who runs the Staff of the Air Force. * Short term planning — it is of the responsibility of the three major commands of the FAP, that change the doctrinal directives into operational and technical directives: Air Command, Air Force Personnel Command and Air Force Logistics Command. * Execution — The base units, depending hierarchically and functionally from the respective functional and technical Command, are responsible for the execution. They are formed into three Groups: Operational Group, Maintenance Group and Support Group, organized according to the mission and means assigned. These units are responsible for applying the directives, having the air operations as outcome.

Chief of Staff of the Air Force

The Chief of Staff of the Air Force (, CEMFA) is the commander of the Portuguese Air Force. It is the only full General (

) of the Air Force. The CEMFA is the principal adviser of the minister of National Defense and of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces in all Air Force specific matters, having the competence foreseen in the Law and participates, inherently, in the bodies of advisement in it foreseen. By inheritance, the CEMFA is also the National Aeronautical Authority and in this quality is directly dependent from the ministry of National Defence. The CEMFA is directly supported by the Office of the CEMA - headed by a major-general - and by the Air Force Legal Department. The CEMFA is assisted by the Vice-Chief of Staff of the Air Force (VCEMFA), who is the Air Force second-in-command. The VCEMFA is a lieutenant-general superordinate to all the other Air Force officers of the same rank. Under the direct dependency of the VCEMFA are the Lisbon Support Unit, the Air Force Documentation Service and the Sub-Registry.

Air Force Staff

The Air Force Staff (, EMFA) is the body responsible for studying, conceiving and planning the Air Force activities, supporting the Chief of Staff of the Air Force decisions. The EMFA is headed by the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force assisted by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force (, SUBCEMFA), who is a major-general pilot-aviator. The EMFA includes the divisions (1st - Personnel, 2nd - Intelligence, 3rd - Operations and 4th - Logistics) and the support bodies. It is installed in the Air Force's Alfragide complex, in the suburban area of Lisbon.

Central bodies of administration and management

Portuguese Air Force Academy Supermunk at Beja Air Force Base FAP 1335

The central bodies of administration and management have a functional character and are intended to assure the management and the execution of essential specific activities, namely in the management of human, material, financial, intelligence and infrastructure resources. They are headed by general officers, directly subordinated to the CEMFA. These have functional and technical authority over all the units and bodies of the Air Force, regarding their scopes of responsibility. All of these bodies are installed in the Air Force's Alfragide complex. The bodies are: * Air Force Personnel Command (CPESFA) - it has the mission of guaranteeing the administration of the human resources of the Air Force. It is commanded by a lieutenant-general. It includes the Justice and Discipline Service, the Social Welfare Service and the Religious Support Center. Besides these, it has under its command the directorates of Personnel, of Training and of Health, the

and the Recruitment Center. * Air Force Logistics Command (CLAFA) - it has the mission of administering the material, communications, information systems and infrastructure resources of the Air Force and to guarantee the fulfilment of the requirements for the certification of the navigability of the military aircraft. It is commanded by a lieutenant-general. It has under its command the directorates of Supplying and Transports, of Communications and Information Systems, of Engineering and Programs, of Infra-Structure and of Weapons Systems Maintenance, as well as the General Storage Complex of the Air Force (, DGMFA); * Air Force Directorate of Finance - it has the mission of administering the financial resources made available to the Air Force. It is headed by the director of Finance, who is a major-general. It has under its command the Administrative and Financial Service.

Air component command

The Air Command (, CA) is the air component command. It is commanded by a lieutenant-general directly reporting to the CEMFA, with a major-general pilot-aviator as the second-in-command. It is installed at the Air Force Monsanto hills complex in Lisbon, with its air operations centre being located in an underground

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. ...

