Revised: February 1, 1999
Copyright © 1997-1999 by Juan Carlos Barroux R.
During the 60s the Argentinian Air Force put out a requirement for a COIN aircraft. For political reasons the design & production work was responsibility of the government owned Fábrica Militar de Aviones (FMA) at Córdoba.
The first prototype flew on August 20, 1989 powered by two Air Research TPE331 turboprops whereas the second prototype used two Turboméca Aztazou XVIG turboprops on its first flight in September 1970, as would do all production aircrafts. The first production aircraft flew in November 1974 but deliveries began only in 1976. Eventually 108 aircrafts would produced for the Argentinian Air Force.
Baptism of fire was against the Tupamaros guerrillas in the North of Argentina and the aircraft performed quite well with its impressive firepower doing the job it was designed to do; COIN.
However, when faced with a different challenge in the form of the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas war the results were "less than stelar" with no less than 24 aircraft destroyed or captured. Six of those aircrafts (A-515, A-517, A-522, A-528, A-533 and A-549) can be seen in a number of UK museums.
An improved version, the IA-58B, flew in May 1979 with "only" two 30 m DEFA guns and improved avionics. In December 1985 another attack version, the IA-58C (a.k.a. «Charlie»), flew as a single seater also with the two 30 m DEFA guns, improved avionics and two MATRA Magic AA missiles. None were to be produced due to lack of funding.
Designation: IA-58 prototypes Manufacturer: FMA, Argentina Crew: 2 Engine: 2 x Turboméca Aztazou XVIG Engine Type: Turboprop Engine Thrust: 730 kW (978 shp) Propeller: 2 x 3 bladed Length: 14.25 m Height: 5.36 m Wing Span: 14.50 m Wing Area: 30.3 square meters Empty Weight: kg Max. Weight: kg Max. Speed at Sea Level: km/h Max. Speed at 36,000 ft: km/h Max. Cruising Speed: 480 km/h Normal Cruising Speed: 430 km/h Ceiling: 32,800 ft Range on Internal Fuel: km Range with Max. Fuel: 3,710 km Range with Max. Payload: km Combat Radius: 350 km (1500 kg of ordnance, hi-lo-hi profile) Radar: EW: Avionics: Weapons: Various loads of guns, hardpoints and missiles. Notes: S/N First Flight Model Disposition Notes AX-2 25/Jul/68 -- -- Wooden aerodynamic glider. A-X2 20/Aug/68 IA-58 -- 1st prototype, Garret then Aztazou. AX-01 -- IA-58 Museo Aeronáutica Ex-A-X2, Retired 13/Oct/80 AX-02 15/Sep/70 IA-58 Destroyed 20/Nov/74 Destructive static load tests. AX-03 08/Dec/73 IA-58A Crashed 4/Oct/77 1st prototype with guns. AX-04 5/Jul/77 IA-58A Monument as A-537 Ex-A-509 used for weapons test by CEV. AX-05 14/May/79 IA-58B Decom 7/Nov/82 Ex-A-252, Bravo (IA-58B) prototype. AX-06 25/Feb/80 IA-66 Decom ??/??/84 Ex-A-539, IA-66 prototype. AX-06 ??/Oct/84 IA-58C Decom ??/??/?? Charlie (IA-58C) prototype.
Designation: IA-58A
Manufacturer: FMA, Argentina
Crew: 2
Engine: 2 x Turboméca Aztazou XVIG
Engine Type: Turboprop
Engine Thrust: 730 kW (978 shp)
Propeller: 2 x 3 bladed
Length: 14.25 m
Height: 5.36 m
Wing Span: 14.50 m
Wing Area: 30.3 square meters
Empty Weight: kg
Max. Weight: kg
Max. Speed at Sea Level: km/h
Max. Speed at 36,000 ft: km/h
Max. Cruising Speed: 480 km/h
Normal Cruising Speed: 430 km/h
Ceiling: 32,800 ft
Range on Internal Fuel: km
Range with Max. Fuel: 3,710 km
Range with Max. Payload: km
Combat Radius: 350 km (1500 kg of ordnance, hi-lo-hi profile)
Radar:
EW:
Avionics:
Weapons: 2 x 20 mm Hispano HS-284 guns, 4 x 7.62 mm Browning MGs,
3 hardpoints (1 under the fuselage and 2 underwing) of up to 1,500 kg.
Notes:
S/N C/N Unit Built Disposition Notes
A-501 001 Esc. 3 Atq. 12/Nov/74 Decom 30/Sep/87 Transferred to ESFA for training.
