WesWorld

July 3
The “Forca Chaco” was split up once again. Colonel Roja and a platoon headed back towards the border via the Junkers while half of the unit began another sweep down the border heading towards the border town of General Eugenio A. Garay.

July 9
The aircraft company FMA (Fabrica Militar de Aviones) today announced that they have purchased the complete Junkers Ju-187 dive-bomber programme from Junkers in Germany for the sum of 700,000 Pesos. A Fuerza Aerea Argentina spokesman said that the service hoped to acquire the type by 1942. The German bomber had been cancelled in Germany owing to technical problems and cost overruns. FMA will receive plans, jigs some tools and the half-built prototype. A new engine type seems likely and the design will probably altered in many ways and FMA are being cautious about a first flight within a year.

July 15
The “Forca Chaco” is disbanded and begins its return via road to the south. In the last four days they have arrested nine more suspected smugglers, burnt three fields and seized a large amount of Coca which has been destroyed. Colonel Roja has been cited for an award for his skill, bravely and outstanding leadership during this difficult and treacherous mission across some of the most demanding terrain in South America.

July 18
The Army today began firing trials of the new 47mm M40 L/45 anti-tank gun. This unusual hybrid is based on the Rheinmetall 37mm anti-tank gun and the Italian 47mm L/50 fitted to Argentina’s tanks. It uses the breech design of the 37mm M30 with a larger bore barrel and the shell of the Italian 47mm gun. A muzzle brake is also fitted. The carriage is based on that of the M30 but with sturdier legs and a curved shield and the gun should enter service during 1941.
Traverse 60 degrees; elevation -5 to + 25 degrees; weight in action 792kg; muzzle velocity 2550fps; maximum range 2,500m; penetration 250m 80mm, 500m 68mm 0 degrees (57mm 30 degrees), 1000m 50mm 30 degrees.

July 20
The German Fourth Cruiser Squadron consisting of the battlecruisers Derfflinger and Seydlitz accompanied by the tanker Altmark have arrived in Bahia Blanca for a one-day stop. Crowds arrived early to line the quayside to get a good look at these modern and powerful warships as they came into dock. The crews had some well-earned shore leave in the city and found a hospitable welcome from the locals.

August 8
FMA today rolled out the prototype I.Ae.22 DL trainer to an assembled crowd of press and staff officers. Having a strong resemblance to the American NA-16 trainer, the I.Ae.22 DL will be the future basic/ advanced and armament trainer of the FAA. Maximum speed is estimated at 180mph; range 680 miles and service ceiling 17,060ft. Full controls and navigation equipment including a radio receiver/transmitter and HF/DF will be fitted and two 7.92mm MG (with 450 rounds each) or three 15-50kg bombs can be fitted for armament training. A first flight is planned within a month. Also at the Cordoba plant were the first twelve I-02-II fighters awaiting delivery. This improved variant is powered by a 1,500hp V-12 engine.

August 9
Today marks the first day of the Cordoba Jazz festival which will run for two weeks. Many jazz clubs are holding live nights every night and some of the biggest names in Latin American Jazz were be in attendance with some appearances from the American big names also likely.

August 17
A Grand Uruguayan exile, Alberto Dodero, a ship manager, has obtained substantial capital from Germany to found a new shipping line Compania Argentino de Navegacion Dodero. In a short statement to the press Senor Dodero said that he would “Make my shipping business the best in the world with the ships and expertise to make even the established European and Afrikaans lines quake in their boots.”
The Hamburg-South America line has sold to the new line three of their older freighters (the Corrientes, 4565GRT, built 1921, the Cordoba, 4611GRT, built 1921 and the Tucuman, 4621GRT, built 1918) for the sum of about £6,500 per ship. Hamburg South America, HAPAG and other German lines have supported the entry of an Argentine line into the appropriate shipping conferences and German private investors are willing to put up £35,000 in working capital in the new venture, as part of the overall capital ownership. It has also been announced that credits amounting to £500,000 are available and guaranteed by the Reichsbank to cover some of the construction of new ships built in German yards.

August 20
The Minister of Education has announced that the school leaving age will be raised to 15 at the beginning of the next school term for all children under the age of 13 (as of September 1940) and has revealed that from next year new examinations and Educational Standard Certificates are to be issued in a major shake-up of the school system to improve general levels of education. At least fifty new secondary schools and ten colleges are planned for construction before 1944. The Technical School programme is also to be expanded and the Navy is sponsoring a Technical School in Bahia Blanca with the aim of taking 30 young engineers a year when they qualify at the age of 19 into the Navy.

September 17
The national flag fluttered in the brisk wind as General Juan Biedma addressed the pilots of Aerea Regimenta No 3 at Military Air Base “El Plumerillo” near the city of Mendoza. On the parade ground the bomber crews used to the slow lumbering single-engined FMA M.B.2 bombers stood in neat ranks and behind them was a line of the bombers. “Today men we enter a new age of operations. We say farewell to our faithful warhorses that have looked after us so well. We used them in the South American War and we proved many officers wrong with our obsolete but sturdy and reliable aircraft. With a change of mount comes a change of role. We always excelled in low-level flying but from now on we shall fly even lower and we shall become mud-movers. At dawn tomorrow ten hand-picked pilots will leave to ferry the first of our seventy-two Henschel Hs-129s. This twin-engined flying tank will be our new aircraft and I’m sure with them we shall surpass our previous efforts and records.”

September 20
Crowds flocked to Bahia Blanca to witness the arrival of the Navy’s latest acquisition, the former Italian light carrier Giovanni delle Bande Nere, which was purchased late last year. A Navy spokesman declined to comment fully on the purpose of the ship other than to state she would be used as a training carrier. Analysts have noted the ship’s amphibious warfare capability and many suspect the ship will be primarily used as a landing ship for the Marines.

