Juha Tompuri wrote:Ironmachine wrote:uhu wrote:bombing missions? I can't think of any DC3, however the last Ju 52 bombing mission was by the French in Viet Nam, September 1950 at Dong Khe.
This is telling much more about the lack of any decent air opposition or the deficiencies of the French air forces in Vietnam than about the Ju-52 qualities as a bomber.
Yep.
1969 Soccer War:
The First Clashes
The Salvadoran attack began on the late afternoon of 14 July, with concerted movement of two columns, together more than 12.000 troops, against three border posts near the cities of Nueva Ocotepeque, Gracias a Dios, and Santa Rosa de Copan. These were swiftly captured and the Salvadoran troops then advanced along the main road connecting the two nations. Simultaneously, the FAS launched an “all-out” attack, deploying all available aircraft to attack Honduran airfields and troop concentrations along the border, as well as targets on the Honduran islands in the Fonseca Gulf. Around 18:10hrs, Salvadoran C-47 flown by Majors Jorge Domínguez and Fidel Fernandez, arrived over Tegucigalpa, their crew rolling 45kg bombs out of the cargo doors on Toncontin airfield. This attack was to be supported by two Cavalier Mustangs, but these never reached their target, while the other C-47 sent to attack Toncontin bombed Catacamas instead. Meanwhile, other FAS aircraft – including 14 planes taken from civilian operators – hit their targets, all except one returning safely to different dispersal airfields, instead to Ilopango. The missing plane was the TF-51D, flown by Capt. Benjamin Trabanino: this landed at La Aurora IAP, in Guatemala, apparently in emergency. It was interned and remained there until the end of the war.
The FAH was caught completely by surprise: almost 50% of its aircraft were parked in Tegucigalpa (the other half in La Mesa, which was not attacked by FAS), and pilots released to go home that evening. The Hondurans were more than lucky that none of their aircraft was damaged. Four Corsairs were scrambled in attempt to catch the C-47 that attacked Toncontin, but they could not make any contact due to nightfall. Salvadoran C-47-attacks were not very precise or effective, but had considerable effects on Honduran morale.
15 July: FAH in Counter-Air Offensive
Despite flying vintage, WWII-era-aircraft, the FAH still operated according to standard modern doctrine, seeing its first task in neutralisation of enemy air force and destruction of installations supporting the Salvadoran strategic ability to wage a war. Correspondingly, barely few hours after the midnight, the first FAH C-47s took off to attack targets deep inside El Salvador.
The first FAH counter air mission, a single C-47 launched around 01:40hrs on the morning of 15 July, was aborted when aircraft suffered technical malfunctions. The second, however, resulted in 18 bombs being dropped at what the Dakota-pilot – Capt. Rodolfo Figueroa – believed was Ilopango airport, at 04:18hrs. No damage was caused at all: in fact, no Salvadoran reports about any kind of explosions near that airfield are known
16 July: Salvadorans on Advance
On the morning of 16 July, the Salvadoran Army troops secured Nueva Ocotepeque and continued their advance along the highway to Santa Rosa de Copan, supported by a FAH C-47 and two Mustangs. Two additional Mustangs were to take off from Ilopango, when they collided due to mechanical failure on one of the aircraft. Both suffered heavy damage. With this, the FAS was left without four aircraft within barely two days of operations: with morale plummeting due to the losses and maintenance problems, the Salvadoran air force was effectively grounded for the rest of the day.
The FAH used the opportunity to air-lift a whole Guardia de Honor Battalion from Tegucigalpa to Santa Rosa de Copan. Four C-47s were deployed for this task, and they transported 1.000 soldiers together with their equipment over the day, all the time escorted by Corsairs and T-28s. Meanwhile, five Corsairs, two AT-6s, three T-28As and a single C-47 were used to attack Salvadoran units on the El Amatillo front. Flying 13 sorties during the day, they proved decisive in stopping the offensive
17 July: Major Soto vs. El Salvador
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The successful air battle fought by FAH Corsairs was crowned by air strikes of Honduran C-47s, AT-6s and T-28s against Salvadoran artillery positions.
http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_156.shtmlRegards, Juha
by Juha Tompuri on 13 Jun 2012 20:45 
