![]() In the years before the beginning of the WW II it was clear our President/Dictator/Emperor, Mr. On the shell is written: “The snake is smoking”. Let’s go a little further back in time and see how the USA and Brazil became very good friends during war time. Webster wasn’t in Rio de Janeiro just for the nice weather, he was there as a salesman. The conversation seemed a little silly, because every one in that room knew it was high time to retire the P47 but that was the way Nero Moura found to, unofficially, tell them the government was in fact working on it.Īfter all, Gen. Later that night, after dinner, Air Minister Moura and General Webster were chatting with the pilots about what could be done to improve the First Group and the answer was obvious: the Hunters need to fly jets. The celebration ended with a squadron of Thunderbolts performing some acrobatic maneuvers. His presence that day was indeed a great honor. Who was at the time one of the top officials at the USAF Headquarters in Washington DC. The atmosphere that year was a bit different, everybody seemed happier than in the years before.Īmong the heavyweight FAB officials there was the Brazilian Air Minister, Brigadier Nero Moura, who was being a delightful host to a very special guest: So the day is the National Hunter Aviation Day.Įxactly 7 years later, on the Fighter’s Day, 1952, celebration was in full throttle at Santa Maria Air Base, the home of the First Fighter Group, in Rio de Janeiro. Interesting fact: in Portuguese we don’t actually call it “fighter” but “hunter” I think is the same in any other Latin-based language. So, April 22 became the National Fighter Aviation Day. They flew the legendary P-47 Thunderbolt, the plane that pilots and ground crew learned to love with all their hearts.īack home, FAB made it official, April 22 would be the date to remember those who fought and died in the skies of Europe during WW II, as well those who would become pilots after them.Įven though the Brazilian pilots never got involved in “dog fights”, they considered themselves as fighter pilots. On this day in 1945, FAB set its own record when the 23 pilots of the First Fighter Group flew 44 bombing missions in 24 hours, over the Nazi occupied territories in Italy. (first posted ) April 22 is the most important day on the history of the “Força Aérea Brasileira”.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |