Monte Real Air Base
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Monte Real Air Base Base Aérea Nº 5 (Portuguese) |
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USAF F-16 Fighting Falcons lined up on the Monte Real Air Base flightline
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Owner/Operator |
 Portuguese Air Force
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| Location | Monte Real, Portugal | ||||||||||
| Opened | 4 October 1959 | ||||||||||
| Built | 1957-1959 | ||||||||||
| In use | 4 October 1959-Present | ||||||||||
| Commander | Colonel João Manuel Cardeiro Caldas | ||||||||||
| Occupants | 51st Operational Group | ||||||||||
| Time zone | WET (+0) | ||||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | WEST (+1) | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 187 ft / 57 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 39°49′42″N 008°53′15″W / 39.82833°N 8.88750°WCoordinates: 39°49′42″N 008°53′15″W / 39.82833°N 8.88750°W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
 Monte Real Air Base
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Monte Real Air Base, officially designated as Air Force Base No. 5 (Portuguese: Base Aérea Nº 5, BA5), is a Portuguese Air Force Military airbase located in Monte Real, Leiria, Portugal. Its mission is to guarantee the readiness and deployment of the air force units based there. Since its opening in October 1959, the base has been home to the air force's jet fighter aircraft, with several of the units based there being equipped with F-86F Sabre, Fiat G.91, T-33 Shooting Star, T-38 Talon and A-7 Corsair II aircraft.
The base is currently home to two F-16 Fighting Falcon squadrons.
The air base is located at the former installations of the aero club of Leiria, that existed from 1938 to 1941, when it became a military aerodrome of the Portuguese Army's aviation service. In 1952 the Army's aviation and the Portuguese Navy's aviation service were merged, resulting in the creation of the Portuguese Air Force, but the aerodrome wasn't actively used until the air base was established in 1959.
Construction of the air base began in 1957 and was completed in 1959, it being officially inaugurated on 4 October by the President of the Republic Admiral Américo Tomás. That same year the first Portuguese F-86F Sabre squadron, Esquadra 50 "Falcões", that was created the previous year, was transferred to Monte Real and was re-designated as 51 Squadron "Falcões" (Falcons). At the same time a second F-86F squadron, 52 Squadron "Galos" (Roosters), was also formed.
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