September 27
The two anti-submarine escort destroyers Alerta and La Plata today were commissioned into the 5th Destroyer Division and will join their sisterships.

September 28
Today at the FMA Cordoba works a civil pilot from the Civil del Club de Planeadores Albatros, Roberto A. Virginillo made the first flight of the Rhon Bussard glider. This single-seat raining glider has a span of 14m and can be towed at speeds up to 120kmh. This will be a purely civilian model and is available for export and several home clubs have already expressed an interest in the design.

September 30
After nearly four year of delays due to the war and the economic situation the first two MZ1 Class landing craft have been commissioned into the 1st Landing Craft Flotilla. This marks the first time specialised craft have been used to support the Marines and the craft are licence-built from Italian designs. Several variants are planned but at least ten basic transport craft will be built by 1943.

You do plan for amphibious operations, don´t you?

Will those Henschels be licence build in Argentina or bought from Germany?

All the Hs129 will be purchased direct from Germany.

The Marines are starting to get a look-in with the naval budget. During the SA War they made some attacks in the Rio Paraguay but generally found themselves used as infantry.

October 1
Today the Navy laid down its third new destroyer within a year and quite possibly the last for several more years. The new Project 423 1940 Class destroyer Rividavia has been laid down at the Tandandor shipyard and is very similar to the 1933,36 and 39 Classes and only one ship of this class will be built to replace the last sunken destroyer of the war to form five six-ship destroyer divisions.
At the AFNE Shipyard the Navy has also laid down a new patrol icebreaker to serve the Argentine scientific posts in Antarctica and patrol our southern shores. The Piedra Buena (Project 706D) will be completed next December and the keel was laid down by Dr Antonio Banderas, a prominent Antarctica expert and Head of the Argentine Antarctica Research Institute in Comodoro Rivadavia.

October 4

The prototype FMA I.Ae22DL trainer made its first flight today in the hands of Major de Aero (ret.) Roja from Cordoba. No major snags were encountered and already a batch of 100 DLs have been ordered for the Fuerza Aerea Argentina and the Commando de Aviacion Naval Argentina (split 75/25). This new trainer will replace the older I.Ae 2, 2T, 3 and 3T trainers to form a homogenous group alongside the I.Ae 6 biplane basic trainers.

Quoted

Originally posted by Hood
Dr Antonio Banderas, a prominent Antarctica expert and Head of the Argentine Antarctica Research Institute in Comodoro Rivadavia.

Doesn't he dance, or act, or sing, or something like that?

November 5
Today a new joint Argo-German venture was announced at a press conference at the Ministry of Economics. The Argentine entrepreneur, Don Andres Bernardin, and the German firm Landmaschinenenfabrik Franz Richter AG, a firm that produces tractors, mechanised agricultural equipment and other agricultural machinery, has proposed to establish the firm Bernardin Maquinarias Agricolas S.A., in which LMF Franz Richter would be willing to invest RM 4,000,000 (3m Pesos). The factory would engage progressively in the assembly and local manufacture of tractors and other mechanised agricultural equipment for the Argentine market and potential export to other South American nations. The Ministry of Economics would like the new factory belonging to Bernardin Maquinarias Agricolas S.A. to be located in San Luis, Province of San Luis to increase employment in this city. It is likely construction work will begin within the next two months.

November 19
FMA have brought a majority share in the aircraft instrument manufacturer Taller de Reparación de Instrumentos de Aviación. FMA hopes this will help to expand its range of products and bring some extra much needed income. This firm currently has large contracts with both FMA and Spartan.

November 22
The Instituto Aerotechico (Technical Research and Development) has begun trials with two new transport aircraft to meet a requirement by the Air Force for modern transport aircraft. One example each of the Constelación T1C Twin Condor and the Savoia-Marchetti SM.82 will be flown by four FAA crews for evaluation. The aircraft are on loan for the duration of the trials which will last 5 weeks and will cover many climatic changes and harsh field use. The T1C Twin Condor is being trialled as a substitute for the final Serie-400 design submitted by Constelación. The SM.82 is a purpose-built prototype.

December 8
Today Senator Amadeo Sabattini held a press conference in Cordoba regarding the San Roque dam. The San Roque Lake is a reservoir created between 1884 and 1890 by the damming of several rivers, especially the Suquía and the Cosquín. It is located next to the city of Villa Carlos Paz, about 600 m above mean sea level. It has a surface area of 16 km², an average depth of 16 m, and a maximum volume of 180 million m³. San Roque Lake was for some time, the biggest artificial lake in the world. The original dam is now showing signs of age and by an initiative begun by Senator Amadeo Sabattini it has been agreed to commence work next year on a replacement dam which should be completed during 1944. The newer dam will be built to contain and control larger rises in water levels and hopefully will continue to provide the capital with fresh water.

December 20
Paraguay the Peasants Revolt is leading to a crisis point. The Catholic People’s Party is calling for restraint and a wholesale revision of the law to curb the Landowners Association. UPAF rebel bands have recently covertly reformed and many arms hidden away have re-appeared and the Paraguayan Government is thinking of sending in the Army, in effect risking re-starting the Civil War and risking emulating the Diaz regime which Luis Contreras had sought to destroy. The Catholic People’s Party is ready to walk away from the coalition unless Contreras stands down or the National Party calls fresh elections. In Argentina the Government is looking at ways it might defuse the situation and make further steps to avoid further unrest. Already the nation has sent much food and aid since the current stand-off began in the early autumn.