| Salvadoran Air Force | |
|---|---|
| Active | March 20th 1923-present |
| Country | El Salvador |
| Branch | Air Force |
| Role | "To defend state sovereignty and integrity of the national airspace. Support surface forces in fulfilling their respective missions, contribute to maintaining internal peace, provide disaster relief and assisting national efforts in welfare works public ". |
| Size | 76 aircraft |
| Nickname | Air Force El Salvador. |
| Colors | blue and white |
| Engagements | Honduras and Salvadorian conflict 1969, El Salvador civil war (1979-1992) |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel | |
The Salvadoran Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña) the air force of the Armed Forces of El Salvador, and is independent from the army and navy. It was formed on 20 March 1923 during a period of heavy interest in aviation in El Salvador. In 1947 after signing the treaty of Rio (which was a mutual defence treaty among the states of America including the USA). El Salvador with a US air mission and increased transferes of aircraft El Salvador built up a large force of aircraft.
The Salvadoran Air Force first saw action in the 1969 Football war against Honduras equipped with F4U Corsairs and P-51 Mustangs. From the late 1970s isolated terrorist actions rapidly developed into a civil war, US aid to El Savador in 1980 consisted of six UH-1Hs and four in 1981; they were used as gunships. Other deliveries brought that number up to 40 UH-1Hs in service.In February 1982 onwards the USA delivered eight A-37B Dragonflies, 12 UH-1Hs, four O-2As and three C-123Ks. In December 1984 two AC-47s were delivered to be in service with the other three C-47s in use. The civil war ended in mutual exhaustion in 1990 and the airforce was geared for internal security.
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | Dates | In service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cessna T-41 Mescalero | United States | Trainer | T-41D | 1 | ||
| ENAER T-35 Pillan[1] | Chile | Trainer | T-35A T-35B |
2 3 |
||
| Fouga Magister[1] | France | Jet trainer | 1 | Damaged | ||
| C-47D transport[2] | United States | Military transport aircraft | 2 | These aircraft are being considered for a possible conversion to BT-67 | ||
| Basler BT-67[1] | United States | Tactical Transport | 1 | Currently only one is in service, two will be in service in the middle and the end of next year 2011. | ||
| Swearingen Merlin[1] | United States | Transport | IIIB | 1 | ||
| IAI Arava 202[1] | Israel | Transport | 3 | |||
| Bell UH-1 Guardian[1] | United States | Utility helicopter | UH-1H | 20 | Six helicopters are in service with full upgrade, six more are expected to have half of next year 2011. Eight more are saved. | |
| Bell UH-1M Cazador | United States | Utility helicopter | 6 | three in service and three under repair, four waiting to be upgraded | ||
| Bell 412[1] | United States | Utility helicopter | 412EP | 4 | One is occupied by the presidency of El Salvador, modifications (VIP) | |
| MD Helicopters Hughes 500[1] | United States | Utility helicopter | MD 500 "D" and "E" | 7 | 500E (6) and 500D (1). | |
| Schweizer 300[1] | United States | Utility helicopter | 300C | 5 | ||
| Bell 206[1] | United States | Utility helicopter | 1 | Taken by the presidency of El Salvador | ||
| Bell 407[1] | United States | Utility helicopter | 1 | Taken by the presidency of El Salvador | ||
| Cessna 210[1] | United States | Utility | 2 | |||
| Socata Rallye[1] | France | utility | Rallye 235G | 6 | ||
| Cessna O-2 Skymaster[1] | United States | Liaison | O-2A O-2B |
9 1 |
El Salvador buy Super Tucano to reinforce the fleet of Cessna O-2, also will make them upgrade to the Cessna O-2 for a while longer in service | |
| Cessna A-37 Dragonfly[1] | United States | Attack | A-37B | 8 |