. The CA has the mission of supporting the exercise of command from the part of the CEMFA, in view of the preparation, the readying and the sustenance of the forces and means of the operational component of the system of forces, of the accomplishment of the missions regulated by particular legislation and other missions given to the Air Force, keeping the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces permanently informed of the employed forces and means and of the development and results of their respective operations, of the planning, command and control the air activity, of the administration and management of the units and bodies of the fixed component placed under its direct dependence and of the planning, guidance and control of the military security of the units and bodies of the Air Force. Besides the second-in-command, the CA includes also the air operations bodies, the operations support bodies, the Coordinating Office of the Air Force Military Security and the Support Group. The air operations bodies are headed by the Director of Air Operations, who is a brigadier-general. Under the command of the CA are the air zone commands, the air bases, the maneuver airfields, the transit airfields, the Firing Range, the radar stations and the training centres. The air zone commands have the mission of planning, supervising and controlling the readiness of the air power resources and the air activity in their areas of responsibility. They are also responsible for guaranteeing, under the terms established in international agreements, the relationships with the foreign forces stationed at the bases under their hierarchic authority. Presently, only the Azores Air Zone Command is active, having the

under its command. The Madeira Air Zone Command is also foreseen in the Air Force organization, but it is not yet active, with the units located in the

isles (Porto Santo Airfield and Pico do Arieiro Radar Station) staying under the direct command of the CA.

Bodies of advisement

The bodies of advisement are intended to support the decisions of the CEMFA in special and important matters regarding the preparation, discipline and administration of the Army. These bodies are: * Higher Council of the Air Force (CSFA) - it is the higher body of advisement of the CEMFA. Under the presidency of the CEMFA, it includes all the lieutenant-generals of the Air Force; * Higher Council of Discipline of the Air Force (CSDFA) - it is the body of advisement and support of the CEMFA in disciplinary matters; * Historical-Cultural Commission of the Air Force (CHCFA) - it is the body of advisement and support of the CEMFA in historical-cultural matters; * Higher Board of Health of the Air Force (JSSFA) - it has the mission of analysing and advise about the appeals regarding decisions taken by the competent entities, based in the opinions issued by other medical boards of the Air Force.

Inspection-General of the Air Force

The Inspection-General of the Air Force (, IGFA) is the inspection body of the Air Force. Its mission is to support the CEME in the exercise of the role of control and evaluation and in the prevention and investigation of accidents. It is headed by the Inspector-General of the Air Force, who is a general officer in the reserve. The IGFA includes Office of Accident Prevention, the departments of Inspection and of Audit and the Secretariat.

Base bodies

The mission of the base bodies have is the training, the sustentance and the general support of the Air Force. The mission of the base units is to guarantee the air activity and the logistical and administrative support to the units and bodies located on them. The base bodies include the

, the units and bodies under the hierarchical dependency of the VCEMA, CPESFA, CLAFA, CA and air zone commands and the cultural bodies. The Air Force Academy is a public

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

establishment responsible for the training of the officers of the Air Force. The base units are the Air Force airfields where its air assets are stationed. They include main air bases - which have their own air units - and forward air bases (including transit and maneuver airfields) - which only have stationed air assets deployed from the main air bases. The cultural bodies are intended to guarantee the cultural activities of the Air Force, including the collection, study, consultation and exhibit of the aeronautical historical-cultural heritage. They include the Air Museum, the Air Force Historical Archive, the Air Force Music Band and the "Mais Alto" magazine.

Air bases

The air bases are the FAP's units that are responsible for guaranteeing the readiness of the flying units and the logistic and administrative support of the units and bodies located on their facilities but dependent from other commands. They always include an airfield and are responsible for their own defense. Besides the air bases, FAP has other secondary base units, that are called transit or maneuver airfields. Maintenance of an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Monte Real Air Base

Maintenance of an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Monte Real Air Base