A-502 002 Esc. 3 Atq. 14/Jul/75 Crashed 23/Sep/76
A-503 003 -- 26/Sep/75 Crashed ??/??/?? Pilot Tte. 1º Fillipi.
A-504 004 Esc. 3 Atq. 28/Nov/75 Crashed 8/Mar/78 Over Campo de Tiro Garabato.
A-504 104 III Br. Aer. ??/??/?? -- Ex-A-604
A-505 005 Esc. 3 Atq. 30/Jun/76 Decom 20/Jun/90 Cannibalized during the 1982 war.
A-506 006 Esc. 3 Atq. 2/Mar/77 Damaged 1/May/82 Damaged on landing and then used
as decoy on BAM Cóndor.
A-507 007 Esc. 3 Atq. 6/Apr/77 Crashed 5/May/80 Displayed in Bourget 1977.
A-508 008 Esc. 3 Atq. 24/May/77 Crashed 30/Jul/80 Pilot Alf. F. D'Angelo ejected.
A-509 009 CEV 5/Jul/77 Monument as A-537 New matricule as AX-04.
A-509 016 III Br. Aer. 7/Apr/78 Damaged 24/May/82 Damaged on BAM Puerto Argentino
and used to rebuild A-429 by RAF.
A-510 010 Esc. 3 Atq. 24/Aug/77 Damaged 10/Aug/90 Decommissioned in 1992.
A-511 011 Esc. 3 Atq. 3/Nov/77 Shot 21/May/82 Shot down by Sea Harrier XZ451,
pilot My. Tomba ejected.
A-512 012 Esc. 3 Atq. 28/Nov/77 -- Deployed to the Falklands.
A-513 015 Esc. 3 Atq. 20/Feb/78 Damaged 1/May/82 Used as a decoy on BAM Puerto
Argentino.
A-514 017 Esc. 3 Atq. 18/May/78 Damaged 1/Jun/82 Used as a decoy on BAM Puerto
Argentino? Built as M-2 for
Mauritania.
A-515 018 Esc. 3 Atq. 7/Jun/78 Captd. 14/Jun/82 Built as M-4 for Mauritania. Flown
as ZD485 by the RAF. Can be seen
at RAF Cosford Aerospace Museum.
A-516 020 Esc. 3 Atq. 8/Aug/78 Damaged 25/May/82 Used as a decoy on BAM Puerto
Argentino after damage.
A-517 014 Esc. 3 Atq. 11/Jan/78 Damaged 4/May/82 Damaged on BAM Cóndor but repaired
and sold to Rod Butterfield as (G-BLRP)
somewhere on the Channel Islands.
Built as M-3 for Mauritania.
A-517 021 -- 17/Oct/78 -- New matricule as A-520.
Designation: IA-58B Manufacturer: FMA, Argentina Crew: 2 Engine: 2 x Turboméca Aztazou XVIG Engine Type: Turboprop Engine Thrust: 730 kW (978 shp) Propeller: 2 x 3 bladed Length: 14.25 m Height: 5.36 m Wing Span: 14.50 m Wing Area: 30.3 square meters Empty Weight: kg Max. Weight: kg Max. Speed at Sea Level: km/h Max. Speed at 36,000 ft: km/h Max. Cruising Speed: 480 km/h Normal Cruising Speed: 430 km/h Ceiling: 32,800 ft Range on Internal Fuel: km Range with Max. Fuel: 3,710 km Range with Max. Payload: km Combat Radius: km () Radar: EW: Avionics: Weapons: 2 x 30 m DEFA guns Notes: S/N C/N Unit Built Bought Disposition Notes
Designation: IA-58C Manufacturer: FMA, Argentina Crew: 1 Engine: 2 x Turboméca Aztazou XVIG Engine Type: Turboprop Engine Thrust: 730 kW (978 shp) Propeller: 2 x 3 bladed Length: 14.25 m Height: 5.36 m Wing Span: 14.50 m Wing Area: 30.3 square meters Empty Weight: kg Max. Weight: kg Max. Speed at Sea Level: km/h Max. Speed at 36,000 ft: km/h Max. Cruising Speed: 480 km/h Normal Cruising Speed: 430 km/h Ceiling: 32,800 ft Range on Internal Fuel: km Range with Max. Fuel: 3,710 km Range with Max. Payload: km Combat Radius: km () Radar: EW: Avionics: Weapons: 2 x 30 m DEFA guns Notes: S/N C/N Unit Built Bought Disposition Notes
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Copyright © 1997-1999 by Juan Carlos Barroux R.
Juan Carlos Barroux R. - lamilitary@geocities.com