FMA IAe 33 Pulqui II The FMA IAe 33 Pulqui II ( in the indigenous language Mapuche , " Pulqúi " : Arrow ) was a jet fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1940s in Argentina , under the Perón government , and built by the " Fábrica Militar de Aviones " ( FMA ) . Embodying many of the design elements of the wartime Focke - Wulf Ta 183 , an unrealized fighter project , the FMA envisioned the IAe 33 Pulqui II as a successor to the postwar Gloster Meteor F4 in service with the " Fuerza Aérea Argentina " . The Pulqui II ' s development was comparatively problematic and lengthy , with two of the four prototypes being lost in fatal crashes . Despite one of the prototypes being successfully tested in combat during the " Revolución Libertadora " , the political , economic and technical challenges faced by the project meant that the IAe 33 was unable to reach its full potential , and the Argentine government ultimately chose to purchase F - 86 Sabre s from the United States in lieu of continuing development of the indigenous fighter to production status . Background . In the late 1940s , Argentina benefited from the recruitment of prominent German aerospace scientists and engineers , fleeing Europe following the defeat of the Nazi s and seeking sanctuary in Latin America . The first group of these refugees had also included French designer Émile Dewoitine , castigated as a collaborator in his homeland , who headed the IAe 27 Pulqui I experimental fighter program with Argentine engineers Juan Ignacio San Martín , Enrique Cardeilhac and Norberto L . Morchio . The Pulqui I was the first jet aircraft designed and built in Latin America . In 1947 , flight tests revealed a mediocre performance resulting in the cancellation of the IAe 27 program . The Aerotechnical Institute ( ) , under the leadership of Morchio , persevered with its efforts to build a successful indigenous jet fighter and , at first , attempted to modify the earlier aircraft . When it became apparent that the Pulqui I had little potential for further development , the Aerotechnical Institute initiated a new design utilizing the more powerful ( ) Rolls - Royce Nene II turbojet engine . In early 1948 , the Institute completed a scale model of what it called the IAe - 27a Pulqui II . This design featured trapezoidal wings , swept back at an angle of 33° , and used a NACA 16009 laminar flow airfoil section . A revised model was built later that year with the wings relocated to a shoulder - mounted position and the tailplane changed to a T - tail configuration . Kurt Tank . Like Dewoitine , German designer Kurt Tank , the former technical director of the Focke - Wulf Flugzeugbau AG , had been similarly hired in 1947 to work on a jet fighter project for Argentina . Tank , along with 62 of his compatriots at Focke - Wulf , had emigrated to Latin America to restart his career in aerospace ventures . Surreptitiously entering the country with a passport identifying him as Pedro Matthies , he found a warm welcome and did not maintain the subterfuge of a secret identity . Along with his former employees , he was instrumental in the evolution of the " Instituto Aerotécnico " into Argentina ' s military aircraft factory , the " Fábrica Militar de Aviones " at Córdoba . Tank was both an engineer as well as a test pilot , who had designed the Fw 190 fighter , but his design team had also been responsible for the Focke - Wulf Ta 183 , an unbuilt project that had been declared the winner of the 1945 Emergency Fighter Competition . The diminutive , swept - wing , jet - powered Ta 183 , designed by Focke - Wulf engineer / designer Hans Multhopp , had only reached the stage of wind tunnel studies before the end of hostilities . Design and development . After his appointment as project director for a new indigenous fighter program , Tank adapted the basic Ta 183 airframe for the Nene II engine , substantially resulting in a new design that only bore a passing resemblance to its forebear . The Nene was larger , heavier and more powerful than the Heinkel HeS 011 turbojet that had been planned for use in the Ta 183 , and therefore required a new , redesigned fuselage with a larger cross - section primarily due to the Nene ' s centrifugal rather than the HeS 011 ' s axial compressor design . Due to the similarity of the IAe - 27a and Tank ' s redesign of the Ta 183 , Juan Ignacio San Martín , the director of the Institute merged the two parallel projects as the " IAe 33 Pulqui II " . The fuselage of Tank ' s design was further adapted to use the IAe - 27a ' s undercarriage . The shoulder - mounted , negative - incidence wings were swept back 40° , an even greater sweep angle than those of the Ta 183 , and given a small amount of anhedral . Comparable to the Ta 183 ' s engine placement , the Nene engine was situated aft of the cockpit , near the center of gravity with engine maintenance and service facilitated