Document #1103146
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
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.