WesWorld

Noticias Argentinas

1941
January 1
Amid the celebrations of the New Year the workers at the Astillero Nav. shipyard at Puerto Belgrano laid the keel of their new contract. The Project 708 Class Destroyer Tender Cabo San Antonio which should complete next year. She will be fitted with every modern workshop item, stores, a bakery, a hospital, a foundry and machine shops with milling and grinding machines. Everything a modern destroyer fleet at sea needs to remain operational. She is a sister ship of the newly completed repair ship Cabo San Gonzalo. A second ship has been rumoured for laying down in 1942.

January 10
Two new State-run airlines have been officially created today by Transport Minister Alfredo D’Assi. Both airlines will be run by the Fuerza Aerea Argentina, who will take a share of the profits via the Ministry of Defence. Lineas Aereas Noreste and Lineas Aereas Suroeste are the two new companies.

Lineas Aereas Suroeste will serve routes to Viedma, Neuquén, Zapala, San Antonio Oeste, San Carlos de Bariloche, Comodoro Rivadavia, Esquel, Puerto Madryn, Río Gallegos and Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego.
Lineas Aereas Noreste will serve routes to Santa Fe, Resistencia, Formosa and Entre Ríos Paraná. Routes in Paraguay will serve links to Asuncion, Pillar and Encarnation Caacupe and San Pedro.

Not sure what SAE strategist should make of this. But they will keep an eye on further developments...

Chile offers to sell Twin Condors to the new airlines. Good passenger and cargo capacity for more remote communities, economical operation, excellent rough-field and short takeoff performance, and close parts stockpiles!

Yes, I'm a little confused about an Air Force running an airline on the side to make some money.

It's purely historical folks,
Both airlines were formed in 1940 OTL and today they are known as LADE Lineas Aereas del Estado.

Brock, I may well take you up on the offer.

Germany would happily sell either, or both, of the new airlines the Bv144 or Bv146 - the latter can be equipped with convertible or mixed layout airline seating.

January 14
Lineas Aereas Noreste and Lineas Aereas Suroeste are under the jurisdiction of the Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics) headed by Senor Alfredo D’Assi.
The Fuerza Aerea Argentina are providing all pilots and crews (largely all reservists) and maintainence and fuel for the two airlines.

Equipment has come intially from surplus ex-miltary stocks. Lineas Aereas Noreste shall operate three FMA M.B.2 light bombers converted to I.Ae 5 configuration seating five passengers and four converted IMPA M.B.1 Vanquish medium bombers converted to cargo-carrying. Lineas Aereas Suroeste will have five M.B.2 converted to I.Ae 5 standard and six converted M.B.1 Vanquish bombers. All conversion work has been carried out by IMPA and eventually new aircraft will be procured for the airlines.

January 22
Transport Minister Alfredo D’Assi in the Chamber of Deputies today made his first reading of the proposed Railways Nationalisation Bill. There was some debate but there will be further debates later on this week before a vote is held.

February 2
The Chamber of Deputies has a final debate over the Railways Nationalisation Bill today but it is clear that the government has won support across the coalition. Many industry insiders feel that given the under-investment in the rail infrastructure over the last twenty years and the poor profitability of some lines that this is a welcome move. Others in the Conservative Party are pressing for more compensation for private investors and a larger stake for the current shareholders in any new State run company.

February 4
The Chamber of Deputies vote on the proposed Railways Nationalisation Bill. There have been some policy changes since the first reading and these took about an hour of discussion before the vote.
The results of the vote of all Deputies was 61% in favour and 39% against. The United Workers Party were staunchly behind the Bill and the small Marxist contingent also lent their support for the Bill. The Bill will now go before the Senate for final ratification.

February 15
Two brand new sleek destroyers of the 1939 Class, the Santa Cruz and the Sparta, today commissioned and joined the 4th Destroyer Squadron based at Comodoro Rivadavia. Their proud crews lined up on the deck as the Chief of Staff of the Navy Almirante Dominguez inspected the crews and the new ships while he was visiting the naval yard.

March 12
The D’Silva Motor Works has been sold by its main shareholders to Austin Motors Ltd of Great Britain. The troubled firm, once owned by the political renegade Antonio D’Silva, has been near bankruptcy but Austin has acquired a majority shareholding. The firm will be renamed Austin Argentina Fabrica de Aumotobiles (AAFA). Several new types will be built at the Cordoba factory, the Austin K3 3-ton truck in both 6x4 and 4x2 variants and the Austin 7 and Austin 10 motor cars. Engines will be produced locally. This will mark the entry into the car market and will tackle Auto Union’s new Volkswagen. The firm also hopes to win sizable military orders for the K3 series of trucks as well.

