Biography: Second Corporal Julio Omar Benitez (Argentine Naval Prefecture)

Second Corporal Julio Omar Benitez

He was born on January 22, 1962 in Basavilbaso, Entre Ríos province. He was discharged as a First Class Sailor on February 1, 1979, and was assigned to the "Martín Jacobo Thompson" Petty Officers School in the city of Zárate, Buenos Aires province, from which he graduated in December 1980 as Second Corporal of the Navigation Ladder.
He took various courses specific to his training, such as the one he took in 1981 on "Damage and Fire Control." That same year he passed the courses on the "12.7-millimeter caliber Browning machine gun" and the "20-millimeter caliber Oerlikon cannon."




Between July 1981 and January 1982, he served as a machinist in the Patrol Division of the Directorate of Zone Prefectures, joining the crew of the Coast Guard PNA GC-83 "Río Iguazú," which actively participated in the Malvinas Islands Theater of Operations.

On May 22, the "Río Iguazú" set sail early, bound for Puerto Darwin, transporting personnel and material from the Argentine Army. At 8:25 a.m., it came under attack by two Sea Harrier aircraft from Squadron 800, part of a Combat Air Patrol (PAC). The Coast Guard GC-83 defended itself using its 12.7 mm Browning machine guns, managing to shoot down one of the enemy aircraft. During the attack, Corporal Julio Omar Benítez, operating one of the machine guns, was killed. Chief Officer Gabino González, Third Assistant Juan José Baccaro, and Corporal Carlos Bengochea were also wounded. Corporal José Raúl Ibáñez took over Benítez's position, repelling the attack and downing one of the aircraft.

Due to severe hull damage and water ingress, the ship was grounded on an island, 13 miles east of Puerto Darwin. Anticipating further attacks, the order was given to abandon the "Río Iguazú," rendering it practically unusable. All personnel were evacuated by Argentine Air Force helicopters to Puerto Darwin. On May 24, at 6 p.m., Corporal Benítez was buried with full military honors. Senior personnel from the Army, Air Force, and the "Río Iguazú" crew attended the ceremony. The cannons, communications equipment, and military supplies were recovered and transported by air to Darwin, fulfilling the original mission of transporting support weapons crucial in the battle of Goose Green.

This action is considered the First Air-Naval Combat in Argentine History. Corporal Benítez was posthumously awarded the medal "The Argentine Nation for Heroic Valor in Combat" and promoted to First Corporal on May 24, 1982. He is buried in the Darwin Cemetery in the Malvinas.



Second Corporal José Raúl Ibáñez, a crew member of the patrol boat "Río Iguazú," demonstrated remarkable heroism and courage during an air attack by two enemy Harrier fighters. Despite the overwhelming superiority of the enemy in terms of armament and firepower, Corporal Ibáñez did not hesitate to act. When the machine gun operator was incapacitated, he took the initiative to man the machine gun himself. With this light weapon, ill-suited for combating aircraft, he managed to seriously damage one of the enemy planes, compelling the British air patrol to withdraw.

In recognition of his bravery and decisive action, Corporal Ibáñez was awarded the "Argentine Nation Medal for Heroic Valor in Combat" under Law 22,607 (1982) and its subsequent amendments.

Argentine Naval Prefecture: Schweizer 300C in service

Technical report Nº 74 

SEAV SCHWEIZER 300C

 
PNA Schweizer 300C. 
Fotografía: Sergio Hulaczuk.




Three years have passed since the province of Santa Fe suffered the most catastrophic flood in its history. On that occasion, despite the technological advances achieved by man, the waters advanced with all their energy on the unsuspecting populations, while naturally delineating a new channel.
At that time, both on television and in the print media, images of families could be seen on the roofs of their houses, in complete isolation, eventually assisted by the different security services stationed in the disaster zone, which soon became They showed that they had been surpassed by the magnitude of the assigned task.
In this disaster scenario, the activity carried out by small helicopters equipped with floats that, in hover over the roofs of the houses, delivered boxes with groceries to the helpless residents stood out. These are the Schweizer 300C of the Aviation Service (SEAV) of the Argentine Naval Prefecture (PNA), which had a notable participation during the flooding of the province of Santa Fe.

