•

fl
11'7:TI ORLD WAR Two linked most Latin
11.:CJAmerican air arms to the United States.
From the late 1940s and early 1950s they began
to receive large numbers of P-47D Thunderbolts,
P-51 D Mustangs, T-6 Texans and C-47 Dakotas, all
of which had become surplus to US requirements.
By the mid-1950s, several South Ameri can
air forces needed a new generation of combat
aircraft. The Americans offered the F-80C
Shooting Star, a veteran of the Korean War, and
its twin seat derivate, the T-33 T-bird jet trainer.
Over 300 Shooting Stars and T-birds found their
way to eleven countries between 1954 and 1969,
many under US military assistance programmes.

Supporting Counte~-lns:urgency
Export of the next generation of 'Cold War'
fighters was limited to the F-86 Sabre, but this time
only to selected countries - Argentina, Colombia
(Canadian examples), Peru, and Venezuela.
Heavier types, such as the F-1 00
Super Sabre, F-1-04 Starfighter
and F-4 Phantom, fighters widely
exported to major US allies around
the world, were not on offer. At this time the main
threat to Latin American governments came from
Communist-backed 'home-grown' guerrillas rather
than hordes of Tupolev bombers and MiG fighter-
bombers. Because of this the United States was
trying to persuade the Latin American air forces to
focus on the counter-insurgency (COIN) role.
By the late 1960s, the large Latin American
COIN fleet comp ri sed a spectacular mix of
aircraft such as armed A-26 Invaders, B-25
Mitchells, F,86 Sabres, P-47D Thunderbolts, T-6
Texans, T-28 Trojans, Gloster Meteors and de
Havilland Vampires. There was a clear need for a
modern light attack jet, which needed to be easy
to maintain, economic to operate, and rough
enough for counter-insurgency operations. 11
 Tweets and Dragonflies
In the early 1960s, as part of a US Ai r Force
experiment, a pair of T-378 Tweets - basic jet trainers
- were converted into close air support platforms,
and used to support US and friendly forces in irregular
warfare. This development resulted in t he A-37A
Dragonfly, wh ich came equipped wit h two new
]85-GE-S engines with more than twice the power
(2,400Ib (10.67kN) thrust) of the original ]69-T-25
turbojets rated at 1,0251b (4.SSkN).
Th is enabled the sma ll jet to carry a greater
weapons load. The definitive version was developed
by Cessna and flew for t he fi rst time in September
1967. The A-378 (Cessna Model 31 8E) had the
more powerful J-85-GE- l 7A engines ( rated at
2,8501b [l 2.67kN] each), a reinforced cockpit with
layered nylon flak curtains, eight under-wing hard-
poin ts for up to 5, 680Ib (2,574kg) of weapons,
wing-tip mount ed fuel tanks and provision for in-
flight refuelling. A fixed GAU-28/A 7.62-mm mini-
gun provided t he firepower.
A total of 577 A-378s were built by Cessna before
1977 and more than 220 of them eventually found
t heir way to nine Lat in American air arms. This
sm all light attack jet was the last combat aircraft
the US supplied in large quantities to its southern
neighbours, and represents a very important era
in Latin American history - the end of Cold War
insurgencies and t he consolidation of democracy.
Chile
Chile was t he sec~>0d Lati n American country to
order the A-378, opting for •~ew-bu ild examples
Above: The Dominican Air Force had planned to resurrect a couple of Its A-37s retired in March 2001, but the
plan has been shelved a nd they are now in store at San Isidro. CHRIS KNOTT/AP!
Below: Chile has received 44 A-37Bs, although a large number have been withdrawn from use in recent years. This
means that only one squadron, Grupo Aereo 12 in the southerly location of Punta Arenas, files the type. R J DE KOK
Like many South American operators, the Colombian Air Force A-37 fleet spends a lot of time Involved in ant/-
drug operations. The US goes some way to funding these aircraft in a bid to stop the flow of drugs into the
United States. This pair, FAC 2165 and 2177, are pictured in formation as part of Operation Perea/, an anti-
drugs exercise between Peru and Colombia in September 2006. CESAR CRUZ
over a US Navy offer for A-48 Skyhawks. Delivery
of the 1972 order was delayed until 19 75 (by the
coup in 1973 in which General Augusto Pinochet
ousted President Salvador Allende), but eventually
they equipped Grupo 1 at Los C6ndores. Qfiliverx
of a second batch began in 1977 to Gru po 4, also
atLos C6ndores. Howeve;::7ii.. 1980 this unit ~e-
equipped with the Mirage SO, and the Dragons were
transferred to Grupo 12 at Punta Arenas, Chile's
most southerly continental air base.
By t he early 1990s the fleet had been reduced to
22. A USAF offer of ten former Illinois Air National
Guard OA-37Bs was preferred over original plans to
replace the whole fleet with the ENAER A-36 Halcon
(an indigenous version of the CASA C-101 ). The type's
replacement was again rumoured to be imminent in
the early years of the new century, it being the longest-
servimg combat aircraft in its inventory. In 2001, half
tne 28 A-37Bs in service were ret urned to the United
States, refurbished, and put into storage.
The F-16 was selected as Chile's next generation
multi-role comba t aircraft t o replace the ag eing
Mirage fleet, leaving up to 14 OA-3 7Bs to soldier on
as part of Gru po 12.
Colombia
Delivery of an initial batch of A-37Bs to the Fuerza
Aerea Colom b iana (FAC - coiomEfan Air Force)
- ·---
began in 1980, and had risen t o a dozen e);(amples
by the following year. The aircraft joined a similar
number of T-37 Tweet armed jet trainers which had
been in service siAce 1969. They allowed the old
A-26 Invader fleet to be retired by 1982, and were
quickly pressed into counter-insurgency missions,
flying alongside UH-1 H Huey gunships as part of the
Escuadr6n de Combate 411 , w hich was part of a
new Tactical Support Group.
k further 12 examples were ordered in 1984, and
received by 1985. The increase in Dragons meant
that a four-aircraft det achment could be deployed
t o the San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina
archipelago. The islands have a strategic position
as they block the Panama Canal, and at that time
were being threatened by the presence of Sandinista
rebels from Nicaragua.
a . ~ o r m er US Air Force aircraft
allowed the FAC to set up two other detachments, one
at Palanquero with Comandos Aereos de Combate 1
(CACOM-1 - 1st Combat Air Command) and another
 /

