The Chaco Air War 1932-35: The First Modern Air War in Latin America

(Paperback)

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Description

The Chaco War was probably the first "modern" conflict in Latin America where military aviation was widely used in all roles. Bolivia, as the reader will find out, had a very powerful military air force, but unfortunately for them and luckily for Paraguay, its high army command did not take advantage of it. On the other hand, the Paraguayan Commander-in-Chief, General Jose Felix Estigarribia used military aviation to help him defeat the enemy on the ground, and the result was clear: the Bolivians were expelled from the Chaco after three years of war. Previous publications have focused on the Chaco Air War with the aircraft technical details and almost no information on aerial operations, which is this book's centerpiece. All dogfights and bombing missions mentioned are detailed including crews, aircraft, serials, places and outcomes. The book also describes how both military air forces were organized, how pilots and aviation mechanics were trained, how and where aircraft were purchased and many other unpublished before details. The maps included in the book will help the reader have an idea of where aerial operations took place, both combatants air bases, Bolivia's plan to conquer the whole region and how the Paraguayan Army finally expelled the enemy out of the Chaco. The text is supported by a large number of photographs, and specially commissioned colour profile artworks from modelers. 200 ills, mostly b/w, colour maps & aircraft profiles

Reviews

This engaging, informative and at times enthralling account concentrates on the aerial campaign almost exclusively, rather than analyse aircraft capabilities. Many of the period photographs have never been published previously, yet these provide vital insight into how this war was fought. * Airfix Model World *
The author is the Paraguayan Air Forces official historian and thus well qualified to cover a conflict which remains little known outside Latin America. He managed to interview a number of participants while they were still alive and has also assembled an impressive collection of unpublished photographs from private and Paraguayan official collections. * Scale Aviation Modeller International *
This is something very different for Flightpath readers, and highly recommended. * Flightpath Magazine *
This book should provide readers with an understanding of the Chaco War, and an interesting look at the first use of Air power in the Americas. There is plenty here from those interested in not just conflicts in the air, but Latin American wars as well. Highly Recommended. * Britmodeller.com *

Author Bio

Antonio Luis Sapienza Fracchia was born in Asuncin, Paraguay on 14 May 1960. He graduated from the Catholic University of Asuncin, where he got a BA in Clinical Psychology. He also took specialized English courses at the Tulane University of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA and the San Diego State University in California, USA. He is, at present, an English teacher and one of the academic coordinators at the Centro Cultural Paraguayo-Americano (CCPA), which is a bi-national institute in Asuncin. Married with two children, he resides in the capital and is an aviation historian, as well as a founding member of the Instituto Paraguayo de Historia Aeronutica 'Silvio Pettirossi'. He is also a corresponding member of similar institutes and academies in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Spain, the United States and Uruguay. Antonio has written more than 500 articles for specialized magazines and webpages on Paraguayan aviation history and has given numerous lectures in schools, universities, institutes, military and civil institutions in Paraguay and abroad. Since 2010, he has been an aviation history professor in the Paraguayan Air Force (FAP). To date, he has had nine books published: Aircraft of the Chaco War, 1928-1935, with Daniel P. Hagedorn in the US (1996); Potez 25, with several aviation historians in France (1996); Pioneros de la Aviacin Iberoamericana, with several aviation historians in Spain (1999); La Historia de Lneas Areas Paraguayas (LAP) in Paraguay (2004); La Contribucin Italiana en la Aviacin Paraguaya in Paraguay (2007); Silvio Pettirossi. El Rey del Aire in Paraguay (2011); El Pjaro Verde. Cien aos del primer vuelo en Paraguay, with Luis Vern in Paraguay (2012); Fuerza Area Paraguaya, Historia Ilustrada, 1913-2013 in Paraguay (2013); and Agustn Pasmor. Un gran hroe aeronutico del Paraguay in Paraguay (2016). Antonio has received a total of five decorations for his academic merits: The Orden al Mrito Newberiano, given by the Instituto Argentino de Historia Aeronutica in 1995; The Cruz Newberiana Acadmica by the Instituto Nacional Newberiano of Argentina in 1998; The Orden al Mrito Santos Dumont by the Fora Area Brasileira in 2003; The Medalla de la Aeronutica by the Fuerza Area Paraguaya in 2003; and The Medal Dinac Honor al Mrito by the Direccin Nacional de Aeronutica Civil in 2010.