South American Air-Raid

Hugo Idrovo
Ecuador

Remembered as the Liberty Air Raid, this event was the original concept of Mr. Luis Galvez Chicopo, then Permanent Director of the South American Federation for Field Sports, based at Lima. The idea was that each participating country to 1946´s South American Athletic Championship provides a delegation of its military aviation, to transport the olympic torch to Santiago, Chile, where the games would take part between April 27th and May 5th. This was going to be an expression of unity and continental brotherhood in times where the entire world was just passing the consequences of World War II.
 
 

The torch was hand crafted in Saman wood, the favourite tree of Liberator Simon Bolivar and once lighted, left Caracas on April 16th as the Posta Bolivariana or Bolivarian Air Raid, including Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The Raid was lead by FAV Maj. Abel Romero and landed in Cucuta, Colombia where FAC Cap. Alberto Powell and his crew took the lead and continued with the torch to Ipiales, Ecuador arriving on April 20th. They were received by  FAE Maj. Alfredo Arteaga and  UOfcr. Horacio Burgos who boarded their AT-6 s/n 78 and escorted by two other aircrafts proceeded to Quito, arriving the next day.

That day was going to be a memorial day for ecuadorian aviation history, since the same day arrived a B-25H Mitchel with famous USAAC pilot Gral. James H. Doolittle in an official visit of one week. Same day and same airport witnessed also the arrival from Miami of first three C-46 Curtiss for the newly created ANDESA, inaugurating their new national routes.

The three ecuadorian participants continued the mission on Monday April 22nd heading south to Guayaquil for a refueling stop (see picture above), before arriving at Talara, Peru where the torch was handed over to the peruvian delegation, commanded by FAP Cap. Raul Ravines who took the lead in his territory. In Arica, the Posta Bolivariana and the torch were received by chilean hosts FACH´s Lt. Ricardo Ortega and Lt. Ernesto Miranda. Here they waited for the Posta de la Victoria or Victory Air-Raid,  formed by aircrafts from Bolivia, Brazil (FAB´s Lt. Paulo Salemá) and the USA (USAAC´s Cap. Herbert Harris) after following the route Rio - Asuncion - La Paz - Arica.

The multinational formation of seven aircrafts continued to Santiago, where they were joined by the Posta SanMartina formed by an uruguayan and argentinian aircrafts with FAU´s Cap. Mariano Navajas and FAA´s Cap. Oswaldo Rovera respectively on command, after completing the route Montevideo - Buenos Aires - Mendoza - Santiago. The Air-Raid was now formed by nine aircrafts, which escorted by a FACH squadron flew over the chilean capital city for the enjoiment of the crowd on the ground. They landed without incidents at Los Cerrillos airfield at 17:00 hours of Saturday April 27th 1946.
 
 

After the welcome ceremony, conducted  by Gen. Manuel Tovarias, FACH Commander, the pilots joined the party and parades organized to commemorate the success of the air-raid. In those days, everyone spoke about the next air-raid which never took place. The first south american air-raid was the last one.