Above: In 1971, Guatemala became the first country In South America to operate the aircraft, after taking deliv-
ery of eight. Some 36 years later, the country which shares a northern border with Mexico is still believed to be A follow-on batch never arrived - instead, the FAD
flying two. CHRIS KNOTT/Al'I received a batch of Cessna 0 -2 light observation
Below: The A-37 is El Salvador's sole fast jet and represents the country's only 'effective' air defence. Around nine aircraft. In 1986 the US suspended military assistance
are deemed operational at their Coma/pa base. CHRIS KNOTT/ API to the Dominican Republic, and went on to cancel I
'I
it completely in 1988, ending any hopes of further
Dragonfly deliveries. A series of accidents and write-
offs reduced the fleet to two flying examples by 2001.
The unit was de-activated on March 2001, becoming
not only the ·Iast country in the region to receive the
A-378 Dragonfly, but the first to retire it.

Ecuador
~ n A-37B Dragonflies arrived in April 1976,
equipping Escuadr6n 21 12 of the Fuerza Aerea
de Ecuador (FAE - Ecuadorian Air Force) at Taura
airbase. They moved to Manta in July 1979, forming
Escuadr6n 231 1 'Dragones' when Escuadr6n 21 12
re-equipped with the Mirage F. 1 in 1980. Both units
were very active during the 1981 war with Peru,
flying some 179 combat sorties against Peruvian
positions. This conflict caused some remarkable
engagements, involving flights of Ecuadorian and
Peruvian A-3 78s over the battlefi eld. Far from
competent in a dog-fight scenario, the Dragonfly
crews still fought it out. An Ecuadorian Dragon
was damaged by 7.62mm gunfire but managed to
recover to its base.
It was repaired, and no further Dragonfly 11
at Apiay with (CACOM-2 - 2nd Combat Air Command)
in 1989. By 1998 the number of available aircraft
had dwindled - at least eight had been withdrawn
from service, not counting write-offs. However, the
Dragons were extensively used. Between 1998 and
June 2000, they shot down at least seven drug-running
aircraft. By 1999 the US State Department, through
the Western Hemispheric Drug Elimination Act, had
authorised a $14 million grant to extend the life of the
FAC's A-37Bs until 2010.

