Portuguese Naval Aviation The Portuguese Naval Aviation ( ) is the naval air component of the Portuguese Navy , officially designated as Esquadrilha de Helicópteros da Marinha ( EHM ) , responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships . It is more commonly known as Naval Aviation as it received various official designations throughout its service and its origins date back to 1917 , when it was created has the air branch of the Navy . The service was then disbanded and integrated into the Portuguese Air Force ( PoAF ) , upon the creation of this new branch in 1952 , having been reactivated in its current form in 1993 to operate the Navy ' s new shipborne helicopters entering service with the " Vasco da Gama " frigates . History . The origins of the Portuguese Naval Aviation date back to 1916 , when two Navy officers were sent to France to undergo flight training as part of a larger effort started in 1913 to create a military aviation school capable of serving as the basis for the creation of both the Army ' s and Navy ' s aviation services . These two Navy officers — 1TEN Artur de Sacadura Cabral and GMAR AN António Joaquim Caseiro — underwent basic flight training at Chartres and flying boat flight training at Saint - Raphaël , Var . During Sacadura Cabral ' s stay in France , he was also appointed by the Navy Ministry to establish contact with the French aviation industry to study the existing hydroplane models to equip a future Portuguese naval air service . Upon their return , both were appointed flight instructors at the Military Aviation School of Vila Nova da Rainha ( ) , the navy ' s section of the Army ' s School of Military Aeronautics ( , EAM ) , with Sacadura Cabral being appointed instruction director . Meanwhile , Navy personnel started receiving flight training and aircraft maintenance instruction at the school and abroad , in France . Also upon his return to Portugal , Sacadura Cabral was asked by the War Minister to designate an appropriate location for a future hydroplane naval air station , which later became the Bom Sucesso Naval Air Station ( ) . In late 1916 , due to the threat posed by the submarines of the Imperial German Navy to the merchant ships sailing along the Portuguese coast during World War I , the French government asked Portugal permission to install a naval air station in Portugal . 1st Lieutenant Maurice Larrouy , of the French Navy , elaborated a study which proposed the installation of an airship and hydroplane base in Lisbon , and two additional hydroplane bases in the north and south of Portugal . However , due to the logistics costs of operating airships , Sacadura Cabral opposed the plan of installing an airship base in Lisbon and instead the decision was made to equip Bom Sucesso with anti - submarine flying boats and to build a hydroplane base for the French Naval Aviation in Aveiro . On September 28 , 1917 , the Navy ' s Aviation Service ( ) was created with its personnel , material and aviation school being separated from the Army ' s EAM . The service was then installed at the Bom Sucesso Naval Air Station in the Lisbon docks . Two F . B . A . flying boats , received in March 1917 and stored at EAM , arrived at Bom Sucesso by December 1917 , marking the beginning of the Navy ' s independent flight operations . On January 5 , 1918 , the naval aviation was renamed to Naval Aeronautical Service ( ) . Naval Aeronautical Service . In April 1918 the first flying boats of the French Navy arrived at São Jacinto , in Aveiro . Together with the Portuguese aircraft at Bom Sucesso naval air station , this allowed them to perform anti - submarine patrols and cover the coastal Portuguese waters and the main ports . This same year the United States Navy started operating Curtiss HS - 2L hydroplanes from Horta , Faial Island . With the end of the war the Frency Navy left São Jacinto and handed over the naval air station to the Portuguese Navy as well as 18 Donnet - Denhaut D . D . 8 and two Georges Levy G . L . 40 flying boats as a gift . On December 28 , 1918 , a Portuguese Navy officer took command of the São Jacinto Naval Air Station ( ) . The United States Navy left as well their base at Horta and offered to the Portuguese Navy four Curtis HS - 2L . These aircraft were transported and ship to Lisbon and started operating from Bom Sucesso in 1923 . In 1919 aircraft of the Portuguese Naval Aviation operating from São Jacinto were used against the pro - monarch movement Monarchy of the North , during the political instability in Portugal that resulted from the assassination of President Sidónio Pais . The first documented use of Portuguese aircraft from ships was in 1922 , during the First aerial crossing of the South Atlantic , when after an accident in Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago