| IA 58 Pucará | |
|---|---|
| IA 58 Pucará with selection of armament | |
| Role | Counter-insurgency aircraft |
| Manufacturer | FMA |
| First flight | 20 August 1969 |
| Introduction | 1975 |
| Status | Active |
| Primary users | Argentine Air Force Colombian Air Force Sri Lankan Air Force Uruguayan Air Force |
| Produced | 1976–1986 |
| Number built | 150–160 |
The FMA IA 58 Pucará (Quechua: Fortress) is an Argentine ground-attack and counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft. It is a low-wing two-turboprop-engined all-metal monoplane with retractable landing gear, manufactured by the Fábrica Militar de Aviones.
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Development began in August 1966, with the construction of an unpowered test vehicle. The first prototype, called AX-2 Delfin, first flew on 20 August 1969, powered by 674-kW (904-shp) Garrett TPE331I/U-303 turboprops. The IA-58 was designed to be able to operate from small front-line airfields. It has a tandem cockpit arrangement; the crew of two is seated under the upward opening clamshell canopy on Martin-Baker Mk 6AP6A zero/zero ejection seats. Dual controls are provided for the crew. In the following prototypes, and the production models that followed, the engines were switched to Turbomeca Astazou XVIG turboprops. The first production model first flew on 8 November 1974, and deliveries began in early 1976.
The first units were delivered in 1975 to the Argentine Air Force (Spanish: Fuerza Aérea Argentina, FAA), 3rd Air Brigade (Spanish: III Brigada Aérea) in northern Reconquista, Santa Fe province.
By the time of the Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas), almost 100 airframes had been delivered and the unit was deployed south to perform coastal surveillance from airfields in Patagonia. It was the only aircraft available in substantial numbers for deployment on the islands as the runway at Port Stanley Airport was not long enough for FAA Skyhawks and Mirages to be deployed.
Most aircraft used in combat were armed with unguided bombs, 2.75 inch rocket pods, or 7.62 mm machine gun pods. Pucarás operated from Port Stanley airport and two small grass improvised airfields at Goose Green and Pebble Island. They were used in the reconnaissance and light-attack role.
Three Pucarás were destroyed and one of their pilots killed at Goose Green by cluster bombs dropped by 800 NAS Sea Harriers on 1 May 1982. Six more were destroyed in the SAS Raid on Pebble Island on 15 May 1982.[1]
On 21 May a Pucará was lost to a Stinger SAM fired by D Squadron SAS (the first Stinger launched in combat) [2] and another to 30 mm cannon rounds from Cmdr Nigel "Sharkey" Ward's RN Sea Harrier,[3][4] the latter after leading a successful two-aircraft raid on a shed allegedly used as an observation post by British forces. The other Pucará, piloted by Lt. Micheloud, made good its escape after being chased by Lt. Cmdr. Alan Craig's Sea Harrier. Major Tomba, the pilot of the aircraft shotdown by Cmdr Ward, survived the ejection and was recovered by friendly forces.[5][6]
Two Pucarás shot down a Royal Marines Scout helicopter with 7.62 mm machine gun fire on 28 May, while it was on a casualty evacuation mission during the battle of Goose Green. This was the only confirmed Argentine air-to-air victory of the war.[7] One of these Pucarás crashed into Blue Mountain on the return flight to Port Stanley and was destroyed—the body of the pilot (Lt. Gimenez) was not found until 1986, and was buried with military honours at Port Darwin by his family, the first Argentine relatives to visit the Falklands since the end of the war.[8]
Also on the 28 May 2 Para shot down a Pucará with small arms fire after it launched rockets on British troops (without causing any casualties), during the Battle of Goose Green. Lt Cruzado ejected and became a POW.[9]
After the Argentine surrender eleven Pucarás (four of them in flying condition) were captured by British forces. Six were taken back to the United Kingdom, as follows:
Some Pucarás were used in Sri Lanka counter-insurgency operations from 1993 to 1999; three were destroyed during combat sorties.[16]
On May 1982, at the peak of the Falklands War, the Argentine Air Force, in collaboration with the Navy, outfitted a prototype, AX-04, with pylons to mount Mark 13 torpedoes. The aim was its possible production as torpedo-carrying aircraft to enhance the anti-ship capabilities of the Argentine air forces. Several trials were performed off Puerto Madryn, over Golfo Nuevo, but the war was over before the technicians could evaluate the feasibility of the project.[17]
In the 1990s the FAA Pucarás received several minor upgrades, known as IA-58D. As of 2010 they remain in service with the 3rd Air Brigade, and with the Uruguayan Air Force.
In 2007 an IA-58 of the Fuerza Aérea Argentina was converted to carry a modified engine operating on soy-derived bio-jet fuel. The project, financed and directed by the Argentine Government (Secretaría de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación Productiva de la Nación), made Argentina the second nation in the world to propel an aircraft with biojet fuel. The project intends to make the FAA less reliant on fossil fuels.[18]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
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