March 22
Auto-Union Argentinas S.A., located in the thriving Argentine city of Santa Rosa has begun to produce the parent firm’s Type 60 “Volkswagen” small passenger sedan car as production builds up as factory nears completion. One small boy with his mother watching the first few cars heading out of the factory gates on a test run was heard to exclaim “Look Mama, they look like Beetles!”

March 25
Today at the Tucan Aircraft works in Cordoba, test pilot Felix Villalaz took the new T-1 single-seat light aircraft for its maiden flight. A basic private aircraft it is capable of aerobatics and is available for orders.
The first flight lasted forty minutes and no problems were found with the handling or performance of the aircraft.



Dimensions: span 7.22m; length 5.55; height 1.9m; wing area 7.2 sq m (23.8/ 18.2/ 6.2/ 77.5 sq ft)
Structure: semi-monocoque fuselage structure of spruce and plywood. The wing is a high-position braced monoplane in two sections joined on the centreline and carried above the fuselage on a steel tube cabane. Vee bracing struts. The wing has two spars with piano wire bracing and the leading edge is plywood covered, the remainder fabric covered. Slotted flaps are mounted inboard of the ailerons and there are Handley-Page slots in the leading edge. The fin and tailplanes are integral with the fuselage with similar construction to the wings. The undercarriage is tailwheel configuration and is of the fixed cantilever type with Goodyear low pressure tyres with brakes. The cockpit is fully enclosed with a sliding canopy. A fuel tank is mounted in the fuselage.
Weights: empty 285kg (627lbs), maximum loaded weight 450kg (990lbs)
Powerplant: one 65hp Continental A65 four-cylinder horizontally opposed piston engine driving a two-blade Tucan wood propeller
Performance: max speed 127 mph; service ceiling 13,780ft; range 680 miles (1100km); endurance 6 hours

An interesting design, one with much promise. I wonder though whether it is aimed at the civil market, the military market, or both.

I can easily see it as an agricultural aircraft, though I am not certain the Argentine domestic market really needs such a specialized aircraft at this time. As a single-seater, it might find less favor with private operators who would want to take a passenger or two along. It would make a fine artillery spotter for the military, except that there too the lack of a second seat for an observer puts quite a burden on the pilot to fly, observe and report via radio.

It's just a simple private aircraft that can do aerobatics or be used for training.

Some will find their way into civil training shcool use and the Argentine Air Force might buy a small batch for aerobatic training at some point. The aircraft is on the general open market for any willing buyer. It is an OTL type.

The IMPA RR-11 cabin monoplane is also a newcomer this year but data is hard to find on it. Data can be found in the IMPA section of my encyclopedia It too is available for private buyers and air forces etc for training.

March 30
The new large tanker, the Dona Dorothea today commissioned and joined Auxiliary Squadron as the third new tanker for the fleet to give the Navy a proper refuelling capability for operations beyond our shores and to extend patrol times for our smaller ships in the Southern Atlantic.

Large tanker good. Easy targets. ;o)

Heavenly Pursuits 22/3/41
Antonio Allegro's Argentine News Briefs

Aerea Regimenta No 3 at Military Air Base “El Plumerillo” has almost completed conversion and re-equpment with the Henschel Hs-129Arg ground-attack aircraft. Pilots this month have flown around 60 hours each on average in familarisation flights and so far the conversion has gone without incident.

Rumors have circulated this week that the Commando de Aviacion Naval is possibly considering licence-building the Alicanto torpedo-bomber to replace the TBN-7 from 1942 onwards.

At a press breifing with Chief Designer Luis Barron on progress with the I-02 fighter at the FMA works in Cordoba a desk model was noted of the revised Ju-187 project being worked on currently from German-supplied information and parts. It is believed that the project is the I.Ae.23 but this has not been confirmed.

Noticias Argentinas

April 4
FMA today confirmed that sales of the new Rhon Bussard sports and training glider have been made to the Club de Planeadores Los Caranchos, the Club de Planeadores Milano, Club de Planeadores Córdoba in the capital and the Club de Planeadores Albatros. The Ministry of Transportation has paid some of the purchase costs.

April 17
The Senate today voted on the proposed Railways Nationalisation Bill. There has been several small meetings but little public debate by the Senators but the vote took around three hours after discussions dragged on.
The result was 47% Nay and 53% Aye. The Conservative majority in the Senate has stalled the voting process and the Bill will now go to second vote and yet more changes by the government.

April 26
The British Trade delegation began their talks with the Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Economics today. No public annoucement was made today but share prices continued to fall.