through the removal of the tail section . The airframe featured a graceful , 50° swept - back T - shaped empennage and a pressurized cockpit topped by a clear bubble - type canopy , faired into the dorsal fuselage . Armor was provided around the cockpit and a bulletproof windscreen was incorporated . Fuel capacity was initially 1 , 250 l ( 275 Imp . gal . ) internally and 800 l ( 176 Imp . gal . ) in the wings . Armament was planned to include four 20 mm cannon , a pair mounted in a staggered , near - ventral position along each side of the fuselage slightly set back from the jet intake . Testing and evaluation . To prove the soundness of the IAe 33 design , two gliders built under contract by another expatriate , Reimar Horten , were constructed and used for aerodynamics testing in 1948 – 1949 , including flights by Tank himself . These tests revealed significant problems with lateral stability , resulting in modifications to the tail to address this problem before construction began on two prototype airframes . Due to the lack of modern machinery , the all - metal fabrication relied heavily on hand crafting and turning out the prototypes was a labor - intensive procedure . President Perón envisioned that a benefit of setting up an aviation factory in Argentina would be to introduce production standards comparable to world - class manufacturing facilities . However , Tank realized that production tools and jigs were not feasible at this stage and relied instead on essentially hand - built examples . The first airframe ( No . 01 ) reserved for static testing , was subsequently destroyed during the tests . The first of the " flying " IAe 33 prototypes , ( No . 02 ) built in 1950 , completed its maiden flight on 27 June of that year , with Captain Edmundo Weiss at the controls . On the second flight , ex - Focke - Wulf test pilot Otto Behrens encountered severe lateral stability problems at speeds over and returned to the airfield as a precaution . Landing at very high speed , the aircraft bounced with sufficient force to cause the right main undercarriage strut to fail . During repairs to the aircraft , in order to rectify the " tricky " landing characteristics , the front undercarriage strut was increased in length , which served to alter the angle of incidence of the aircraft , while the shock absorbers were adjusted to have a greater " throw " . Although never considered docile , the modifications improved the takeoff , landing and low - speed characteristics of the IAe 33 . More serious aerodynamic problems persisted , stemming from tip stall — when the wingtip stalled before the wingroot resulting in an unpredictable " rolling moment " — that led to a change in the wing leading edge near the wingroot , while the rudder was modified in an attempt to resolve the interminable lateral instability issues . In addition , the canopy was reinforced with two external frames and a small fairing was installed above the engine exhaust . Tank , himself a capable development test pilot , took over the test program to investigate the aircraft ' s stalling characteristics , although the requisite airframe changes took several months to complete , with the Pulqui II N . 02 ( m ) for modified , not able to undertake its third proving flight until 23 October . During the ensuing high - altitude test , on two successive occasions , the IAe 33 stalled inadvertently , although Tank had sufficient height at 9 , 000 m for recovery . Adding ballast to the nose of the aircraft cured the problem . On 8 February 1951 , Tank publicly demonstrated the IAe 33 before Perón at the " Aeroparque Jorge Newbery " in Buenos Aires . The audience also included government officials , legislators and the foreign diplomatic corps in the military attaches of the embassies , along with a large crowd of spectators . Both the IAe 27 Pulqui I and IAe 33 Pulqui II flew during the demonstration . With the successful completion of the proving test flights , the Argentine Air Force requested a pre - production order of 12 IAe 33 aircraft . In 1951 , the air force established a team of service pilots to test fly the new aircraft in a series of acceptance flights . The first flight by Commander Soto on 31 May 1951 revealed severe vibrations around . Tank declared the sole prototype unserviceable pending an investigation into the problem , although this stricture appears to have been overlooked and the prototype continued to fly . On the eve of its 28th flight , Captain Vedania Mannuwal , assigned to the test program , was advised not to stress the aircraft , as the source of the vibrations experienced during the previous flight in the morning had not been discovered . Determined to " better " his team leader ' s recent performance , however , he ignored the precautions and began practicing aerobatic maneuvers near Córdoba during his afternoon flight . Consequently , in a high g - force turn , a structural failure occurred with the wing separating from the fuselage . After struggling with the Martin - Baker Mk I ejection seat , Mannuwal ejected at low altitude while the aircraft was inverted . His parachute did not fully deploy , however , and he was killed . The defect in the Pulqui II was traced to faulty workmanship related to welding the joint pin that fastened the wing to the fuselage . Welding had been a dichotomy in the manufacturing process necessitated by the paucity of modern forging and pressing equipment in Argentina . Construction of a third prototype ( No . 