Colombian Air Force

Colombian Air Force

Coat of arms of the Colombian Air Force
Founded December 31, 1919
Country Colombia
Branch Air Force
Size 13,500 active personnel [1]
Part of Colombian Armed Forces
Motto Sic Itur Ad Astra - "Thus one reaches the stars"
Anniversaries November 8
Engagements Colombia–Peru War
Colombian armed conflict
Commanders
Current
commander
General Jorge Ballesteros Rodriguez
Second Commander and Mayor Chief of Staff General Fernando Soler Torres
Notable
commanders
General Hector Fabio Velasco
Insignia
Roundel
Aircraft flown
Attack A-29, A-37, OV-10, AC-47
Fighter IAI Kfir, Mirage 5
Attack helicopter AH-60, AB212 Rápaz
Reconnaissance Schweizer SA 2-37
Trainer T-34, T-41, T-27
Transport C-130, C-295, CN-235, C-212

The Colombian Air Force or FAC (Spanish: Fuerza Aérea Colombiana) is the Air Force of the Republic of Colombia. The Colombian Air Force (FAC) is one of the three institutions of the Armed Forces of Colombia, charge according to the 1991 Constitution of the work to exercise and maintain control of Colombia's airspace to defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order. It is one of the largest Latin American air forces and increased activity due to its important role in the fight against narco-terrorism.

Air Force is the only global processes that have accredited with ISO 9001 and NTCGP 1000. The system corresponds to ISO 9001 quality management with the international standard, which inscribed the FAC as a world-class organization. The second certificate, the NTCGP 1000, corresponds to the technical standard of quality of governance, as a result of Act 872 of 2003 requires all public bodies to implement the quality management system by December 2008.

The FAC has the distinction of having been used in missions of observation and aerial combat from the Colombian-Peruvian war of 1932, never elected government was ousted by force, as the FAC helped quell many rebellions from terrorism, military and political . The Colombian Air Force also served with distinction during the Second World War in the islands of San Andrés.

Contents

History

Creation

Military aviation began in Colombia in 1919 with the creation of a military aviation school for the Colombian Army. Previously by Law 15 of 1916 of September 7 two commissions were sent overseas to study new technological advancements in aviation, infantry, cavalry, engineering and trains. Officers pertaining to the Colombian Army were also sent to take a course on flight training on techniques and tactics. The school was then created in Colombia along with the Colombian National Army Aviation as a fifth regiment by Law 126 of 1919 of December 31 authorized by President of Colombia, Marco Fidel Suárez. The unit was officially activated on February 15, 1921 in Flandes, Department of Tolima with the support of a French mission led by Lieutenant Colonel Rene Guichard. The Aviation School initially had 3 Caudron G.3 E-2, 3 Caudron G.4 A-2 and four Nieuport Delage 11 C-1. The school was closed due to financial hardships in 1922.

The School of Military Aviation was reopened on November 8, 1924 in Madrid, Department of Cundinamarca with the support of a Swiss mission headed by Captain Henry Pillichody. The aircraft used for training were 4 Wild WT and 8 Wild X performing the first air review on August 7, 1927. Then on December 28, 1928 the first combat aircraft was shown in Colombia, the Curtiss Falcon O-1.

War with Peru

On September 1, 1932 civilian Peruvians illegally crossed into Colombian territory and invaded the town of Leticia in the Colombian Amazon arguing and claiming that the town was original Peruvian territory. The Colombian military aviation only had 11 instructors, four Curtiss-Wright CW-14R Osprey air combat support planes and one Curtiss Falcon O-1. The military aviation then received full financial support from the Congress of Colombia. Colombia bought aircraft from Germany and the United States, while others were activated from the airline operating in Colombia SCADTA (Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transporte Aéreo) and their pilots, which included some German citizens, one of these was Major Herbert Boy. The imported aircraft were 4 Junkers F.13, 4 Junkers W 34 and 3 Junkers K 43, 6 Junkers Ju 52, 2 Dornier Merkur II, 4 Dornier Wal, 20 Curtiss Falcon F-8F and 30 Curtiss Hawk II F-11C.

