In the 1930s, Peru invaded a section of Colombia called Leticia on the border of Columbia, Peru, and Brazil. Located along the Amazon river east of the Andes, the area was quite remote with the only way of getting there by either boat or by floatplane as there were no roads and no landing areas for planes. In fact, it was so remote that it took days for the Colombian capital of Bogota to even realize that the nation had been invaded.

Such was the situation that sending a force of even 5,000 troops into the area as well as all the needed supplies and equipment would have bankrupt the nation. The only way to fight this war was with very small numbers of troops and with air power. Fortunately, Colombia had a small air arm of mostly Curtiss-Wright aircraft and a German run national airline that it could use to help forward deploy air assets so they would have a fairly close operating base.

What this conflict did was to spur a buying spree by Colombia and much of this book covers that aspect of aviation the area. A few things to note. First is that most of Colombia's military aviation was not controlled by Colombians but by the Germans who operated SCADTA, the national airline. The result is that much of Colombia's early purchases in the late 20s were German equipment, mostly Junkers aircraft. Not surprising that the majority of pilots for the airline and military were Germans as well. In fact, the Germans really didn't want Colombians to control their military and so did not make a major effort to train local pilots.

This is where the US came into play. An American mission was invited into the country and it was they who set up a proper pilot training program and helped with obtaining modern aircraft; of US origin, of course. These purchases are the major focus of this book. Of course, the Colombians ended up with more planes than pilots who could fly them so looked to the US for volunteers. Just like the AVG of a few years later, pilots were sourced from the military and civilian services, paid handsomely, and flew (for the most part) for just a short time before heading home with their loot. This was deep in the Depression so these sorts of jobs were a real boon for both the pilots and the manufacturers.

In this book, we get a brief on the conflict itself and some of the major events. Frankly, there wasn't a lot of combat and while there were casualties, they were fairly minimal as these things went. The whole thing was eventually settled by the League of Nations. Then we get into the expansion of the Colombian Air Force and the aircraft they purchased. There is a small section on the US volunteer pilots and some of their exploits while in Colombia. Then we get a look at the other side to some extent and the aircraft and training of the Peruvian Air Force.

The book is well researched and the types of aircraft are nicely illustrated by period photos of these planes in service. Colombia and Peru concentrated on water-borne aircraft as a matter of need so we get to see some pretty exotic aircraft on these pages. The prose flows well and makes for enjoyable reading. In all, it is a very well done edition that I'm sure you will like.

February 2022

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