03 ) began immediately after this loss . The design team initiated a number of changes to rectify design flaws found in the first " flying " prototype , including an incorporating larger rudder to improve lateral stability , increasing the size of the exhaust fairing and adding a unique air brake that rotated out from the sides of the fuselage near the tail , along with further reinforcement of the canopy . More fuel was also carried internally to extend the range from . The new IAe 33 prototype completed its first flight on 23 September 1952 , piloted by Capt . Jorge Doyle . Flight testing resumed although the aircraft was prepared for a demonstration before President Perón on 11 October 1952 . Behrens , who was slated for the flight , had reservations about the flight characteristics of the Pulqui II at the extremes of its flight envelope , characterizing them as " . . . the worst I ' ve ever experienced as a test pilot . " Two days prior to the exhibition , while practicing his display routine , Behrens stalled the Pulqui II at low level and was killed in the resulting crash , which destroyed the prototype . In 1953 , Tank constructed a fourth prototype ( No . 04 ) and , in an attempt to resolve the design ' s deep stall problems at high angles of attack , added stall fence s on each wing and four strakes on the rear fuselage . Other refinements included a pressurized cockpit , additional fuel capacity and it was also the first prototype to be fitted with the definitive four 20 mm Hispano - Suiza HS . 404 cannon armament . Lt . Conan Doyle piloted the fourth IAe 33 on its maiden flight on 20 August 1953 and , along with Lt . Gonzalez and Lt . Balado , began armament testing in 1954 . While an " all - weather " IAe 33 version adding a radar was considered , the Argentine Air Force made tentative plans for the acquisition of 100 Pulqui II aircraft , with the production version to be a dedicated interceptor , featuring an uprated Nene engine fitted with an afterburner and giving it an anticipated maximum speed of Mach 0 . 98 . A number of foreign buyers had equally expressed interest in the IAe 33 , including the Netherlands in 1951 and Egypt in 1953 , but the lack of a clear commitment to a production series hampered prospects for export sales , with both nations eventually settling on other readily available fighter aircraft . Political ramifications . The IAe 33 Pulqui II project was inexorably linked to the machinations and fortunes of the Perónista regime . Although the " Fábrica Militar de Aviones " was charged with bringing aviation projects to completion , constant political interference contributed to the delays and disarray in aviation programs . Moreover , Tank ' s team was not primarily focused on the IAe 33 , completing the design of the FMA IA 35 Huanquero multi - purpose aircraft ( transport , trainer and reconnaissance roles ) , that eventually entered production at the " Dirección Nacional de Fabricación e Investigación Aeronáutica " ( DINFIA ) ( Spanish : " National Directorate of Aeronautical Manufacturing and Research " ) . The most devastating political decision was to divert the entire manufacturing program " seemingly overnight " to automotive products and agricultural equipment , essentially closing the aviation divisions . The competing DINFIA projects such as automotive manufacture served to further drain resources in time , money and personnel from the Pulqui II project . While Argentina ' s finances were extremely strained at this juncture following the economic crisis in 1953 , the most serious setback to the project came in January 1955 when Tank ' s contract expired . He reputedly requested almost twice as much money to continue but President Perón instead canceled his contract outright . Despite four years of development and trials , the IAe 33 project was still encountering teething problems and its status remained unclear although no final decision had been made to abandon a project that had reached iconic stature in the Perónist era . Operational history . In September 1955 , the sole remaining Pulqui II prototype was pressed into action in the " Revolución Libertadora " , a coup d ' état led by General Eduardo Lonardi against Perón . The exact details of its participation are unknown , but when rebel forces commanded by Lonardi captured Córdoba