Description:
Military aviation in
Bolivia began in 1917, with the training of three Army officers at the El Palomar aviation school in
Argentina, but the Cuerpo de Aviadores Militares Bolivianos (Bolivian
Military Aviators Corps) was not officially formed until 1924, during the celebrations of
Bolivia's first centenary of independence. In the year 1932 the Gran
Chaco dispute between
Bolivia and
Paraguay had evolved into a
shooting war and by this period they changed the name into Cuerpo de Aviaci�n (Aviation Corps). It was actually the first in the Latin
Americas with air combat. The war ended in 1935.
Bolivia was defeated and economically exhausted, and it was clearly impossible to carry on the long-delayed re-organisation of the Cuerpo, at least without outside help. The Cuerpo de Aviaci�n was further re-organised in 1944 along USAAF lines to become the
Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (
Bolivian Air Force), with most of its aircraft of US manufacture. The FAB was at first under partial Army control, but became totally independent in 1957.
Bolivia signed the Rio Pact in 1947 and the usual
Military Assistance Program deliveries followed - initially small numbers of North American AT-6 Texan armed trainers and B-25J Mithchell bombers, followed in mid-1956 by seven
Boeing B-17G Fortress
bomber/transports. Four years later the first real
fighter aircraft arrived in the shape of Cavalier modified F-51D Mustangs and large numbers of aircraft from neighbour
Brazil, including Brazilian built
Fairchild PT-19 trainers and
Fokker S-11 basic trainers. In 1973 the FAB entered the jet age with the first of fifteen Canadair T-33 Mk.3
Silver Stars. In December 1980 permission was granted for the
acquisition of up to twenty-four fighters, the Mirage 5, Jaguar and Kfir C2 all being considered, but little seems to have come on this, and there were reports during late 1981 that ex Belgian Air Force Starfighters may be acquired, however in vain. In 1986 the FAB signed a US$52 miljon contract with FMA for the delivery of twelve IA.58 Pucar� COIN aircraft, however the deal went off. The FAB saw in late 80's the delivery of a further eighteen former French Air Force Canadair built T-33SF to form a nother Grupo de Caza. The FAB is largely depending on US funds, and it is believed that in the coming years only a handful of
modern aircraft will be bought. A possibility is that the FAB is to get some former Brazilian Air Force AT-26 Xavantes, now they become available after retirement. The only project today is the
modernisation of eighteen T-33's by the
Kelowna company in
Canada, and most of the T-Birds have been returned to
Bolivia. The FAB has its headquarters in
La Paz and comprises about 4500 personnel. The
Bolivian Air Force is divided into four Brigadas Aéreas. They are located at
El Alto, near the capital city
La Paz,
Cochabamba,
Tarija and
Santa Cruz de la Sierra. In addition to these bases the air force uses a number of small airfields located throughout the country. Most of these, such as Ribaralta, Robore,
Trinidad and Cobija, house small Grupo Aéreos, which are equipped with a few light
transport and
liaison aircraft.
Bolivia's landscape and infrastructure make
transportation of goods and people one of the major tasks of the
Bolivian Air Force. Therefore, nearly half of its inventory consists of (light)
transport and
liaison aircraft. The hub of
transportation activities is concentrated on
El Alto, where Grupo Aéreo de Transporte 71 is located. The greater part of GAT-71 is formed by the semi-
military airline Transporte Aéreo Militar. TAM provides regular air services throughout the country and is a
cheap alternative to
Bolivia's national carriers
Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano and Aero Sur. GAT-71 consist of three squadrons; Escuadr�n Aéreo 710, Escuadr�n Aéreo 711, Escuadr�n Aéreo 712, respectively operating the Lockheed
C-130, Fokker F.27 and Convair CV-580T. At the moment a total of 18 T-33s are divided among two different units; Grupo Aéreo de Caza 31 at
El Alto and Grupo Aéreo de Caza 32 at
Santa Cruz de la Sierra. In May 2001 the FAB announced that an additional 8 T-33s had been bought from the Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana. The Ecuadorian T-33s have been in open storage at Manta
Air Base since 1996. The first T-33s were expected to be ferried to
Bolivia in June 2001. It is still not certain if a third unit, GAC-33 based at
Tarija, will be equipped with the T-Bird again, once all updated T-33s and the additional aircraft arrived in the country. The major part of the flight and
military training syllabus for aspirant pilots is conducted at the Colegio Militar de Aviaci�n (COLMILAV) based at Base Aérea El Trompillo in
Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The primary flying course is flown on the Aerotec A.122 Uirapuru, locally designated T-23. Nineteen of these aircraft were bought in
Brazil and the first one arrived in
Bolivia in 1974. The primary course comprises a total of 120 hours. After this the cadet continues with the basic course, comprising a total of 130 hours divided among the Beech T-34 Mentor (80 hours) and the Cessna Ce.152 Aerobat (50 hours). The Aerobats are part of Grupo Aéreo de Entrenamiento 22 located at Robore. The cadets that finished the basic course successfully will be
appointed to the different operational units to receive type conversion. Those who are selected to fly the T-Bird will move to
Cochabamba to be trained on the
Pilatus PC-7, that belongs to Grupo Aéreo de Caza 34. The Fuerza de Tarea or
Task Force, better known as the Diablos Rojos or Red Devils, is the FAB...