FMA IA 58 Pucará
| 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 (Template:Lang-qu) 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.
Development
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.
Operational history
The first units were delivered in 1975 to the Argentine Air Force (Template:Lang-es, FAA), 3rd Air Brigade (Template:Lang-es) in northern Reconquista, Santa Fe province.
1982 Falklands war
By the time of the Falklands War (Template:Lang-es), almost 100 airframes have 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 fired 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. 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 dropped napalm on British troops (without causing any casualties), during the Battle of Goose Green.
Captured aircraft
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:
- A-515 (ZD485) – Royal Air Force Museum Cosford.[9]
- A-517 – Privately owned. Possibly shipped to the Channel Islands.[10]
- A-522 (8768M) – North East Aircraft Museum (on loan from the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton).[11]
- A-528 (8769M) – Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum (on loan from Museum of Army Flying, Middle Wallop).[12]
- A-533 (ZD486) – Boscombe Down Aviation Collection (Cockpit Section only).[13]
- A-549 (ZD487) – Imperial War Museum Duxford.[14]
Sri Lankan Civil War
Some Pucarás were used in Sri Lanka counter-insurgency operations from 1993 to 1999; three were destroyed during combat sorties.[15]
Upgrades
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, but the war was over before the technicians could evaluate the feasibility of the project.[16]
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.[17]
Variants
- AX-02 Delfin: Prototype.
- AX-04: A torpedo-carrying prototype.
- IA-58A Pucará: Two-seat counter-insurgency, close-support, attack aircraft. Main production version.
- IA-58B Pucará Bravo: One prototype aircraft, with advanced avionics and armed with two 30-mm DEFA cannons.
- IA-58C Pucará Charlie: One single-seat prototype aircraft.
- IA-58D Pucará Delta: Upgraded IA-58A with minor revisions [18]
- IA-66: One prototype aircraft, powered by two 1,000-ehp (746-kW) Garrett TPE331-11-601W turboprop engines.
Military operators
Current Operators
Former Operators
- Sri Lanka Air Force (1993-1999, 2 shot down, 1 crashed, 1 retired)
Specifications
Data from [19]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Capacity: 2
Performance
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
References
- ^ "List of Argentine Aircraft Destroyed". Retrieved 2009-November-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ San Carlos Air Battles - Falklands War 1982
- ^ "Major Carlos Tomba's Pucara". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ "Lost Argentine Pucara found". Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ Ethell, Jeffrey L. and Price, Alfred (1983). Air war South Atlantic. Macmillan, p. 111. ISBN 002536300X
- ^ Higgitt, Mark (2000). Through fire and water: HMS Ardent, the forgotten frigate of the Falklands. Mainstream, p. 171. ISBN 184018356X
- ^ www.naval-history.net: Argentine aircraft and successes against British ships
- ^ "One of their aircraft is missing". Retrieved 2009-November-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_336.shtml
- ^ Halbritter, Francisco (2004). Historia de la industria aeronáutica argentina. Volume 1. Asociación Amigos de la Biblioteca Nacional de Aeronáutica, 2004. ISBN 9872077444. Template:Es
- ^ http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=895673
- ^ Es la actualización del modelo "A" del IA-58, que posee materiales compuestos (en algunas partes de la aeronave), nuevos equipos en cabina, recorrida de la estructura y reemplazo de componentes internos del avión extendiendo su vida útil. Pero físicamente se lo distingue por llevar un esquema de pintura en gris de baja visibilidad y lleva en la cola un triangulito que simboliza la letra Delta de su nombre.
- ^ Donald, David, ed. (1997). The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Prospero Books. pp. 379–380. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)
External links
