Every war the Mexican Naval Aviation has fought
No attack on a U-boat by a Mexican naval aircraft was found in the sources checked; Mexico’s air combat in the Second World War was flown by the air force’s 201st Squadron. On 15 July 2022, the day marines arrested Rafael Caro Quintero, a Navy Black Hawk crashed at Los Mochis and 14 of the 15 aboard were killed; Wikipedia reports that the Navy did not link the crash to the arrest, while an unnamed US official told CBS News it was connected to the operation. Where a consolidated sortie or loss figure exists in the official record it is given here; where accounts disagree, the range is shown and the disagreement named. Blank cells are blank because no figure could be verified, not because the fighting was small.
From U-boat patrols over the Gulf of Mexico in 1943 to the war against the drug cartels today.
| Conflict | Years | Against | Main aircraft | Sorties | Aircraft lost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second World War anti-submarine patrolsGulf of Mexico 1942–1945Aeronáutica Naval | 1943–1945 | Germany (U-boats) | Ex-Mexican Air Force aircraft | |||
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Patrols for German submarines with aircraft handed over by the air force. German submarines sank the Mexican tankers Potrero del Llano on 13 May 1942 and Faja de Oro on 20 May 1942, and Mexico declared war on the Axis that month. The English Wikipedia says that the Naval Aviation School, set up at Las Bajadas in 1943, used aircraft that had belonged to the Mexican Air Force, and that they patrolled the Gulf of Mexico for German submarines before being used for training. Outcome No attack on a U-boat by a Mexican naval aircraft was found in the sources checked. Aircraft types, the number of patrols and any contacts were not confirmed. Mexico’s air combat in the war was flown by the air force’s 201st Squadron in the Philippines, not by the Navy. |
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| The war against the drug cartelsMexican drug warAeronáutica Naval (supporting the Navy and its marines) | 2006–present | Drug-trafficking organisations | UH-60M Black Hawk, Mi-17, AS565 Pantherand 1 more | 1 | ||
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Helicopter transport and support for Navy and marine operations against drug-trafficking organisations, and maritime and air surveillance. On 15 July 2022 marines arrested Rafael Caro Quintero in Choix, Sinaloa; the same day a Navy Black Hawk crashed at Los Mochis, killing 14 of the 15 aboard. Wikipedia reports that the Navy did not link the crash to the arrest, while an unnamed US official told CBS News that it was connected to the operation but that Caro Quintero was not on board. In the Culiacán operation of 5–6 January 2023, which captured Ovidio Guzmán López, the government acknowledged that Navy aircraft took part alongside the air force, and Zona Militar reported that commercial and military aircraft were hit by gunfire from criminal groups. Outcome Ongoing. Operational security: the Navy does not publish sortie or unit details. The cause of the 2022 crash was not established in the sources checked.
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Nothing matches that search.
Every figure, checked
- Zona Militar: Medios aéreos de las Fuerzas Armadas de México prestan apoyo en Culiacán (6 January 2023)Official acknowledgement of air force, Navy and federal air assets in the Culiacán operation of 5–6 January 2023 (capture of Ovidio Guzmán López); commercial and military aircraft hit by gunfire.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Back to the Mexican Naval Aviation.