The
Phoenix Squadron () was a volunteers' special unit of the
Argentine Air Force
The Argentine Air Force (, or simply ''FAA'') is the air force of Argentina and one of three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. In 2018, it had 13,837 military and 6,900 civilian personnel. FAA commander in chief is Brigadie ...
established during the 1982
Falklands War
The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
.
History
The Argentine Air Force reconnaissance force at that time was formed around the ''Grupo 1 Aerofotográfico'' () part of the 2nd Air Brigade equipped with two
Learjet 35A
The Learjet Model 35 and Model 36 are a series of United States, American multi-role business jets and military transport aircraft manufactured by Learjet between 1973 and 1993. When used by the United States Air Force, they carry the designatio ...
s and based at
Parana province of
Entre Rios.
In April 1982, the unit was deployed to
Comodoro Rivadavia and was reinforced with several civilian planes and their civilian pilots who volunteered to fly them.
During the war, the Learjets performed 52 missions including search and reconnaissance flights, communications retransmission flights, and pathfinder flights to guide combat jets with the Learjets’ superior navigation systems.
The unit's most difficult missions were 126 sorties in which the Learjets acted as decoys, flying day and night to simulate strike aircraft preparing to attack the fleet. Many believe that most of the Argentine
A-4 Skyhawks' and
Dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...
s' successes were achieved because the British
Sea Harriers had been drawn away from more important targets:
On one of these flights, on June 7, an Air Force Learjet was shot down over
Pebble Island
Pebble Island is one of the Falkland Islands, situated north of West Falkland. It is possibly named after the peculiarly spherical pebbles found at its western tip.
Description
The island, the fifth largest in the Falklands archipelago, stretch ...
by a surface-to-air
Sea Dart missile
Sea Dart, or GWS.30 was a Royal Navy surface-to-air missile system designed in the 1960s and entering service in 1973. It was fitted to the Type 42 destroyers, the single Type 82 destroyer and the s. Originally developed by Hawker Siddeley, t ...
fired by
HMS ''Exeter'', killing the squadron commander, Vice Commodore Rodolfo De La Colina, and the other four members of the crew. De La Colina became the second highest ranking Argentine officer (after Col Arévalo) to die in the war.
Civilian helicopters were also added to the unit for use in the
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 ...
role in the continent, most notably the
Sikorsky S-61N LV-OCN and
Sikorsky S-58T LV-OCM.
Casualties
Argentine Air Force Learjet 35 T-24 crew:
*Vice Commodore Rodolfo De La Colina (pilot)
*Major Juan Falconier (co-pilot)
*Captain Marcelo Lotufo (photographer)
*Staff Sub-Officer Francisco Luna (mechanic)
*Assistant Sub-Officer Guido Marizza (mechanic).
References
Notes
External links
Escuadron Fenix(
Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Escuadron Fenix
Argentine Air Force units and formations in the Falklands War