FMA IAe 33 Pulqui II

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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] problems at high angles of attack, added [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] on each wing and four [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and giving it an anticipated maximum speed of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] multi-purpose aircraft (transport, trainer and reconnaissance roles), that eventually entered production at the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] led by General [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 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 Aviacion - 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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], and later developed the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 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, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] pilot managed to perform an [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 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 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], being rejected in 1956 when the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 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.