The contingent was then sent to southern Colombia to fight Peruvian forces with the main mission of delivering supplies to the front lines, aerial reconnaissance and air to land attacks. The fleet was divided into three squadrons with Puerto Boy as the main camp site. Support bases were in Caucaya airstrip (Puerto Leguízamo), El Encanto, Puerto Arica, La Pedrera and Tarapacá. The main combat operations started on February 14, 1933 in Tarapacá where the Peruvian garrison was bombed by seven Colombian aircraft and later assaulted by land forces. Later, on March 26, in the village of Guepi eleven Colombian planes and two cannon boats (MC Cartagena y MC Santa Marta) bombarded Peruvian positions and took over the town.

The last military actions of the conflict with Peru were on May 8, 1933 and in which there was an aerial engagement between the two forces. Peruvian planes were attacking the fluvial fleet of Colombia over the Algodón River and were surprised by the Colombian squadron. One of the Peruvian aircraft, a Douglas O-38P was gunned down and taken to Colombian territory. On May 24, 1933 a cease fire was declared after an agreement was reached with the intervention of the League of Nations. The town of Leticia was returned to Colombia. The captured plane was then returned to Peru. As a result of the war, four pilots died in four accidents during non-combat related actions. Among these was one of the German pilots. Four planes were lost in these accidents a Falcon O-1, an Osprey C-14, a Junker F-13 and a Curtiss F-11.

World War II

The Second World War was the diplomatic breach between Colombia and the Axis countries (Germany, Italy and Japan), December 18, 1941, when President Eduardo Santos took the decision following the Japanese attack on military bases, naval and U.S. carriers at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Thereafter, the Colombian government introduced special measures to limit and counter the Axis military action in areas of national jurisdiction. However, the June 23, 1942 a German submarine attacked and sank the schooner Colombian "Resolute", 50 miles northwest of the island of San Andrés. The same schooner had rescued some Marine officers and 23 British Royal Navy survivors of a capsized ship, 200 miles north of Cartagena just five days before.

Following these events, the government took the decision to patrol and monitor the Pacific Coast and the Colombian Caribbean coast. The Palanquero Air Base commanders decided to move one fighter squadron and a Combat Reconnaissance Squadron, consisting of F-8 Falcon aircraft, to Barranquilla,. In 1943, the Falcons were relieved of their mission and replaced by the AT-6 Texan. This Squadron was active until 1945, when the AT-6 were transferred back to Palanquero Air Base.

Early 1930s to present

Organization

Combat Air Commands (Comando Aéreo de Combate or CACOM):

Transportation and Maintenance:

Air Groups:

Training:

Airline:

Personnel

As of 2010 [1], the Air Force fields approximately 13,500 personnel, including 2,171 officers, 3,304 Non-commissioned officers, 903 student officers, 4,673 soldiers, these usually allocated to base security, Military Police etc, and 2,382 civilians, the latter usually dedicated to specialized technical or professional activities, eg, medical, communications, etc.

Ranks & Insignias

The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Air Force personnel.[27]

Ranks and Insignias - Colombian Air Force

Officers

NATO code [n 1] OF-10 OF-9 OF-8 OF-7 OF-6 OF-5 OF-4 OF-3 OF-2 OF-1
 Colombia No Equivalent
(Spanish) - General del Aire Teniente General del Aire Mayor General del Aire Brigadier General del Aire Coronel Teniente Coronel Mayor Capitán Teniente Subteniente
Abbr. - GR TG MG BG CR TC MY CT TE ST
(English) - General of the Air Lieutenant General of the Air Major General of the Air Brigadier General of the Air Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major Captain Lieutenant Second Lieutenant

