Canoas Air Force Base – ALA3 is a
base of the
Brazilian Air Force
The Brazilian Air Force (, FAB) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Brazilian Brazilian Army Aviation (1919–1941), Army and Brazilian Naval Aviation, Nav ...
, located in
Canoas
Canoas () is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, forming part of the Greater Porto Alegre area. It is the largest municipality of the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre and the third largest municipality of Rio Grande do ...
, near
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
, Brazil.
History
The history of Canoas Air Force Base begins in 1937, when the 3rd Army Aviation Regiment (3º RAv) was transferred from
Santa Maria Air Force Base to
Canoas
Canoas () is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, forming part of the Greater Porto Alegre area. It is the largest municipality of the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre and the third largest municipality of Rio Grande do ...
. With the creation of the Air Force Ministry in 1941, the 3º RAv became known as ''Gravataí Air Force Base''. On 21 August 1944, the 3º RAv officially ceased to exist and on the same day Canoas Air Force Base was commissioned.
Due to the
catastrophic flooding affecting the State of
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
and in particular the city of
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
and its
international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...
, which caused a suspension of all operations, Canoas Air Force Base handled civilian flights from May 21 to October 21, 2024.
Units
The following units are based at Canoas Air Force Base:
* 1st Squadron of the 14th Aviation Group (1º/14ºGAv) ''Pampa'', using the
F-5EM & FM.
* 5th Squadron of Air Transportation (5°ETA) ''Pégaso'', using the
C-95BM & CM Bandeirante,
C-97 Brasília and
C-98A Caravan.
* 2nd Squadron of the 7th Aviation Group (2º/7ºGAv) ''Phoenix'', using the
P-95BM Bandeirulha.
* 2nd Squadron of the 1st Communications and Control Group (2º/1ºGCC) ''Aranha'', using radars and equipment for air defense.
Accidents and incidents
*28 July 1950: a
Panair do Brasil
Panair do Brasil was an airline of Brazil. it ceased operations in 1965. Between 1945 and 1965, it was considered to be the largest carrier not only in Brazil but in all of Latin America.
History
NYRBA do Brasil (1929–1930)
''Panair do B ...
Lockheed L-049 Constellation registration PP-PCG operating flight 099 from
Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Canoas Air Force Base struck power lines and crashed on a hill after an aborted landing and while holding in bad weather near
São Leopoldo
São Leopoldo () (Portuguese for ''Saint Leopold'') is a Brazilian industrial city located in the south state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Geography
It occupies a total area of 103.9 km2 (around 80 km2 urban area) at ''circa'' 30 km fr ...
. All 50 passengers and crew died. At the time of the accident, the runway at
São João Airport (presently Salgado Filho) was not yet paved, therefore the Constellations used the Air Base runway
Access
The base is located 6 km east of downtown Canoas and 21 km north of downtown Porto Alegre.
Gallery
This gallery displays aircraft that are or have been based at Canoas. The gallery is not comprehensive.
Present aircraft
File:Northrop F-5 (Forca Aerea Brasileira) Operação Ágata 11 (27543292150).jpg, Northrop F-5EM
File:Embraer EMB 110 (Forca Aerea Brasileira) (9028199498).jpg, Embraer C-95B Bandeirante
File:Embraer EMB 120 (Forca Aerea Brasileira) 2014@CGH 18AUG14 (15422477730).jpg, Embraer C-97 Brasília
File:Cessna 208 Caravan (Forca Aerea Brasileira) Rafael Luiz (28981352976).jpg, Cessna C-98A Caravan
File:Brazilian Air Force Embraer P-95B Bandeirulha (EMB-111A).jpg, Embraer P-95B Bandeirulha
Retired aircraft
File:A-20 Campo Dos Afonsos 061012.jpg, Douglas A-20K Havoc
File:Museu de Aeronáutica no Campo dos Afonsos 1.tif, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
File:Gloster F-8 Meteor (F8), Brazil - Air Force AN1198897.jpg, Gloster F-8 Meteor
File:Museu de Aeronáutica no Campo dos Afonsos 3.tif, Lockheed TF-33A T-Bird
File:Brazilian Air Force Embraer AT-26 Xavante (EMB-326GC) RSC.jpg, Embraer AT-26 Xavante
File:Douglas DC-3 (8141516875).jpg, Douglas C-47 Dakota
See also
*
List of Brazilian military bases
The following is a list of military bases in Brazil, sorted by location:
Air Force Air Force Bases
Testing and Training Range
Former Air Force Bases
Navy Naval Bases and Stations
Naval Air Base
{{Military of Brazil
*
*
Brazil
milita ...
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Military of Brazil
Airports in Rio Grande do Sul
Brazilian Air Force bases
Buildings and structures in Rio Grande do Sul
Canoas
Porto Alegre
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in South America
1937 establishments in Brazil
Military installations established in 1937