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Mexican Air Force
The Mexican Air Force (FAM; Spanish: Fuerza Aérea Mexicana) is the air service branch of the Mexican Armed Forces. It is a component of the Mexican Army and as such overseen by the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA). The objective of the FAM is to defend the integrity, independence, and sovereignty of Mexico. Its auxiliary tasks include internal security, assisting with public works, and natural disaster management. As of 2024, its commander is Óscar René Rubio Sánchez.
The foundation of the Mexican Air Force was led by five Mexican flight pioneers who were sent to New York by President Francisco Madero to master flying: Juan Pablo and Eduardo Aldasoro, Alberto and Gustavo Salinas and Horacio Ruiz. They returned to Mexico in 1913 not only as pioneers, but also teachers for the next generation of pilots.
The official predecessor of the Air Force was the Army's Auxiliary Aerial Militia Squadron (Escuadrilla Aérea de la Milicia Auxiliar del Ejército), created during the Mexican Revolution in April 1913 by the Secretary of War and Navy General Manuel Mondragón, who authorized pilots Miguel Lebrija and Juan Guillermo Villasana to test out bomb targets on Campo de Balbuena, the first airport in Mexico, now located in Jardín Balbuena in Mexico City.
The air force exclusively performed reconnaissance missions until 10 May 1913, when Didier Masson and a Joaquín Bauche Alcalde dropped 15 kilograms of dynamite on rebel boats. Although the attack did not cause any damage below, it is the first known instance of air-to-sea bombing. Masson also performed leaflet drops, also considered the first ever done.
On February 5, 1915, the leader of the Constitutionalist Army, Venustiano Carranza, founded the Military Aviation Arm (Arma de Aviación Militar), which would become the current air force. Its first commander was Lt. Alberto Salinas Carranza.
When WWI Ace U.S. Colonel Ralph O'Neill was hired to head the restructuring of the Mexican Air Force in 1920, he reported to General Plutarco Elías Calles that most of the aircraft available had to be replaced. Until August 1920, the entire fleet consisted of 13 national made prototypes of mixed engine design. These were functional yet ill-equipped for battle, 4 being scout monoplanes. 5 others were in repair and over 20 more at the TNCA were obsolete or wrecked beyond repair. The branch initially consisted of 27 pilots, 17 of which were cadets. In anticipation of the new "Chief", a purchase was made of 13 French Farman F.50 night bombers. Commander O'Neill soon acquired 35 British made Avro 504K and Avro 504J airplanes, which later would be made in Mexico under the name Avro Anáhuac. O'Neill was the first to introduce the term "Fuerza Aérea Mexicana" (FAM) naming the organization as such. The next step was the formation of classified fighter, bombing, observation and reconnaissance squadrons, as well as the decentralization of Air Force units throughout the country at strategic bases. O'Neill then set to work with his co-instructors German Fritz Bieler and Frenchman Joe Ben Lievre, using the first intercom known as the "Gosport System", invented by Robert Smith-Barry, in order to give in-air commands. O'Neill not only implemented new combat strategy, but also flew many decisive missions.
From 1923 to 1929, Mexico was immersed in a wave of violent territorial, religious and military armed rebellions, which required the new Air Force to quickly deploy support wherever the federal army requested them. These conflicts were resolved mostly by the assertive use of air superiority alone.
On December 7, 1923, former President Adolfo de la Huerta launched a military coup (delahuertista rebellion) against the government of President Álvaro Obregón. The situation was extremely critical, because along with de la Huerta, about 60% of the army revolted, including various high-ranking generals across the country. The power tilted back in favor of the federal forces when the United States agreed to furnish the Mexican government with a fleet of new de Havilland DH-4B aircraft equipped with the Liberty motor, armed with Lewis and Vickers machine guns and able to carry bombs. The military coup was suffocated by February 1924.
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Mexican Air Force
The Mexican Air Force (FAM; Spanish: Fuerza Aérea Mexicana) is the air service branch of the Mexican Armed Forces. It is a component of the Mexican Army and as such overseen by the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA). The objective of the FAM is to defend the integrity, independence, and sovereignty of Mexico. Its auxiliary tasks include internal security, assisting with public works, and natural disaster management. As of 2024, its commander is Óscar René Rubio Sánchez.
The foundation of the Mexican Air Force was led by five Mexican flight pioneers who were sent to New York by President Francisco Madero to master flying: Juan Pablo and Eduardo Aldasoro, Alberto and Gustavo Salinas and Horacio Ruiz. They returned to Mexico in 1913 not only as pioneers, but also teachers for the next generation of pilots.
The official predecessor of the Air Force was the Army's Auxiliary Aerial Militia Squadron (Escuadrilla Aérea de la Milicia Auxiliar del Ejército), created during the Mexican Revolution in April 1913 by the Secretary of War and Navy General Manuel Mondragón, who authorized pilots Miguel Lebrija and Juan Guillermo Villasana to test out bomb targets on Campo de Balbuena, the first airport in Mexico, now located in Jardín Balbuena in Mexico City.
The air force exclusively performed reconnaissance missions until 10 May 1913, when Didier Masson and a Joaquín Bauche Alcalde dropped 15 kilograms of dynamite on rebel boats. Although the attack did not cause any damage below, it is the first known instance of air-to-sea bombing. Masson also performed leaflet drops, also considered the first ever done.
On February 5, 1915, the leader of the Constitutionalist Army, Venustiano Carranza, founded the Military Aviation Arm (Arma de Aviación Militar), which would become the current air force. Its first commander was Lt. Alberto Salinas Carranza.
When WWI Ace U.S. Colonel Ralph O'Neill was hired to head the restructuring of the Mexican Air Force in 1920, he reported to General Plutarco Elías Calles that most of the aircraft available had to be replaced. Until August 1920, the entire fleet consisted of 13 national made prototypes of mixed engine design. These were functional yet ill-equipped for battle, 4 being scout monoplanes. 5 others were in repair and over 20 more at the TNCA were obsolete or wrecked beyond repair. The branch initially consisted of 27 pilots, 17 of which were cadets. In anticipation of the new "Chief", a purchase was made of 13 French Farman F.50 night bombers. Commander O'Neill soon acquired 35 British made Avro 504K and Avro 504J airplanes, which later would be made in Mexico under the name Avro Anáhuac. O'Neill was the first to introduce the term "Fuerza Aérea Mexicana" (FAM) naming the organization as such. The next step was the formation of classified fighter, bombing, observation and reconnaissance squadrons, as well as the decentralization of Air Force units throughout the country at strategic bases. O'Neill then set to work with his co-instructors German Fritz Bieler and Frenchman Joe Ben Lievre, using the first intercom known as the "Gosport System", invented by Robert Smith-Barry, in order to give in-air commands. O'Neill not only implemented new combat strategy, but also flew many decisive missions.
From 1923 to 1929, Mexico was immersed in a wave of violent territorial, religious and military armed rebellions, which required the new Air Force to quickly deploy support wherever the federal army requested them. These conflicts were resolved mostly by the assertive use of air superiority alone.
On December 7, 1923, former President Adolfo de la Huerta launched a military coup (delahuertista rebellion) against the government of President Álvaro Obregón. The situation was extremely critical, because along with de la Huerta, about 60% of the army revolted, including various high-ranking generals across the country. The power tilted back in favor of the federal forces when the United States agreed to furnish the Mexican government with a fleet of new de Havilland DH-4B aircraft equipped with the Liberty motor, armed with Lewis and Vickers machine guns and able to carry bombs. The military coup was suffocated by February 1924.