_ Dominican ~epublic
With only a handful of vintage F-51 D Mustang
piston-engine fighters forming the country's first
line of defence, the United States offered~ s11m.lus I
I
A-37B Dragonfly to the Fuerza Aerea Dominica (FAD I
'I
- Dominican Air Force) in the early 1980s. I
' I
The first batch of eight arrived in 1984, and the '
FAD quickly began to work up on the type. The
Honduras acquired six A-37Bs in 1975, without the standard air-to-air refuel/Ing probe. The fleet, supplemented
Escuadr6n de Combate 'Dragones' (Dragons Combat by a number of former US aircraft, played a significant part In the Nicaraguan civil war, when the aircraft were
Squadron) achieved its first intercept in 1985, when a often said to have been flown by US crews. The Honduran Air Force still files half-a-dozen of Its war veterans.
drug-running Beech D-18 was shot down. CHRIS KNOTT/ API
 CURRENT DRAGONFLY UNITS
Country Unit IGroup Base
Chile

Colombia
Grupo Aereo 12
Escuadr6n de Com bate lIVBrigada Aerea
Grupo de
Punta Arenas

Barranquilla
311
Escuadrilla de Combate
Tactico 1013
lCombate31
GACAR San Andres

Dominican Escuadr6n de Combate

San Isidro
Republic 'Dragones'
Escuadron de Combate
Ecuador Ala de Combate 23 Manta
2311 'Dragones'

Guatemala
I
El Salvador Grupo de Caza Y
Bombardeo
j Escuadr6n de Ataque
AladeCombate31

l
j LagoAgrio
Comalapa

la Aurora

Honduras I Es_cuadr6n de Apoyo I j la Ceiba

Below: A pair of Uruguayan Air Force (UAF) A-37s taxi back to the ramp at Mendoza, Argentina, after a mission,
In December 2005. The UAF has about four Jets airworthy with Escuadr6n Aereo 2 (Caza) at Durazno, which has
been Involved in several international exercises outside Uruguay over the past two years. KEY·ALAN WARNES
Peru
U guay
j Aereo Cercano
Esruadrondewa 711
Escuadr6n Mreo 2
Grupo Aereo 7
Grupo de
I
I
Piura
0urazno
ru (caza) Aviaci6n 2
Sapitos usually carry out very long sorties, tanking
-··· .. --··--· Honduras
The Fuerza Aerea Hondurena (FAH - Honduran Air from the FAP's Boeing 707 or from buddy-pack-
Force) received half-a-dozen new-build Dragonflies in equipped Antonov An-32s. The norma l 'anti- DELIVERIES AND CURRENT FLEETS
1975, forming the Escuadrilla de Ataque (Attack Flight) narcotic' configuration comprises the fixed mini-gun No. No. in
Country Since Nickname
Delivered service
at San Pedro Sula. These differed from the standard and four auxiliary fuel tanks. In 2002, ten surviving
A-378 in that they had no air-refuelling probe. examples un derwent a comprehensive US-funded Chile 44
-1975 14

