The 711 Squadron "Albatrozes" (Esquadra 711) was a flying squadron of the Portuguese Air Force. Its primary mission was Search and Rescue and it has had secondary missions tactical air transport and general air transport in the Azores archipelago. During the time it was active it was the only operational squadron in the Portuguese military to operate both rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft.
711 Squadron
Esquadra 711
Former Portuguese Air Force CASA C-212-100 Aviocar
The origin of 711 Squadron dates back to the first search and rescue squadron (41 Squadron) of the Portuguese Air Force based at Lajes Air Base (Portuguese: Base Aérea Nº 6, BA6), in Azores, which operated SB-17G Flying Fortress, C-54 Skymaster, Grumman HU-16 Albatross, and Sikorsky H-19.[2][3] In 1976 two new squadrons were created to replace 41 Squadron: 503 Squadron "Golfinhos", designated then has Maritime Patrol and Transport Squadron (Portuguese: Esquadra de Transporte e Patrulhamento Marítimo), equipped with CASA C-212-100 Aviocar aircraft, and No. 42 Search and Rescue Squadron (Portuguese: Esquadra de Busca e Salvamento nº 42), later renamed 752 Squadron "Pumas", operating Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma helicopters. On October 19, 1993, with the merger of these two squadrons, 711 Squadron was activated.[4][5][1]
In addition to its primary search and rescue mission, the squadron executed transport and medical evacuations between the islands of the archipelago. This missions resulted in 13,300 flights, 34,000 transported passengers, 700 tons of cargo and 2,759 lives saved in search and rescue operations, 20,095 medical evacuations during 24,038 flying hours. Since 1994, the squadron also supported the medical evacuation of pregnant women from islands without proper medical facilities to the archipelago's hospitals, which marked during its operational history 6 births aboard the Aviocar and 12 births aboard the Puma.[6][4]
With a reorganization in the operation structure of the Air Force in Azores, the helicopter flight of the squadron was deactivated on November 30, 2006, and was replaced by a detachment of 752 Squadron. Later, on April 11, 2007, the whole squadron was temporarily deactivated and the missions executed by its fixed-wing aircraft were taken over by a detachment of 502 Squadron.[7] This temporary deactivation was due to the entry in service of the AgustaWestland EH-101 and EADS CASA C-295[8] that were to replace the SA 330 Puma and C-212 Aviocar, respectively. Its objective was for two years to gain experience and test through the squadrons' detachments new concepts in maintenance for the aircraft to enter service.[8]
In 2008 the deactivation was made final and the squadron was disbanded and the 502 and 751 Squadrons detachments, part of the Azores Air Detachment (Portuguese: Destacamento Aéreo dos Açores, DAA) were made permanent.[1]
^"Esquadra 711 da Força Aérea desactivada" (in Portuguese). RTP. 11 April 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
^ (in Portuguese). Esquadra 502. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
^ ab"Acores Chefe EstadoMaior Forca Aerea diz que Esquadra 711 foi desactivado temporariamente" (in Portuguese). Jornal de Notícias. 12 June 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
Sourcesedit
Gonçalves, Cte. J. Munkelt (April 2004). "O Amanhecer da Asa Rotativa na Aviação Militar Portuguesa" [The Dawn of the Rotary Wing in the Portuguese Military Aviation] (PDF). Mais Alto (in Portuguese) (348). Portuguese Air Force: 36–42. Retrieved 2 March 2013.[dead link]
April 08, 2024