the aircraft used by the Portuguese aviators was embarked into the Brazilian civilian ship " Bagé " and transported back to Lisbon . In April 1931 , following an attempted military takeover in Funchal , Madeira , the Portuguese government declares martial law in Madeira and in the Azores . Four CAMS 37 A of the Naval Aviation were then sent on April 11 to Horta , Madeira , by ship to perform reconnaissance , ground attack , and psychological warfare missions against the local revolting forces . These aircraft flew 100 hours and were hit by small arms fire and fireworks converted into rudimentary anti - aircraft rockets . Nevertheless , no aircraft were lost and all returned to Lisbon by the end of the hostilities . At this time , the Magalhães Corrêa naval modernization program ( ) included the purchase of a seaplane tender that was order from Italy in 1931 . However , as consequence of the 1929 economic crisis , the value of the Lira collapsed and the increase of the acquisition costs led to the contract being canceled . Nevertheless , as part of the modernization program two 1st class aviso s of the NRP " Afonso de Albuquerque " were built with the capacity to carry a floatplane , Hawker Osprey III . These aircraft were mostly used in reconnaissance and training and by 1940s it was decided that they added didn ' t add any further capabilities to the ship and their facilities were replaced on the ships by anti - aircraft artillery . On September 30 , 1936 , the designation of the Naval Aviation was changed to Navy Air Forces ( ) . Navy Air Forces . Between 1939 and 1940 Avro 626 , equipped with floats , and Grumman G - 21B Goose were bought . During its service , the Grumman Goose established regular transport between continental Portugal to the Azores and performed search and rescue missions . In February 1941 , a Short Sunderland was interned after being forced to land in the Portuguese coast , during to a flight from the United Kingdom to Gibraltar , due to high winds . That same year , twenty de Havilland DH - 82A Tiger Moth were transferred to the Portuguese Navy from a large batch bought by the Portuguese government and also received from the UK as compensation for the use of the aviation facilities in Azores . These aircraft were found to be more economical for the flight training of new pilots , as most training accidents with float - planes resulted in the total loss of the airframe , and allowed to improve and expand the training at the " Almirante Gago Coutinho " Naval Aviation School , in Aveiro . In 1943 , the Naval Aviation received former - Royal Air Force Bristol Blenheim bombers , while these aircraft had already been used extensively in combat , they were equipped with modern avionics and communication equipment which allowed the Portuguese Navy to familiarize their personnel with more modern combat aircraft . 12 Airspeed Oxford for flight and navigation training were also transferred to the Naval Aviation as part of the use of the aviation facilities in Azores by the UK . The first six aircraft were delivered in 1943 but the remaining aircraft were only delivered in 1947 , after the end of the war . In 1945 , a batch of Bristol Beaufighter TF . X were received also as part of the deal for the use of the Azores by the British during World War II . These aircraft improved greatly the combat capacity of the Naval Aviation but due to high maintenance costs were shortly after retired , with many aircraft still having many flight hours left . After the war Beechcraft AT - 11 Kansan and Beechcraft D - 18S aircraft were acquired as surplus aircraft from the United States Navy . These aircraft served mostly in the connection between the continent , Azores , Cape Verde , and Portuguese Guinea . The last major acquisition of combat aircraft by the Naval Aviation was in 1950 , when several Curtiss SB2C Helldiver dive bomber s were bought from the United States through the Mutual Defense Assistance Act . These aircraft equipped a new anti - submarine squadron based at São Jacinto , in Aveiro . In 1951 , the Naval Aviation tested , at the Lisbon Naval Aviation Centre , a civilian Westland WS - 51 Dragonfly Mk . 