This Monday, April 22nd, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) is celebrating another Fighter Aviation Day, a date on which it recalls historic achievements of the 1st Fighter Aviation Group during its performance in the Second World War.
Exactly 79 years ago, the 1st GAvCa made enormous efforts to prevent the withdrawal of German troops in the Po River Valley, who were retreating to reorganize their forces for an eventual counterattack. To achieve this, the entire Allied Air Force, including the Brazilian group, mounted an intense attack campaign, resulting in an impressive number of combat sorties for all units involved.
In the case of Senta a Púa – the battle cry of the FAB Jambock Squadron – the mission as a whole was even greater: the Brazilian squadron suffered from a lack of replenishment, requiring more efforts from pilots and mechanics. According to the Jambock portal, by historian Vicente Vasquez, “11 missions were carried out with 44 sorties. This means that the pilots of the 1st GAvCa carried out more than one mission that day, in a superhuman effort to fulfill the missions assigned to the group.”
At the end of the day, the balance, according to documents consulted by Vasquez: destruction or immobilization of 97 motor vehicles, 35 animal-drawn vehicles, a fleet of vehicles and 14 buildings occupied by the enemy, damaging another 17 motor vehicles, one ferry bridge and a road bridge, also attacking 4 other military positions.
The mission, however, suffered a loss, in the form of 2nd Lt. Av. Marcos Eduardo Coelho de Magalhães, who was shot down by German anti-aircraft. He survived, but was injured, and was taken prisoner by enemies until the end of the war in May.
Even so, the performance of the Brazilian aviators was herculean. For its actions on April 22, the 1st Fighter Aviation Group was recommended to receive the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), a commendation from the United States government, “awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy.”
For reasons unknown to this day, the PUC was only handed over to Senta a Púa 41 years later, on April 22, 1986, at the Santa Cruz Air Base (RJ). Home to the 1st GAvCA, the Rio base also hosts the traditional Fighter Aviation Meeting (RAC), where fighter squadrons from all over Brazil come together to keep alive the memory of the pilots and mechanics who carried the Brazilian flag against the Nazi-fascist regime.
Check out the video produced by FAB to celebrate Fighter Aviation Day below.
