FMA IA 58 Pucará

infobox Aircraft
name = IA 58 Pucará
type = Counter-Insurgency aircraft
manufacturer = FMA



caption =IA 58 Pucará
designer =
first flight = 20 August 1969
introduction =1975
retired =
status = Active
primary user = Argentine Air Force
more users = Colombian Air Force
Sri Lankan Air Force
Uruguayan Air Force
produced =1976-1986
number built =150-160
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =

The FMA IA 58 Pucará ( _qu. Fortress) is an Argentine ground-attack, counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft. A low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction, with a retractable landing gear, it was manufactured by the Fabrica Militar de Aviones.

Development

Development began in August 1966, with the construction of an unpowered test vehicle. The first prototype, called AX-2 Delfin, first flew on 20 August 1969, powered by 674-kW (904-shp) Garrett TPE331I/U-303 turboprops. The IA-58 was designed to be able to operate from small front-line airfields. It has a tandem cockpit arrangement; the crew of two is seated under the upward opening clamshell canopy on Martin-Baker Mk 6AP6A zero/zero ejection seats. Dual controls are provided for the crew. In the following prototypes, and the production models that followed, the engines were switched to Turbomeca Astazou XVIG turboprops. The first production model first flew on 8 November 1974, and deliveries began in early 1976.

Operational history

The first units were delivered in 1975 to the Argentine Air Force ( _es. Fuerza Aérea Argentina, FAA), 3rd Air Brigade ( _es. III Brigada Aérea) in northern Reconquista, Santa Fe province with almost 100 airframes delivered by 1982. The unit was deployed south during the Falklands War ( _es. Guerra de las Malvinas), performing coastal surveillance from the Patagonia airfields. As the only aircraft available in substantial numbers for deployment on the islands (the paved runway at Port Stanley Airport was not long enough for FAA Skyhawks and Mirages to be deployed), many "Pucarás" were destroyed on the ground by British forces before taking part in actual combat.

The aircraft which did see combat were usually armed with unguided bombs, 2.75-in (70-mm) rocket pods, or 7.62mm machine gun pods. Apart from Port Stanley airport, "Pucarás" were also operated from two small grass improvised airfields at Goose Green and Pebble Island. They were used in the reconnaissance & light-attack role and shot down a Royal Marines Scout helicopter on May 28, the only confirmed Argentine air-to-air victory of the war. [ [http://www.naval-history.net/F41argaircraft.htm www.naval-history.net: Argentine aircraft and successes against British ships] ] After the war, one was taken back to the United Kingdom, and is currently in Duxford. A second example (serial number A-515) was taken to Boscombe Down, returned to flying condition and assessed by the RAF. It is now on display at the RAF Museum Cosford. A total of six Pucarás were destroyed in a single instance, along with another five aircraft damaged, when the SAS carried out the Raid on Pebble Island.

From 1993 to 1999 Pucarás have been used in Sri Lanka counter-insurgency operations.

In the 1990s FAA "Pucarás", received several minor upgrades, known as IA-58D, and as of 2007 they remain in service within the 3rd Air Brigade and with the Uruguayan Air Force.

In 2007, an IA-58 of the Fuerza Aérea Argentina was converted to carry a modified engine operating on soy-derived bio-jet fuel. The project, financed and directed by the Argentine Government ("Secretaría de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación Productiva de la Nación"), made Argentina the second nation in the world to propel an aircraft with biojet fuel. The project intends to make the FAA less reliant on costly fossil fuels.

Variants

* AX-2 Delfin : Prototype.
* IA-58A : Two-seat counter-insurgency, close-support, attack aircraft. Main production version.
* IA-58B Pucara Bravo : One prototype aircraft, with advanced aviaonics and armed with two 30-mm DEFA cannons.
* IA-58C Pucara Charlie : One single-seat prototype aircraft.
* IA-66 : One prototype aircraft, powered by two 1,000-ehp (746-kW) Garrett TPE331-11-601W turboprop engines.

Military operators

Current Operators

; ARG
* Argentine Air Force; URY
* Uruguayan Air Force

Former Operators

; COL
* Colombian Air Force; LKA
* Sri Lanka Air Force (1993-1999, 2 shot down, 1 crashed, 1 retired)

pecifications

aerospecs
ref=cite encyclopedia | editor = Donald, David | encyclopedia =The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft | volume = | pages = pg 379-380| publisher = Prospero Books |date=1997 | id = ISBN 1-85605-375-X | accessdate = ]
met or eng?=met
crew=2
capacity=2
length m=14.25
length ft=46
length in=9
span m=14.5
span ft=47
span in=6
height m=5.36
height ft=17
height in=7
wing area sqm=30.3
wing area sqft=326.16
empty weight kg=4020
empty weight lb=8862
gross weight kg=6800
gross weight lb=14991

eng1 number=2
eng1 type=Turbomeca Astazou XVIG turboprops
eng1 kw=729
eng1 hp=978

max speed kmh=500
max speed mph=310
cruise speed kmh=430
cruise speed mph=267
range km=3710
range miles=2305
ceiling m=10000
ceiling ft=31800
climb rate ms=
climb rate ftmin=

armament1=2 × 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.804 autocannons
armament2=4 × 7.62 mm FM M2-20 machine guns
armament3=3 × hardpoints for up to 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) of gun pods, bombs, rockets, mines, or torpedoes

ee also

aircontent
related=

similar aircraft=
* OV-1 Mohawk
* OV-10 Bronco
* SOKO J-20 Kraguj

lists=

see also=

References

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOOGUiABaNg Video of the Pucara in flight]
* [http://www.milavia.net/aircraft/ia58/ia58.htm Milavia]