Non-Commissioned Officers and Airmen

NATO code [n 1] OR-9 OR-8 OR-7 OR-6 OR-5 OR-4 OR-3 OR-2 OR-1
 Colombia No equivalent
(Spanish) Técnico Jefe de Comando Conjunto Técnico Jefe de Comando Técnico Jefe Técnico Subjefe Técnico Primero Técnico Segundo Técnico Tercero Técnico Cuarto Aerotécnico -
Abbr. TJCC TJC TJ TS TP T2 T3 T4 AT -
(English) Joint Command Chief Technician Command Chief Technician Senior Chief Technician Chief Technician Technician First Class Technician 2nd Class Technician 3rd Class Junior Technician Airman -

Aircraft inventory

Aircraft Origin Type Versions In service Notes
Combat aircraft
IAI Kfir  Israel Fighter/attack C.12, TC.12 /C.10, TC.10 (in Colombia denominated "Kfir COA") 24
Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano  Brazil Combat 25
North American OV-10 Bronco  United States Combat/Counter Insurgency 6
AC-47 Spooky  United States Combat/Counter Insurgency 6 Locally known as Fantasmas (Ghost)
A-37 Dragonfly  United States Combat/Counter Insurgency 13
Total Combat Aircraft 74
Trainers
Cessna T-41 Mescalero  United States Trainer T-41D 10
Beechcraft T-34 Mentor  United States Trainer T-34M 10
Cessna T-37 Tweet  United States Trainer T-37B Tweet/T-37C Tweet 14
Embraer Tucano  Brazil Attack/Trainer AT-27 14
Total Trainer Aircraft 34
Transports
Beechcraft Queen Air  United States Utility transport 65-B80 2
Beechcraft Twin Bonanza  United States Utility transport D50 1
Boeing 707  United States Transport Tanker 707-373C 1
Boeing 767  United States Transport Tanker KC-767 1
Boeing Business Jet  United States VIP transport BBJ1 1
Fokker F28  Netherlands VIP transport F28-1000/F28-3000 2
Cessna Citation II  United States VIP transport 550 Citation II 1
CASA C-212 Aviocar  Spain Tactical transport C-212-300 3
CASA CN-235  Spain Tactical transport CN-235-200 3
EADS CASA C-295  Spain Tactical transport C-95M 4
Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante  Brazil Transport EMB 110P1A 2
Gavilan 358  Colombia Utility transport 4
IAI Arava  Israel Utility transport Arava 201 1
C-130 Hercules  United States Tactical transport C-130B/C-13H 7
Piper PA-23 Aztec  United States Utility transport 1
Piper PA-31T Cheyenne  United States Utility transport 1
Piper PA-34 Seneca  United States Utility transport 3
Cessna 208 Caravan  United States Utility transport 1
Cessna 208 Caravan  United States Liaison 5
Total Transport Aircraft 45
Helicopter
Bell 205  United States Utility helicopter Model 205 UH-1H/P 26
Bell 212 Twin Huey  United States Transport helicopter 12
MD Helicopters MD500 Defender  United States Combat helicopter 369HM/MD 530FF 16
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk  United States Transport helicopter and Combat helicopter UH-60L/AH-60 Arpía 90
Bell 206  United States Trainer helicopter Bell 206B-III 32
Total Transport helicopters/Search and Rescue Helicopters 176
Reconnaissance and Intelligence
Schweizer SA 2-37  United States reconnaissance 6
Fairchild C-26 Metroliner  United States Transport / SIGINT C-26A 5
Cessna CitationJet  United States Tracker Citation SR-560 6
Cessna O-2  United States Tracker 2
Beechcraft Super King Air  United States ELINT Super King Air 300 6
Total Reconnaissance and Intelligence 25
Satena
Dornier Do328-100  Germany Airliner 33 seats 6
ATR 42-500  France Airliner 46 seats 2
Embraer ERJ 145  Brazil Airliner 50 seats 2
Embraer 170  Brazil Airliner 76 seats 2
Total Satena Aircraft 12
Total Aircraft in service
Total Aircraft in service 385

FAC is not Colombia's exclusive operator of military aircraft, as smaller inventories are maintained by the Colombian Army, Colombian Navy, and the Colombian National Police.

