Colombian Air Force

Fuerza Aérea Colombiana FAC
Lineup	February 15, 1921
Country	Colombia
Armed forces	Armed Forces of Colombia
Armed forces	Army ( Ejército Nacional de Colombia ) Navy ( Armada Nacional de Colombia ) Marine Infantry ( Infanteria de Marina ) Coast Guard ( Guardacostas ) Air Force ( Fuerza Aérea Colombiana )
Strength	33,824 (2014)
Location	Avenida El Dorado , Cra. 54 # 26-25, Fontibón , Bogotá, DC
motto	Sic Itur Ad Astra "So let's go to the stars"
Colours	Yellow, blue, red
mascot	Captain Paz
Anniversaries	November 8th
Butcher	Colombian-Peruvian War , Armed Conflict in Colombia , Operación Fénix, Operación Orión, República de Marquetalia, Operación Sodoma, Operación Odiseo
Commander of the FAC
Chief of the General Staff of the FAC	Major General Carlos Eduardo Bueno Vargas
insignia
Aircraft cockade
National emblem ( vertical stabilizer )
Flag and standard
Aircraft
Attack aircraft	Embraer EMB 314 , Cessna A-37 , Rockwell OV-10 , Douglas DC-3
bomber	IAI Kfir
Fighter aircraft / helicopter	Sikorsky UH-60 , Bell UH-1
Interceptor	Cessna Skymaster , SA2-37A / B , Beechcraft King Air
Transport aircraft / helicopter	Hercules C-130 , Airbus CASA C-295 , CASA CN-235 , CASA C-212 ,

Fuerza Aérea Colombiana or FAC ( German  Colombian Air Force ) are the air forces of the Republic of Colombia . The FAC is one of the three organs of the Colombian Armed Forces , which were mandated in the 1991 Constitution to defend control of Colombian airspace , sovereignty , territorial integrity and the constitutional order. It is one of the largest American air forces after Brazil , Peru and the USA , due to increased activity in the fight against drug terrorism .

history

Beginnings

Once in 1916 a Colombian military mission in France had taken part in a training flight, was on 31 December 1919 the Law no. 126 passed which led to the establishment of military aviation within the Colombian army to the goal. It took until February 15, 1921 for the facility to be formally established, but only a year later it had to be closed again for financial reasons.

This is where a development began: after the First World War, German pilots saw an uncertain future due to the Versailles Treaty of 1919 and found a new opportunity in the endeavors of Colombia. On December 5, 1919 , the “Sociedad Colombo Alemana de Transporte Aéreo”, SCADTA, was founded in Barranquilla by Germans and Colombians . It became the second commercial airline in the world after KLM . Although purely civil, it had a major impact on future air forces.

Probably through the mediation of some Germans, a Swiss mission came to Colombia on November 8, 1924 to reopen the military flight school in Madrid near Bogotá . Four Swiss Wild WTS and eight Wild X held the first air parade on August 7, 1927 , and a year later the first fighter aircraft, an American Curtiss Falcon, was put into service. The future "Fuerza Aérea Colombiana" was now a real air force, but not yet a separate armed force , but part of the army .

First use against Peru

For the first operational deployment, it took until September 1, 1932 , when Peruvians invaded the border town of Leticia in the Department of Amazonas in the extreme south-east of Colombia after a prolonged border conflict. Using the Air Force to get to the area quickly and to fight the invaders was obvious, but with only four new Travel Air 2000 support aircraft and a single O-1, that was effectively impossible. The Colombia Congress acted swiftly by dramatically increasing the budget and allowing the purchase of new aircraft, facilities and the recruitment of experienced pilots, including many Germans and Colombians from the SCADTA airline. Twenty Curtiss Falcon F-8F and thirty Curtiss Hawk II F-11C were procured in addition to more commercially designed German aircraft: four Junkers F 13 , four Junkers W 34 , three Junkers K 43 , six Junkers Ju 52 / 1m , two Dornier Merkur II and four of the known Dornier Wal - flying boats .

A Hawk II F11C in action in 1932 near Güepí, Peru.

