Canoas Air Force Base – ALA3 is a
base of the
Brazilian Air Force
"Wings that protect the country"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = Hino dos Aviadores
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...
, located in
Canoas
Canoas (), which earned city status in 1939, is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. With more than 340,000 inhabitants, it is part of the Porto Alegre conurbation and has the second highest GDP in the state. It is also ...
, near
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...
, Brazil.
History
The history of Canoas Air Force Base begins in 1937, when the 3rd Army Aviation Regiment (3º RAv) was transferred from
Santa Maria Air Force Base
Santa Maria Air Force Base – ALA4 is a base of the Brazilian Air Force, located in Santa Maria, Brazil.
It shares some facilities with Santa Maria Airport.
History
In 1944 the then President of Brazil Getúlio Vargas allocated an area o ...
to
Canoas
Canoas (), which earned city status in 1939, is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. With more than 340,000 inhabitants, it is part of the Porto Alegre conurbation and has the second highest GDP in the state. It is also ...
. With the creation of the Air Force Ministry in 1941, the 3º RAv became known as ''Gravataí Air Force Base''. On 21 August 1944, the 3º RAv officially ceased to exist and on the same day Canoas Air Force Base was commissioned.
Units
The following units are based at Canoas Air Force Base:
* 1st Squadron of the 14th Aviation Group (1º/14ºGAv) ''Pampa'', using the
F-5EM & FM.
* 5th Squadron of Air Transportation (5°ETA) ''Pégaso'', using the
C-95BM & CM Bandeirante,
C-97 Brasília and
C-98A Caravan.
* 2nd Squadron of the 7th Aviation Group (2º/7ºGAv) ''Phoenix'', using the
P-95BM Bandeirulha.
* 2nd Squadron of the 1st Communications and Control Group (2º/1ºGCC) ''Aranha'', using radars and equipment for air defense.
Accidents and incidents
*28 July 1950: a
Panair do Brasil Lockheed L-049 Constellation
The Lockheed L-049 Constellation was the first model of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. It entered service as the C-69 military transport aircraft during World War II for the United States Army Air Forces and was the first civilian ver ...
registration PP-PCG operating flight 099 from
Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Canoas Air Force Base struck power lines and crashed on a hill after an aborted landing and while holding in bad weather near
São Leopoldo
São Leopoldo () (Portuguese for ''Saint Leopold'') is a Brazilian industrial city located in the south state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Geography
It occupies a total area of 103.9 km² (around 80 km² urban area) at ''circa'' 30 km fr ...
. All 50 passengers and crew died. At the time of the accident the runway at
São João Airport (presently Salgado Filho) was not yet paved, therefore the Constellations used the Air Base runway
Access
The base is located 6 km east of downtown Canoas and 21 km north of downtown Porto Alegre.
Gallery
This gallery displays aircraft that are or have been based at Canoas. The gallery is not comprehensive.
Present aircraft
File:Northrop F-5 (Forca Aerea Brasileira) Operação Ágata 11 (27543292150).jpg, Northrop F-5EM
File:Embraer EMB 110 (Forca Aerea Brasileira) (9028199498).jpg, Embraer C-95B Bandeirante
File:Embraer EMB 120 (Forca Aerea Brasileira) 2014@CGH 18AUG14 (15422477730).jpg, Embraer C-97 Brasília
File:Cessna 208 Caravan (Forca Aerea Brasileira) Rafael Luiz (28981352976).jpg, Cessna C-98A Caravan
File:Brazilian Air Force Embraer P-95B Bandeirulha (EMB-111A).jpg, Embraer P-95B Bandeirulha
Retired aircraft
File:A-20 Campo Dos Afonsos 061012.jpg, Douglas A-20K Havoc
File:Museu de Aeronáutica no Campo dos Afonsos 1.tif, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
File:Gloster F-8 Meteor (F8), Brazil - Air Force AN1198897.jpg, Gloster F-8 Meteor
File:Museu de Aeronáutica no Campo dos Afonsos 3.tif, Lockheed TF-33A T-Bird
File:Brazilian Air Force Embraer AT-26 Xavante (EMB-326GC) RSC.jpg, Embraer AT-26 Xavante
File:Douglas DC-3 (8141516875).jpg, Douglas C-47 Dakota
See also
*
List of Brazilian military bases
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Military of Brazil
Rio Grande do Sul
Brazilian Air Force
Brazilian Air Force bases
Buildings and structures in Rio Grande do Sul
Canoas
Porto Alegre
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in South America
1937 establishments in Brazil