In the
decade after the end of the Second World War, the Argentinean Air Force
(Fuerza
Aérea Argentina
or FAA)
became the first Latin American air arm to operate
jet-propelled aircraft in the form of the British Meteor
F.4. fighter. These were later replaced by US F-86F
Saber fighters. The FAA also acquired a strategic
bombing capability in the form of ex-RAF Lancaster and
Lincoln heavy bombers. These were later replaced by
British Canberra jet bombers. A modernization program
began in the late 1960s, the FAA acquiring various
derivatives of the French Mirage fighter-bomber, the US
A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft and the C-130 transport.
Though the development of an indigenous jet fighter
proved abortive, the
IA 58 Pucará,
a twin-turboprop light attack aircraft, was developed in
the early 1970s and produced in substantial numbers.
The
positional and command flags of the Cold War-era FAA
were of simple design based on the national colors: sky
blue and white. There was no air force flag or ensign,
the national flag, in 1:2 proportions, serving as such.
FAA flags could be divided into four categories: those
for senior appointments, those for operational commands,
those for operational formations and those for training
establishments. There were four operational commands,
each controlling a number of air brigades. These air
brigades embodied three groups: an air group, which
controlled the flying squadrons, a technical group
responsible for aircraft servicing and maintenance, and
a base group responsible for airfield facilities,
services and security. An air group (Grupo
Aéreo)
was either titled as such or, if all its flying
squadrons were of the same type, was so titled, e.g.
Fighter Group (Grupo
de Caza).
See also
Army Flags of Argentina: Cold War
Era.
Flag
Proportions:
Flags of the Argentine Air Force were proportioned 1:2.
|
|
|
