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

base located in the Sintra Municipality, Portugal. The base is home to a

flight training Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

and the

Portuguese Air Force Academy The Portuguese Air Force Academy (AFA, ''Academia da Força Aérea'' in Portuguese) is a Portuguese military higher education institution whose aim is to provide all its students with the training and the experience that will enable them to grad ...

History

The origins of the air base date back to the creation of the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...

's School of Military Aeronautics ( pt, Escola de Aeronáutica Militar, EAM) on May 14, 1914. The school was originally located at Vila Nova da Rainha and was later transferred to

Granja do Marquês Granja may refer to the following places: Brazil *Granja, Ceará, a municipality in Ceará * Granja Carolina, a neighborhood in Itapevi *Granja Comary, a neighbourhood in Teresópolis *Granja Viana, a neighbourhood in Barueri, Carapicuíba, Cotia ...

on February 5, 1920. In October 1939 the school was disbanded and the base was designated as Air Base No. 1. Since its creation it has been home to the main training and instruction of the Portuguese Air Force's pilots and technicians, having been base to

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. ...

, North American T-6 Texan, Cessna T-37 Tweet, and other flight training aircraft. Between 1939 and late 1940s squadrons of ground attack and bomber units equipped with the Breda Ba-65Bis (''Esquadrilha Independente de Aviões de Assalto'') and converted- Junkers Ju 52/3m (''Grupo de Bombardeamento de Dia'' and ''Grupo de Bombardeamento de Noite'') were based at Sintra Air Base. The base later became home to the Basic Flight Training Group ( pt, Grupo de Instrução Básica de Pilotagem, GIBP), with Basic Flight Training Squadron No. 1 ( pt, Esquadra de Instrução Básica de Pilotagem nº 1, E.I.P.B. 1) and Basic Flight Training Squadron No. 2 ( pt, Esquadra de Instrução Básica de Pilotagem nº 2, E.I.B.P. 2). From 1966, with the creation of Transport and Liaison Squadron ( pt, Esquadra de Ligação e Transporte), to 2009 the base was also home to transport, liaison, aerial photographic reconnaissance, and maritime patrol squadrons. In 1993, 502 Squadron was transferred to BA1. Between October 1989 and June 1993, 101 Squadron, equipped with the Aérospatiale Epsilon TB-30, was based and operated from Sintra before being transferred to

Beja Air Base Beja Air Base ( pt, Base Aérea de Beja; ), officially designated as Air Base No. 11 ( pt, Base Aérea Nº 11, BA11) is one of the most important military airbases in Portugal, northwest of Beja (Portugal), Beja, north of Algarve. It is used by ...

. This squadron replaced both squadrons of the Basic Flight Training Group in providing elementary and basic flight training. In 2009, 101 Sqn. was transferred back to Sintra and 401 Sqn. and 502 Sqn. were transferred to Air Base No. 6 ( pt, Base Aérea Nº 6, BA6) in Montijo. Located at the air base is also the Air Force Academy and the Air Force's

Air Museum An aviation museum, air museum, or air and space museum is a museum exhibiting the history and artifacts of aviation. In addition to actual, replica or accurate reproduction aircraft, exhibits can include photographs, maps, models, dioramas, cl ...

Tenant units

* 802 Sqn. "''Águias''" (Eagles) — Air Force Academy auxiliary squadron * 101 Sqn. "''Roncos''" (Roars) — elementary and basic flying training

Airlines and destinations

As of 19 October 2022, there are no regular commercial passenger flights at Sintra Air Base.

References

Bibliography

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External links