Each air base includes operational and support groups. The operational group is the sub-unit responsible for the flying activities of the base, being designated by a two or three digit number, of which the first one or two digits correspond to the number of the air base. As its sub-units, it includes the flying squadrons or other flying units based at the air base. The support group is the sub-unit responsible for the support activities of the air base, including logistics, security and personnel affairs. The standard organization of each air base usually includes: # Commanding officer (colonel pilot-aviator); # Second-in-command (lieutenant-colonel pilot-aviator); # Commanding officer support bodies: #* Combat Operations Center, including the Air Operations, Security and Defence Coordinating, Communications and Meteorology centers; #* Direct support bodies: Command Office, Justice Section, General Secretariat, Social Action Office and Chaplain; #* Planning and control bodies: Planning, Accident Prevention, Military Security and Quality and Environment offices; # Execution sub-units: #* Operational Group, including: Group Commander (lieutenant-colonel pilot-aviator), Operations Officer, Secretariat, Air Traffic Squadron, Materiel Squadron, training flying units and operational flying units; #* Support Group, including Group Commander (lieutenant-colonel), Technical Office, Procurement Office, Secretariat, Computer Center, Health Center, Supply Squadron, Administration and Commissariat Squadron, Personnel Squadron, Base Maintenance Squadron, Ground Electrical Materiel Maintenance Squadron and Air Police Squadron.

Elements of the operational component of the system of forces

The elements of the operational component of the system of forces are the forces and means of the Air Force intended to fulfil operational missions. These elements are: # the operational planning bodies - these are the bodies responsible for the elaboration of plans and orders of operations, aimed at the operational employment of the forces and assets; # the Air Command and Control System - responsible for the command and control of the forces and assets of the air component; # the operational air units - these units are integrated sets of personnel, aircraft, materiel and equipment, organised under a commanding officer, for the execution of operational missions, tasks and actions; # the

antiaircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

intervention units - units of these type are foreseen but none has been created. They would have the mission of guaranteeing the antiaircraft defence of the units, bodies, and deployed forces and assets of the Air Force, as well as of other sensitive areas and points.

Squadrons

The squadron () is the basic flying unit of the Portuguese Air Force. Each flying squadron usually has a single type of aircraft and is stationed and under the administrative command of a specific air base, although it can have part of its aircraft deployed in other bases. In theory, each squadron would have 25, 12 or 6 aircraft, depending if it was, respectively, a unit of light, medium or heavy aircraft. In practice, the number of aircraft of each squadron depends on the available materiel. Due to the trend for the reduction of the size of the FAP, presently each model of aircraft is concentrated in a single squadron, the exception being the F-16 that are divided by two squadrons (one with air defense and the other with attack missions). Until 1977, the flying squadrons were designated by a two or three digit number of which the first digits corresponding to the number of its base and the last digit being the order of the squadron in that base. With this system, whenever a squadron changed base, its number also changed. In 1977, the flying squadrons started to be designated by a number that identifies its primary mission and type of aircraft flown and its unrelated with its base, so being kept even if the squadron changes base. In the squadron number, the first digit identifies its primary mission, the second identifies the type of aircraft operated and the third identifies the sequential order of the squadron among the units with the same primary mission and aircraft operated. So, the first digit can be: 1 - Training; 2 - Fighter; 3 - Attack; 4 - Reconnaissance; 5 - Transport; 6 - Maritime patrol; 7 - Search and rescue; 8 - Special function. The second digit can be: 0 -

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

; 1 - Mixed; 5 -

Rotary-wing aircraft A rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings or rotor blades, which generate lift by rotating around a vertical mast. Several rotor blades mounted on a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The Internat ...

. The special squadron activated in 2021 for the operation of unmanned air vehicles received the number 991, which does not fit in the above designation system. Squadrons can be subdivided in flying

flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

s (), which are the smallest flying units of the Air Force. In the past, independent flying flights have existed, but now they only exist as sub-units of flying squadrons. Presently, the squadrons are not usually subdivided in flying flights, although they include non-flying flights (operations and maintenance). 301 Squadron Jaguares 140204-F-VM942-002

301 Squadron Jaguares 140204-F-VM942-002

The standard organisation of each squadron includes: # Squadron commander (major pilot aviator); # Secretariat; # Standardisation and Evaluation Section; # Accident Prevention Section; # Mobility and Support Section; # Operations Flight: #* Fire Section, #* Operational Planning Section, #* Mission Support Section; # Maintenance Flight: #* Control and Planning Section, #* Preparedness Section; # Aircraft and crews. Flying squadrons are grouped in air groups (), usually existing one of such units per main air base. Each group is identified by a two or three digit number, of which the first one or two correspond to the number of the air base and the last one is the order of the group inside the base. It is to note that the Air Force uses the flying unit terminology also in its non flying units. So, non flying groups, squadrons and flights also exist.

