Information on the A-37 and 0-2 airplanes and ownership of TACA airlines [SLV6650]

As per our telephone conversation, please find attached a copy of the documents listed below, which provide information on the A-37 and 0-2 airplanes. The original set of copies is also being sent to you by courier in case the fax transmission makes some part of them illegible.

As requested, in addition to the information provided in those documents, an officer of the Fighter and Trainer Engineering and Maintenance section, General Aerospace Engineering and Maintenance of the Department of National Defence, indicated in a telephone communication with the IRBDC on 8 August 1990 that the J-85 engine found in A-37 airplanes is the same used in the C-114 Tutor used by the Canadian Forces, and could be considered a relatively simple engine for jet standards. The source also pointed out that all jet engines are quite complicated. Engine maintenance and repair in the Canadian Forces is usually performed in teams with a number of technicians working simultaneously on the same engine, usually grouped in pairs. However, this procedure may vary depending on particular circumstances and may be different in other countries. In Canada, an engine technician could be familiar with the whole engine, but would not likely be in charge or take care of it alone. A representative of the Orenda Company which manufactures the J-85 engine expressed in a telephone communication with the IRBDC the same opinion as the abovequoted officer. The source stated that the J-85 is a rather simple engine and, although its maintenance should be and is normally carried out by a team of technicians, a single technician might be able to know well the whole engine and take care of it alone.

The attached documents include:
-Americas War Machine (New York: Grove Press, 1984), pp. 75, 120-121;
-Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1979-80 (London: Jane Publishing, 1979), pp. 319-320;
-Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1978-1979 (London: Jane Publishing, 1978), pp. 311-312;

According to The Military Balance 1989-1990 (London: International Institute for Strategic Studies, 1989), p. 193, El Salvador's air force has or had one squadron with 9 A-37B and 12 0-2A aircraft for Counter Insurgency (COIN) operations. According to the World Defence Almanac 1986-87 (Bonn: Mönch Publishing Group, 1986), p. 97, El Salvador had 20 A-37 and six 0-2 airplanes. The World Defence Almanac 1989-90 (Bonn: Mönch Publishing Group, 1990), p. 53, states that El Salvador has or had 10 A-37 and 10 0-2A airplanes. Both editions of the World Defence Almanac state that the A-37s belong to a fighter-bomber squadron, while the 0-2s constitute the reconnaissance unit of the Salvadorean Air Force.

Regarding ownership of TACA (Transportes Aéreos Centroamericanos) airlines, the Embassy of El Salvador in Ottawa stated unofficially in a telephone communication with the IRBDC on 9 August 1990 that TACA is an entirely private-owned company. The Embassy of El Salvador in Washington, D.C., stated in a telephone communication with the IRBDC on 9 August 1990 that TACA was a "mixed-capital" company, meaning that it was jointly owned by the government and private interests, but didn't know the airlines' current status. The office of TACA airlines in Washington, D.C., confirmed in a telephone communication with the IRBDC on 9 August 1990 that TACA was a mixed-capital company, and stated that nowadays it is a fully private airline.