In the early l 980s US military aid to Honduras $20 million upgrade programme aimed at keeping Colombia 132 1980 13 Dragon
increased considerably, mainly to counter the the type in service as long as spares allow. Dominican Republic 8 1984 0 L Dragon
growing threat from the Soviet and Cuban-backed Ecuador 28 1976 20 I Dragon
Nicaraguan armed forces . . Sil< former US Air Force __U
=ru
=gua~ ·--·- ___ El Salvador 15 1982 !9
A-37Bs arrived in 1982 to reinforce tne Attack Flight
at San Pedro Sula, together with a small number
Like a number of other nations in the region,
Uruguay selected the A-378 as a replacement for
Guatemala 13 1971 Ii 1••··
Alfa
Honduras 17 1975
its ageing F-80C Shootin g Stars. The first batch J10
of USAF instructors tasked with creating an A-378
l
I
Peru 53 1975 10 Sapito
syllabus for the FAH. Follow-on deliveries included of ~b.!_-~craf!J comprising new-build exampl es,
five OA-37Bs to La Ceiba airbase in 1984. arrived in 1976, join in g the AT-33s of Grupo de Uruguay 14 !1976 10 Alfa
Hondurantiragonflies were very active in supporting Aviaci6n 2 (Caza) (2nd Aviation Group [Fighter]) Total j 2.24 I 88
US-backed Contras during the Nicaraguan civil war in which moved to Durazno airbase in 1980.
the 1980s. A pair of Dragonflies (FAH-1002 and FAH By 1988 a number of acciden ts had claimed half
1005) were lost in late 1987, reducing the fleet to t he fleet, and the US Air Force provided a pair of
13. In the summer of 1988 another aircraft crashed. attrition replacements. These were followed by a 8rigada Aerea
Identified by the US Air Force serial number 68-7970, furtherJi;5..tor.mer l,JS Air Force OA-37Bs. Escuadr6n Aereo Air Squadron
it may have been in operation with a covert US Air Fuerza Aerea Uruguaya ( FAU - Uruguayan Air
Escuadr6n de Apoyo Aereo Cercan"-
o- -! CAS Squadron
Force or CIA unit. Force) engineers modified Uruguayan Alfas to carry
Escuadr6n de Ataque AttackSquadron
In the early years of the 21st century, Honduras still six 100 US-gallon (375 litre) auxiliary fuel tanks.
These are used for a wide variety of roles, incl uding Escuadr6n de Caza fighter Squadron
has the best-equipped air force in Central America.
The Escuadr6n de Apoyo Aereo Cercano (C lose air superiority, counter-ai r, CAS and maritime Escuadr6n de Combate Combat Squadron
Air Support squadron) continues to fly at least six patrol. Reconnaissance is also performed with a Escuadr6n de Combate Tactico Tactical Combat Squadron
A-378s from San Pedro Sula, and reports indicate single locally-developed pod, consisting of an old GACAR Caribbean Air Group
that up to ten examples are available. T-33 travel pack modified with photo and video Grupo Aereo Air Group

r
cameras. Another local modification added a Global
Grupo de Aviaci6n Aviation Group
___ Peru_ Positioning System, though the rest of the fleet
Grupo de Caza y Bombardeo Fighter and Bomber Group
In 1974 the Fuerza Aerea del Peru (FAP) ordered remains in dire need of an avionics upgrade. t'iliu
24 new-build A-37Bs u nder a contract named
'Inca'. Deliveries to Grupos 6 and 7 bega n the
following year. A follow-on order, known as ' Inca
II', was signed in 1975 and t he subseq uent 12
examples formed Escuadr6n 411 of Grupo 4, which
re-equipped w ith the Su-22M in 1980: the A-37Bs
were then concentrated at Grupo 7.
The 'Sapito' (or 'little frog' as the A-378 is known
in Peruvian service), carried out the first anti-narcotic
bombing mission in the summer of 1986 under
Operaci6n Condor Ill, when A-37Bs were used to
attack a dozen airstrips being used by drug cartels
to supply cocaine.
By 1992, the A-378 fleet ha d been reduced to
25 aircraft, of which around half were operational.
Five former US Air Force OA-37Bs arrived the same
year. In 1994 the FAP introduced a 'shoot-first, ask
questions later' policy on illegal flights suspected
of narcotic smuggling. The US agreed to provide
radar coverage, with FAP fighters making the actual
intercepts. The A-3 78 was selected to provide the
bulk of Peruvian co-operation, and a further dozen
former US Air Force examples arrived in 1996.