Bodies and services regulated by particular legislation

Air Search and Rescue Service

The Air Force includes the Air Search and Rescue Service (, SBSA), which is regulated by particular legislation. The SBSA is headed by the CEMFA and is responsible for the

actions, related with aircraft accidents, occurred in the Lisbon and Santa Maria search and rescue regions.

National Aeronautical Authority

The National Aeronautical Authority (, AAN) is the public body responsible to exercise the authority powers of the Portuguese State in the permanent strategic air space of national interest, accordingly with the guidelines defined by the minister of National Defense. Namely it is responsible for the Air Policing Service (, SPA), air navigability of military aircraft, prepare the diplomatic requests of overflight and landing and authorize the air surveys. Despite being statutorily independent from the Air Force, the AAN is headed by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force - who in that role personalizes and assumes the title of AAN - with its structure and functioning being assured by the Air Force.

System of forces of the Air Force

As a whole, the Air Force is part of the system of forces of the Portuguese Armed Forces. The system of forces of the Air Force itself includes a fix component and an operational component.

Fix component

The fix component of the system of forces includes the set of commands, units, establishments, bodies and services that are essential for the organization and general support of the Air Force. These are all non-deployable elements and include air bases and other airfields, radar stations, training establishments and a number of other types of bodies. Divided by type, the fix component includes the following list of units, bases and bodies: # Base units: #* BA1 - Air Base No. 1,

(LPST) #* BA4 - Air Base No. 4, Lajes,

(LPLA) #* BA5- Air Base No. 5,

(LPMR) #* BA6 - Air Base No. 6, Montijo (LPMT) #* BA11 - Air Base No. 11, Beja (LPBJ) #* AT1 - Transit Airfield No. 1,

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

(LPPT) #* AM1 - Maneuvers Airfield No. 1,

Ovar Ovar ( or ) is a city and a municipality in Aveiro District, Baixo Vouga Subregion in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,398, in an area of 147.70 km2. It had 42,582 eligible voters (2006). The municipality includes two cities: Ovar (16 ...

(LPOV) #* AM3 - Maneuvers Airfield No. 3, Porto Santo,

(LPPS) # Surveillance and detection units: #* ER1 - Radar Station No. 1, Fóia #* ER2 - Radar Station No. 2,

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

#* ER3 - Radar Station No. 3, Montejunto #* ER4 - Radar Station No. 4, Pico do Arieiro,

# Training units: #* AFA - Air Force Academy, co-located with BA1 at Sintra #* CFMTFA - Military and Technical Training Center of the Air Force, Ota (LPOT) #*CTSFA - Surviving Training Center of the Air Force, co-located with BA6 at Montijo #*CTCFA - Canine Training Center of the Air Force, co-located with CFMTFA at Ota #* NOTP - Tactical Operations of Projection Core, co-located with CT at Alcochete # Support units: #* DGMFA - General Storage Complex of the Air Force, Alverca (LPAR) #* CT - Firing Range, Alcochete #*CRFA - Air Force Recruiting Center, Lisbon #*UAL - Lisbon Support Unit, Alfragide # Cultural bodies #* MUSAR - Air Museum, co-located with BA1 at Sintra (with branches co-located with DGMFA at Alverca and AM1 at Ovar) #* AHFA - Air Force Historical Archive, co-located with UAL at Alfragide #* BMFA - Air Force Music Band, Lisbon #* "Mais Alto" magazine, co-located with UAL at Alfragide

Operational component

The operational component of the system of forces includes the operational commands, forces, means and units of the Air Force. # Elements of the Air Command and Control System: #* CRC "Batina" -

Control and Reporting Centre A Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) is according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff publication 1.02 defined as – ''A subordinated air control element of the tactical air control centre for which radar control and warning operations are conducted wi ...

