Every war and armed action of Argentine Naval Aviation
The naval air arm’s first fighting was against its own country: on 16 June 1955 30 naval aircraft joined rebel Air Force jets in bombing the Plaza de Mayo, where a police report of 22 June 1955 counted 136 dead and later counts cited by Wikipedia run from 150 to 364, and in April 1963 Punta Indio joined a Navy revolt. Operation Soberanía against Chile in 1978 is included although it was called off before any combat. Britain calls the islands of the 1982 war the Falkland Islands and Argentina the Islas Malvinas; every hit and loss claim is attributed to the side that makes it — Argentina says the last Exocet hit HMS Invincible on 30 May, Britain says no ship was hit — and the sovereignty dispute remains unresolved. The death flights of 1976–1983, for which Argentine and Spanish courts have convicted naval officers, were not a war and are covered in the history of the service. 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 the bombing of the Plaza de Mayo in 1955 to the Gulf War deployment of 1990–1991.
| Conflict | Jaren | Tegen | Hoofdvliegtuig | Uitvallen | Vliegtuig verloren | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The bombing of the Plaza de Mayo and the 1955 coup16 June 1955Aviación Naval (rebel units) | 1955 | Government of President Juan Perón and loyal forces | North American AT-6, Beechcraft AT-11, Geconsolideerde PBY Catalina | 30 | ||
|
Rebel naval aircraft, with rebel Air Force jets, bombed and strafed the Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada in an attempt to kill President Juan Perón. On 16 June 1955 naval aircraft with Air Force Meteors bombed the seat of government, dropping between 9.5 and 13.8 tonnes according to Wikipedia. Punta Indio is recorded as the departure base of the naval aircraft. The attack did not kill Perón and most of the attackers flew to Carrasco in Uruguay. Three months later the Revolución Libertadora of 16–23 September succeeded; Wikipedia records fighting at Puerto Belgrano and rebel destroyers strafed by loyal aircraft. Resultaat The attack failed and at least 32 aircraft fled to Uruguay. The coup of September 1955, in which fighting reached the Puerto Belgrano naval base near Bahía Blanca, removed Perón. Casualty figures differ widely by source and date; this page gives the range, not a single number.
|
||||||
| The 1962–1963 internal conflicts and the Navy revoltAzules y ColoradosAviación Naval | 1962–1963 | Loyalist Army and Air Force units | Grumman F9F Panther, Vought F4U Corsair | 5 | ||
|
Naval aircraft flew in the clashes between military factions; in April 1963 rebel aircraft from Punta Indio attacked the loyalist 8th Tank Regiment. Wikipedia says Navy pilots flew Panthers and Corsairs in the 1962–1963 internal conflicts. On 2 April 1963 Punta Indio declared for the revolt; the next morning the loyal Air Force struck the base and its personnel fled to Uruguay. Resultaat The revolt failed; Punta Indio was occupied by the Army and the marines were cut to 2,500 troops. Aircraft types in the 1963 attack on the 8th Tank Regiment are not detailed in the sources read.
|
||||||
| Operation Soberanía (Beagle crisis)Beagle crisis 1978Aviación Naval | 1978 | Chile (planned; no combat) | A-4Q Skyhawk, Grumman S-2A/S-2E Tracker, Sikorsky Sea King | 0 | ||
|
The carrier Veinticinco de Mayo sailed with A-4Qs, Trackers and Sea Kings for a planned operation against Chile; Trackers also flew in the December deployment. Wikipedia gives 22 December 1978 as the start date of the operation and says the fleet turned back six hours before the landings when Pope John Paul II’s envoy, Cardinal Antonio Samoré, was sent to both capitals. Resultaat Called off after papal mediation; the dispute was settled by the 1984 Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Wikipedia’s article on the operation lists 24 A-4Qs for the carrier, more than the 16 delivered; the figure is not used here.
