page_title: Portuguese Air Force
section_title: The Independent Air Branch
hierarchical_section_title: Portuguese Air Force / History / The Independent Air Branch
caption_attribution_description: Portuguese Air Force Sikorsky UH-19A Source/Author: Soares da Silva
context_page_description: The Portuguese Air Force is the aerial warfare force of Portugal. Locally it’s referred to by the acronym FAP but internationally is often referred to by the acronym PoAF. It’s the youngest of the three branches of the Portuguese Armed Forces.
  The Portuguese Air Force was formed on July 1, 1952, when the former Aeronáutica Militar and Aviação Naval were united and formed an independent air branch of the Armed Forces.
  However, the remote origins of the FAP go back to the early 20th century with the establishment of the first military air unit in 1911, the Military Aeronautics School in 1914, the participation of Portuguese pilots in World War I, the establishment of the Army, and the Navy aviation services.
  The FAP is commanded by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, a subordinate of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces for operational matters and a direct subordinate of the Minister of National Defense for all other matters. The CEMFA is the only officer in the Air Force with the rank of general.
  Presently, the FAP is an entirely professional force made of career personnel and of volunteer personnel.
context_section_description: The creation of the independent air branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces occurred in the scope of the deep military and defence reforms implemented in Portugal, arising from the lessons learned in World War II, from the Portuguese participation in NATO and from the Cold War. By the Decree-law 37909 of 1 August 1950, the Portuguese Government was reorganised and started to include the role of Minister of National Defense and, under this, the role of Under-Secretary of State for the Aeronautics (Subsecretário de Estado da Aeronáutica) to be only filled upon the reorganisation of the air forces. The status of the Government member responsible for the air forces is however inferior to those responsible for the Navy and the Army, who keep the rank of ministers. Besides foreseeing already the existence of an independent air force, this act created de facto the Portuguese Armed Forces as an integrated organisation encompassing the Navy, the Army and the foreseen third branch, establishing an unified chain of command for all the branches, under the military coordination of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
  An independent air branch is finally created by the Portuguese Parliament through the Law 2055 of 27 May 1952, at this time, maintaining the designation "Military Aeronautics", inherited from the former Army aviation. The Military Aeronautics was defined as being aimed at the defense of the air space of the Portuguese homeland and of its overseas territories and at cooperating with the land and naval forces. At Government level, it was administered by an Under-Secretariat of State of the Aeronautics (SEA, Subsecretariado de Estado da Aeronáutica), functioning in the Government Presidency Office, under the responsibility of the Minister of National Defence. The SEA included the Office of the Under-Secretary of State, the Directory General and the Higher Council of the Aeronautics. At this time, no specific incumbent was appointed Under-Secretary of State for the Aeronautics, with the Minister of National Defence Santos Costa temporarily assuming the direct management of the SEA. The military head of the Military Aeronautics was the Chief of Staff of the Air Forces, who had the rank of general, reported directly to the Under-Secretary of State and directed both the Directory General of the SEA and the General Command of the Air Forces.
  By a curious coincidence, the President of Portugal at the time was general aviator Craveiro Lopes. So, in promulgating Law 2055, Craveiro Lopes indirectly caused himself to cease to be an Army officer and become an officer of the new air branch.
  During 1952, the Law 2055 is complemented by a number of other legislative acts intended to refine the framework of the organisation of the air branch, including the Law 2056 of 2 June (defining the recruiting and military services in the air forces), the Decree-law 38 805 of 28 June (defining the organisation and responsibility of the SEA) and the Decree-law 39 071 of 31 December (defining the general norms relative to the personnel of the Military Aeronautics). Namely, the Decree-law 38 805 establishes the 1 July 1952 as the day for the transference of the air assets, bodies and infrastructures of the Army and Navy ministries to the SEA, this date marking so the effective creation of the independent air branch.
  The following Army units were transferred to the Air Force:
  General Command of the Aeronautics, Lisbon - integrated in the SEA and disbanded at 9 September 1952;
  Aeronautics Materiel General Storage, Alverca
  Aeronautics Materiel General Workshops (OGMA), Alverca
  Independent Fighter Aviation Group, Espinho - with two squadrons of Hawker Hurricane fighters. Its aeronautical infrastructures became the Base Airfield No. 1 in 1953, being deactivated in 1955;
  Air Base No. 1, Sintra - serving as the Military School of Aeronautics and focused on training;
  Air Base No. 2, Ota - with two fighter squadrons equipped with the recently received Republic F-47 Thunderbolt, as well as squadrons of Supermarine Spitfire and Junkers Ju 52/3m. It w
caption: The first helicopter operated by Portugal was the Sikorsky H-19
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