Paratrooper Company

The Paratrooper Company was the paratroop branch of the Aeronautical Corps of Peru. Formed in 1939, it saw combat during the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War, when it seized the Ecuadorian port city of Puerto Bolívar on 27 July 1941, marking the first time in the Americas that airborne troops were used in combat.[4][5]

This article is about the Peruvian military unit. For the general topic, see paratrooper. For other military companies, see List of paratrooper forces.
Paratrooper Company
(Spanish: Compañía de Paracaidistas)
Members of the unit marching in Lima
Active1939 – after 1941?
Country Peru
BranchAeronautical Corps of Peru[lower-alpha 1]
TypeLight infantry
Airborne infantry
EngagementsEcuadorian–Peruvian War
CommanderCpt. Augusto Duarte Colichón[2]
2nd Lt. Jesús Polar Valdivia[3]

History

On 27 March 1927, Enrique Tavernie Entelador became the first Peruvian paratrooper when he leapt from an Avro aircraft, piloted by Captain Clifford, from a height of 2,000 meters over Las Palmas Air Base (then Las Palmas Aerodrome).[6] Subsequently, on 10 May 1928, Second Lieutenant César Álvarez Guerra voluntarily jumped from a height of 3,000 meters, becoming the first military paratrooper.[7] Major Fernando Melgar Conde and Sergeant 1st. Jose Pineda Castro followed on 16 May 1928, when they jumped over Las Palmas at altitudes of 2,000 and 4,300 meters, respectively. On 24 May of that year, Ensign Peter Griva, of the seaplane service from Ancon, jumped from a height of 2,000 meters.

The first Parachute School opened in 1939, with now Colonel Guerra in command. José Quiñones attended this school.[7][8]

On 14 November 1940, Sgt. Lazaro Orrego became the first casualty of the unit when his parachute failed to open while doing exercises in Ancón.[9]

Ecuadorian–Peruvian War
Main article: Battle of Zarumilla § Puerto Bolívar

The unit became well known during the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War when paratroopers Antonio Brandariz Ulloa, Carlos Raffo García and Armando Orozco seized the city of Puerto Bolívar in southern Ecuador prior to the declaration of a ceasefire on July 31, 1941, concluding the Peruvian offensive in El Oro Province.[10]

See also

Notes
  1. Name of the Peruvian Air Force until July 18, 1950.[1]

References
  1. "Fuerza Aérea del Perú se hizo presente en Gran Parada Cívico Militar por Fiestas Patrias". Andina. 2012-07-29.
  2. Julca-Núñez, Héctor (2017). Vencedores del 41: Campaña Militar Contra Ecuador (PDF) (in Spanish). Piura: University of Piura. pp. 61, 109–110.
  3. Nomberto, Víctor R. "Guerra de 1941". Blog PUCP.
  4. "El CAP en la guerra con el Ecuador en 1941". Oocities.org. Retrieved 2013-10-06.
  5. "El Paracaidismo en el Perú". Arribasiemprearriba.com. Retrieved 2013-10-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "Aviación Peruana". 2020-02-14.
  7. Theotokis, Nikolaos (2020). Airborne Landing to Air Assault: A History of Military Parachuting. Pen and Sword Books. pp. 137–138. ISBN 9781526747020.
  8. "HÉROE NACIONAL CAPITÁN FAP JOSÉ ABERLARDO QUIÑONES GONZALES, GRAN GENERAL DEL AIRE DEL PERÚ". Peruvian Air Force.
  9. "SARGENTO FAP LAZARO ORREGO MORALES". Peruvian Air Force.
  10. Julca-Núñez, Héctor (2017). Vencedores del 41: Campaña Militar Contra Ecuador (PDF) (in Spanish). Piura: University of Piura. pp. 61, 108–110.
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