Many of the transport machines were seaplane versions and could land on large rivers to deliver supplies, while the fighters were entrusted with ground attacks. The Peruvians also had fighter jets, a Peruvian Douglas O-38 was forced to land and captured. The League of Nations negotiated a peace treaty between the two parties and the conflict officially ended on May 24, 1933 . The O-38P and its crew were returned, and Leticia became Colombian again. The FAC lost four pilots, none in combat, including a German, and four aircraft (Curtiss Falcon O-1, Osprey C-14, Goshawk F-11, and a Junkers F-13).

Second World War

The Second World War brought great uncertainty for Colombia. Although allied with the USA, there was great pressure to expel the Germans from the country for fear of an uprising. The Colombian government was able to defend itself against the pressure, but took some precautionary measures to prevent possible German espionage . After 7. December 1941 , the half-German airline SCADTA had with the national airline " Servicio Aéreo Colombiano " (SCAO, later Avianca ) are fused and the Austrian Industrial Peter Paul Bauer had his shares of Pan American World Airways sell to to prevent Nazi control .

At that time, Colombia received modern American Boeing Stearman PT-1 and AT-6 training aircraft , the AT-6 could also be used in combat. Except for anti-submarine defense , the aircraft were not used. Soon after the war, the FAC was split off from the army and became its own branch within the armed forces of Colombia.

After 1945

A Colombian FAC3027 AMD Mirage 5 at El Dorado Airport, Bogotá (2012).

After the war, Colombia procured a number of surplus aircraft from US stocks, including P-47 Thunderbolts and A-26 Invaders . Later mainly US aircraft were procured, but some from other countries as well; the first jet aircraft was a Canadian Canadair Saber Mk 4 and later some Lockheed P-80s .

Despite tensions with neighboring countries, political upheavals and the country's economic weakness, the FAC grew steadily and today uses the latest aviation technologies. The main tasks are in the fight against drug smugglers and, until they do , the FARC guerrilla movement . Colombia strictly monitors its own airspace and routinely shoots down any aircraft whose crew does not respond to radio commands. For this task she now uses a number of aircraft, including six Basler BT-67s , an overhauled and heavily modified Douglas DC-3 as a so-called gunship , and Cessna A-37 attack aircraft. The small, modified and specially built light aircraft Lancair Legacy T-90 Calima is used as a training aircraft.

Flight schools and air bases

Map of Colombia with the locations of the air forces

The abbreviation, name, place and department are listed

• EMAVI - Escuela Militar de Aviación - Cali ( Valle del Cauca )
• ESUFA - Escuela de Suboficiales Fuerza Aérea - Madrid ( Cundinamarca )
• CACOM 1 - Comando Aéreo de Combate No. 1 - Puerto Salgar (Cundinamarca)
• CACOM 2 - Comando Aéreo de Combate No. 2 - Apiay ( meta )
• CACOM 3 - Comando Aéreo de Combate No. 3 - Malambo ( Atlántico )
• CACOM 4 - Comando Aéreo de Combate No. 4 - Melgar ( Tolima )
• CACOM 5 - Comando Aéreo de Combate No. 5 - Rionegro ( Antioquia )
• CACOM 6 - Comando Aéreo de Combate No. 6 - Tres Esquinas ( Caquetá )
• CACOM 7 - Comando Aéreo de Combate No. 7 - Cali (Valle del Cauca)
• CATAM - Comando Aéreo de Transporte Militar - El Dorado Airport ( Bogotá DC )
• CAMAN - Comando Aéreo de Mantenimiento - Madrid (Cundinamarca)
• GAORI - Aéreo del Oriente Group - Marandua ( Vichada )
• GACAR - Grupo Aéreo del Caribe - San Andrés ( San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina )
• GACAS - Grupo Aéreo del Casanare - Yopal ( Casanare )
• GAAMA - Grupo Aéreo del Amazonas - Leticia ( Amazonas )
• EPFAC - Escuela de Posgrados de la Fuerza Aérea Colombiana - (Bogotá DC)