as their first conquest , together with the Meteor F 4s fighter - bombers stationed at the Córdoba " Escuela De Aviación " - SACE ( Military Aviation School ) , the IAe 33 was enlisted in the struggle . After flying combat missions against Perónist stalwarts , it later appeared in a flyover during the victory parade at Córdoba celebrating the triumph of the coup over loyalist forces . When the military junta came to power , the IAe 33 project was thrown into disarray . The new government released many of the leading air force staff ; similarly , most of Tank ’ s team was forced to leave Argentina with Tank himself going to India , where he worked for Hindustan Aeronautics Limited , and later developed the HF - 24 Marut supersonic fighter . In 1956 , the air force , in an effort to gain political support , planned a record flight from Córdoba to Buenos Aires to demonstrate the combat potential of the IAe 33 . The Pulqui II would fly 800 km , strafe an air force practice range in the Buenos Aires area , and then return to Córdoba using only internal fuel . The only oxygen equipment available for such a long flight was scrounged from a FMA Meteor under repairs . Lt . Balado successfully completed the flight ( including the strafing demonstration ) at an average cruise speed of around 900 km / h , but the oxygen system failed on the return leg . The semi - conscious pilot managed to perform an emergency landing at high speed , but the heavy landing and resulting stress broke the landing gear , with the Pulqui II overrunning the end of the runway , the aircraft being damaged beyond repair . Cancellation . Shortly after Balado ' s record flight , the Argentine Air Force reviewed its decision to acquire 100 Pulqui IIs for its fighter force . The " Fábrica Militar de Aviones " considered that , based on the spares and wing and fuselage components at hand , 10 aircraft could be constructed relatively quickly , however the remainder of the order would take five years to complete . Up until this time , the attrition of the original 100 Meteor F 4s obtained in the late 1940s continued , with plans for an alternative replacement , initially centered on the acquisition of 36 Canadair F - 86 Mk 6 Sabres , being rejected in 1956 when the Central Bank of Argentina was unable to provide the necessary foreign exchange . When the Canadair Sabre was no longer a viable option , the " Fábrica Militar de Aviones " seriously considered having the Pulqui II enter series production . A new prototype was ordered in 1957 , despite the United States having offered 100 combat - proven F - 86 Sabre fighters that were available immediately . The fifth IAe 33 Pulqui II ( No . 05 ) prototype , designated Pulqui IIe , was constructed in 1959 ( visually identical to the fourth prototype although retaining the original frame - less , clear canopy ) and entered flight testing after its first flight on 18 September 1959 , with Lt . Roberto Starc flying . The continual evolution of the Pulqui II had resulted in the design team solving its inherent instability at high angles of attack , as well as increasing fuel capacity through the use of a wet wing , to provide sufficient range . However the fighter was now considered obsolescent , in addition to its being tainted politically by its association with Perón . Consequently , the Argentine Government decided to cancel the IAe 33 project at the zenith of its development , instead acquiring 28 F - 86F - 40 Sabres from the United States at a " bargain - basement price " under the Mutual Defense Assistance Act . In 1960 , after completing only 12 test fights in a new role as a transonic research platform , the last IAe 33 prototype was retired and placed into storage , bringing the Pulqui II project to a culmination . The remaining factory tooling and incomplete airframes were summarily destroyed soon after . Legacy . Despite not having achieved production status , the IAe 33 Pulqui II is still considered a significant aviation achievement because it was the first swept - wing jet fighter entirely developed and built in Latin America and , along with the Pulqui I , allowed Argentina to lay claim to becoming only the eighth nation in the world to develop such technology on its own . . One tangible long - term benefit that can be traced to the Pulqui II project was the creation of Argentina ' s fledgling aviation industry , now restructured as the Lockheed Martin Aircraft Argentina S . A . . Survivors . After decades in an outdoor display at the " Aeroparque , Museo Nacional de Aeronautica " in Buenos Aires , today , the final prototype , the sole surviving example of the IAe 33 Pulqui II project , is preserved at the Argentine Air Force ’ s Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica de Argentina at Air Base Morón and displayed , still in its original colors and markings , alongside the IAe 27 Pulqui I , both symbols of " lost dreams . "