Santiago Rivas – författare

In the 1960's guerrillas were operating in almost all Latin American countries, as well as in Africa and Asia, and the need of specialized weapons to fight them arose. The Argentine Air Force, seeing this threat grow, asked the FMA factory to produce a counterinsurgency airplane to equip the force, but also to offer on the international market. After several proposals were analysed, a final product emerged, called the IA-58 Pucar , a robust twin turboprop aircraft with heavy internal weapons, planned to operate from unprepared airstrips on very hard conditions. The plane entered service with the Argentine Air Force in 1975 and more than 100 were produced over the years, with several versions being developed or proposed.It was purchased by Uruguay, Colombia and Sri Lanka, the type gained world notoriety when they took part on the 1982 South Atlantic war, but also had combat experience in Colombia and Sri Lanka, and was tested by the Royal Air Force.Now, with the original version already retired, the Argentine Air Force plans to convert them into the Pucar F nix version, with new engines and avionics, with new missions too, like intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.While some aspects of its story were described in many publications, most of it has never been told until now, including many unknown proposed versions and details of its operational record, both in Argentina and in the other countries that operated the plane.

This book looks at all aspects of Brazil's aviation, including its air force, army and naval aviation wings and the aircraft that serve the police force.

This book covers the story of all the British military aircraft that served in Latin America since 1940. Though the presence of British combat types is now almost gone from the skies over Latin America, its legacy will last for a long time. After World War 2, Britain was happy to sell the most modern equipment to the region giving it an advantage over the United States, hitherto the main provider of planes to Latin American air forces. This was one of the main reasons why many air forces chose to buy British combat aircraft up to the 1970s. In many countries Gloster Meteors or de Havilland Vampires were the first jet combat aircraft, while the Argentina's Avro Lancasters and Lincolns was once the most potent bomber force in Latin America. BAC Canberras had five South American operators, were the only jet bombers in use in the region and saw action several times. Combat activity by British types include Argentine planes used during the 1955 revolution and ironically Argentine Canberras in action during the Malvinas/Falklands War against British forces, Cuban Sea Furies over the Bay of Pigs, Peruvian Canberras in the conflicts with Ecuador, Chilean Hunters during the 1973 coup d'etat, Dominican Vampires, Mosquitoes and Beaufighters in internal struggles

The Argentinian Aircraft Factory, Fábrica Argentina de Aviones SA (FAdeA), is Argentina's main aircraft manufacturer. Founded in 1927 and located in Córdoba for most of its existence it was known as Fábrica Militar de Aviones (FMA) until its privatisation in the 1990s when it became part of Lockheed Martin. In 2009, it was renationalised and the company is now once again wholly owned by the Argentine government.Initially, the factory produced aircraft built under licence from companies such as Avro but it is best known for making the first jet fighter aircraft in Latin America: the Pulqui I (1947) and the Pulqui II (1950) under the director of engineers Emile Dewoitine and Kurt Tank respectively. The post World War Two era was a particularly interesting one at the FAdeA with creative and innovative designers such as Reimar HOrten being involved with the business.This book is a history of the company and the aircraft it produced from the 1920s to the present day. It covers all the aircraft that were produced by the company, both those built under licence and original designs. It also examines the many projects and prototypes which were developed over the years. For all those with an interest in some of the less well-known aspects of aviation history, this book will be a revelation.