equipment

Aircraft in service in 2016

Aircraft	origin	Type	In service	version
Fighter planes
IAI Kfir	Israel	Fighter plane	19th	Acquired 24 used C-10 aircraft by the Israeli Air Force in 2008
Cessna A-37	United States	Fighter aircraft and tactical reconnaissance	7th
Embraer EMB 314	Brazil	Fighter aircraft and tactical reconnaissance	24
Basler AC-47T Fantasma	United States	Gunship	6th
Transport aircraft
Lockheed C-130 Hercules	United States	Tactical transport aircraft	6th	C-130B / H
Casa C-212 Aviocar	Spain	Tactical transport aircraft for long-range sea reconnaissance	4th
CASA CN-235 & CASA C-295	Europe	Transport plane	8th	3 CN-235 & 5 C-295
Embraer KC-390	Brazil	Tactical transport aircraft	0 + 12
Embraer EMB 110	Brazil	Light transport aircraft	2
Cessna 208	United States	Light transport aircraft	10
Beechcraft King Air	United States	Passenger Airplane	8th	King Air 90/350
Boeing 727	United States	Passenger Airplane	2
Boeing 737	United States	Passenger Airplane	2
Piper PA-31T	United States	Multipurpose aircraft	1
Aero Commander	United States	Multipurpose aircraft	1
IAI Arava	Israel	Multipurpose aircraft	1
Tanker planes
Boeing KC-767	United States	Tanker aircraft	1
Reconnaissance aircraft
Cessna 208	United States	Reconnaissance plane	6th	Recce
Beechcraft King Air	United States	Reconnaissance plane	4th	King Air 300/350 (EW)
Fairchild Metroliner	United States	Reconnaissance plane	1	Metro IV (EW)
Maritime patrol aircraft
Cessna Citation V.	United States	Maritime patrol aircraft	5	(MPA)
Aero Commander 500	United States	Maritime patrol aircraft	2	(MPA)
Training aircraft
Embraer EMB 312	Brazil	Airplane for initial and intermediate training	14th
CIAC T-90 Calima	United States	Airplane for initial training	25th
Cessna T-37	United States	Training aircraft	17th
helicopter
Hughes MD 500	United States	Multipurpose light helicopter	6th	MD500 / 530
Bell UH-1 Iroquois	United States	Transport helicopter	47	UH-1H
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk	United States	Transport helicopter	24	S-70 / AH / MH / UH-60L
Bell 205	United States	Multipurpose helicopter	2
Bell 206	United States	Multipurpose helicopter	12
Bell 212	United States	Multipurpose helicopter	10

Incidents

From 1936 to October 2018, there were 42 total loss of transport aircraft of the Colombian Air Force. 268 people were killed. Examples (this list is incomplete and has only just begun (October 2018)):

• On July 24, 1985, a Douglas DC-6B of the Colombian Air Force ( FAC-902 ) coming from Bogota crashed into the jungle 32 kilometers north of the destination Leticia . The machine had been used in civil domestic traffic due to a strike by the Avianca pilots. The trigger was probably the failure of engine no. 3 while flying through a heavy rainfall area. All 80 occupants (76 passengers and 4 crew members) were killed.

Web links

• Official website (Spanish / English / French)
• The Colombian Air Force

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Pie de Fuerza aumento en 42 mil efectivos elnuevosiglo.com.co, accessed on June 10, 2017 (Spanish)
2. ↑ Portal Infantil ( Memento of the original from June 8, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. capitanpaz.mil.co 
3. ↑ Saludo del señor Major General Carlos Eduardo Bueno Vargas Comandante Fuerza Aérea Colombiana fac.mil.com, accessed on June 9, 2017 (Spanish)
4. ↑ Reseña Histórica fac.mil.co, accessed June 10, 2017 (Spanish)
5. ↑ Una historia de amor y dolor semana.com, accessed on June 10, 2017 (Spanish)
6. ↑ Peter Paul von Bauer 1889 scadtacolombia.blogspot.de, accessed on June 10, 2017 (Spanish)
7. ↑ World Air Force 2016 flightglobal.com, accessed June 10, 2017
8. ↑ Accident Statistics Colombian AF , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 20, 2018.
9. ^ Accident report DC-6B FAC-902 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on October 24, 2018.