, Monsanto, Lisbon #* CRC ALT "Zanaga" - Alternative Control and Reporting Centre, co-located with BA11, Beja #* ER1 - Radar Station No. 1, Fóia #* ER2 - Radar Station No. 2, Paços de Ferreira #* ER3 - Radar Station No. 3, Montejunto #* ER4 - Radar Station No. 4, Pico do Arieiro, Madeira # Air units: #* 101 Squadron "Roncos" with Epsilon TB-30, recently moved to BA11, Beja, previously based at BA1, Sintra; #* 103 Squadron "Caracóis" no current aircraft assigned following withdrawal of Alpha Jet in 2018, based at BA11, Beja; #* 201 Squadron "Falcões" with F-16, based at BA5, Monte Real; #* 301 Squadron "Jaguares" with F-16, based at BA5, Monte Real; #* 501 Squadron "Bisontes" with C-130, based at BA6, Montijo; #* 502 Squadron "Elefantes" with C-295, based at BA6, Montijo, with permanent detachments at BA4, Lajes and AM3, Porto Santo #* 504 Squadron "Linces" with Falcon 50, based at BA6, Montijo, but permanently deployed at AT1, Lisbon #* 552 Squadron "Zangões" with AW119 Koala (after the phasing out of the Alouette III), based at BA1, Sintra, previously BA11, Beja, with a permanent detachment at AM1, Ovar #* 601 Squadron "Lobos" with P-3, based at BA11, Beja; #* 751 Squadron "Pumas" with EH-101, based at BA1, Sintra, previously BA6, Montijo, with permanent detachments at BA4, Lajes and AM3, Porto Santo; #* 802 Squadron "Águias" with Chipmunk, L-23 and ASK 21, based at BA1, Sintra. #* 911 Squadron "Hárpias" with OGASSA OGS42V, based at CFMTFA, Ota.

Aircraft

Lockheed F-16A Fighting Falcon, Portugal - Air Force AN1088466

Agusta-Westland EH-101 Merlin, Portugal - Air Force JP7566533

6 former National Civil Protection Authority

helicopters used since 2006 are taken out from operational. In October 2022, the Portuguese Minister of Defence announced that they were going to be offered to Ukraine.

Other equipment

* HMMWV 1165A1/B3; 3 units *

Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vu ...

; 12 units * Protec-Fire MAN 432 4x4

airport crash tender An airport crash tender (known in some countries as an airport fire appliance) is a specialised fire engine designed for use in aircraft rescue and firefighting at aerodromes, airports, and military air bases. Description Airport crash tenders ...

; 8 units *Protec-Fire MTEC 670 6x6

; 15 Units * Unimog U1300L

used in Field Firing Range of Alcochete; * Mercedes-Benz 1823 Atego; * Caterpillar D6H

bulldozer A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous track ...

Aerobatic teams

Alpha Jets - Asas de Portugal (26222044752)

The Portuguese Air Force included two

aerobatic Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

teams, the '' Asas de Portugal'' (Wings of Portugal) and the '' Rotores de Portugal'' (Rotors of Portugal), both being currently inactive. The (frequently abbreviated as ) was the fixed wing flight national demonstration team of Portugal. It was part of the 103 Squadron, based at the BA11, Beja and operated Alpha Jet aircraft. The team was first activated in 1977, with

aircraft, being the heir of the old aerobatic teams and , which employed F-84G aircraft and were active until the early 1960s. The was deactivated in 1990, when its T-37 were phased out. The team was reactivated in 1997, then equipped with Alpha Jet, being active until 1998. It was again active during 2001 and finally from 2005 to 2010. Despite inactivation of the in 2010, the Alpha Jet of the 103 Squadron continued to be painted with the livery of the team, until the phasing out of the aircraft in 2018. The (frequently abbreviated as ) was the

rotorcraft A rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings or rotor blades, which generate lift by rotating around a vertical mast. Several rotor blades mounted on a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The Internat ...

