The 751 Squadron "Pumas" (Esquadra 751) is a helicopter squadron of the Portuguese Air Force

Portuguese Air Force

The Portuguese Air Force is the air force of Portugal. Formed on July 1, 1952, with the Aeronáutica Militar and Aviação Naval united in a single independent Air Force, it is one of the three branches of the Portuguese Armed Forces and its origins dates back to 1912, when the military aviation...

. It is part of Grupo Operacional 61 and it is located in Air Base nº6 (BA6), Montijo, south of Lisbon. 751 Squadron moto is "Para que outros vivam" (So others may live) and their crews have rescued more than 2630 people since 1978.

1978-2006

The 751 Squadron was created in April 29, 1978, operating 4 SA-330 Puma helicopters. At the time, its Primary Mission was Search and Rescue and the Secondary Missions were Tatical and General Air Transport. The SA-330 Puma operated had been previously employed in the Portuguese Colonial War and after the war end were adapted to a new role. These changes made the helicopters able to perform the required Search and Rescue Missions in the Portuguese Search and Rescue areas of responsibility. To execute these missions a crew of five and a helicopter were in a 24h alert at Air Base nº6. In the 1990s a permanent detachment, the Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...

 Air Detachment starts to operate from Porto Santo airport. This detachment also had a crew and a helicopter on a 24h alert. to execute Search and Rescue

Search and rescue

Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...

 operations, and has as its secondary mission the execution of tactical and general air transport operations.

2006-Today

In 2005 the 751 Squadron started to operate the Agusta WestlandEH101 Merlin, the SA-330 replacement. In February 11, 2005 the first two Merlins arrived at Portugal. After the crew's conversion to the new helicopter, the EH-101 Merlin started its operational activity in Air Base nº6 on the 3rd of February 2006 and in Madeira Air detachment on the 22nd of the same month. This aircraft upgrade allowed the 751 Squadron to be fitted with the latest helicopter technology, increasing the operational range from 200NM to 400NM. After the introduction of the Merlin in the Portuguese Air Force there were major changes in the Portuguese Search and Rescue assets. On the 30th November 2005 the Azores

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

 Air Detachement was created, operating from Air Base nº4 (BA4), from Lajes

Lajes

Lajes is Portuguese for "covering of flat rock", or "flagstone", and may refer to:=*Lajes, Rio Grande do Norte*Lages, Santa Catarina , Brazil*Lajes Pintadas, Rio Grande do Norte- Archipelago of the Azores :...

, Azores. This detachment comprises two helicopters and two crews, having one of the crews on a 24h permanent alert.

Since its activation the 751 Squadron has flown a total of more than 40 000 hours, 10 000 hours of those with the Merlins and as rescued more than 2500 lives.

Assigned Missions

The 751 Squadron is responsible for the following missions:

• Search and Rescue (SAR)
• Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR)
• Aeromedical Evacuation (AIREV)
• Air Logistic Support Operations (ALSO)
• Tactical Air Transport (TAT)
• Fishing Activities Surveillance (SIFICAP)

Aircraft

• SA-330 Puma (1978-2006)
• EH-101 Merlin (2006- )

The 751 Squadron operates 12 EH-101 Merlin helicopters in 3 different versions. 6 SAR helicopters, 2 SIFICAP helicopters e 4 CSAR helicopters.

Squadron Leaders

• MAJ/PILAV Fernando Caetano Mendes - 01 AGO 1978 / 30 JUL 1981

• TCOR/PILAV Manuel dos Santos Nicolau - 31 JUL 1981 / 16 MAI 86

• MAJ/PILAV Victor Manuel Lourenço Morato - 15 MAI 1986 / 08 DEZ 1986

• MAJ/PILAV Rui Mora de Oliveira - 09 DEZ 1986 / 23 SET 1988

• MAJ/PILAV António Magalhães Cruz - 07 NOV 1988 / 08 JUL 1990

• MAJ/PILAV Jorge Manuel da Rocha Fernandes - 09 JUL 1990 / 14 OUT 1991

• MAJ/PILAV Luís António Flôr Ruivo - 13 JAN 1992 / 13 SET 1992

• MAJ/PILAV Joaquim Epifânio Santana Santos - 14 SET 1992 / 16 SET 1993

• MAJ/PILAV Luís António Flôr Ruivo - 29 NOV 1993 / 02 ABR 1996

• MAJ/PILAV Augusto Manuel De Sousa Brites - 03 ABR 1996 / 25 MAI 1997

• MAJ/PILAV Vítor César Soares Vieira - 16 JUN 1997 / 29 JUL 1998

• MAJ/PILAV Alexandre Paulo Menezes Figueiredo - 30 JUL 1998 / 30 AGO 2000

• TCOR/PILAV João Tiago Cabral de Almeida Carvalho - 31 AGO 2000 / 03 JUN 2002

• TCOR/PILAV Manuel Maria Mories Dionísio - 03 JUN 2002 / 05 MAI 2005

• MAJ/PILAV Hélder Cardoso - 05 MAI 2005 / 04 MAI 2007

• MAJ/PILAV Jorge Pina - 04 MAI 2007 / 25 AGO 2008

• TCOR/PILAV António Moldão - 25 AGO 2008 / 28 SET 2010

• TCOR/PILAV José Diniz - 28 SET 2010 / 24 OUT 2011

• TCOR/PILAV João Carita - 25 OUT 2011 /

External links

• 751 Squadron information at the Portuguese Air Force official website