The 1969 Soccer War in the Air
Classic Mustang and Corsair Warbirds of the 1940s decided this modern war
The causes of the war are much more complex than a soccer match as portrayed in the western media at the time. Honduras instituted an agrarian reform measure in June that forcibly expelled an estimated 60,000 Salvadoran peasant workers that had illegally immigrated to Honduras. This led to a tense situation along the border and even shots being exchanged. After soccer game tournament for the 1970 world cup between the two national teams in San Salvador ended in street brawls and riots resulting in protests from the Salvadoran government. Finally, on 27 June 1969, diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed. Shortly after, both countries began the mobilization of troops towards their common border.
The war is often cited as the last occasion on which piston engine fighters fought each other - both sides deploying former World War II American types. P-51 Mustangs, F4U Corsairs, T-28 Trojans and even Douglas C47s converted into bombers saw action. The actual fighting was brief. Despite early Salvadoran air strikes, the Hondurans eventually dominated in that area, destroying most of the Salvadoran Air Force.
The one thousand-man Salvadoran Air Force at the beginning of the war was equipped with a six P51 Mustangs, six FG-1D variants of the F4U-4 Corsairs built by Good Year, and a number equally old transport aircraft. A privately owned Mustang held by a civilian pilot, Mr. Baldacci, was pressed into service by the Air Force after being rearmed and repainted on the first day of the conflict. The 700 strong Honduran air force held eleven F4U Corsairs and a quantity of small armed T28 trainers which actually engaged both Salvadorian P-51s and F4Us.
The initial action would be undertaken by the Salvadoran air force that would blitz the main airport in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, hopefully catching the Honduran air force on the ground as well as attacking numerous towns across the country. The operation would use every aircraft that could take to the air as well as fourteen civilian aircraft, which had been converted to drop armed mortar rounds from railings. After the mortar bombs were all dropped the ersatz bomber crews they reverted to dropping ancient 30lb bombs by hand from the windows of their planes
As it was to be expected, the Salvadoran aviation attack caught the Hondurans completely by surprise. However it did not accomplish much. Several of the Salvadoran planes got lost and bombed the wrong targets or worse, had completely missed their intended areas of operation, with several bombs being dropped on uninhabited jungle. One of the Mustangs even found itself so far off course it landed in Guatemala and was interned for the remainder of the war
The Honduran air force mounted a counteroffensive the next morning July 16th with two different attacks on their enemy's headquarters at Ilopango airfield in El Salvador. The first attack by a C47 Dakota transport that had been modified to carry 18x100 pound bombs missed the target; the second attack by Honduran Corsairs dropped four bombs that cratered the runways and damaged several aircraft in hangars. They also managed to hit the main petroleum and oil storage facilities for the country severely damaging El Salvador's war effort.
On July 17th Honduran Major Soto Henriquez, flying a twenty six year old F4U-5N Corsair shot down a pair of El Salvadoran Corsairs flown by Captain Cezeņa, who bailed out and survived the war and Captain Cortez who died when his plane exploded under the Honduran major's shells. In combat later that day Major Henriquez shot down a Salvadoran Mustang flown by Capt Varlera over the jungle near the Port of San Lorenzo. A fourth FAS corsair was shot down over the Gulf of Fonseca by anti aircraft batteries. With these four shoot-downs, the Honduran air force achieved air superiority over the theater of operations and retained it for the rest of the conflict. The Salvadoran aviators' morale crumbled to the point that the commander was forced to ask for volunteers for the few missions that were flown in the final days.
Seven disarmed P51 Mustangs and a B26 bomber were bought in the United States by El Salvadoran agents from private civilian owners and sent to the battle zone as fast as possible to replace losses. Great efforts were made to basically smuggle these aircraft out of the United States as the El Salvadoran government did not get export licenses for these obsolete but still very deadly war birds. These craft, ferried to El Salvador by mercenary pilots of British, American and Brazilian origin took some time to be re-armed and placed into service too late to affect the outcome of the conflict.
On the morning of the 18th, the Honduran air force continued their aerial attacks carrying Napalm canisters in support of the Honduran Army, especially against the Salvadoran National Guard in Llano largo, Nueva Ocotepeque, and against the Army's Third Battalion in El Amatillo. The OAS cease fire agreement effectively ended the ground fighting at 10:00 PM that night. The actual shooting war only lasted 100 hours but a state of war existed between the two countries for ten years until a peace settlement was reached in 1979.
Setup:
Map Twin Rivers
Vox 123 for both Sides.
Icons 3.0k for both sides.
El Salvador=Bishops
Aircraft:
P-51D
F4U4
C-47
Vehicles:
M3
M8
M16
Jeep
Honduras= Knights
Aircraft:
F4U4
FM-2 (T-28 Sub)
C-47
Vehicles:
M3
M8
M16
Jeep
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