| Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña (FAS) |
By Erwin van Dijkman
The birth of the FAS can be traced back to the World War I era. The first powered aircraft to visit El Salvador was a French Deperdussin in 1912. This inspired several salvadoreños, and it was not before long before the first one attempted to build an aircraft. Ordering the crucial parts from the United States, the first aircraft was assembled in El Salvador in August 1913. It took to the air at hacienda Colima and reached a height of 10 metres and a distance of 50 before it crashed. Another milestone was reached in January 1917 when the Mexican government donated two TNCA Serie A aircraft to El Salvador. After the flights made by salvadoreños in these aircraft in the course of 1917 and 1918, the era of aerobatics also broke in Central America and many demonstrations were given by foreign pilots after the First World War ended. An Italo-Salvadoran pilots' society was established in 1921 and 1922 saw a 500km long distance flight record by an army captain marking the keen interest of the military in manned flight. Subsequently, the Flotilla Aérea Salvadoreña was formed per decree on 20 March 1923 in this period of booming aviation interest.
The first aircraft to arrive for the Escuela de Aviación was a Curtiss JN-4D Jenny in 1924. This was followed a couple of years later by five Hanriot H320Et2s and one Breguet 14A and, in 1929, by four Waco Taperwings and one Waco Model F. The economic situation in the thirties made growth difficult, but more aircraft gradually arrived. A period of turmoil followed in the forties, with swift changes of government and command over the air force. Typical aircraft of the time were AT-6, BT-13, and the first two of many Dakotas (R4D-1 models). The fifties saw the arrival of more light aircraft, capable of being armed. By the end of the fifties a more serious impulse was received through the foreign military assistance programme of the United States, the backbone of the FAS was formed by twenty FG-1D Corsairs, apart from the Harvards in various subtypes. The Corsairs soldiered on for a decade. However, the state of these aircraft was worsening and by 1968 only five were in airworthy condition and at the same time the tension with Honduras was rising, prompting the acquisition of six Cavalier F-51 Mustang IIs and a single B-26B. These were all used to good effect along with the surviving Corsairs in the raids of the 100 hour war with Honduras in July 1969.
The first jets for FAS only arrived in the seventies when twelve CM170 and eighteen MD450 were received from Israel along with four Aravas, which were part of the deal. The eighties saw the arrival of the A-37 greatly enhancing the counter-insurgency possibilities of the FAS performed in close co-operation with Dakota, Huey and Hughes 500 gunships and the Special Forces. However, it was not until the late nineties before some newcomers could be welcomed again. Mostly light aircraft like T-35B Pillán trainers and Bell 407 and 412 (VIP) personnel transports. Therefore, the sharp end of FAS is still being formed by Dragonflies, Dakotas, O-2s, Hueys and Hughes 500s today.
Source:
Official FAS website (www.fas.gob.sv)
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Photo: Luc Hornstra
Photo: Luc Hornstra
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You can find more about the El Salvador Air Force on these pages. On the Order of Battle page we show you where the
main bases are. A map of El Salvador is available. Click on an airbase to see what's there to be found. Also we present links to
Microsoft's Expediamaps services: with each airbase you can find a link to a map of the airbases' neighbourhood .
Order of Battle
The Database
Links to Related Websites
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