flight national demonstration team of Portugal. It was part of the 552 Squadron, based at the BA11, Beja and operated Alouette III helicopters. The was first created in 1976, being active until 1980. It was again active from 1982 to 1992, from 1993 to 1994, from 2004 to 2005 and finally from 2006 to 2010. From 2006, the Alouette III used by the team sported a special colorful livery applied over the helicopters standard camouflage. This livery continued to be sported by these helicopters even after the inactivation of , until the phasing out of the Alouette III in 2020.

Personnel

Rank structure

Accordingly, with their level of responsibility and authority, the military personnel of the FAP is divided in three categories:

(),

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

s () and other ranks (). Officers are further divided in three subcategories:

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

s (), senior officers () and

junior officer Junior officer, company officer or company grade officer refers to the lowest operational commissioned officer category of ranks in a military or paramilitary organization, ranking above non-commissioned officers and below senior officers. The ...

s ().

Officers

Other ranks

Occupational groups

Accordingly, with their training and role, each member of the FAP is part of an occupational group designated "specialty".

Officers

The officers specialties are: Pilots aviators (PILAV),

Aeronautical engineers Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...

(ENGAER), Aerodromes engineers (ENGAED), Electrical engineers (ENGEL),

Physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

s (MED), Aeronautical administration (ADMAER),

Jurists A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the U ...

(JUR), Psychologists (PSI),

Navigators A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...

(NAV), Communications and cryptography operations technicians (TOCC), Meteorology operations technicians (TOMET), Air circulation and traffic radar operations technicians (TOCART), Interception conduct operations technicians (TOCI), Air materiel maintenance technicians (TMMA), Ground materiel maintenance technicians (TMMT), Electrical materiel maintenance technicians (TMMEL), Armament and equipment maintenance technicians (TMAEQ), Infrastructures maintenance technicians (TMI), Supply technicians (TABST), IT technicians (TINF), Personnel and administrative support technicians (TPAA), Health technicians (TS),

Air police The United States Air Force Security Forces (SF) are the ground combat force and military police service of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. USAF Security Forces (SF) were formerly known as Military Police (MP), Air Police (AP), and Sec ...

(PA) and Chiefs of music band (CHBM). Only the officers of the PILAV speciality can reach the ranks of lieutenant-general and general. The officers of the engineers, MED, ADMAER, JUR and PSI specialities can reach the rank of major-general. Those of the NAV, technicians and PA specialities can reach the rank of colonel. Those of the CHBM speciality can reach the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

Sergeants and other ranks

The sergeants and other ranks specialties are: Communications operators (OPCOM), Meteorology operators (OPMET), Air circulation and traffic radar operators (OPCART), Detection radar operators (OPRDET), IT operators (OPINF), Assistance and rescue systems operators (OPSAS), Air materiel mechanics (MMA), Ground materiel mechanics (MMT), Electricity mechanics (MELECT), Electronics mechanics (MELECA), Aircraft electricity and instruments mechanics (MELIAV), Armament and equipment mechanics (MARME), Supply (ABS), Infrastructure construction and maintenance (CMI), Air police (PA), Secretariat and service support (SAS) and Musicians (MUS).

Symbols

The Portuguese Air Force has adopted several symbols to represent itself and promote the '' esprit de corps''. The present rules for the display of the military aircraft insignia and fin flash were established in 1980, resulting from an update of the rules established in 1950. The

military aircraft insignia Military aircraft insignia are insignia applied to military aircraft to identify the nation or branch of military service to which the aircraft belong. Many insignia are in the form of a circular roundel or modified roundel; other shapes such as ...

is the traditional

Cross of the Order of Christ The Cross of the Order of Christ ( Portuguese: ''Cruz da Ordem de Cristo''), also known as the Cross of Christ (''Cruz de Cristo'') or the Portuguese Cross (''Cruz Portuguesa''), is a cross symbol of Portugal, originating in the Portuguese Order ...

on a white

roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of diff ...

