Punta Indio Naval Air Base

Punta Indio Naval Air Base (Spanish: Base Aeronaval Punta Indio, ICAO: SAAI) is a military airport operated by the Argentine Naval Aviation, located in the countryside 5 kilometres (3 mi) northeast of Verónica, a town in the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina.

Punta Indio Naval Air Base

Base Aeronaval Punta Indio
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
ServesPunta Indio, Argentina
Elevation AMSL52 ft / 16 m
Coordinates35°20′52″S 57°17′40″W
Map
SAAI is located in Argentina
SAAI
SAAI
Location of Air Base in Argentina
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
06/24 2,121 6,959 Asphalt
07/25 1,400 4,593 Asphalt
12/30 1,195 3,921 Asphalt
Source: Landings.com[1] Google Maps[2] GCM[3]

The Punta Indio VOR-DME (Ident: PDI) and non-directional beacon (Ident: PDI) are located on the field.[4][5]

History
El Plata (DE-1 / O-1) at its moorings, Punta Indio, 1928

Punta Indio Naval Air Base (Argentine Navy identifier: BAPI), the cradle of Argentine Naval Aviation, was established in 1928 on land that was donated by Martín Tornquist, who founded the nearby city of Verónica. The base was strategically located to control access by ship to the Río de la Plata, initially via manned balloons.

On 16 June 1955, Punta Indio was the departure base of the naval aircraft that bombarded the Casa Rosada attempting to kill president Juan Domingo Perón[6] This action was the preface to the September uprising known as "Revolución Libertadora".

In April 1963, during the Navy uprising (part of the Azules y Colorados confrontation), rebel naval aircraft from Punta Indio attacked the loyalist 8th Tank Regiment; afterwards the air base was attacked by the loyalist Air Force and occupied by the Army.

During the National Reorganization Process, a Clandestine Detention Centre was active at Punta Indio.[7]

In 2008 the First Naval Air Squadron was deactivated due to lack of budget.[8]

In 2011, the 90th anniversary of the foundating of the Naval Aviation School was celebrated.[9]

Units

Punta Indio Naval Air Base is the location of the First Naval Air Force (Spanish: Fuerza Aeronaval N° 1), comprising the following units:

  • Punta Indio Naval Air Base group
  • Punta Indio Naval Air Workshop (Spanish: Taller Aeronaval Punta Indio)
  • First Naval Air Wing (Spanish: Escuadra Aeronaval N° 1), composed of:
    • Argentine Naval Aviation School (Spanish: Escuela de Aviación Naval)
    • First Naval Air Attack Squadron (Spanish: Primera Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque), currently on reserve
    • Naval Air Maritime Patrol Squadron (Spanish: Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Vigilancia Marítima.

See also

References
  1. Airport record for Punta Indio Naval Air Base at Landings.com. Retrieved 2 September 2013
  2. "Punta Indio Naval Air Base". Google Maps. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  3. Airport information for Punta Indio Naval Air Base at Great Circle Mapper.
  4. "Punta Indo NDB". Our Airports. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  5. "Punta Indio VOR". Our Airports. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. Clarin.com (12 de junio de 2015) "Los protagonistas del bombardeo del 55 cuentan por qué no pudieron matar a Perón" (in Spanish) Accessed 9 August 2015
  7. CONADEP report Archived 23 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish) Accessed 9 August 2015
  8. Ministerio de Defensa cierra la Primera Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque (in Spanish) Accessed 9 August 2015
  9. La Escuela de Aviación Naval celebró su 90 Aniversario Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)

Further reading
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