If you are close to Buenos Aires, visit the “Museo de Armas de la Nacion”. There are prototypes of the two guns in the “automatic rifle” room. There was my first time in front of a Stg44ar.
The argentinean armed forces do not use the STG44. Never was in service. It was only an evaluation.
But the Garand yes, how say it Panzerknaker, a little outdate.
And the 2 pages left…
The Aircraft carrier 25 de Mayo.
Originally a sister ship to the Brazilian Minas Gerais, the 25° de Mayo was completed as the Royal Navy’s carrier HMS Venerable, which was sold to the Netherlands in 1948 as the Karel Doorman. Acquired by Argentina in 1968, the Second Aircraft carrier entered service in 1969. She was A.R.A. Veinticinco de Mayo (V-2). This ship was also a CVL (light Fleet Carrier), of the British Colossus Class, but upgraded with steam catapult, mirror landing system and an angled deck. From her deck, various aircraft operated, such as A-4Q´s, Super Etendards, S-2E´s, SH-3H, etc. She participated in the South Atlantic War in 1982. She was also a key factor in the Beagle Sound Crisis in 1978.
HMS Venerable was built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, and laid down 3 December 1942. Launched 30 December 1943, she was commissioned 17 January 1945. Served with the British Pacific Fleet 1945-1946. She was sold to the Netherlands as Karel Doorman II in May 1948, and reconstructed 1955-1958 with 8 degree angled deck. She was withdrawn off from Dutch service in April 1968 due to a boiler room fire.
The vessel was sold to Argentina as the Veinticinco de Mayo (25° de Mayo) on 15 October 1968. Refitted with replacement boilers [from the incomplete HMS Leviathan] she was commissioned into Argentinean Navy 22 August 1969.
In 1980, the 25° de Mayo underwent a further refit to increase the strength of the flight deck and allow more aircraft parking space. The carrier supported the original Argentine landings on the Falklands, but was not used to any great extent during the Falklands war. A major refit planned for the late 1980s was to re-engine the carrier, which had suffered from a notoriously unreliable powerplant, but lack of funds postponed that refit.
The carrier’s air group included 12 Super Etendard strike fighters, six Grumman Tracker ASW aircraft, four SH-3D Sea King ASW and one utility helicopter. Not operational since 1985, the primary reason for continued existence was to justify a fixed-wing naval-aviation component.
Out of service since June 1986, plans to refit 25° de Mayo, originally issued in October 1990, called for completion of a refit by 1992 at the latest. However, the aircraft carrier remained laid up at the navy yard at Puerto Belgrano, minus her propulsion plant. In late 1994, Ficantieri of Italy examined proposals to completely overhaul and modernize the carrier, though a lack of adequate funding precluded this. In January of 1999 she was towed away for scrapping in India, and beached at Alang, India by March 2000.
A significant step forward was taken in 1958 with the purchase of the British light aircraft carrier HMS Warrior which became the ARA Independencia. Its first deployed unit was the F4U-5 equipped 2’ Escuadrilla de Ataque, which thus became the first carrier-based squadron of any Latin American air arm. In 1958, twenty ex US Navy Grumman F9F-2 Panther jet fighters – the Aviación Naval first jets – were delivered for use by the 1’ Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque; and ten years later, an adequate tactical support force was formed with sixty Sud Fennecs (a ground-attack conversion of the North American T-28A), which were divided between the Escuela de Aviación Naval and the 2’ Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque.
ARA 25 de Mayo´s Air Group (Grupo de Aviación Embarcada) eventually operated from the 16,000 ton ARA 25 de Mayo. The Squadron replaced by Sikorsky HSS-1 and Sud Alouette Ill, followed by four Sikorsky S.61D4 (the export version of the SH-3D in US Navy service). Two Westland Lynx Mk.23 were ordered in 1972 (though delivery did not in the event take place until 1978), and in early 1980 an order was placed for three late-model SA.330 Pumas. The US supplied Douglas A-4Q Skyhawks were complemented by fourteen Dassault Super Etendard strike fighters, ordered in the first part of 1980, but not all delivered by early 1982, when many aircraft were lost in the Falklands conflict.