squadron, portugal, squadron, albatrozes, esquadra, flying, squadron, portuguese, force, primary, mission, search, rescue, secondary, missions, tactical, transport, general, transport, azores, archipelago, during, time, active, only, operational, squadron, por. The 711 Squadron Albatrozes Esquadra 711 was a flying squadron of the Portuguese Air Force Its primary mission was Search and Rescue and it has had secondary missions tactical air transport and general air transport in the Azores archipelago During the time it was active it was the only operational squadron in the Portuguese military to operate both rotary and fixed wing aircraft 711 SquadronEsquadra 711Former Portuguese Air Force CASA C 212 100 AviocarActiveOctober 19 1993DisbandedApril 11 2007Country PortugalBranchAir ForceRoleSearch and rescueHome BaseAir Base 4Nickname s Albatrozes Albatrosses Motto s Para que outros vivam So that others may live DecorationsOrder of Prince Henry 1 CommandersCommanderMajor Joaquim Simoes Gaspar 2005 2007 Aircraft flownHelicopterAerospatiale SA 330 Puma 1993 2006 PatrolCASA C 212 Aviocar 1993 2007 TransportCASA C 212 Aviocar 1993 2007 Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 3 1 SourcesHistory editThe origin of 711 Squadron dates back to the first search and rescue squadron 41 Squadron of the Portuguese Air Force based at Lajes Air Base Portuguese Base Aerea Nº 6 BA6 in Azores which operated SB 17G Flying Fortress C 54 Skymaster Grumman HU 16 Albatross and Sikorsky H 19 2 3 In 1976 two new squadrons were created to replace 41 Squadron 503 Squadron Golfinhos designated then has Maritime Patrol and Transport Squadron Portuguese Esquadra de Transporte e Patrulhamento Maritimo equipped with CASA C 212 100 Aviocar aircraft and No 42 Search and Rescue Squadron Portuguese Esquadra de Busca e Salvamento nº 42 later renamed 752 Squadron Pumas operating Aerospatiale SA 330 Puma helicopters On October 19 1993 with the merger of these two squadrons 711 Squadron was activated 4 5 1 In addition to its primary search and rescue mission the squadron executed transport and medical evacuations between the islands of the archipelago This missions resulted in 13 300 flights 34 000 transported passengers 700 tons of cargo and 2 759 lives saved in search and rescue operations 20 095 medical evacuations during 24 038 flying hours Since 1994 the squadron also supported the medical evacuation of pregnant women from islands without proper medical facilities to the archipelago s hospitals which marked during its operational history 6 births aboard the Aviocar and 12 births aboard the Puma 6 4 With a reorganization in the operation structure of the Air Force in Azores the helicopter flight of the squadron was deactivated on November 30 2006 and was replaced by a detachment of 752 Squadron Later on April 11 2007 the whole squadron was temporarily deactivated and the missions executed by its fixed wing aircraft were taken over by a detachment of 502 Squadron 7 This temporary deactivation was due to the entry in service of the AgustaWestland EH 101 and EADS CASA C 295 8 that were to replace the SA 330 Puma and C 212 Aviocar respectively Its objective was for two years to gain experience and test through the squadrons detachments new concepts in maintenance for the aircraft to enter service 8 In 2008 the deactivation was made final and the squadron was disbanded and the 502 and 751 Squadrons detachments part of the Azores Air Detachment Portuguese Destacamento Aereo dos Acores DAA were made permanent 1 See also editPortuguese Air Force Lajes Air Base 502 Squadron 503 Squadron 751 Squadron 752 Squadron Azores Air Zone CommandReferences edit a b c Base Aerea Nº 4 Forca Aerea Portuguesa in Portuguese Portuguese Air Force Retrieved 2 March 2013 Mais Alto 348 p 37 Air Units 29 October 2009 Archived from the original on October 20 2009 Retrieved 1 March 2013 a b Esquadra 711 in Portuguese Esquadra 502 Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 2 March 2013 Despacho n º 22 93 CEMFA October 8 1993 Esquadra 711 da Forca Aerea desactivada in Portuguese RTP 11 April 2007 Retrieved 2 March 2013 Esquadra 502 in Portuguese Esquadra 502 Archived from the original on 28 February 2014 Retrieved 2 March 2013 a b Acores Chefe EstadoMaior Forca Aerea diz que Esquadra 711 foi desactivado temporariamente in Portuguese Jornal de Noticias 12 June 2007 Retrieved 2 March 2013 Sources edit Goncalves Cte J Munkelt April 2004 O Amanhecer da Asa Rotativa na Aviacao Militar Portuguesa The Dawn of the Rotary Wing in the Portuguese Military Aviation PDF Mais Alto in Portuguese 348 Portuguese Air Force 36 42 Retrieved 2 March 2013 dead link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 711 Squadron Portugal amp oldid 1182475890, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