. In the aircraft, this insignia is displayed on the upper surface of the left wing, on the lower surface of the right wing and on both sides of the area of the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

between the wings and the

horizontal stabilizer A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplan ...

s. Camouflaged aircraft do not display the insignia on the wings. A gray low visibility version of the insignia is occasionally applied on some aircraft. The Cross of the Order of Christ has been the insignia of the Portuguese military aviation since 1918, replacing the previous red and green roundels which were in use before. This insignia was originally applied on the upper and lower surfaces of both wings of the Army and naval aircraft. Usually, the Cross of the Order of Christ was applied over a white circle, although in some cases - especially in naval aircraft from the 1940s on - the circle was eliminated, with the Cross being applied directly on the surfaces of the aircraft. In the 1940s, the Army aircraft started to display the insignia also on the sides of the fuselage, while most of the naval aircraft continued to display it only on the wings. After the end of the World War II, the naval aircraft adopted the display of the insignia only on the upper surface of the left wing and on the lower surface of the right wing. The

fin flash Military aircraft insignia are insignia applied to military aircraft to identify the nation or branch of military service to which the aircraft belong. Many insignia are in the form of a circular roundel or modified roundel; other shapes such as ...

used by the military aircraft is a simplified version of the

National Flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...

, without the Portuguese coat of arms. Early Portuguese military aircraft displayed the whole

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

painted with the green and red colours of the National Flag, usually with the Portuguese coat of arms applied in the middle. From the late 1920s, this was changed for the Army aircraft which instead started to display the National Flag reduced to its rectangular form applied on the fin. From the 1940s, the present simplified version of the National Flag without the coat of arms started to be applied on most of Army aircraft, this version being established as the standard fin flash in 1950. Most of the naval aircraft however continued to display the whole rudder painted with the colors of the National Flag with the coat of arms until the 1940s and without it from then on. The Portuguese Air Force has a system of heraldry to represent itself, as well as its units. This includes coats of arms topped by a distinctive aeronautical coronet, as well as heraldic parade standards, guidons and pennons. The coat of arms of the Air Force is '' azure'', a spread eagle '' or'', beaked ''

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

''. The motto is .

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * *Lopes, Mario Canoniga. "Talkback". ''

Air Enthusiast ''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to '' Air International'' maga ...

''. No. 9, February–May 1979. p. 79. * * * *

External links

Portuguese Air Force
official website
Portuguese Air Force Public Relations
official YouTube channel
Portuguese Air Force Reports
at

Scramble Scramble, Scrambled, or Scrambling may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Scramble'' (video game), a 1981 arcade game Music Albums * ''Scramble'' (album), an album by Atlanta-based band the Coathangers * ''Scrambles'' (album) ...

751 Squadron
official 751 Squadron website {{Authority control 1952 establishments in Portugal Military units and formations established in 1952 Military of Portugal

History

Beginnings

The Military Aeronautics

The Naval Aviation

Army Artillery Light aviation

The Independent Air Branch

The air branch becomes the Portuguese Air Force

The Air Force in the Overseas War

Late Cold War

Recent

General organization

Chief of Staff of the Air Force

Air Force Staff

Central bodies of administration and management

Air component command

Bodies of advisement

Inspection-General of the Air Force

Base bodies

Air bases

Elements of the operational component of the system of forces

Squadrons

Bodies and services regulated by particular legislation

Air Search and Rescue Service

National Aeronautical Authority

System of forces of the Air Force

Fix component

Operational component

Aircraft

Other equipment

Aerobatic teams

Personnel

Rank structure

Officers

Other ranks

Occupational groups

Officers

Sergeants and other ranks

Symbols

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links