PREFECTURE HELICOPTERS
In 1961, the then Maritime Prefecture acquired the Sikorsky S-51 LQ-XXR PM-20 helicopter from the Federal Police, which due to its age had to be decommissioned in 1964. Between 1962 and 1969, a total of five Bell 47s were incorporated, identified such as PM-21 (Bell 47 J-2), PM-22 (Bell 47 J-2A), PM-23 (Bell 47-G4A) and finally the PM-24 and 25, both former Argentine Navy (Bell 47-G4 ). These last three devices had dual command and since their entry allowed the training of helicopter pilots within the same Institution (previously they were trained in the Navy).
All Bells were equipped with floats and were intended for search and rescue (SAR), medical evacuation (MedEvac) and coastal surveillance tasks.
The second stage began with the arrival of five Hughes 369HS in 1971 and the three SA-330L Puma in the 1980s. In this way, the technological and operational level of the Rotary Wing Squadron (EscAlasRot) of the SEAV of the now Argentine Naval Prefecture (PNA) is significantly raised.
Currently, EscAlasRot has PUMA, AS-365N Dauphin and Schweizer 300C helicopters to fulfill the role assigned to the PNA.
The Schweizers are based mainly at the San Fernando Airport (SFO), from where the Aeronautical Professional Extension Center (CEPA) carries out training tasks for its own flight personnel, both helicopters and fixed wings. The Maintenance Center for all PNA aircraft was also installed there.
The first Schweizer 300C of the PNA arrived in our country in 1996, and due to the characteristics and equipment of these devices, their functions alternated between short-range coastal surveillance and the training of the new CEPA crews.
The 300C were delivered in three batches of two devices, and as a consequence of this there are subtle differences and technical improvements between each batch, which did not affect the overall performance. The six helicopters were registered PA-90 to 95.
Given the short range of the Schweizer, its operations were mainly confined to the banks of the Río de La Plata and Paraná, and for this reason Air Stations had to be established in the cities of Posadas, Corrientes and Santa Fe, where maintenance tasks were also carried out. first line. Due to the basic nature of Air Stations in terms of technical support, important work requires transfer to the SFO base by flight or, eventually, by land.

 
PA-90 operating in the SFO in 1996. Fotografía (arriba): Sergio Hulaczuk. 

    

SCHWEIZER 300C 

In 1989 the Schweizer Aircraft Corporation acquired the rights to all variants of the Hughes model 269 (commercially known as the Hughes 300, and with T.C. 4H12). In this way, it not only ensured sales exclusivity, but also took responsibility for the 2,800 helicopters already sold by Hughes to both civil and military operators.
In 1995, Schweizer independently developed a variant of this helicopter called the 269C-1, presented to the public as the Schweizer 300CB.
From a design standpoint, the 300s are essentially identical. They have a main rotor with three blades that use the NACA 0015 profile and are interchangeable, elastomeric shock absorbers and without brakes. The tail rotor is two-bladed and the drive transmission consists of eight belts (redundant quantity), and an electrical system that controls their tension, and acts as a clutch.
The model offered to the PNA was the 300C equipped with polyurethane-filled floats 4.7 m long, 27 kg total weight, and a side stretcher. The first two aircraft arrived with a single fuel tank, an engine air intake just below the pilot's position and, unlike previous models, the lower cockpit fairing is in one piece and has no ribs. Avionics are standard.
In later helicopters certain changes were introduced such as: exhaust pipe extended beyond the recirculation area of the main rotor, engine air intake in the center and below the cabin, two aluminum fuel tanks with a total of 185, 5 liters and the lower cabin fairing separated into three parts for easy maintenance.

 

 

All SEAV Schweizer 300Cs are two-seaters, with the possibility of transporting a person on the external stretcher that is mounted on the right side, on the fixed supports provided for this purpose.
The PA-90 was rebuilt and brought to the standard of the newest devices, after suffering an incident with immersion in the Río de la Plata in early 2000.
The PA-91 was destroyed during an emergency landing in a plowed field in Entre Ríos; while the PA-94 impacted in front of the Aviation Service hangar in San Fernando during a landing practice with autorotation. It was delivered to the firm's representative in Argentina for reconstruction.
Since its incorporation, the Schweizer has proven to be a very efficient platform for both training and maintaining the ratings of helicopter crews.

 
This 300C can carry a stretcher in the starboard side. 
Fotografía: Sergio Hulaczuk.

 
Note the lack of the PA-90's port tank.
Fotografía: Sergio Hulaczuk
 
 


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