The
FMA IA 58 Pucará is an
ArgentineArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
ground-attack,
counter-insurgencyCounter-insurgency is a military term for the armed conflict against an insurgency by forces aligned with the recognised government of the territory in which the conflict takes place...
(COIN)
aircraftAn aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly by being supported...
. A low-wing
monoplaneA monoplane is an aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
of all-metal construction, with a retractable landing gear, it was manufactured by the Fábrica Militar de Aviones.
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
FMA IA 58 Pucará is an
ArgentineArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
ground-attack,
counter-insurgencyCounter-insurgency is a military term for the armed conflict against an insurgency by forces aligned with the recognised government of the territory in which the conflict takes place...
(COIN)
aircraftAn aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly by being supported...
. A low-wing
monoplaneA monoplane is an aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
of all-metal construction, with a retractable landing gear, it was 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-BakerMartin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd. is a manufacturer of ejection seats and safety related equipment for aviation. The company origins were as an aircraft manufacturer before becoming a pioneer in the field of ejection seats...
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 AstazouThe Turbomeca Astazou was a highly-successful series of turboprop and turboshaft engines, first run in 1957. The original version weighed 110 kg and developed 240 kW at 40,000 rpm....
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 ForceThe Argentine Air Force is the national aviation branch of the armed forces of Argentina. As of 2007, it had 14,606 airmen and 6,854 civilans on duty.-History:...
, 3rd Air Brigade in northern
ReconquistaReconquista is a city in the north of the , from the provincial capital. It is the head town of the General Obligado Department, and it has 66,187 inhabitants according to the ....
, Santa Fe province with almost 100 airframes delivered by 1982. The unit was deployed south during the
Falklands WarThe Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, performing coastal surveillance from the
PatagoniaPatagonia is a geographic region containing the southernmost portion of South America. Located in Argentina and Chile, it comprises the southernmost portion of the Andes mountains to the west and south, and plateaux and low plains to the east. The name Patagonia comes from the word patagón used by...
airfields. As the only aircraft available in substantial numbers for deployment on the islands (the paved runway at
Port Stanley AirportPort Stanley Airport is a STOLport in the Falkland Islands, two miles outside the capital, Stanley. The airport is the only civilian airport in the islands with a paved runway...
was not long enough for FAA
SkyhawkThe Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a carrier-capable ground-attack aircraft designed for the United States Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The delta winged, single turbojet-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later McDonnell Douglas...
s and Mirages to be deployed), many
Pucarás were destroyed on the ground by British forces before taking part in combat.
The aircraft which did see combat were usually armed with unguided bombs, 2.75-in (70-mm) rocket pods, or 7.62 mm machine gun pods. Apart from Port Stanley airport,
Pucarás were also operated from two small grass improvised airfields at
Goose GreenGoose Green is a settlement in Lafonia on East Falkland in the Falkland Islands. It lies on Choiseul Sound, on the east side of the island's central isthmus, 3 km south-southwest of Darwin....
and
Pebble IslandPebble Island is one of the Falkland Islands, lying north of West Falkland. It has an area of approximately 88 square kilometres and has been a sheep farm since 1846...
. They were used in the reconnaissance & light-attack role and shot down a Royal Marines
ScoutThe Westland Scout was a general purpose military light helicopter developed by Westland Helicopters. It was closely related to the Westland Wasp naval helicopter.-Design and development:...
helicopter on May 28, the only confirmed Argentine air-to-air victory of the war. After the war, two were taken back to the United Kingdom. One is displayed at the
Imperial War Museum DuxfordImperial War Museum Duxford is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near the village of Duxford in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, which houses the museum's large exhibits. These include nearly 200 aircraft, military vehicles, artillery and minor naval vessels in seven main exhibitions buildings...
. The second (serial number A-515) was taken to
MoD Boscombe DownMoD Boscombe Down is an aircraft testing site located south of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. It is run and managed by QinetiQ, the company created as part of the break up of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency in 2001 by the UK Ministry of Defence...
, returned to flying condition and assessed by the RAF; it is now on display at the RAF Museum Cosford.
Six Pucarás were destroyed and five damaged in the
SASThe Special Air Service is a special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model for the special forces of other countries. The SAS forms a significant section of United Kingdom Special Forces alongside the Special Boat Service , Special Reconnaissance Regiment , and the...
Raid on Pebble IslandThe Raid on Pebble Island took place on 14-15 May 1982 during the Falklands War. Pebble Island is part of the Falkland Islands.-Background:...
.
Pucarás were used in
Sri LankaSri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India...
counter-insurgencyCounter-insurgency is a military term for the armed conflict against an insurgency by forces aligned with the recognised government of the territory in which the conflict takes place...
operations from 1993 to 1999; three were destroyed during combat sorties.
In the 1990s FAA
Pucarás received several minor upgrades, known as
IA-58D, and they remain in service with the 3rd Air Brigade and with the
Uruguayan Air ForceThe Uruguayan Air Force is one of the three main branches of the Armed Forces of Uruguay under the Uruguayan Ministry of Defense. The current head of the force is General of the Air Enrique A...
.
In 2007 an IA-58 of the Fuerza Aérea Argentina was converted to carry a modified engine operating on soy-derived
bio-jet fuelBiofuel is defined as solid, liquid or gaseous fuel obtained from lifeless or living biological material and is similar to fossil fuels, which are derived from long dead biological material. Also, various plants and plant-derived materials are used for biofuel manufacturing...
. 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.
Variants
- AX-2 Delfin : Prototype.
- IA-58A : Two-seat counter-insurgency, close-support, attack aircraft. Main production version.
- IA-58B Pucara Bravo : One prototype aircraft, with advanced aviaonics and armed with two 30-mm DEFA cannon
The GIAT DEFA 550 is a series of widely used French aircraft guns.The initial DEFA 551 was developed in the late 1940s. It was based on the German Mauser MG 213C, an experimental revolver cannon developed for the Luftwaffe. The MG 213 never reached production, but inspired the DEFA, the very...
s.
- IA-58C Pucara Charlie : One single-seat prototype aircraft.
- IA-58D Pucara Delta : Upgraded IA-58A with minor revisions
- IA-66 : One prototype aircraft, powered by two 1,000-ehp (746-kW) Garrett TPE331-11-601W turboprop engines.
Former Operators
- Colombian Air Force
The Colombian Air Force or FAC is the Air Force of The Republic of Colombia.-Creation:Military aviation began in Colombia in 1919 with the creation of a military aviation school for the Colombian Army. Previously by Law 15 of 1916 of September 7 two commissions were sent overseas to study new...
- Sri Lanka Air Force (1993-1999, 2 shot down, 1 crashed, 1 retired)
Specifications
See also
External links