| World Air Forces |
Argentina
Air Force
Unit History
Role: Maintenance/Aircraft production. The unit
was formed
as Fábrica
Militar de Aviones (FMA)
on
10.10.1927 and on
18.7.1928 began
the production of the first domestically produced aircraft: the license built Avro 504
Gosport training aircraft.
In 1931 the Instituto Aerotécnico produced its first national designed aircraft,
the Ae. C.1 (Ae=Instituto Aerotécnico, C=Civil and 1=primer tipo) followed by
Ae. C.2, Ae. M.E.1 (Instituto
Aerotécnico Militar de Entrenamiento 1), Ae. M.O.1, Ae. M.Oe.1, Ae. M.Oe.2 (Instituto
Aerotécnico Militar de Observación y Entrenamiento 1),
Ae. T.1 (Instituto
Aerotécnico de Transporte 1), Ae. M.B.1 (Instituto Aerotécnico Militar de
Bombardeo 1) and Ae. M.S.1 (Instituto Aerotécnico Militar de Transporte
Sanitario 1). FMA was renamed Instituto Aerotécnico
on 23.10.1943.
From this year on the local designed aircraft use the prefix I.Ae. e.g. I.Ae.
21. The factory
is known for producing the first fighter aircraft in Latin America: the Pulqui I
(1947) and the Pulqui II (1950) under the direction of engineers Emile Dewoitine
(French) and Kurt Tank (German) respectively.
On 28.3.1952 the institute was renamed
Fábrica Argentina de Aviones "Brigadier San Martín" S.A.
(FADEA)
In 1968 the name was reverted to Fábrica Militar de Aviones, becoming part of Área de Material Córdoba. FMA was closed in 1995 and privatized by the government of Carlos Menem and operated until March 2009 as LMAASA (Lockheed Martin Aircraft Argentina SA, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation). Under the terms of the privatization agreement LMAASA would operate it for 25 years and could be renewed for two 10 year periods.
During the government of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner the factory was nationalised in August 2009 after paying ARS $67 Million. The text of the expropriation law provides that "the State shall not return to get rid of a majority stake in the power or decision-making factory." Its was renamed after Argentine Air Force Brigadier Juan Ignacio San Martín a military engineer who laid the foundations of the aeronautics industry at Córdoba when he directed the Instituto Aerotécnico, the forerunner of the FMA, in the 1940s.
Effective December 18, 2009 the United States Department of State announced that Lockheed Martin Aircraft Argentina is rename to Fábrica Argentina de Aviones “Brigadier San Martin” S.A.
| Base | Duration |
|---|---|
|
Guarnicación Aérea Córdoba/Córdoba |
1927 - Present |
| Type | Qty | Service | Example Serials |
|---|---|---|---|
| FMA I.Ae. 21 | 1 | 1943 - 1943 | no |
| FMA I.Ae. 23 | 1 | 1945 - 1946 | no |
| FMA I.Ae. 25 Mañque | 1 | 1945 - 1945 | no |
| FMA I.Ae. 27 Pulqui I | 1 | 1947 - 1951 | no |
| FMA I.Ae. 30 Ñancú | 1 | 1948 - 1948 | no |
| FMA I.Ae. 31 Colibrí | 3 | 1947 - 1948 | no |
| FMA I.Ae. 32 Chingolo | 1 | 1949 - 1949 | no |
| FMA I.Ae. 33 Pulqui II | 4 | 1950 - 1959 | no |
| FMA I.Ae. 34 Clen Antú | 4 | 1949 - n/a | no |
| FMA I.Ae. 37 | 2 | 1954 - 1957 | no |
| FMA I.A. 38 | 1 | 1960 - 1963 | no |
| FMA I.A. 41 Urubú | 2 | 1953 - n/a | no |
| FMA I.A. 45 Querandí | 2 | 1957 - 1967 | no |
| FMA I.A. 51 Tehuelche | 1 | 1963 - 1981 | LV-X26 |
| FMA I.A. 53 Mamboretá | 2 | 1965 - 1976 | LV-X33, LV-X35 |
| FMA I.A. 54 Carancho | 2 | 1964 - 1965 | no |
| FMA I.A. 58A Pucará | 3 | 1969 - 1980 | AX-01-AX-03 |
| FMA I.A. 58B Pucará | 1 | 1979 - 1982 | AX-05 |
| FMA I.A. 58C Pucará | 1 | 1984 - 1985 | AX-06(2) |
| Embraer/FMA CBA 123 Vector | 1 | 1990 - 1993 | LV-X134 |
Unit Insignia:
|
Fábrica Militar de Aviones (FMA) |
 |
References:
- Fábrica Argentina de Aviones "Brig. San Martín" S.A. (official hompage)
- Fábrica Argentina de Aviones "Brig. San Martín" S.A. (Wikipedia)
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| First Created: 3 February 2010 - Last Revised: 3 February 2010 | ||||
| Copyright © 2010 Erich Klaus. e-mail: erich.klaus@a1.net | ||||