Santa Cruz Air Force Base Base Aérea de Santa Cruz
South door of the hangar built for the Zeppelin at Santa Cruz Air Force Base
IATA: SNZ – ICAO: SBSC
Summary
Airport type		Military: Air Force Base
Operator		Brazilian Air Force
Serves		Rio de Janeiro
Built		1936
In use		1942–present
Commander		Ten. Cel. Av. Luiz Guilherme Silveira de Medeiros
Elevation AMSL		10 ft / 3 m
Coordinates		22°55′56″S 43°43′09″W / 22.93222°S 43.71917°W / -22.93222; -43.71917
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
05/23	8,986	2,739	asphalt
Sources: Brazilian Air Force

Santa Cruz Air Force Base - BASC (IATA: SNZ, ICAO: SBSC) is a Base of the Brazilian Air Force located in the district of Santa Cruz, at approximately fifty kilometers west from Rio de Janeiro downtown.

History

The airport was originally called Bartolomeu de Gusmão Airport and it was constructed to handle the operations with the rigid airships Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg. Between 1931 and 1937, Deutsche Luft Hansa (Lufthansa after 1933) had regular flights between Germany and Brazil, having Rio de Janeiro as final stop. The whole complex including the airfield, the hangar, a hydrogen factory and a branch-line connecting the complex to the main railway line to downtown Rio de Janeiro 54 km away among other structures was built by the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin. Some of the buildings are still in use, particularly the hangar which was built to accommodate the rigid airships. It was inaugurated on December 26, 1936. Because it is the only original surviving hangar built for rigid airships in the world, on March 14, 1999, it was listed as a National Heritage Site.

On February 12, 1942, six months before Brazil declaring war against the Axis, the airport became an Air Force Base of the Brazilian Air Force.

On May 3, 1982 a British Avro Vulcan bomber was intercepted by the aircraft of the 1° Grupo de Aviação de Caça (1º GAvCa) based at Santa Cruz. The Vulcan had finished the Operation Black Buck 6 during the Falklands War and was returning to Ascension Island when it suffered technical problems. It was intercepted upon entering Brazilian airspace and made to land at the Galeão Air Force Base. The Brazilian planes flew back to Santa Cruz having successfully accomplished the first interception mission in their history.

Units

The following units are based at Santa Cruz Air Force Base:

Subordinated to the command of the 2nd Air Force (II FAe), which is dedicated to Search and Rescue, Rotorary Wings, and Maritime Patrol:

• 4th Squadron of the 7th Aviation Group (4º/7º GAv), the Cardeal Squadron, using P-95A (Embraer EMB 111 Bandeirante Patrulha) aircraft for Maritime Patrol Missions.

Subordinated to the command of the 3rd Air Force (III FAe), which is dedicated to Reconnaissance, Attack, and Combat:

• 1st Group of Combat Aviation (1º GAvCa), comprising the 1°/1° GAvCa - Jambock Squadron and the 2°/1° GAvCa - Pif-Paf Squadron, both using the Northrop F-5E Tiger II supersponic fighter aircrafts. They are currently being replaced by the F-5EM, an up-graded version of the F-5E made by Embraer in partnership with the Israeli Elbit. The 1th GAvCa also operates one AT-27 (Embraer EMB 312 Tucano) light attack aircraft. All aircraft are for Attack missions.

• 1st Squadron of the 16th Aviation Group (1º/16º GAv), the Adelphi Squadron, using the A-1A and A-1B (AMX International AMX) aircraft for attack, combat, and reconnaissance missions. The Adelphi Squadron was the first unit of FAB to receive the A-1, in 1989.

Subordinated to the command of the Department of Airspace Control (DECEA), which is dedicated to the control of the Brazilian Airspace:

• 1st Squadron of the 1st Communications and Control Group (1º/1º GCC), the Profeta Squadron, using radars and equipment for air defense.

Additionally, the Base has one U-7A (Embraer EMB 810 Seneca) and two U-42 (Neiva Regente) for administrative missions.

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2010.
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