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List of aircraft of Portugal in World War II

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This is a list of aircraft used by Portugal in World War II who never fought in World War II but from 1944 cooperated with the Allies in a non-belligerent capacity giving access to Portuguese territorial possessions for Allied forces. A number of Allied aircraft on their way to the North African campaign were forced to land in Portugal due to issues with the aircraft, after landing, Portuguese authorities confiscated the aircraft on grounds that it was illegal for the Allied aircraft to land in Portugal due to Portugal's neutrality. Portugal incorporated the confiscated aircraft into the Portuguese Air Force, this is how a majority of their aircraft were acquired.

Fighters

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Model Image Country of Origin Role Variant Number Notes
Gloster Gladiator[1]  United Kingdom Fighter Gladiator I
Gladiator II 		30 Portugal received 15 Mark I and 15 Mk II aircraft for its Arma da Aeronáutica Militar (Army Military Aviation), the aircraft delivered in two batches of 15. They received the Portuguese serial numbers 450-464 and 465-479 respectively. The Gladiators served until 1953.[1][2][3]
Curtiss Hawk[4]  United States Fighter Hawk 75A-4 12 The British government transferred of 12 Hawk 75A-4 variants to the Portuguese Air Force, which assigned them to air defense duties in the Azores.
Lockheed P-38 Lightning  United States Fighter-bomber P-38 1 2 P-38s landed in Portugal. One was confiscated while the other was able to take off before being confiscated. Though unnecessary, the Portuguese Government paid the United States US$20,000 for the interned Lockheed P-38 Lightning.[5]
Bell P-39 Airacobra  United States Fighter P-39L
P-400 		23 Between December 1942 and February 1943, the Aeronáutica Militar (Military Aviation) obtained aircraft operated by the 81st and the 350th Fighter Groups originally dispatched to North Africa as part of Operation Torch. Due to several problems enroute, some of the aircraft were forced to land in Portugal and Spain. Of the 19 fighter aircraft that landed in Portugal, all were interned and entered service that year with the Portuguese Army Military Aviation. They formed the Squadron OK, based at Ota Air Base.[6] Though unnecessary, the Portuguese Government paid the United States US$20,000 for each of these interned aircraft. The U.S. accepted the payment and gave as a gift four additional crates of aircraft, two of which were not badly damaged, without supplying spares, flight manuals or service manuals.[5]

Bombers

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Model Image Country of Origin Role Variant Number Notes
Junkers Ju 86[7]  Nazi Germany Bomber
Reconnaissance aircraft 		Ju 86K-7 10 On August 25, 1938, 10 Ju 86K-7s were delivered to Ota Air Base after purchase from Nazi Germany.[8]
Bristol Blenheim[9]  United Kingdom Light bomber
Night fighter
Aerial reconnaissance 		Blenheim Mk.IV
Blenheim Mk.V 		25 2 Bristol Blenheims in July 1941 and November 1942, one Mk IV and Mk V respectively, were confiscated after landing due to damages. In 1943 Portugal received 23 Mk IV and Mk Vs from the United Kingdom. They were decommissioned in 1943[9]
Vickers Wellington[10]  United Kingdom Medium bomber
Anti-submarine warfare 		? 2 10 Wellingtons landed in Portugal, though 8/10 of the aircraft were thought to have crashed, set fire by the crew, or been damaged beyond recoverability. 2 of the Wellingtons were recovered but not much is known what happened to them.[10]
Consolidated B-24 Liberator[11]  United States Heavy bomber
Anti-submarine warfare
Maritime patrol aircraft 		? 6 6 B-24 Liberator of various variants were confiscated during the North Africa campaign after landing in Portugal.

Ground attack aircraft

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Model Image Country of Origin Role Variant Number Notes
Breda Ba.65[12]  Italy Ground attack aircraft Ba-65bis 12 In 1939, 12 Ba-65bis models were ordered by Portugal.[12]

Maritime patrol aircraft

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Liaison/army cooperation

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Transport

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Trainers

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Håkans Aviation page - Portuguese Air Force use of the Gloster Gladiator during the Second World War". surfcity.kund.dalnet.se. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  2. ^ Spencer 2003, p. 10,12,46
  3. ^ Crawford 2002, p. 109-112
  4. ^ asisbiz.com (2017-01-13). "Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as Curtiss Hawk Model 75, was a U.S.-built fighter aircraft of the 1930's". asisbiz. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  5. ^ a b Public Record Office entry of 18 March 1943, quoted by "Wreckovery" in Aviation News, 10–23 August 1984.
  6. ^ "The P-400 / P-39L Airacobra." Portuguese Airacobra service history. Retrieved: 16 October 2009.
  7. ^ "Junkers Ju 86K". www.historyofwar.org. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  8. ^ [1] According to this source, the 10 aircraft received by Portugal were of the version K-7
  9. ^ a b "Fuel shortage forced the landing of Blenheim (BA288) in Lisboa Airport – Portugal 1939-1945". 14 August 2018. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  10. ^ a b Adelino Cardoso, "Aeronaves Militares Portuguesas no Século XX"
  11. ^ "B-24 Liberator (42-40801) on the way to Africa landed in Lisbon – Portugal 1939-1945". 18 December 2018. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  12. ^ a b "Italy's Breda Ba.65 - November '96: World War II Feature". HistoryNet. 1996-08-19. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  13. ^ "A hurricane brought a Sunderland (P9623) to Portugal – Portugal 1939-1945". 24 February 2018. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  14. ^ "Junkers Ju 52". plane-crazy.k-hosting.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  15. ^ "De Havilland Tiger Moth & Queen Bee". BAE Systems | United Kingdom. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
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