Aditional pics, the last of the A-4Qs were retired from service in 1988.
The argentine Army in Croatia 1993, most of the vehicle displayed are VCTP ( Vehiculo de Combate Transporte de Personal) an Armoured personal carrier armed with and Reinhmetall RH 202 20 mm gun and 2 MGs.
A nice video of those days, Mcdonell-Douglas A-4Q of the Armada using his “Buddy-buddy” ventral pack to feed 2 bomb loaded Skyhawks.
Cool Pic.
I noticed in some of the earlier posts in this thread that their were soldiers from Argentina using a firearm that i have known to be called an R 1.
Attaching a pic of one similar to what i have used.
R1 ??
It seems one of the first FAL in use with the Army, the wooden stock indicate that was bought to the Fabrique Nationale and not made under license.
They were used in the South African Military in the 1970’s, 1980’s and discontinued in the early 1990’s when the military started using the R 4 and R 5.
Check the weblink.
I am aware of the initials FAL. R 1 is what they were called in S.A.
http://www.sa-soldier.com/data/04_equipment/04_1equipment.htm
Well, is hard to tell , as far as I know we dont bought any small arms from Sudafrica.
Every source agree in that it was the HMS Argonaut. The Mb-339 was armed with 8 Zuni 127 mm rockets and 2 underwing gondolas with Defa 552 30 mm guns.
Incidentally I read in an old british Magazine that the HMS Ardent was sunk by a …MB-339 with 14x68 mm rockets and a 230kg bomb ¡¡¡ :shock: :shock: . absolute crap.
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Latterthe Argonaut was put out of action:
think that is the Narwhal in the back ground (a civialian stuft vessel
The Narwhal was in other location.
Under the command of Captain Layman RN, and on the 21st of May, 1982 , the ship was badly damaged while patrolling in San Carlos Bay.
In an earlier attack that day, her Type 965 Radar had also been damaged and then at 17:30, the ship was further attacked by six A4 Skyhawk Aircraft and hit by two bombs , neither of which, fortunately, exploded. The first entered the ship through a bulkhead shared by the Boiler Room and Engine Room and just above the waterline; the other hit five feet below the waterline and entered the forward Seacat magazine, killing two seamen instantly.
In response to the incident, HMS Plymouth now joined Argonaut and towed her to a comparatively safe mooring. After a long and dangerous voyage, she arrived back in Devonport for repairs on the 26th June, 1982.
Very good video of navy aircraft operation over the Patagonia.
http://www.ara.mil.ar/multimedia/imagenes_video/aviacion4.asf
Just released video of the IA-58 and his pilots ( several ugly faces :mrgreen: )
Super Etendar taking off from the aircraft carrier ARA 25 de Mayo.
YouTube - Super Etendar Argentino en Portaaviones 25 de mayo parte 1.
Super Etendar doing some “touch and go” over the same ship.
Genkidescan Question:
The member “genkidescan” ask for some info about the 11,35 mm and 20 mm Madsen in Argentine use.
The caliber 11,35m Mgs wre used mostly for aircrafts, for example the Custiss 750 purchased by the Army Air Force in 1938 had one MG of this caliber shooting tru the propellers, the other 3 wre of 7,65mm caliber.
Madsen 7,65mm and 11,35 mm.
Also one coaxial Madsen heavy MG were mounted in the medium tank Nahuel in 1944.
Nahuel DL 43.
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And yes, the ammo for this were produced locally, at list in 3 types , ball, armor piercing and incendiary proyectiles, the HE is not listed.
The 20 mm Madsen gun were used only as AAA emplacements but only saw limited service.
BY the way, I like to announce to all members ( and not members alike) that now on I will not answer question of armaments by PMs any more, so if you had some doubts open a topic , that is what the forum is about.
Argentina Military Photos
Argentina soldiers setting a FN MAG machine gun.
Argentina TAM Tank
Argentina Military looks pretty interesting.
Hello Panzerknacker,
thanks for the informations about Madsen. Is it possible to get some closer informations -may be about headstamps and color codes of the ammunition.
Thanks
Genkideskan