Venezuelan Air Force - History

History

In the aftermath of the first plane flight in Venezuela on 22 September 1912, a council was formed to search for a suitable aircraft for the growing Venezuelan Army in 1913.

The birth of the FAV goes back to 10 December 1920 when the Military Aviation School of Venezuela was formed with COL David López Henríquez as its first commandant in Maracay. Early aircraft included Farman and Caudron G-3 as well as the amphibian Caudron G-4. The first decades of the FAV saw mainly French, German and Italian influence. After the Second World War, the air force was reorganized with American aid, eventually leading to the formal inception of the Fuerza Aérea Venezolana on 22 June 1946.

Most current airbases were built in the 1960s. The main fighter types in those years were Venom, Vampire, and F-86. Bomber squadrons typically operated B-25 Mitchell aircraft. The 70s and 80s saw a considerable increase in capacity, mainly because the rising oil prices enabled the FAV to re-equip most of its units. The mixture of various aircraft types was maintained and Mirage IIIE and V, VF-5A and D, T-2D, OV-10A and E, T-27 were introduced. Venezuela was one of the first export customers for the F-16 which arrived in 1983 to equip the newly formed Grupo Aéreo de Caza 16 at El Libertador Airbase.

In 2006, Venezuelan F-16s, F-5s and Mirages participated in the joint exercise Cruzex III held in Brazil along with the air forces of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Peru and Uruguay.