Aircraft identification

The aircraft used by the Colombian Air Force are identified with the letters "FAC" followed by three or four numbers numbers that are painted on the tail, nose and nose landing gear doors. The serial numbers are assigned according to the aircraft's primary role as follows:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Colombia is not a member of NATO, so there is not an official equivalence between the Colombian military ranks and those defined by NATO. The displayed parallel is approximate and for illustration purposes only.

References

  1. ^ a b Ministerio de Defensa Nacional,Colombia (1 November 2010). "Logros de la Política de Consolidación de la Seguridad Democrática, 2010" (in (Spanish)). http://www.mindefensa.gov.co/irj/go/km/docs/Mindefensa/Documentos/descargas/estudios%20sectoriales/info_estadistica/Logros%20de%20Politica%20CSD%20Nov%202010.pdf. Retrieved 23 April 2011. 
  2. ^ (Spanish) CACOM 1 - Puerto Salgar (Cundinamarca) - Comando Aéreo de Combate No.1
  3. ^ (Spanish) Capitán Germán Olano Moreno
  4. ^ (Spanish) CACOM 2 - Apiay (Meta) - Comando Aéreo de Combate No.2
  5. ^ (Spanish) Capitán Luis F. Gómez Niño
  6. ^ (Spanish) CACOM 3 - Malambo (Atlántico) - Comando Aéreo de Combate No.3
  7. ^ (Spanish) Mayor General Alberto Pauwels Rodríguez
  8. ^ (Spanish) CACOM 4 - Melgar (Tolima) - Comando Aéreo de Combate No.4
  9. ^ (Spanish) Teniente Coronel Luis Francisco Pinto Parra
  10. ^ (Spanish) CACOM 5 - Rionegro (Antioquia) - Comando Aéreo de Combate No.5
  11. ^ (Spanish) Coronel Fernando Arturo Lema Posada
  12. ^ (Spanish) CACOM 6 - Tres Esquinas (Caquetá) - Comando Aéreo de Combate No.6
  13. ^ (Spanish) Capitán Ernesto Esguerra Cubides
  14. ^ (Spanish) CATAM - Aeropuerto El Dorado (Bogotá D.C) - Comando Aéreo de Transporte Militar
  15. ^ (Spanish) Brigadier General (H) Camilo Daza Álvarez
  16. ^ (Spanish) CAMAN - Madrid (Cundinamarca) - Comando Aéreo de Mantenimiento
  17. ^ (Spanish) Mayor (H) Justino Mariño Cuesto
  18. ^ (Spanish) GACAR - San Andrés Isla (San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina) - Grupo Aéreo del Caribe
  19. ^ (Spanish) Teniente Coronel Benjamín Méndez Rey
  20. ^ (Spanish) GAORI - Marandua (Vichada) - Grupo Aéreo del Oriente
  21. ^ (Spanish) Coronel Luis Arturo Rodríguez Meneses
  22. ^ (Spanish) EMAVI - Santiago de Cali (Valle) - Escuela Militar de Aviación
  23. ^ (Spanish) Marco Fidel Suárez
  24. ^ (Spanish) ESUFA - Madrid (Cundinamarca) - Escuela de Suboficiales FAC
  25. ^ (Spanish) Captain Andres Maria Diaz Diaz
  26. ^ (Spanish) IMA - Instituto Militar Aeronáutico
  27. ^ Congreso de la República de Colombia (28 July 2010). "Ley 1405 de 2010 Nuevos Grados Militares" (in (Spanish)). http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/ley/2010/ley_1405_2010.html. Retrieved 26 April 2011. 

External links