|
||||||
| Falklandoorlog (Guerra de Malvinas)the 1982 South Atlantic conflictComando de la Aviación Naval | 1982 | Verenigd Koninkrijk | Super Étendard, A-4Q Skyhawk, MB-339Aen nog 5 | 14 | ||
|
Exocet strikes with the Super Étendard, bombing attacks with the A-4Q, armed reconnaissance and light attack with MB-339s and Turbo Mentors from the islands, maritime patrol and helicopter support. Each attack as each side published it. 1 May: the carrier’s Trackers found the task force, but the eight-Skyhawk strike never launched; Wikipedia attributes this to weak winds in one article and to the fleet not being relocated in another. 4 May: two Super Étendards (Bedacarratz and Mayora) fired two Exocets at HMS Sheffield; the Navy describes a coordinated action with an SP-2H Neptune. The British account is that one missile hit and the other missed; 20 died and the ship sank under tow on 10 May. A 1982 British inquiry said the warhead failed to explode; a 2015 Ministry of Defence reassessment found it did detonate. 21 May: Lieutenant Crippa’s MB-339 attacked ships in San Carlos Water; the Navy says it damaged HMS Argonaut, while Wikipedia’s battle article does not report damage from that sortie. The same day three A-4Qs bombed HMS Ardent, which sank on 22 May with 22 dead after attacks by Air Force and Navy aircraft; all three Skyhawks were hit by Sea Harriers on the way out — Márquez was killed, Philippi and Arca ejected. 23 May: an A-4Q attack on British frigates had no visible success. 25 May: two Exocets fired by Curilovic and Barraza hit the container ship Atlantic Conveyor, killing 12 and destroying ten helicopters. 30 May: two Super Étendards fired the last Exocet, escorted by four Air Force A-4Cs; Argentina says HMS Invincible was hit and still does, while British sources say no ship was damaged, HMS Avenger claimed to have shot the missile down (a disputed claim) and HMS Exeter shot down two A-4Cs. Resultaat Argentine forces on the islands surrendered on 14 June 1982. The sovereignty dispute remains unresolved. Britain calls the territory the Falkland Islands and Argentina the Islas Malvinas; the UN uses Falkland Islands (Malvinas). Every hit and loss claim above is attributed to the side or source that published it. The land-launched Exocet that hit HMS Glamorgan was a Navy shore battery, not naval aviation, and is not counted here.
|
||||||
| The 1990–1991 Gulf War deploymentGolfoorlogAviación Naval | 1990–1991 | Irak | Aérospatiale Alouette III, Cargo aircraft | |||
|
Alouette III helicopters embarked on Argentine warships, with cargo aircraft in support, under a UN mandate. English Wikipedia records that Argentina sent warships with embarked Alouette IIIs and cargo planes to the 1991 Gulf War under a UN mandate. Ship names, dates and tasks were not confirmed in the sources read for this page. Resultaat Wikipedia says Argentina was the only South American country to send warships. Thinly sourced; details beyond Wikipedia’s summary are left out.
|
||||||
Niets komt overeen met die zoekopdracht.
Elk cijfer, gecontroleerd
- Argentina.gob.ar: Armada Argentina – Gesta de MalvinasOfficial Navy account: the 4 May 1982 attack on HMS Sheffield as a coordinated action between an SP-2H Neptune and two Super Étendards, described as an unprecedented tactic.
- Argentina.gob.ar: Armada Argentina – Efemérides Navales, May"4 de mayo – Día de la Aviación Naval": Bedacarratz and Mayora, Second Naval Fighter and Attack Squadron, Exocet attack on HMS Sheffield with KC-130 refuelling; 21 May 1982 Crippa’s Aermacchi attack, which the Navy says damaged HMS Argonaut.
- Zona Militar: Después de más de 60 años de servicio, la Armada Argentina retiró al último de sus aviones de guerra antisubmarina S-2T Turbo Tracker (2 December 2025)Ceremony at Comandante Espora for 2-AS-23; six S-2As from 31 May 1962, six S-2Es in 1978, turboprop conversions in Israel from 1993.
Cijfers geverifieerd op 1 oktober 2026. Back to the Argentine Naval Aviation.