1A for possible shipborne operations . This helicopter was later sold to Italy and later served in the Italian Air Force with the tail number MM80118I . With the unification of the Army and Navy ' s military aviation services by the Under - Secretary of State for the Aeronautics ( ) , the Portuguese Air Force ( PoAF ) was created in 1952 and all Naval Aviation assets were transferred to this new branch . However , the naval aviation ' s units formed inside the Air Force a semi - independent branch for operational and training purposes designated Naval Air Forces ( ) . By 1958 , with the anti - submarine and maritime patrol squadrons completely integrated into the Air Force , the Naval Aviation was finally disbanded and its last remaining technicians and officers returned to the Navy . In 1964 , during the Ultramar War , a PoAF Alouette II made what is considered the first helicopter operation from a Portuguese Navy ship , by performing personnel transport and medical evacuation missions from a wooden platform constructed on the NRP " Nuno Tristão " , in Guinea . Later in the war other helicopter medical evacuations were made by PoAF helicopters to NRP " Sam Brás " . During the war and after the war Alouette III helicopters landed on the flight decks of the " João Coutinho " - class corvettes and NRP " São Gabriel " . In 1987 , upon the modernization of the " João Belo " - class frigates , it was considered equipping them with a flight deck and a telescopic hangar to enable them to carry an organic anti - submarine helicopter . However , the modernization program continued without making these changes to the ships . Navy ' s Helicopter Squadron . The Navy ' s Helicopter Squadron ( , EHM ) was created as part of the Navy ' s acquisition program of the new " Vasco da Gama " class frigates , which included an organic helicopter as an anti - submarine warfare system . In 1977 , with the need to replace older ships in its fleet , the Portuguese Navy created a work group ( ) to study the purchase of new ships , including new frigates . This work group also proposed the acquisition of helicopters to equip the new frigates . However , mostly due to lack of funds , a decision wasn ' t made to acquire new equipment . Finally in the middle of the 1980s , with the continuation of the Cold War and the need to modernize the naval fleet , a decision was made to purchase new frigates with the capacity to operate organic helicopters . At the end of the decade of 1980 , the Navy started evaluating both the Kaman SH - 2 Seasprite and Westland Lynx as the frigate ' s on - board helicopters . In August 1988 a group of officers were sent to Plymouth , United Kingdom to undergo the Air Engineer Application Course , at the Royal Naval Engineering College , to start receiving training in aerodynamics , shipborne aeronautical systems , engine maintenance , and the control and certification of all maintenance procedures . In April 1989 the officers continued their training at the HMS " Daedalus " , and later were divided into two groups and sent to receive their certifications at 829 Naval Air Squadron and 715 Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy Air Arm . Having returned to Portugal in October 1989 , the officers that underwent training in the United Kingdom integrated a new work group for the acquisition of the naval helicopters ( , GTAH ) . In December 1989 the final decision was made to acquire five Westland Super Lynx Mk . 95 helicopters . The Navy ' s Helicopter Squadron was officially created on June 2 , 1993 , with the mission of training the helicopter maintenance personnel and on - board helicopter operations crews , support the flotilla , naval units and embarked helicopter detachments , and maintain two helicopter detachments . The squadron was activated on June 8 , 1993 , and was based at the Montijo Air Base , with its facilities being inaugurated on September 24 of the same year and the first two helicopters having been delivered on July 29 . In 1995 , the first helicopter detachment was formed and started on - board operations . Currently , the Naval Aviation operates the Lynx helicopters from the " Vasco da Gama " - class and " Bartolomeu Dias " - class frigates . Since the reactivation of the Naval Aviation it was decided to use the available Air Force ' s logistics and training infrastructure to reduce costs and improve the overall unit performance . As such , officers are selected from the Naval School and then undergo flight training at the Air Force on the Aérospatiale Epsilon TB - 30 with 101 Squadron and later on the Aérospatiale Alouette III with 552 Squadron . Having completed their flight training in the Air Force , the naval pilots return to the Navy to start their operational conversion to the Lynx helicopter at the Helicopter Instruction Center ( , CIH ) of the EHM . In addition to training both flight pilots ( ) and tactical pilots ( , co - pilot and observer ) , the CIH also gives instruction to maintenance personnel and system ' s operators — sonar , winch operator , and rescue swimmer . As part of its helicopter training the Navy also has a partnership with the Joint Lynx Simulator Training Establishment ( JLSTE ) for the use of a Lynx helicopter simulator located at the Maritime Aviation Site De Kooy , in the Netherlands . Aircraft inventory . The Naval Aviation uses the same designation system for its aircraft as the PoAF .