Portugal did not have a definitive Air Force until 1952 however they had aircraft attached to Army & Naval units. This is an example of what is at the link. Cutting and pasting fractures the spreadsheet. List of aircraft of the Portuguese Air Force - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Army Aviation The Portuguese Army Military Aviation (Aeronáutica Militar) was the first military aviation corps created in Portugal and much of the Portuguese aviation origins date back to it. Aircraft Qty In service Retired Origin Notes Maurice Farman Type 1911-1912 1 1912 1916 France Deperdussin Type B 1 1912 1916 France Maurice Farman MF-11 3 1912 1917 France Farman F.40 5 1916 1920 France Morane-Saulnier Type H 1 1916 ? France Caudron G.III 58 1916 ? France Portugal 50 built from 1922 at Alverca Nieuport Ni-83 7 1917 ? France Caudron G.IV 9 1918 1923 France Breguet 14A-2 28 1919 ? France
No doubt the transfers of Aircraft shown here from the United States and Great Britain were in payment for the use of the Azores as an Air Base for the Allies. From: Azores WWII After the outbreak of WWII a special "Azores Expeditionary Force" was sent to the Azores by the Portuguese government in order to defend Portuguese neutrality by preventing possible foreign - Axis as well as Allied - intrusions into the islands. In this context Portugal at first refused the establishment of allied bases on the islands. It was only after the allied threat of a military invasion of the Azores that the government yielded "in the name of the alliance that had existed for 600 years between Portugal and Great Britain". As a result two bases were established at Lajes (on Terceira) in 1943 : - a British base, mainly concerned with antisubmarine actions - a US base, mainly serving as a transit field for airplanes flying to Europe. In 1944 the US were allowed to operate a second base of Santa Maria, in exchange of their promise to liberate East Timor - then under Japan - for Portugal. After the end of the war in 1945 the US base at Lajes was desactivated. A year later the other bases were transferred to : - the Portuguese civilian authorities (US base on Santa Maria) - the Portuguese military (British base at Lajes) As the US continued however to have the right to use the island for transit flights, they forces remained present, first at Santa Maria and later again in Lajes. Commanders of the Azores Expeditionary Force (also in charge of the relations with the Allies) 1940 - 194. BrigGen. José Garcia Marques Godinho 1881 - 1947 194. - 1944 BrigGen. João Tamagnini de Sousa Barbosa 1883 - 1949 1944 - 1945 BrigGen. Álvaro Teles Ferreira de Passos 1888 - 1967 British Commander Air Officer commanding in the Azores (until the end of 1944 also in overall command of the US forces) 1943 - 1945 Air ViceMarsh. Sir Geoffrey Rhodes Bromet 1891 - 1983 US commanders Commanders of the Azores Reconnaissance Party (subordinated to the British Commander) 1943 - 1944 Col. David A. Morris* 1944 Col. Albert D. Smith Commander of the Azores Air Transport Base(s) (subordinated to the British Commander until the end of 1944) 1944 - 1946 Col. Albert D. Smith
I believe your listing of Commanders of the Azores Reconnaissance Party is incorrect. According to http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Azores.html this is the history of Lajes base: 1943 - 1945 Allied military air bases established: British base and U.S. base, both at Lajes on Terceira. Commander of the U.S. Naval Base Ponta Delgada 18 Jan 1918 - 1 Sep 1919 Herbert Owar Dunn (b. 1857 - d. 1939) British Air Officer commanding in the Azores 1943 - 1945 Sir Geoffrey Rhodes Bromet (b. 1891 - d. 1983) Commanders of the U.S. Azores Reconnaissance Party at Lajes (subordinated to the British Commander) 11 Dec 1943 - 28 Dec 1943 Arthur F. Callahan (acting) 28 Dec 1943 - 24 Jan 1944 David A. Morris (acting) 24 Jan 1944 - 13 Oct 1944 Albert D. Smith 13 Oct 1944 - 17 Dec 1944 Harry L. Putnam (acting) 17 Dec 1944 - 19 Jun 1945 Sigmund F. Landers 19 Jun 1945 - 16 Dec 1945 George O. Bond
