Issue No 22 THE AVIATION HISTORIAN 79
to the EOAFM and became operational in the
autumn of 1939.
By early 1938 a shortage of aircraft was making
it increasingly difficult for the AN to meet its
operational obligations. The EOAFM’s Fairey
IIIFs were flying some 400hr per year on spotting
and gunnery training, photographic survey
and reconnaissance duties, but were becoming
increasingly difficult to keep airworthy, and the
unit’s G-20s were flying more than 800hr per
year on spotting and gunnery training flights.
Furthermore G-20 M-O-5 had been lost and
M-O-3 had suffered damage. The Ministerio de
Marina therefore began the procurement process
for four reconnaissance aircraft with folding
wings, to provide a supplementary flight to
Escuadra de Rios. It was recommended that the
Faireys be replaced with Walruses, as two had
already been ordered and it was a familiar type.
DUCK BEATS WALRUS
Negotiations began with Supermarine’s represen-
tative in Buenos Aires, Leng Roberts & Co Ltd.
Although the standard unit price for a Walrus
was £12,365, the company eventually agreed to
reduce it to £10,285. However, events in Europe
were to scuttle the deal. Vickers-Armstrongs
(Aircraft) Ltd (which became the parent company
of Supermarine in October 1938) was already
working on an Air Ministry order for 168 Walruses
and had just secured a contract to supply 310
Spitfire Is. Its facilities were therefore stretched to
the limit, and the company advised the AN that it
could not meet the terms of the contract.
After further deliberations, the AN concluded
that Grumman’s G-15 (an export J2F-4) was
a better choice in terms of performance, price
and delivery. The only advantage that could be
claimed for the Walrus was its folding wings. The
AN thus ordered four new G-15s at US$42,000
each, and on July 12, 1939, Grumman and the
Argentinian government signed a US$220,000
contract for four G-15 Ducks plus spares. The AN
also ordered four target-towing kits from Irvin
Air Chute for $8,212, to be installed by Grumman.
The arrival of the G-15s led to the creation of
two fleet-spotter reconnaissance units — Escuad-
rilla Aeronaval de Observación de la Escuadra Aero-
naval No 2 (EAOA2) and EAOA3. The former was
established in 1939 from the EOAFM, at the
recently-created Base Aérea (BA) Comandante
Espora, two miles (3km) from BN Puerto Bel-
grano. The unit’s first commanders were Tte Frags
Lisandro Aleman and Julio Zavalla; its role was to
support the fleet in the Golfo Nuevo area of the
province of Chubut, operating from Estaçiones
Aeronavales (EAs) Trelew and Puerto Madryn.
Initial equipment included G-20s and the Walrus
Is, which were allocated to ARA 25 de Mayo, ARA
Almirante Brown and ARA La Argentina, and also
operated from shore bases in various roles.
The G-20s were used as naval gunfire directors,
torpedo spotters, photographic platforms, target
tugs and medical evacuation aircraft, and alsoABOVE Walruses M-O-9 and M-O-10 on public display at Puerto Belgrano, 435 miles (700km) south of Buenos
Aires. The markings incorporated the AN’s anchor motif on the upper wing surfaces and on the undersurfaces of
the lower wing, with the individual code number painted on the upper surface of the upper wing centre section.
JUAN C. CICALESI VIA AUTHOR