If so, there should be photographs, not to mention that the museum mostly puts everything related to the plane on display. And from the sources that I looked at in the topic, to be honest, I didn’t see anything about captured weapons for these planes, could you send me where this is mentioned, out of interest?
At least one of the three aircraft captured mostly intact at Stanley has rocket pods attached.
The same aircraft was later photographed on board SS Atlantic Conveyer (link only as copyrighted) lacking the pods which may not have been returned to the UK.
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great plane for israel tech tree
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+1 for the plane, for LATAM, germany or israel.
by the way, that photo doesn’t prove anything. I see an Argentine Pucará there, with the Argentine Air Force paint scheme.
Just observe the lack of paint on the tail, it’s the same plane. As Fleks says, it’s not proven that it was captured and tested with armament.
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+1 this would make a good british event/Battle Pass vehicle in the future
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How?
What?
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Would that be any similar to the Hispano Mk II or V?
The 2 pics I chose are definitely the same aircraft, (A-515 /ZD485/9245M). There are details that clearly show this to be the case, plus document shows this to be the case (see link below) as it references the rocket pods.
The shape of the white tail marking is the same, plus the grey paint below on the canopy frame extend further down. These differ between individual airframes.
Your pic is also A-515 and was taken later whilst being inspected by MOD Technical Intelligence personnel and was noted to have lacked the serial number on the port side. Removal of ordinance prior to being crawled over would not be unusual.
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Commercial version of the Hispano Mk.V, according to Royal Armouries.
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This is an aircraft with the number A-527 (This number is not in the topic, just in case), it is unknown whether it was even a trophy or not. A similar photo was found in the Airborne Assault ParaData museum, which is near the city of Cambridge
The picture is incorrectly labeled. On 1st May A-527 was destroyed at Goose Green having eaten a bomb from a Sea Harrier that killed her pilot and mechanics.
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I don’t know which link you’re referring to. Would you be so kind as to provide it? It’s not that I don’t believe you, but if it’s true, it would be a great find on your part.
He didn’t survive.
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The museum has a different opinion :p
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I don’t know why the link disappeared. Have edited it back in again.
And just in case here it is again, again …https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/83-AF-1159-FMA-Pucara.pdf
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3 potentially airworthy Pucaras (and a few non flyable) we’re returned to the UK for evaluation not just 1 as a trophy
(ZD486) and A-533 (ZD487) were used as a source of sparesffor A-515 /ZD485), although some parts were scavenged from UK stock. . More were captured but scrapped on site as they were in various state of disrepair.
I’m away from my notes at the moment but I must correct that to 6 of 11 being transported to the UK. 5 (or the remains of 5) are on display, and 1 is privately held and may now be in the US.
A-515 (ZD485)
A-517 (G-BLRP)
A-522 (8768M)
A-528 (8769M)
A-533 (ZD486) (cockpit only)
A-549 (ZD487)
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In any case, it doesn’t change what we knew up until now. Several Argentine sources indicate that the aircraft was dismantled for transportation. There is still no evidence that the RAF tested it with armament.
Well, a LATAM tech tree is where this plane should belong. Otherwise, it should be in Germany with the rest of the Argentine vehicles. If not Germany, then it should be Israel. The latest versions of the IA-58 and IA-63 were modernized with assistance and components from IAI.
Many of us have been waiting for this damn plane since it first appeared in the files, some even before that. The UK can have its version equipped only with Hispanos, but only after we have received at least one Argentine version.
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The IA-58 Pucará, serial number 18, was produced by the Fábrica Militar de Aviones in 1978 and was immediately assigned to its unit, the III Air Brigade, on August 25 of that year, after a failed sale to the Mauritanian Air Force, with the 3rd Attack Group based in the city of Reconquista, Santa Fe province.
In 1982, it was stationed in that unit when the landing in the Falklands took place on April 2, 1982, with 762 flight hours to its credit, crossing to Port Stanley on May 15. By June 11, the aircraft was still operational, conducting a harassment mission against British artillery positions on Mount Kent alongside two other similar units, with the squadron leader being First Lieutenant Micheloud.
When Argentina surrendered on June 14, 1982, the aircraft was found in good condition. Some reports suggest that when it was captured, it was still armed with rocket pods under its wings. After a review, it was deemed suitable for recovery and evaluation. It was airlifted by Chinook ZA707 and shipped aboard the vessel Atlantic Causeway, arriving in the United Kingdom on June 28, 1982.
As planned, the aircraft was disassembled and transported by land to the “Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment” at RAF Boscombe Down. In the UK, it was registered by the RAF as ZD485 and was flown by Vice Commodore Peart throughout much of 1983, being considered a robust and highly maneuverable aircraft. Interestingly, the aircraft participated in the Air Tattoo Festival held at Greenham Common on June 21, 1983, returning to Boscombe Down on June 25 of the same year.
Finally, as originally intended, the aircraft was placed in the Cosford Museum, UK, where it was painted in a scheme similar to the one it had when it was captured, where it remains to this day.
Source: Santiago Rivas (pucara.org)
Translated by Chat GPT
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