April 29
The Prime Minister has forced a rapid re-vote in the Senate on the proposed Railways Nationalisation Bill with a large concession that the former owners of the various private firms each get a 5% stake in the new State Railway.
The vote this time was 59% Aye and 41% Nay. The Bill has been passed and will become an Act before the end of the summer. Full details on the nationalisation will be made public within a month.

May 16
Transport Minister Alfredo D’Assi today held a press conference at which he launched the Railways Nationalisation Programme which he outlined in full.
The State Railway will be known as Ferrocarril Argentino and will be split into different geographical Divisions which will absorb the former independent railway networks.
The British-owned Argentine Great Western Railway (AGW) (Ferrocarril Gran Oeste Argentino) that operates a railway network in the provinces of San Luis, San Juan and Mendoza will become the Ferrocarril Argentino Oeste Division.
The British-owned Bahía Blanca and North Western Railway (BB&NW) (Ferrocarril Bahia Blanca al Noroeste) will become the Ferrocarril Argentino Este Division.

The British-owned Central Argentine Railway (CA) (Ferrocarril Central Argentino) which operates a network in the province of Córdoba and lines to Grand Uruguay will be merged with the Córdoba Central Railway (CC) and the Central Northern Railway (FCCN) (Ferrocarril Central Norte) to form the Ferrocarril Argentino Centro Division. The Córdoba Central Railway (CC) has been state-owned since 1939 and operates a large network in the north-west of the country.
The British-owned Central Chubut Railway (Ferrocarril Central del Chubut) in the province of Chubut in Patagonia and the Ferrocarriles del Estado Company operating also operating a network in Patagonia will become merged to become the Ferrocarril Argentino Sur Division.
In addition Ferrocarril Argentino will take a 20% shareholding in the British-owned Argentine Transandine Railway Company.
Transport Minister Alfredo D’Assi outlined that the current owners of the major British-owned firms (except for the Transandine Company) would each receive a 3% share in Ferrocarril Argentino as part of their compensation package. Thus 15% of Ferrocarril Argentino will be in the hands of British investors and hopefully this will provide further investment in terms of money and equipment. This will be vital to carry out the planned modernisation programme the government has planned. Alfredo D’Assi laid out the brief modernisation plan; between 1942 and 1946 all the 1,000mm metre gauge lines will be upgraded to the 1,576mm broad gauge standard across the country requiring much of the current network to be re-laid. Between 1945 and 1947 the suburban railways of Cordoba will be electrified with further inter-city electric lines in the north-west of the county by 1950 and an electric line to Bahia Blanca by 1953.

May 17
The trials of a new tank for the Army began today at the Mechanised Warfare Proving Ground. The new tank is the T-6M41 'Nahuel’ (Tiger) designed by the Arsenal Esteban de Luca during 1940 as a new heavy tank with armour to defeat current and future SAE anti-tank guns and to also serve in the support role with lighter fast tanks. The armour is 80mm thick and sloped on the glacis plate. The 500hp FMA-Lorraine Dietrich 12EB 12-cyl petrol engine is a modified aero engine built under licence by FMA with several changes to increase reliability and to improve cooling. The M40 L/30 gun is the M33 L/24 with a longer barrel and a new AP shell. HE shells can also be fired. Length is 6.22m, width 2.33m and height 2.95m. Vertical volute suspension is used and in general design the tank resembles the American M4. Maximum speed is 24mph and road range is 155 miles. An initial batch of 24 was ordered in late 1940. Production may take place as soon as December this year.

Quoted

Originally posted by Hood
between 1942 and 1946 all the 1,000mm metre gauge lines will be upgraded to the 1,576mm broad gauge standard across the country requiring much of the current network to be re-laid.

While that sounds good in a press soundbyte, it proves once again that Argentine politicians shouldn't be in charge of the Argentine railway system, as they're already screwing it up. Many of the meter-gauge railways in Argentina are separated from the main railway network, are in terrain where broad gauge simply won't work well, or don't carry enough traffic to pay back the costs of such a massive reconstruction. While there are probably a few lines which could benefit from rebuilding to broad gauge (which is incidentally 1,676mm and not 1,576mm), the majority will not become any more profitable. Further, two of Argentina's international railway connections with Chile and Chilean Bolivia are metric-gauge, and if Ferrocarril Argentino insists on converting the Argentine sections to broad gauge, they're going to simultaneously screw over the Chilean-operated sections due to the added expense of a break-of-gauge issue.

If Ferrocarril Argentino still absolutely insists upon screwing things up by switching to all-broad-gauge, EFE offers to buy the metric-gauge Central Northern Railway line running between Tucuman and La Quiaca at the border of Chilean Bolivia, as well as the Argentine section of the Antofagasta-to-Salta transandine line, in order to maintain the international connections without a break-of-gauge.